In addition to the prosaic matters of corruption, securities fraud, free home renovations from a donor and obstructing federal investigations, Texas AG Ken Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Texas state Senate will include evidence that he used a fake Uber account to hide visits to his mistress as well as burner phones and secret personal email addresses.
[…] In a new filing Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team used Trump’s absurdly over-the-top bid for a 2026 trial date in the Jan. 6 case to begin to show this pattern of unreliability to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan:
– Funny math: Trump’s team claimed that the median time for a prosecution of this kind to get to trial was 29.4 months, but DOJ pointed out that that 29.4 months is the median time not from indictment until the start of trial but from indictment to the completion of sentencing by the court. Shorter message: Trump deceived you, your honor.
– More funny math: The cases Trump used to arrive at its median number came from the period of October 2021 until September 2022 when federal courts were unwinding the COVID backlog and only 22 cases went to trial nationwide, DOJ argued. “This small and skewed sample provides no help to the Court in deciding an appropriate trial date,” DOJ argued. Shorter message: We’re helpful, your honor, and the defendant is not.
– Bellyaching: Trump complained loudly that it would be impossible to review the millions of pages of discovery in time for 2024 trial date, but DOJ pointed out that no one manually reviews every page of discovery any more. That’s what electronic discovery vendors do and Trump has one. Shorter message: Don’t be taken in by the defendant’s histrionics, your honor.
– Hyperbole: Trump compared the amount of discovery to tall buildings and Russian novels, but DOJ scoffed at the hyperbole: “comparisons to the height of the Washington Monument and the length of a Tolstoy novel are neither helpful nor insightful.” Shorter message: We can provide reliable input for the real decisions your honor must make.
– Fake conflicts: Trump bitterly complained that DOJ wanted jury selection in the Jan. 6 case to start on the same day as a scheduled hearing in the Mar-a-Lago case in Florida. DOJ acknowledged the conflict and adjusted it’s proposed schedule accordingly. Shorter message: We can reasonably resolve real conflicts and here we are doing so, reasonably.
[…] it’s beginning to establish a pattern for the judge of Trump being unreasonable and prosecutors being reasonable. One side is reliable and judicious; the other is voluble and self-interested.
By all accounts, these are things that Chutkan (and any good judge) will recognize early and take into account to avoid being led around by the nose, taken advantage of, and otherwise bamboozled into bad decisions.[…]
It took many journalists years to figure out they were being played by Trump (and some of the cable nets still haven’t learned). We can’t afford for the Trump’s judges to be that slow on the uptake.
Photo: US President Joe Biden greets a rescue dog wearing protective boots as he meets with first responders during an operational briefing on response and recovery efforts following wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii
The crack team of researchers at the Republican National Committee have come up with another blockbuster story: President Likes Dogs. [tweet and video at the link: "Biden gets distracted by a dog."]
Oh, that’ll do the trick. Quick, Republicans, find more images of President Joe Biden acknowledging dogs. That’ll put your seditionist document hoarder back in the White House for sure!
Ahem. For the record—and we are going to go slow here so as to not confuse RNC head Ronna née Romney McDaniel and her minions—there are established social norms governing what should happen when in the presence of a dog that everybody follows, aside from true sociopaths.
When a dog presents itself to you, you acknowledge the dog.
This must be an extremely confusing moment for top Republicans because their former and current Dear Leader figure, Donald Seditionist Rapist Golfboy Trump, famously hates dogs. That means all other Republicans now must themselves hate dogs too since it is an opinion Trump holds. If I recall correctly, “we now hate dogs” was going to be added to the 2020 Republican Party platform before the party decided to just cobble something together declaring itself to believe whatever Donald believes in a more all-encompassing, less specific way.
But among non-sociopaths, the general procedure when a dog walks up to you and acknowledges your existence is that you then look at the dog. You follow this up by complimenting the dog. Assuming there is no official legal reason you should not pet the dog, you then pet the dog, but only if the dog appears to want such attention. The social norms are, of course, more nuanced than this.
When in the company of both people and a dog, acknowledge the dog first. [:-)]
Acknowledge the people only if it appears you are obligated to do so.
If the dog is accompanied by a human partner, you must generally present yourself to the human partner by complimenting the attractiveness or general demeanor of the dog.
This is praise the dog’s human partner will secretly take at least a 20% cut of for themselves. You then ask the human partner if you can pet the dog, which is generally considered a formality but gives you an opportunity to resent the human if they say no.
You and the other people are now free to discuss the dog and all the good features of the dog.
Eventually, someone in the conversation will try to bring the topic back around to whatever you were discussing before the dog arrived. You and your conversation partners will then all know who among you likes dogs the least, marking that person as forever suspicious.
The specific case presented to us today, however, is unusual in that it was an official government-dog interaction to begin with. Biden and the others had been discussing the search operations that the dog was itself a part of, and Biden himself moved away from the dog quite quickly so that the emergency operations could continue. While focusing attention on a dog, you may not obstruct the dog from doing its official government or medical business because that would make you a different sort of sociopath. Biden acted correctly in this case. [Heh. Good analysis.]
If the dog is wearing little boots, it is absolutely essential that all members of the conversation acknowledge the dog’s little boots.
There is no wiggle room to this one: Boots must be acknowledged.
Here we see Biden doing all the correct things. He immediately acknowledges the dog and gives the dog’s human partner more attention than he gives anyone else in the conversation. He extends his hand experimentally as an offer to give the dog affection, which the dog accepts. Biden praises the dog for having little boots, elevating the social standing of the dog’s partner with a presidential recognition that the partner has provided little boots in a situation where little boots are called for.
The dog is a working search and recovery dog, climbing through still-smoking debris to find fire victims that human searchers have not. Showing his knowledge about proper dog gear and apparel, Biden notes that the little boots are a necessity because “that’s some hot ground.”
This is all probably very difficult for the RNC’s employees and hangers-on to understand. Their Dear Leader is quite transparently a sociopath, a criminal who does not like dogs because all criminals have an instinctive fear of dogs. Dogs, with their keen senses, can immediately identify who is a sociopath and who is not, and a criminal who is also a sociopath would naturally want to avoid dogs as much as possible.
For the rest of us, the social norms govern all. […]
I don’t care what you do or don’t put in your party platform, Republicans, but this is a universal truth. If you weirdos want to hunt up another 20 video clips of Biden liking dogs, you go right ahead and publish every one of them.
tomhsays
Re: Lynna @ #499
“Ken Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Texas state Senate will include evidence that he used a fake Uber account to hide visits to his mistress”
If that’s the case, maybe they should reconsider their decision barring his wife (state Sen. Angela Paxton) from voting in his trial.
The Lake Arrowhead shooter has been identified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi. He was extremely active in the online right-wing ecosystem of hate in the United States, regularly posting about his far-right extremist beliefs on Gab and Twitter/X. He supported Donald Trump in 2016 but became far more devoted to a Christian nationalist worldview driven by antisemitic conspiracy theory culture.
In a personal GoFundMe campaign from 2019, Ikeguchi talked about his estranged father being a police officer. Public records indicate that Ikeguchi’s father was at one time a Florida Highway Patrol officer. Ikeguchi started attacking police departments online for making Pride posts on Twitter/X. In 2022, he shared a video on Gab about wanting to shoot police officers […]
Ikeguchi fatally shot Laura Ann Carleton, a loving wife and mother of nine, for having a Pride flag in support of LGBTQ+ rights at her clothing store Mag.Pi in Cedar Glen, California (two hours east of Los Angeles). He spouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and hate speech during the incident— as he regularly did on social media. After fleeing the scene of the murder, he was confronted and killed by police in a shootout.
This killing comes in the midst of a Republican-led wave of anti-LGBTQ+ radicalism gripping Southern California. For those following these recent political attacks against LGBTQ+ existence: the rhetoric on Travis Ikeguchi’s online profiles was extremely familiar.
It’s clear that Ikeguchi’s worldview was influenced by the far-right media landscape that has been relentlessly targeting LGBTQ+ existence. He shared Leave Our Kids Alone movement (self described “concerned parents”) propaganda targeting schools for supporting LGBTQ+ rights. He ranted against vaccines and abortion rights. He joined in with anti-LGBTQ+ attacks against drag performances. He shared screenshots of being blocked by local schools he harassed for supporting LGBTQ+ people. He falsely labeled all LGBTQ+ people as groomers and child sex abusers. He demanded an end to same-sex marriage. He condemned Jewish people and Black people. He has defended Russia, Putin, and the Wagner Group. All of his posts came from the perspective of far-right Christian nationalism. He regularly evoked God, Jesus Christ, and Satan.
It’s not a coincidence that this shooter favorably interacted with and often promoted content from James O’Keefe, Jordan Peterson, Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, Andy Ngô of The Post Millenial, Rogan O’Handley of Turning Poing USA, Alex Rosen, Ethan Schmidt, OANN, Fox News, The Babylon Bee, The Gateway Pundit, and other similar right-wing provocateur pages. On Gab, his posts were even more extreme and often contained incel ideologies and Nazi imagery— though he regularly criticized neo-Nazis on Gab for not being antisemitic enough or loyal enough to Jesus Christ.
[…] It’s doubtful that this will be the last death at the hands of the Republican Party’s radicalized foot soldiers— be they organized fascist militant groups or random individual terrorists.
150 degree heat index in Iowa? Yes, because corn sweats in the heat, just like humans do. A single acre of corn can pull 4,000 gallons of water each day out of the ground and release it into the air, making Iowa feel like Bangkok
Following a devastating week of destructive fires in #BritishColumbia, here is the updated Canadian season-to-date accumulated Fire-Radiative Power (FRP). It really looks like tripling the previous high mark is possible. That is nuts
We don’t care much for Mitch McConnell, either, but … damn.
Republican Kari Lake, the beloved imaginary governor of Arizona, is considering moving on up to the Senate, which doesn’t thrill Republicans who like to win elections in the real world, where all the actual legislation is passed.
During an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast, she lashed out when the living Dorian Gray painting told her that the Republican establishment is “not happy with you, ma’am.” [video at the link]
She responded, “We ran the greatest campaign, I think, in the country last cycle.” Her thinking is fucked in the head. Kari Lake lost the Arizona governor’s race, and while telling her that is probably like explaining to Miss Havisham that her wedding dress reeks, her personal delusions are not facts. Here are some facts:
Last year, Republican Reps. Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert won their suburban Tucson and Phoenix congressional districts. Real-live Gov. Katie Hobbs whooped Kari Lake in both districts. Lake earned 5,000 fewer votes than Schweikert and almost 10,000 fewer than Ciscomani.
It gets worse. Lake even underperformed unhinged MAGA Rep. Paul Gosar in his western Arizona district by 16,000 votes, and she stank up the joint in Phoenix’s West Valley suburbs. Rep. Debbie Lesko won almost 30,000 more votes than Lake, who clearly sucks.
But it’s all just a conspiracy to ignore her awesomeness by “those politicians who are just in DC to line their pockets,” she said. Yeah, she’s not in this for money. All she cares about is love.
“So if I decide to jump in, I will be an incredible candidate because I will be representing the people of Arizona. I’ll make that decision,” she threatened. “And my question is, who the heck do they want? Do they want Doug Ducey? Do they think Doug Ducey is a good candidate?”
Doug Ducey won the Arizona governor’s race twice, including 2018 when Krysten Sinema beat fellow Republican Martha McSally. Lake has won zero Arizona governor’s races. Maybe Lake thinks math isn’t relevant.
She went on:
“Who do they want? I know what the polling shows. The polling shows in a three way race, I beat both. Kyrsten Sinema, who votes in lockstep with Joe Biden and I beat this other guy, the socialist Marxist. So I’m not worried about it. We’re going to win if we jump into it.”
The “socialist Marxist” is Democrat Ruben Gallego, and he’s actually neither. It’s not a surprise that Lake is making stuff up: Most polls have Gallego leading a three-way race against Sinema and Lake. And respectable polls conducted outside of Lake’s mirror reveal that most Arizona voters don’t like her.
Lake reflects a problem Republicans have nationwide: The MAGA extremists — including their indictment-collecting cult leader — can win GOP primaries, but they have limited appeal with independents or the dwindling number of rational Republicans. Lake is doubling-down on a losing strategy. Remember how she bashed “McCain Republicans” in Arizona, who obligingly voted for her opponent? Now, she’s railing against Mitch McConnell, and while the Senate minority leader is hardly popular, Lake set out to trash the ailing 81-year-old in the most repulsive manner.
When Bannon suggested that McConnell wants someone in the Senate he can “control,” Lake said crassly, “I don’t think he can even control what comes out of his mouth anymore. I mean, there’s something going on right now with him and I’m …”
Bannon giggled while Lake continued. These are classy people.
“Well, we saw it,” Lake continued. “I don’t know what it is, there’s something medically, when you freeze up like that and they have to, like, take your body and move it away from the podium, something’s going on there. And he’s going to make all the decisions about who represents the people of Arizona. I don’t know. That doesn’t that doesn’t make sense to me, Steve.”
Going full asshole and attacking Doug Ducey, Mitch McConnell, and everyone named McCain is good for ratings on your right-wing radio show, but it’s not going to help Lake win statewide as a Republican in Arizona.
And that is good news from John McCain and all of America.
Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on Texas’ Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was expected to bring heavy rains and powerful winds to southern Texas and northern Mexico as it moved inland…
[…] Even though the murder occurred on Friday and Ikeguchi was identified by authorities late Monday afternoon, the brain trust at X/Twitter have, as of blog time, left his account up so it can keep spreading hatred. […]
[…] Trump and his allies do not appear content to simply launch a rhetorical offensive against Willis [Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis]. Clearly, between the qualifications commission and talk of impeachment, some Republicans are eyeing more consequential measures.
[…] As part of the conditions of Trump’s release, he’s prohibited from doing anything that obstructs “the administration of justice.” I can’t help but wonder whether the Republican’s campaign against the prosecutor who indicted him might eventually run afoul of these limits, if it hasn’t already.
Last night, as he has on many other nights, Donald Trump issued a series of social media statements in which he attacked Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis, as well as the whole concept that he should have to make court appearances just because he was indicted for multiple felonies. In talking about Willis or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump frequently uses heavily-loaded racist phrases. When talking about federal special counsel Jack Smith, Trump switches to demeaning terms about mental health, with “deranged” being the most frequent tag applied in the middle of long, nonsensical, hate-filled rants.
Trump doesn’t restrict his attacks to prosecutors. Both his social media posts and his rally speeches have also been laced with scorn directed at judges. That includes U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over Trump’s indictment in Washington D.C. for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and Judge Juan Merchan, who is in charge of Trump’s Manhattan indictment for tax fraud. These attacks are generating safety concerns surrounding public figures involved in the prosecution of Trump and the death threats from Trump supporters have already begun.
But as attractive as the option to stifle Trump may seem, odds are good that no judge will do anything to place significant limits on Trump’s lies and personal attacks.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump posted the following message to Truth Social:
The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me. I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a “flight” risk — I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again. Would I be able to take my very “understated” airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, I’d be much better off flying commercial — I’m sure nobody would recognize me!
Yes, that part is real.
Official statement of Donald Trump for president, 2024 [satire]:
The Fulton County district attorney is again abusing the powers of her office in order to make false accusations against the greatest president in history. It is outrageous to consider Donald Trump a flight risk; he cannot even jump very high. [LOL] And while it may have been standard procedure for the bond in this case to be set according to predetermined per-felony standards, asking President Trump to pay $200,000 to remain out of jail is, given the president’s well-known preference to not part with his money, a transparent ploy to force the president into a jail cell. [more lol]
As members of the Donald Trump campaign, we would like to emphasize that to our knowledge, President Trump does not daydream about living in a gold-domed suite with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has never dreamed of President Putin, whom the president calls Vladimir, galloping towards him shirtless on a white horse, through fields of white and golden flowers, ready to carry Donald off to a new life in a Moscow suite. The president does not let his mind wander during campaign events, wondering where he and Vladimir would spend their time on cold Moscow nights, or what it might be like to pick out draperies and furniture for an elaborate gold-domed apartment built to Vladimir and Donald’s precise specifications.
[/satire]
More satire:
President Trump remains devoted to his spouse Melania (whereabouts unknown) and spends very little time wondering if his daughter would move to Moscow with him, along with her strange but obedient husband. He never considers whether Eric and Donald Jr. would make for passable serving staff and food tasters if all other candidates fell through. He does not imagine what dinner small talk with Vladimir might be like after the Russian leader returns weary from a long day of governing, or Vladimir’s laugh as the two exchange ideas for what to do to Russian journalists who have irritated them.
[…] The Trump campaign calls on the failed district attorney of Fulton County to reverse her demand that President Trump pay a $200,000 bond, thereby giving the president no concrete reason to want to flee the country, which he has never thought about doing, to live a new life with Russian strongman Vladimir, which he has never dreamed of. President Trump will win the 2024 presidential election and will visit Vladimir as often as possible, but only for official presidential reasons. There will be nothing untoward about it, and the president will not cry during those meetings or afterwards.
Latter-day Saint missionaries should reject all forms of prejudice and use their time wisely by limiting communications with friends and extended family to their weekly preparation day, according to new updates to the official missionary handbook.
The updates to “Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ” address common questions posed by missionaries and mission leaders, according to a news release issued Monday by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The changes add a reference to the entry on prejudice in the church’s “General Handbook, which says church members “strive to be persons of goodwill toward all, rejecting prejudice of any kind. This includes prejudice based on race, ethnicity, nationality, tribe, gender, age, disability, socioeconomic status, religious belief or nonbelief, and sexual orientation.” …
The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles approved the updates announced Monday. The current missionary handbook was published in 2019. It replaced the handbook published in 2010…
Twitter owner Elon Musk seems to think his site would look a lot better without any helpful, descriptive headlines that describe users’ posted links. This is also the man who still thinks that dull “X” logo represents his new brand, so that’s not saying much about Musk’s overall aesthetic taste.
Late on Monday, Fortune reported that Twitter—the site that keeps claiming it’s now called “X”—would remove headlines and description text from links posted to the app. Instead, each link would simply display the main image from the site without any other context on the URL. Musk then confirmed his plans to kill headlines in an early Tuesday morning tweet, claiming the move would “greatly improve the esthetics.” …
Once tooth decay has set in, all a dentist can do is fill the gap with an artificial plug — a filling. But in a paper published in Cell, Hannele Ruohola-Baker, a stem-cell biologist at the University of Washington, and her colleagues offer a possible alternative. Economist:
Stem cells are those that have the capacity to turn themselves into any other type of cell in the body. It may soon be possible, the researchers argue, to use those protean cells to regrow a tooth’s enamel naturally. The first step was to work out exactly how enamel is produced. That is tricky, because enamel-making cells, known as ameloblasts, disappear soon after a person’s adult teeth have finished growing. To get round that problem, the researchers turned to samples of tissue from human foetuses that had been aborted, either medically or naturally. Such tissues contain plenty of functioning ameloblasts. The researchers then checked to see which genes were especially active in the enamel-producing cells. Tooth enamel is made mostly of calcium phosphate, and genes that code for proteins designed to bind to calcium were particularly busy. They also assessed another type of cell called odontoblasts. These express genes that produce dentine, another type of hard tissue that lies beneath the outer enamel. Armed with that information, Dr Ruohola-Baker and her colleagues next checked to see whether the stem cells could be persuaded to transform into ameloblasts.
The team devised a cocktail of drugs designed to activate the genes that they knew were expressed in functioning ameloblasts. That did the trick, with the engineered ameloblasts turning out the same proteins as the natural sort. A different cocktail pushed the stem cells to become odontoblasts instead. Culturing the cells together produced what researchers call an organoid — a glob of tissue in a petri dish which mimics a biological organ. The organoids happily churned out the chemical components of enamel. Having both cell types seemed to be crucial: when odontoblasts were present alongside ameloblasts, genes coding for enamel proteins were more strongly expressed than with ameloblasts alone. For now, the work is more a proof of concept than a prototype of an imminent medical treatment. The next step, says Dr Ruohola-Baker, is to try to boost enamel production even further, with a view to eventually beginning clinical trials. The hope is that, one day, medical versions of the team’s organoids could be used as biological implants, to regenerate a patient’s decayed teeth.
A tour guide and all seven members of their party have been found dead after being trapped underground by flood waters in Moscow’s sewer system, Russian media say.
Sunday’s floods, caused by heavy rain, were so rapid people could not escape.
The group was exploring the underground Neglinka, a tributary of the city’s main river, the Moskva…
Voters in Ecuador have passed a referendum to prohibit oil drilling in a protected area of the Amazon rainforest, a move hailed as “historic” by environmental activists.
With nearly all the votes counted on Monday, almost 60 percent supported the ban on oil development in Yasuni National Park, often described as one of the world’s greatest havens of biodiversity…
“Is this random IT guy the smartest person to ever work for Donald Trump?”
This will have an impact on the recording deletions among other things including Nauta and Previous Guy, as cover-ups are worse than crimes. Yuscil Taveras could become the John W. Dean of Nixonian ‘plumbers’. […]
“IMMEDIATELY AFTER RECEIVING NEW COUNSEL, TRUMP EMPLOYEE 4 RETRACTED HIS PRIOR FALSE TESTIMONY AND PROVIDED INFORMATION THAT IMPLICATED NAUTA, DE OLIVEIRA, AND TRUMP IN EFFORTS TO DELETE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE…”.
It will get lost in all the other legal maneuvers, but Jack Smith just filed papers w/Cannon describing how Trump Employee 4 perjured himself while being represented by Nauta’s lawyer and then recanted once he had a new lawyer. Shades of Cassidy Hutchinson. […]
Trump is literally a Mob Boss. Ordering his thugs to flood the server room, delete surveillance videos, hide/destroy classified documents. He’s insane and dangerous. Throwing him in prison can’t come soon enough. […]
When Trump Employee 4 testified before the grand jury in the District of Columbia in March 2023, he repeatedly denied or claimed not to recall any contacts or conversations about the security footage at Mar-a-Lago. In testimony before the same grand jury, De Oliveira also denied any contact with Trump Employee 4 regarding security footage. The Government’s evidence indicated that the testimony by Trump Employee 4 and De Oliveira was false.
Russia is resorting to sinking ferries in the Kerch Strait to protect the Crimean Bridge from attacks, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said on Aug. 22.
The HUR said that Russian forces believe the submerged boats will provide a protective lane in the water in front of the bridge. One ferry has already been sunk and Russia plans to sink at least six in total, the HUR said. …
Previously, when I’ve brought up the issue of knocking out the Kerch Bridge as a way to cut Russian logistics, people have pointed to the ferries as a Russian solution. However, if the turn the ferries into block ships, there goes their fall back transportation link. What sort of idiot makes that kind of plan?
In the past few days, Ukraine’s offensive around Robotyne has picked up the pace, quickly pressing Russia out of all but the southernmost edge of the village. [map at the link]
While the ultimate goal is to reach Melitopol, the more immediate strategic prize is the city of Tokmak. I previously wrote about its critical importance, noting, “Tokmak’s importance, as is so often the case, lies in logistics, logistics, and logistics.”
Tokmak’s logistical value cannot be overstated.
Mapping Tokmak against the current front line, you can see that Tokmak lies at the center of 5 major roads. These roads connect the 2 major cities of the area (Berdyansk and Melitopol) while connecting to the 2 defensive hub cities at the front. Vasylivka to the northwest, and Polohy to the Northeast.
This actually greatly undersells Tokmak’s importance.
If Ukraine captures or surrounds Tokmak […] Russia could no longer get supplies or reinforcements from the East to support Melitopol, at least without making a 100km overland trek by truck. And we all probably remember how that went the last time the Russians tried that.
Knowing its value, Tokmak is arguably the most heavily defended city in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Depending on how you count them, it has between two and as many as seven lines of defense. I personally count four primary lines of defense, of which Robotyne is the central hub for the first main line of defense: [map at the link]
Robotyne is also critical because it represents Ukraine’s push onto the main heights between itself and Tokmak. […]
(Unit positions and Ukrainian advances aggregated from Poulet Volant, Andrew Perpetua, and Ukraine Control Maps. Map at the link.)
Ukrainian Bradleys of the 47th Mechanized Brigade have been geolocated fighting near the southern portion of the village. [video at the link]
Shockingly, photos and video emerged showing elderly civilian residents of Robotyne remained in the village. They emerged from the decimated ruins to seek rescue from advancing Ukrainian units. [photo at the link]
Ukrainian intelligence officer Tatarigami_UA assesses that Russian forces conducted a successful tactical withdrawal from Robotyne and Ukrainian attempts to encircle or destroy the Russian garrison in the town were not successful. Nonetheless, Tatarigami_UA considers Ukrainian advances at Robotyne significant: Russia had committed significant forces in an attempt to hold Robotyne and nonetheless failed to do so.
These events follow Ukraine’s decision to gradually but dramatically escalate the force commitment in the Tokmak direction over the prior three weeks.
On June 6, Ukraine originally committed two brigades to lead the offensive in the Tokmak direction: the 33rd and 47th Mechanized Brigades. The 47th Mechanized primarily led the attack with its Bradley Fighting Vehicles, while the 33rd Mechanized supported the 47th Mechanized with its powerful Leopard 2 tanks.
Ukraine quickly followed by adding the 65th Mechanized, an armored mechanized brigade equipped with Soviet-era armored vehicles like upgraded T-72s and BMP1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles by June 16.
These three brigades pushed in the Tokmak direction for weeks with only territorial defense brigades like the 3rd Operational Brigade “Spartan” being added to help defend gained ground. After initial setbacks in the first weeks of the assault, Ukraine switched to small-scale infantry attacks aimed at clearing the minefields blocking the advance in front of Russia’s first defensive lines.
Progress was slow, but Ukraine finally managed to breach a portion of the first main line of defense in late July. [map at the link]
Sometime around July 26, Ukraine committed the 118th Mechanized Brigade to this direction. Some Pentagon officials suggested that Ukrainian had committed its main force and its “big push” had begun. Instead, it became clear within days that Ukraine had only committed a single additional mechanized brigade (the aforementioned 118th Mechanized), and some backtracking ensued.
Interestingly, events in the subsequent three weeks suggest this assessment was likely not in error but merely premature. The 118th Mechanized was the first of four additional armored brigades Ukraine has now committed to this axis of advance, more than doubling Ukraine’s commitment from three brigades to seven.
Among those newly committed brigades, Ukraine has thrown the elite 82nd Air Assault Brigade to this battle, which is equipped with some of the best Western NATO equipment including Challenger 2 tanks, Marder IFVs, and Stryker IFVs. The 116th Mechanized and the 46th Airmobile Brigades have also been geolocated to this area in the past week.
What emerges is a picture of a massive and concentrated accumulation of force. [map at the link]
Ukraine’s commitment of seven armored brigades to this axis of advance is particularly significant given that it’s estimated that Ukraine now only has only five brigades in reserve, two of which are light infantry brigades from the Territorial Defense Forces.
It’s clear that Ukraine has been forced to commit much of its reserves. I believe that Ukraine’s remaining uncommitted armored brigades are:
– 1st Tank Brigade.
– 115th Mechanized Brigade.
– 117th Mechanized Brigade.
The 1st Tank Brigade is one of the most powerful and finest armored formations in the Ukrainian army. The unit famously held off a Russian force literally 10 times its size during the critical Battle of Chernihiv in the defense of Kyiv during the first months of the war.
The 115th Mechanized Brigade stands in sharp contrast. Newly formed the summer of 2022, it performed poorly during the Battle of Severodonetsk and retreated without authorization. It likely underwent extensive retraining and retrofitting. The 117th Mechanized is a newly formed NATO-trained unit equipped with upgraded Soviet-era equipment. It has yet to see combat.
In addition to committing more reserves to the southern front, Ukraine’s available reserves have been further depleted handling Russia’s major offensive in the northeast. [map at the link]
Russia is making twin thrusts at the strategic cities of Kupyansk and Lyman, both liberated by Ukraine during Ukraine’s Kharkiv counteroffensive last September. Losing Kupyansk alongside a successful Russian crossing of the Oskil River could imperil Kharkiv again. Lyman is the logistical gateway for a Russian attack on Ukraine’s rear positions on the Eastern Front, such as Bakhmut. It also imperils the twin key cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which are a key rail logistical hub both for supplying the Eastern Front,and for Russia’s ability to threaten central Ukraine. [map at the link]
Loss of either position would be disastrous, so Ukraine’s General Staff has committed significant forces in their defense.
Defending Kupyansk from the northeast, Ukraine has deployed the 41st Mechanized and the 14th Mechanized Brigades. From the southeast comes the 32nd Mechanized Brigade.
Defending Lyman from Russia’s advance out of Kreminna, Ukraine has deployed the 21st “Swedish” Brigade (named after its all-Swedish equipment), the 25th Air Assault, 67th Mechanized, 63rd Mechanized, and 95th Air Assault Brigades.
Ukraine also dispatched the powerful 92nd Mechanized Brigade to the attack south of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian has severely depleted its reserve forces, but Russia doesn’t seem to be in any better shape.
Gen. Ivan Popov, commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army opposite Ukrainian forces around Robotyne, was dismissed on July 13th, reportedly after criticizing the Ministry of Defense for failure to provide replacement artillery or reinforcements after heavy losses. Popov released a fiercely critical public statement on Telegram following his dismissal, accusing the army leadership of treason. Southern front Russian commanders have continued to speak out about the lack of reserves or reinforcements.
The British Ministry of Defense’s intelligence reports assess that Russians lack any remaining substantial operational reserves they can commit to the southern front.
Furthermore, Russian logistics to the Zaporizhzhia front have turned into a quagmire.
Ukraine has launched successful attacks on the Kerch Bridge (between Russia and Crimea) and the Chonhar road and rail bridges between the Crimean peninsula and the mainland. Ukrainian partisan attacks on Crimean and Zaporizhzhian rail infrastructure have severely disrupted Russian logistical strength.
ISW’s Aug. 21 update relays comments from Ukrainian-Crimean partisan movement “Atesh,” stating:
Crimean railway stations such as the Simferopol-Hruzove train station are holding many trains carrying fuel and lubricants likely intended for Russian military equipment operating in Ukraine. “Atesh” noted that these trains are not scheduled to depart in the near future due to logistics problems outside of Crimea.
All signs point to a golden opportunity for Ukraine: Territorial advances, taking the high ground overlooking Tokmak, the major commitment of its reserves, and Russia’s logistical weakness and lack of reserves.
The coming several weeks may represent a now or never chance for Ukraine to deal a decisive blow to the Russian defenses.
A former leader does not snap his fingers and command a nationwide uprising in his or her name. Even in our country, where Donald Trump promised that would happen if he was indicted, the effort failed. The dog did not bark.
And so that sort of settles one big part of this existential question for our country, our democracy, and our form of government: Will we be able to survive bringing criminal charges against this particular alleged criminal given his political power and his hold on his followers? Will we be able to try a man for his alleged crimes without riots in the streets, without the threat of civil war?
Turns out, yes — yes, we can. Despite what he promised to do, Trump could not pull it off, which is good news for our democracy.
The bad news is that we’re getting something else instead. Not mass violence again like we saw on Jan. 6, 2021, or even mass protest. What we are getting instead are individual acts — both violence and threats of violence by radicalized people and groups.
We saw it last year when a man who was enraged by the Mar-a-Lago search warrant tried to shoot his way into an Ohio FBI office and was then killed in a standoff with police outside Cincinnati.
We saw it earlier this month when another armed man was shot and killed by the FBI — this time, in Utah — when they served a search warrant on him in response to his threats to kill President Joe Biden and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the first indictment against Trump.
Last week, a Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court to sending bomb threats after the 2020 election to Katie Hobbs, who was the Democratic secretary of state in Arizona at the time and is now the state’s governor.
Also last week, a woman in Alvin, Texas, was arrested for allegedly phoning in a death threat to the chambers of the judge who is overseeing the federal election interference case against Trump. The woman admitted to threatening to kill the federal judge as well as Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, according to authorities. The woman said she did not intend to go to Washington, D.C., to carry out her death threat against the judge. The criminal complaint says she told federal agents that “if Sheila Jackson Lee comes to Alvin, then we need to worry.”
And, of course, there’s all the news from Fulton County, Georgia, where pro-Trump online message boards have circulated names and purported addresses, phone numbers and photos of the grand jurors who handed down the Trump indictment in Georgia. This prompted the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office to announce it was investigating threats made against the grand jurors. That soon gave way to the news that the FBI would be joining the investigation and that the sheriff himself was being threatened, with those threats now under investigation, too.
Security had to be increased around Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis because of threats against her. CNN reported on Monday that sheriff’s office employees and their homes are being threatened.
Now, the sheriff’s office has announced a “total lockdown” of the area surrounding Fulton County jail for when Trump surrenders himself and gets booked, which the former president says will happen on Thursday. But honestly, at this point, do we really expect big street protests on behalf of Trump? I think we don’t. I think that dog has not barked. We don’t expect big street protests on his behalf, but we expect terrorism — or at least terroristic threats, like the ones that have been breaking out all over the country like heat rash.
So what do we do with that as a country? It’s a wild context in which to be pursuing politics, but here we are. Watch this space.
It’s official: The administration of President Joe Biden launched a student loan repayment plan Tuesday that it describes as the ‘most affordable’ option yet for reducing that debt. Through the plan, called Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE), participating borrowers could see their payments cut in half, while some will see their amounts zero out.
UPS workers ratified the Teamsters-negotiated labor deal unveiled nearly a month ago, allowing the next five-year contract covering 340,000 employees to take effect at the package carrier.
As Meta tries to revive flagging interest in its Threads social media offering, the company is launching a desktop version of its rival to Elon Musk’s Twitter, now called X. Meta on Tuesday announced it’s launching a version of Threads that can be used on web browsers, which will roll out to users in the coming days. The text-based platform originally was only available through smartphone apps when it debuted last month.
A lot of people want to think Newsmax’s Greg Kelly is an elaborate bit, perhaps a long-running practical joke from God himself.[…]
Yes, children, mediocre white MAGA weenuses with masculinity issues can be that stupid. They can think that the fact Donald Trump asked for Diet Coke while he was waving around his stolen classified documents at Bedminster somehow suggests he was not betraying the country right then. They can think Trump’s attempted coup was fine because he didn’t send in the tanks after all. […]
Greg Kelly is as stupid as he seems, until proven otherwise. Look, sometimes people are just exactly as dumb as they look […] and that is helpful: [image at the link]
Right.
So the other day we had a piece about how garden variety MAGA garbage was reacting to Donald Trump’s latest indictments, particularly the case of the Texas woman who left a voicemail for DC District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan. “You are in our sights, we want to kill you,” she said. She opened her message calling Chutkan, who is Black, a “stupid slave [N-word].” She said she wanted to kill Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, “all democrats in Washington D.C. and all people in the LGBTQ community,” per the complaint.
And our headline was “Oh So Now It’s Illegal To Leave Voicemails For Judges?”
We were far from the only ones to make the joke, but it’s becoming totally de rigueur among fascist trash that every time one of their heroes does something traitorous or terroristic, they reduce it to the vaguest terms possible and say “Oh, so it’s a crime to make plans with your friends now?” (Conspiracy.) And so forth.
And so here comes Greg Kelly to talk about the voicemail threats against Chutkan. Why that’s just what happens when you live “life in the fast lane!” [video at the link]
GREG KELLY: The other latest obsession of the fake news, anything remotely critical about Judge Chutkan. She is now a deity in America. She is the January 6th judge presiding over the trial of Donald Trump that should never happen. And nothing should happen to her, but they need to lighten up quite a bit.
Saying a judge shouldn’t receive death threats from unhinged white fascists means she is a “deity in America.” Kind of a low bar for deities, we think.
KELLY: Panel after panel, breaking news. Oh my goodness gracious, a voicemail. Now, that’s very unfortunate, but it’s also life in the fast lane. It happens.
Being a federal judge is “life in the fast lane.” […]
KELLY: Interestingly, the fake news, they did not pick up the very real threat against Barron Trump. Barron Trump received death threats from an Illinois woman, prosecutors say, but that is — you got to look around. You gotta hunt and peck for that story. It’s very, very discreet.
So discreet we found it at CBS News in five seconds of googling. Sorry Greg’s “hunt and peck” apparently took a lot longer. As we discussed, he’s dumb as shit.
KELLY: You know, famous people tend to get threats. It’s one of the reasons back when we had phone books, you couldn’t look up Dustin Hoffman’s phone number in the phone book because weirdos would call him up and you know, threaten him.
Yes, and when the people who don’t like you are the literal lowest rungs of American society, we guess these things are bound to happen. After all, Judge Chutkan is on TV, where the fancy people are!
KELLY: So, Judge Chutkan, sorry. We don’t want anything — nobody wants anything to happen to you. But when you’re on television, especially in a controversial thing, you may get a couple of weirdos calling you up on the phone. You got marshals protecting you, and that’s good. We want safety. But you guys are dramatizing this because you want to score points against MAGA and you make it like we’re a threat to democracy and all that stuff, alright? We know what you’re doing here.
For many, the idea of having a few dozen hookworms set up shop in your gut sounds more like a Survivor challenge than a beneficial health therapy, but scientists see a bright future in this human worm farm for treating many chronic conditions.
In a world first, a two-year human trial conducted by James Cook University (JCU) has wound up, and the worms graduated with flying colors, particularly in relation to type 2 diabetes, paving the way for a larger international trial.
What’s more, of the 24 participants who received worms, when offered a dewormer at the end of the second year of the trial, with the option to stay in the study for another 12 months, only one person chose to kill off their gut buddies – and it was only because they had an impending planned medical procedure…
Texas doctors are now allowed to perform “medically necessary” abortions for pregnant patients diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy or patients whose water breaks too early. The exceptions were quietly signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), a notoriously conservative leader who also signed the draconian six-week abortion ban into law before Roe v. Wade fell.
Legislators got the bill to Abbott’s desk by omitting the actual word “abortion,” according to a new interview with the bill’s author. “I think what was key about this legislation is that it did not have the term ‘abortion’ in it,” state Rep. Ann Johnson (D) told NPR on Monday. “And because of that, it did not become a political football.” …
A top Russian general who has been missing from public view since the Wagner mercenary rebellion has now been dismissed as head of the country’s aerospace forces, Russian state media reported Wednesday.
It follows months of speculation about the fate of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who had been the deputy commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine but was known to have been close to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“The ex-Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces of Russia Sergei Surovikin has now been relieved of his post, Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, Chief of the General Staff of the Aerospace Forces, is temporarily acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces,” Russian state news agency RIA reported, citing a single unnamed source…
A man believed to be a Chinese rights activist has been arrested in South Korea after an apparent attempt to flee there on a jet ski.
The country’s coast guard said the man had travelled about 300km (186 miles) across the Yellow Sea using binoculars and a compass, but then got stuck.
Local reports named him as Kwon Pyong, a critic of President Xi Jinping, but his identity has not been verified…
But jet skiing across choppy waters to South Korea is perhaps one of the more extreme escape attempts seen in modern times.
South Korea’s coast guard said the man, wearing a life jacket and helmet, was towing five barrels of fuel from Shandong province behind the 1800cc machine.
“He refilled the petrol on the ride and dumped the empty barrels into the sea,” it explained, adding that he got into trouble near a cruise terminal off the western port of Incheon and called for help…
The Netherlands will send Ukraine a thousand chargers for remote demining, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on a visit to Kyiv.
The announcement coincides with heavily mined Russian defence lines slowing down a Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by Russia since its forces invaded in February 2022.
“There is a decision to provide about a thousand portable chargers for remote demining that can make passageways in engineered barriers,” Ollongren was quoted as saying on the Ukrainian defence ministry website at a meeting with Ukrainian minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Tuesday…
Dr Chris French is head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at London’s Goldsmiths University. The unit aims to research psychology behind paranormal beliefs and unexplained experiences.
He attributes many stories of ghostly visions to sleep paralysis. As people move into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, their brains prevent their bodies from moving. In this stage, people can find themselves awake, but unable to move…
Dr Shane Rogers is a civil and environmental engineering professor at New York’s Clarkson University. He investigates the link between haunted houses and mould.
Shane noticed what he calls “strange behaviour” from his children after exposure to mould in his basement. He also watched a TV series about haunted houses, and noticed many of them had signs of mould.
Many of the symptoms humans experience after mould exposure match those seen in reports of ghost sightings. According to the NHS, aspergillus mould, which is found in damp buildings, can cause shortness of breath and optic nerve inflammation, causing dark shapes to float across people’s vision. Stachybotrys, or black mould, has been shown in a lab test on mice to create a feeling of fear…
For Chris, who features as an expert on BBC Radio 4’s Uncanny, there are three main psychological explanations for people thinking they’ve seen ghosts: prior belief (if you already believe in ghosts, you are more likely to think a strange experience is paranormal), context and hallucinations…
Two other major scientific explanations for ghosts exist. One is that electromagnetic fields cause disturbances in people’s brain signals, causing hallucinations.
The other blames sound that is too low for humans to hear. The theory goes that certain frequencies (around 19 hertz) cause the human eyeball to vibrate slightly, causing optical illusions.
To investigate these two theories, Chris and his team created an artificial haunted room, exposing participants to infrasound and electromagnetic activity.
“People did report unusual sensations in the room,” Chris says. “Eight percent of people even reported feeling terror.
“The problem was when we analysed the results, it didn’t matter whether the infrasound and the electromagnetic fields were on…
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature asked that the newest Democratic-backed justice on the state Supreme Court recuse herself from lawsuits seeking to overturn GOP-drawn electoral maps, arguing that she has prejudged the cases.
Republicans argue in their motions filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday and made public Wednesday that Justice Janet Protasiewicz can’t fairly hear the cases because during her campaign for the seat earlier this year she called the Republican-drawn maps “unfair” and “rigged” and said there needs to be “a fresh look at the gerrymandering question.”
Protasiewicz, who was backed by Democrats in her winning election in April, never said how she would rule on a redistricting lawsuit. She never committed to recusing herself from hearing the case. Her win gave liberals a 4-3 majority on the court.
Protasiewicz did promise to recuse herself from any case brought by the Wisconsin Democratic Party because it donated nearly $10 million to her campaign. There are two pending redistricting lawsuits, neither of which was brought by the Democratic Party…
birgerjohanssonsays
NB
The first complete sequencing of the human Y chromosome has been achieved.
birgerjohanssonsays
Finally!
60-70 years after prototypes of “tailsitter” aircraft. Thank you, MIT.
“Planning algoritm enables high-performance flight for tailsitter aircraft”.
Well, it’s going as every level-minded, freedom-loving person would think it’s going. It’s slow, methodical but Ukrainians are making progress! [Tweet and video at the link: ⚡️Ukrainian military publishes a video showing the supposed destruction of Russian S-400 system located in Crimea.]
That can’t be good…If you’re Russian that is. And by good, for Ukraine, I mean this: [tweet and image at the link: Ukraine confirms it has captured a modernized Russian Mi-8 military helicopter after its military intelligence managed to convince a Russian pilot to fly it from Russia across the border to Ukraine. 2 crew members were killed in unspecified circumstances.]
The same site reports that the pilot’s family was evacuated to safety in Ukraine before the operation. Which means the dam is breaking. Russian soldiers are getting fed up with the beatings and being used as cannon fodder, and who can blame them?
Having said that, it is National Flag Day in Ukraine! So let’s show some heartfelt love to the free men and women fighting bravely against Russia’s brutal aggression!! [tweets and videos at the link]
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia are busy peddling new evidence-free conspiracy theories. Do their latest fantasies involve Chinese weather balloons, or the “Biden crime family?” No. They’re about COVID and the resulting lockdowns. Like the ones that actually happened under Donald Trump? Nope—they’re brand-new pretend ones.
Maybe you’ve heard that a new COVID-19 variant known as EG.5 is spreading across the country. Hospitalizations have been on the rise since July, with a 14% increase during the first week of August alone. Coupled with the World Health Organization monitoring another new variant, known as BA.2.86, COVID headlines have increased as of late. The good news is that the total number of hospitalizations is down from where we were last year at this time, but the emergence of new variants and a resulting rise in hospitalizations are important pieces of public health information to share with Americans.
But according to Lee and Greene, these news reports are another example of the Joe Biden-controlled “deep state” trying to control the population. What’s their evidence? An InfoWars article and a blog by a guy whose moniker is “Tyler Durden.” (Yes, that’s the name of the uber-misogynist main character in the Chuck Palahniuk novel “Fight Club.”
Late Friday night, Lee posted an InfoWars article on his no-longer secret Xwitter burner account that promised the Biden administration was set to begin rolling out “FULL Covid Restrictions” in September. […]
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the article Lee was ready to lay down his life for provides zero evidence to back up the all-caps claims it makes. What a surprise! State Democratic Rep. Brian S. King posted about Lee’s lies, writing, “Infowars is your source for such garbage? Please. Even you are better than this. Stop peddling misinformation.” We will have to agree to disagree that Lee is “better than this.” He clearly is not.
Lee has not responded to requests from reporters to back up the claim he boosted.
A few days later Greene retweeted an article from zerohedge.com titled, “Is This The Real Reason ‘Eris’ Cases Are Spiking?” Greene didn’t add anything to the tweet other than three “thoughtful face” emojis. ‘Cause she’s a deep thinker, y’all. [tweet at the link]
The article makes wild claims that the new COVID variants are fictional “deep-state” creations and increased public health warnings are just attempts at controlling the world by “forcing obedience” on Americans. This bit of blogging adds a new wrinkle to the established conspiracy theorist conceit that the COVID “plandemic” vaccines were about making money. According to this theory, “they already have the money,” and now they want to keep the word’s population hypnotized to do their bidding. […]
When Republicans admonish President Joe Biden for politicizing the Justice Department and “weaponizing” federal law enforcement, there are a couple of obvious problems. The first, of course, is the fact that the complaints are detached from reality: The White House and the attorney general’s office simply haven’t done what their GOP critics have alleged.
But the other dramatic flaw in this line of attack is the brazen hypocrisy: Donald Trump went further than any president since Watergate to turn federal law enforcement into an instrument of raw political power. The Republican quite literally asked Justice Department officials to prosecute his political enemies, without regard for evidence or merit.
Leading GOP voices had — and continue to have — nothing to say about Trump doing exactly what they’ve false accused Biden of doing.
But one of the other more common lines of attack against the Democratic president is that members of his family have engaged in international business deals. Unlike the “weaponization” claims, this isn’t necessarily ridiculous — some of Biden’s relatives really have been involved in business agreements with foreign entities.
But like the “weaponization” claims, there’s a striking degree of hypocrisy that Republicans prefer to simply ignore. A New York Times analysis highlighted Trump’s selective outrage “when it comes to presidential families taking millions of dollars from foreign countries.”
During his four years in the White House and in the more than two and a half years since, Mr. Trump and his relatives have been on the receiving end of money from around the globe in sums far greater than anything Hunter Biden, the president’s son, reportedly collected. Unlike other modern presidents, Mr. Trump never gave up control of his sprawling business with its interests in multiple countries, nor did he forswear foreign business even as president. He shattered norms in his money making and unabashed boosting of his family’s company.
[Instead of “shattered norms,” I would say, “acted unethically.”]
What’s more, as the Times’ analysis added, while Biden’s relatives have held no governmental positions — Hunter Biden, for example, has never worked in his father’s administration in any capacity — the former Republican president was only too pleased to give powerful roles to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the latter of whom parlayed his position helping shape Middle East policy into highly lucrative investments from Middle Eastern countries.
The point is not that Biden’s relatives have steered clear of foreign deals. We know better. Whether one considers those foreign deals controversial is a matter of perspective, though there’s still no evidence whatsoever of the incumbent president benefiting from the deals in any way.
But if we’re going to have a needlessly acerbic public conversation about such private-sector work, can Republicans at least pretend to show an interest in the fact that Trump engaged in far more outlandish behavior in this space, without so much as a shoulder shrug from GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill?
A business jet en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed Wednesday, killing all ten people on board, Russian emergency officials said. Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list, officials said, but it wasn’t immediately clear if he was on board.
Unconfirmed media reports said the jet belonged to Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company. […]
Editor’s note: Story is developing
whheydtsays
Re: Lynna, OM @ #48…
There are claims that the jet was shot down by Russian air defenses.
Reportedly shot down by Russian air defense, so most certainly deliberate.
————————
Scratch that, it turns out Grayzone was the source, I thought it was the AP article. So unclear […]
———————-
Fits in nicely with Putin’s habit of gravity assisted house cleaning.
———————
MSNBC reporting that Russian media implies the plane was shot down.
———————-
BBC also reported this. Definitely not accidental. Shocking…
———————-
If true that the plane was shot down by air defense, this will certainly mean that some air defense soldiers will also soon die one way or the other. Always kill the killers, so that there is no link anymore to the one who gave the order.
————————–
That’s a REALLY high window.
[…] Woodward [Taveras’ original attorney, Stanley Woodward, who was also representing Nauta] said he had no evidence that Taveras was lying, was apparently encouraging Taveras not to take a plea deal, and was instead encouraging him to “go to trial,” meaning that he would become a co-defendant with Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira.
To say that Woodward was providing poor legal advice to his client is badly understating the case. Woodward seemed perfectly content to see Taveras face federal felony charges in order to protect Nauta and Trump.
With the help of the judge overseeing the D.C. grand jury, Smith’s office managed to provide Taveras with some advice from an independent counsel. Finally, after understanding the situation he was being put in by Woodward, Taveras told the judge that he didn’t want Woodward as his attorney, but wanted to be represented by a federal defender.
Immediately after getting this new attorney, Taveras retracted his previous testimony, went back in front of the grand jury, and provided the information that added De Oliveira to the indictment and landed Trump and Nauta an additional charge.
[…] For Taveras, the ending is happy—at least to the extent that he was not added to the superseding indictment. De Oliveira was not so lucky,
De Oliveira is being represented by John Irving, who was also representing other potential witnesses in the classified documents case. Last week, the government also raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest for Irving and De Oliveira. As The Hill reports, this is the second time Smith’s office has asked for a Garcia hearing related to De Oliveira.
That’s because, in addition to De Oliveira, Irving is also representing a witness that Smith says “has information demonstrating the falsity of statements De Oliveira has made to the government.” That means everyone being represented by Irving is in the same position that Taveras was when represented by Woodward—if one of Irving’s clients tells the truth, it could lead to additional charges against another of his clients.
[…] Woodward could have acted months ago to secure the best deal for Taveras. He didn’t. Instead, he was willing to let Taveras go to federal court on felony charges that could have generated a decade in prison. That certainly raises questions about where Nauta and De Oliveira would be right now if they had genuinely independent counsel acting in their own interests, and not in Trump’s.
David Shafer, a former chairman of Georgia’s Republican Party and one of the 19 people charged in the Georgia 2020 election interference case, claimed in a Monday court filing that he and the other Republican electors who attempted to falsely certify a victory for Donald Trump were acting at the direction of the former president.
As defendants in the far-reaching indictment begin to surrender to authorities ahead of the Friday deadline, “Shafer’s position signals that some may be poised to turn on the former president,” Axios reports.
“Mr. Shafer and the other Republican Electors in the 2020 election acted at the direction of the incumbent President and other federal officials,” lawyers for the former GOP chairman wrote in the filing.
“Attorneys for the President and Mr. Shafer specifically instructed Mr. Shafer, verbally and in writing, that the Republican electors’ meeting and casting their ballots on December 14, 2020 was consistent with counsels’ advice and was necessary to preserve the presidential election contest,” they added…
More details regarding the alleged crash of Prigozhin’s plane:
[…] A plane carrying three pilots and seven passengers that was en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg went down more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital, according to officials cited by Russia’s state news agency Tass. It was not clear if Prigozhin was among those on board, though Russia’s civilian aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, said he was on the manifest.
Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing emergency officials, that eight bodies were found at the site of the crash.
Flight tracking data reviewed by The Associated Press showed a private jet registered to Wagner that Prigozhin had used previously took off from Moscow on Wednesday evening and its transponder signal disappeared minutes later.
The signal was lost in a rural region with no nearby airfields where the jet could have landed safely.
In an image posted by a pro-Wagner social media account showing burning wreckage, a partial tail number matching a private jet belonging to the company could be seen. The color and placement of the number on the engine of the crashed plane matches prior photos of the Wagner jet examined by The AP.
This week, Prigozhin posted his first recruitment video since the mutiny, saying that Wagner is conducting reconnaissance and search activities, and “making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free.”
Also this week, Russian media reported, citing anonymous sources, that a top Russian general linked to Prigozhin — Gen. Sergei Surovikin — was dismissed from his position of the commander of Russia’s air force. Surovikin, who at one point led Russia’s operation in Ukraine, hasn’t been seen in public since the mutiny, when he recorded a video address urging Prigozhin’s forces to pull back.
As the news about the crash was breaking, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at an event commemorating the Battle of Kursk, hailing the heroes of Russia’s “the special military operation” in Ukraine.
As the St. Louis mayor pushes legislation that would prohibit “military-grade weapons” on city streets and make it a crime for “insurrectionists” and those convicted of hate crimes to possess firearms, Missouri’s attorney general is warning that such a law would violate the state constitution.
Mayor Tishaura Jones announced the wide-ranging legislation Tuesday, noting support from several members of the Board of Aldermen. The board could begin considering the measure at its next meeting, on Sept. 15…
Still, the proposal drew immediate rebuke from Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who wrote in a letter to Jones that he will “resist any effort to infringe on the right of the people of Missouri to keep and bear arms.” …
Whoa, Fox News host Jessica Tarlov is reporting truth (sometimes) and defending President Biden (sometimes).
While we agree that the best policy for Democrats and Fox News is to stay off it unless you are Secretary Mayor Pete […] the thing is that historically, Fox News has only hired liberals to be excessively weak foils for its white rage hosts. But Tarlov on “The Five” is actually kicking Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, and Judge Boxwine […] and the network is airing it.
We don’t think Rupert Murdoch’s turned any corner or anything, but it’s good TV, and hey, if OCCASIONALLY Grandma QAnonLibertyNazi in Abilene hears something true on Fox News, we reckon that’s better than Grandma QAnonLibertyNazi not occasionally hearing the truth.
Republicans […] have been telling so many vile, contemptible lies about Joe Biden’s response to Maui, it’s hard to keep up. Their specialty has always been attacking people for their strengths and not their weaknesses, and also projection.
It’s literally the only thing they’ve got. The primary thing Joe Biden is known for is his empathy. He was the comforter-in-chief long before he was commander-in-chief. Therefore they must paint Biden as an unfeeling monster whose brain doesn’t work. It’s laughable […]
So we come to this segment of “The Five” yesterday, as Tarlov just tore every Republican lie about Biden and Maui to pieces. And yet again, the hit fascists hollered.
Watch the video, then below we will point out some highlights: [video at the link]
Tarlov started by saying so many “craven lies” have been told about Biden’s response to Maui. As if to make sure the viewers knew she was talking about the craven liars she was sitting at the table with, she immediately said, “Jesse just said [Biden’s] first comments were ‘No comment,’ which is categorically untrue.”
She meant Jesse Watters, craven liar, sitting next to her.
Then Tarlov brought the receipts, at which point Jesse Watters, craven liar, opened his unnecessary mouth and started yapping. But Tarlov shut it for him, citing Biden’s very early disaster declaration, comments he made in Utah later the same day, and the grateful words of the governor of Hawaii and the mayor of Maui County.
But ohhhhhh, Greg Gutfeld said, we can’t believe the mayor of Maui, because they have to be nice to Biden. “You don’t think at a time when there are hundreds of people dead and there’s another thousand people that are missing, that the Maui mayor wouldn’t have said ‘Joe Biden is lying to you’?” Tarlov asked. “You gotta be nice because you’re hoping for something,” said Gutfeld. Whatever.
The thing about the “hot ground,” where the lying shitmouths of the RNC are criticizing Biden for being “distracted by a dog”? Tarlov noted that it indeed was a dog with its paws on the ground. Any moron who ever cared about a dog should know how sensitive their paws are. But of course, the other thing they’re omitting is that those are the dogs who are trained to sniff for human remains in disaster wreckage.
[…] that’s when Judge Boxwine started geyser-ing forth from her Franzia pouch. “Oh what a guy! Talking about, talking to a dog? Are you KIDDING ME?”
As if she’s too stupid to understand the context we just explained in fewer than 100 words. No. She’s just a craven fucking liar. Just like Tarlov said at the beginning of the clip.
Ohhhhh Boxwine was so angry, though. She gets her own video: [Video at the link provided in comment 57. Scroll down to view it.]
You really need to watch the video so you see how hilariously and stupidly emotional she pretends to get:
THIS IS A GUY WHO GOES TO AN INFERNO! AN INFERNO! WHERE 1,000 PEOPLE AND CHILDREN ARE MISSING! BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GET ANY IDEA, THEY HAVE BEEN SO DESTROYED!
THERE’S NO [UNINTELLIGIBLE], THERE’S NO FINGERPRINTS, THERE’S NO BODY FRAMES, THERE’S NOTHING, THAT’S WHY THEY CAN’T IDENTIFY EVERYONE!
AND HE TALKS TO A DOG, AND HE TALKS ABOUT HOW HE ALMOST LOST A CAT, ARE YOU KIDDING ME, THAT HE ALMOST LOST A CAT, JILL AND I KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LOSE …
OK, please try to walk your words in a straight line, Judge.
THIS GUY HAS BEEN LYING FROM THE MOMENT HE CAME ON THE POLITICAL SCENE! HE HAS A LACK OF EMPATHY, HE IS EGOCENTRIC! HE’S GOT A CONDESCENDING SMIRK WHENEVER ANYBODY ASKS HIM A QUESTION FROM THE PRESS! HE’S LYING AND HE’S NARCISSISTIC! AND YOU KNOW WHAT? HE’S NOT TRYING TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE HE’S PART OF THEIR MISERY! HE’S A NARCISSIST AND AN EGOMANIAC WHO’S TRYING TO MAKE IT ABOUT HIMSELF!
[…] Among the chyrons the Fox News graphics hacks put on the screen during the segment:
“Biden compares Maui fire to almost losing Corvette.”
“Biden slammed for making Maui visit about himself”
“All about Joe”
“Biden sympathizes with Maui with story about cat”
Again, obviously, the projection is just insane. But as we said, it’s all they have.
Here’s a video of an actual human on Maui talking about what actual Joe Biden was like on his visit: [video at the link]
“He was so present with so many. […] He spoke with hundreds of people and hugged them and kissed their cheek and heard what we all had to say, and […] since this happened there haven’t been that many smiles in one place on this island, and it was profoundly touching.”
Yes, but did he hurl any paper towels at their faces?
Howdy, Real Americans! Texas Gov. Greg Abbott here! Just wanted to take credit for my greatest own-the-libs move yet. I’ve pulled some insane sociopathic shit this year, but I don’t mind saying I may have just topped myself.
Y’see, shortly before Southern California was hit by Tropical Storm Hilary, with the high winds and the flooding and the downed power lines […] I came up with the neatest plan ever: How about sending another busload of asylum seekers from Texas to Los Angeles, and maybe it would arrive right in the middle of the storm? Driver must have chickened out, though, since the bus arrived in LA after the worst of the storm had passed.
As y’all know, playing games with human lives is just loads of fun for me, because once you label them “illegals” and bus them around the country to make the point that NOBODY wants immigrants, not even in “sanctuary” cities, they actually stop being human at all and you can do whatever you want with ‘em, as long as nobody stops you. And nobody’s found a way to stop me yet! And while I haven’t actually declared that I’m running for president, I’d just like to point out to Republican primary voters that I can out-cruel that Florida guy any day of the week!
[…] The bus — the ninth I’ve sent to LA since June — arrived around 6:45 Monday evening, while Los Angeles was still cleaning up after the storm. In fact, it was on the road to LA even while the state was under a tropical storm warning and officials were urging Californians not to travel. How scared the migrants must have been, worrying that the bus might be flung off the road by high winds! Perfection!
LA Mayor Karen Bass, who has no sense of humor at all, issued a statement calling my funny bus stunt “evil,” not even recognizing that if we aren’t as cruel as possible to asylum seekers, they might think the US is safer than the places they’re fleeing.
Bass wrote,
“It is evil to endanger the lives of vulnerable migrants by sending a bus with families and toddlers on board to a city that at the time was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning. As I stood with state and local leaders warning Angelenos to stay safe and brace themselves for the worst of the coming storm, the Governor of Texas sent families and toddlers straight for us on a path through extreme weather conditions.”
I know! Wasn’t that great? […]
Bass also tried to shame me, as if I were capable of anything like shame, saying,
“If anybody understands the danger of hurricanes and thunderstorms, it’s the Governor of Texas – who has to deal with this threat on an annual basis. This is a despicable act beyond politics.”
Oh, honey, you don’t have any idea how despicable I can be. You sound triggered.
The lying LA Times, in an underhanded move to try to suggest these were even people, said the bus carried
16 families, including 14 children and an infant, according to the immigrant rights group the L.A. Welcomes Collective. Twenty of the migrants came from Venezuela, with the others hailing from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Ecuador.
Now y’all just ignore that crap. It was a bus fulla ILLEGALS, and that’s what matters. Guess none of ‘em died in transit this time; probably need to make sure the next bus sits longer in the hot sun before it leaves. We have the budget for the extra charter time.
Now, If I can just manage to find a charter airline that’ll take some illegals to the parts of Canada that’re on fire, I can really make a good point. Don’t go yappin’ at me about some “international incident,” these illegals already created one when they thought the USA would be safe for ‘em.
New York Times: Giuliani Surrenders at Jail in Georgia Election Case
Mr. Giuliani served as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and advanced false claims that the election was stolen. His bond was set at $150,000.
Rudolph W. Giuliani turned himself in on Wednesday in the racketeering case against former President Donald J. Trump and his allies, surrendering at the Atlanta jail where the defendants are being booked.
Mr. Giuliani, whose bond was set at $150,000, arrived in Atlanta as another defendant in the sprawling case, the lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, filed a motion seeking a speedy trial. Under that scenario, which Georgia law allows, the trial for all 19 people indicted in the case would have to start no later than Nov. 3.
Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Trump face the most charges among those indicted in the sprawling case. A former mayor of New York, Mr. Giuliani served as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer in the aftermath of the 2020 election and played a leading role in advancing false claims that the election had been stolen from Mr. Trump.
Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City’s police commissioner during Mr. Giuliani’s tenure as mayor, planned to accompany him to the jail in Atlanta, two people with knowledge of Mr. Giuliani’s plans said. Mr. Kerik is not a defendant in the case. Also traveling with Mr. Giuliani, who arrived in Atlanta late Wednesday morning on a private plane, was John Esposito, a New York-based lawyer who is expected to take the lead in representing Mr. Giuliani, someone familiar with the arrangement said.
[…] Several of the defendants in the case have already made the trip to the Fulton County jail to be fingerprinted and have mug shots taken. They include Mr. Chesebro and John Eastman, the two architects of the plan to use fake electors to keep Mr. Trump in power after he lost the election to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Using low-quality video that distorts how Biden appears, pundits made the false claim go viral on social media.
Conservative pundits used low-quality video on social media platforms Tuesday to spread a false claim that President Joe Biden fell asleep during a memorial for Maui wildfire victims.
Fox News host Sean Hannity was among those who shared low-resolution video on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter. Hannity’s post was viewed more than 425,000 times within a few hours, and similar videos posted by others received thousands more views on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. [JFC]
Higher-resolution video from the nonpartisan network C-SPAN shows that Biden looked downward for about 10 seconds while he was seated at a table. In the video, Biden watches someone who’s speaking, coughs, looks downward and then nods in agreement with the speaker. Then he looks up again. He later delivered a speech to the same audience. [Facts!]
The higher-resolution video shows that Biden kept his eyes open for most of the time he was looking downward. His open eyes aren’t clearly visible in the lower-quality videos.
At least one member of Congress, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, also shared the lower-resolution version on X.
A spokesperson for Nehls said in a statement: “Everyone with eyes can draw their own conclusion about whether President Biden was nodding off in the video.”
Asked for comment about the Maui videos, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in an email: “It’s unfortunate they feel the need to lie. Instead, they should join him in supporting the people of Maui.”
The posts on the country’s largest social media platforms, which largely appear to be spreading unchecked, are the latest test of how Silicon Valley will handle misinformation in the 2024 election cycle — and whether it will enforce its own policies.
Low-quality videos are an example of what some misinformation researchers call “cheap fakes”: media that can mislead people through simple techniques, even amid growing concerns about more advanced ways to create misleading content through generative artificial intelligence. Another well-known example involved then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a video that someone slowed down to make it sound as if she was slurring her words. […]
Although Musk has changed many of X’s rules since he bought it last year, X’s website still has a written policy against sharing misleading media. […]
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is getting creative ahead of the first Republican presidential primary debate that will air on Fox News on Wednesday evening, rolling out a significant ad buy across the network’s website featuring abortion rights ads stylized with the iconic “Dark Brandon” meme. (“Dark Brandon,” for my less online friends, is the edgy digital alter ego of the president created by young progressives, drawing on the right’s running “Let’s Go Brandon” joke—there’s layers to this!)
“Get real, Jack. I’m bringing Roe back,” states an ad featuring featuring Mr. Dark Brandon himself, grinning widely, eyes menacingly flashing red…
I don’t understand all of the handwringing about Biden’s age (which, as Molly Jong-Fast pointed out this morning, is just a tired rehash of the “Hillary’s at death’s door” nonsense of 2016; she was doing an interview with Rachel Maddow when Trump’s most recent indictment was announced, so not apparently long dead). We have a vice president.
A man was recently arrested and hit with a felony charge after allegedly stealing an entire porch in Georgia.
Per a report from WAGA-TV, the accused porch thief in question, identified as Arnco resident Robin Swanger, ignored multiple trespassing signs when he entered his neighbor’s property and stole a wooden porch.
Detailing the extent of the alleged theft, an investigator with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office described the item as “a full 8′ by 10′ porch.”…
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden if his administration doesn’t provide documents Republicans say they want to review. During a Fox Business interview Tuesday night, McCarthy, R-Calif., was asked whether he has made up his mind whether to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
“The thing that holds up whether we’ll do an impeachment inquiry: Provide us the documents we’re asking,” the House speaker said. “The whole determination here is how the Bidens handle this.” McCarthy added that if “they” withhold documents, “we will move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session.”
Commentary:
[…] Of course, implicit in this rhetoric is a nagging detail Republicans prefer not to dwell on: GOP lawmakers still don’t have any actual evidence of Biden having done anything wrong. The House speaker apparently believes an “impeachment inquiry” will open up new investigatory avenues, but that starts to sound an awful lot like a fishing expedition: In effect, McCarthy is saying, “We need to open an investigation to look for possible evidence that might justify the investigation.”
That’s not how any of this is supposed to work.
Complicating matters, the California congressman made a variety of references in the Fox Business interview to “the documents,” but it’s far from clear exactly what he was referring to. Republican Rep. James Comer, the hapless chairman of the House Oversight Committee, recently boasted that in response to the many subpoenas he’s sent to the Biden administration, his panel has “gotten 100% of what we requested.”
The Hill reported, meanwhile, that some of the documents McCarthy wants “were apparently never requested by the GOP.”
But as part of the same interview, the House speaker summarized his concerns with a series of questions. “Did they take bribes?” McCarthy asked. “Did they deal in the business? … The whole determination here is how the Bidens handle this.”
At the heart of the problem was the Republican playing fast and loose with pronouns.
We know, for example, that Joe Biden didn’t “take bribes” or “deal in the business” — facts the GOP’s star witness recently confirmed. But McCarthy kept referencing “they,” and in context, he seemed to be referring to multiple people, not just the president.
As a Washington Post analysis explained, the House speaker’s rhetoric “conflates Joe-Biden-as-president (‘the Biden administration’) with Joe-Biden-as-person-who-has-the-last-name-Biden (‘the Bidens’). This has been common practice since even before Republicans regained control of the House in January. That Joe Biden’s son Hunter was involved in a sprawling and at times dubious set of business engagements, efforts that looped in his uncle Jim (and, it seems, other relatives) has allowed McCarthy and allies like House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) to refer to the actions of ‘the Biden family,’ lumping the president into the mix through association.”
It’s a rhetorical slight of hand that reflects the inconvenient fact that Republicans want to uncover dirt that makes the president look bad, but they still haven’t found anything</b?.
McCarthy is doubling down on impeachment talk he started last month in order to please the far-rightwing whackos in his caucus. He could have found a way to walk that back, but he didn’t.
birgerjohanssonsays
From Youtube.
‘MAGA Christians think Jesus is “weak” says guy who led them there’
Yes, they were supposed to be easily controlled sheep, now they have a taste for blood and have morphed into something uglier than the shepherds intended.
The old greeks even had a myth about not being able to put things back in the box.
[…] The memorial event wasn’t the only footage that conservative hoaxers tampered with. Another faked video overlays footage of Biden touring fire damage with anti-Biden chants, which supposedly came from fire victims.
One suspects the value of such hoaxes has jumped due to Xitter rewarding conservative posters with cash based on their ability to generate traffic. It surely would have happened either way, though.
[…] Creating alternative factual universes is a primary means of capturing and retaining control. And we lose more hope for a better world every time political figures and pundits shrug off their responsibility to separate truth from fiction.
The “religious-liberty training” ordered by a federal judge earlier this month as part of a contempt order in a religious-discrimination case brought against Southwest Airlines is on hold for now, under a temporary order issued by the judge on Thursday.
Lawyers for Southwest Airlines are appealing the sanctions order and on Wednesday argued to U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr, the judge who issued it, that those sanctions are unconstitutional and go beyond the court’s contempt powers. They did so as part of a request that he put the sanctions order on hold while they appeal it.
In response, Starr issued an “administrative stay” on Thursday that will last for 30 days while he considers the airline’s request for a stay of the order pending its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The temporary stay means the lawyers will not need to attend a “religious-liberty training” run by Alliance Defending Freedom, a far-right Christian legal advocacy group specified by Starr in the order, on the timeline initially ordered by the judge…
Wagner has yet to officially confirm or comment on the death of its leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin, but hours after the news, several Wagner-affiliated channels praised him as a fallen leader.
“The head of the Wagner Group, Hero of Russia, a true patriot of his Motherland — Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin died as a result of the actions of traitors to Russia,” said a post on Grey Zone, a Wagner-linked channel on Telegram. “But even in hell he will be the best! Glory to Russia!”
[…] Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a text message that if Prigozhin’s death is confirmed, it would indicate that the Wagner head’s “June rebellion really scared Putin.” […]
Equipped with a camera, turbines and a painted anxious stare, Kenny — a decoy seal made from cork and aluminium — is a Quebec research team’s secret weapon this summer.
The figure was designed with one goal — to attract sharks near Brion Island in Quebec’s Magdalen Islands and enable researchers from the St. Lawrence Shark Observatory to tag the great white sharks populating the waters…
Reginald Selkirksays
@48 … 72
I have been considering how much time to allow before assuming the Prigozhin was indeed among the dead. Maybe 24 hours?
birgerjohanssonsays
Congratulations!
Barbara Eden, the genie in “I Dream Of Jeanie” turns 92 today.
She is relevant för skepticism; When ‘Family Guy’ demonstrated the difference between evolution and biblical literalism they had Jeanie turn up and do “boiiinng” every time something got created the first six days.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office rejected petition language Wednesday for a constitutional amendment aimed at remaking the state’s troubled system for drawing political maps, determining that it failed to present a fair and truthful summary of what is proposed.
In announcing the determination, Republican Dave Yost’s office said, “The decision underscores the importance of precise, comprehensive and unbiased summaries to enable voters to make informed decisions.”
The group Citizens Not Politicians, which includes two former Ohio Supreme Court justices, aims to place the proposal on next year’s fall ballot.
Spokesman Chris Davey said rejections are not unusual in a proposed amendment’s early stages.
“We believe our summary was accurate,” he said in a statement. “But we will review the Attorney General’s guidance, will make necessary adjustments and will collect new signatures with our broad, statewide, nonpartisan coalition of partners to refile as soon as possible because it’s time for citizens and not politicians to draw Ohio’s legislative maps.”
The proposal calls for replacing the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which currently comprises three statewide officeholders and four state lawmakers, with an independent body selected directly by citizens…
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s newly all-male Supreme Court reversed course on abortion Wednesday, upholding a law banning most such procedures except in the earliest weeks of pregnancy.
The continued erosion of legal abortion access across the U.S. South comes after Republican state lawmakers replaced the lone woman on the court, Justice Kaye Hearn, who reached the state’s mandatory retirement age.
The 4-1 ruling departs from the court’s own decision months earlier striking down a similar ban that the Republican-led Legislature passed in 2021. The latest ban takes effect immediately.
Writing for the new majority, Justice John Kittredge acknowledged that the 2023 law also infringes on “a woman’s right of privacy and bodily autonomy,” but said the state Legislature reasonably determined this time around that those interests don’t outweigh “the interest of the unborn child to live.”
[…]
Kittredge wrote that “we leave for another day” a determination on what the law’s language means for when exactly during a pregnancy the ban should begin, likely forecasting another long court fight on that question.
Chief Justice Donald Beatty provided the lone dissent, arguing that the 2023 law is nearly identical, with definitions for terms including “fetal heartbeat” and “conception” that provide no clarity on when the ban begins, exposing doctors to criminal charges if law enforcement disagrees with their expertise.
Beatty warned that the majority’s failure to address such a key question could lead to political retribution. He added that judicial independence and integrity were weakened by the court’s decision to backpedal on its prior ruling.
Hearn wrote the majority’s lead opinion in January striking down the ban as a violation of the state constitution’s right to privacy. She then reached the court’s mandatory retirement age, enabling the GOP-led Legislature to put Gary Hill on what is now the nation’s only state Supreme Court with an entirely male bench.
Republican lawmakers then crafted a new law to address Justice John Few’s concern, expressed in the January ruling, that the Legislature had failed to take into account whether the restrictions were reasonable enough to infringe upon a woman’s privacy rights.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, sued again. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s lawyer said during oral arguments this summer that both laws limited abortions at the same point in pregnancy and were equally unconstitutional.
The 2023 law restricts most abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, declaring that this happens about six weeks after a pregnant woman’s last menstrual period. Lawmakers defined this as “the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac.”
But Beatty wrote that at six weeks, the fetus doesn’t exist yet — it’s still an embryo — and the heart doesn’t develop until later in a pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it’s inaccurate to call such “cardiac activity” a heartbeat.
“The terminology is medically and scientifically inaccurate. As such, it is the quintessential example of political gaslighting; attempting to manipulate public opinion and control the reproductive health decisions of women by distorting reality,” Beatty wrote.
Today’s big news, of course, is the apparent murder of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary “private military contractors” group and architect of a short-lived rebellion that advanced surprisingly close to Moscow before ending under mysterious circumstances.
The fact that Prigozhin had remained alive and free for this long was a “mysterious circumstance” in itself. Yet this is Russia we’re talking about and not only are things not always what they appear, there will be a million conspiracy theories to fill the information void as people try to make sense of a confusing and bizarre situation.
Additionally, we will take a look at the state of the southern front, and Ukraine’s apparent refocus at the behest of its Western partners.
So … Prigozhin. […] I won’t dwell on the details beyond wondering why Vladimir Putin opted to shoot down or bomb or sabotage this plane rather than merely throw Prigozhin out of a high window. Perhaps variety is the spice of life?
Now, the big question is quite clear: Was Prigozhin actually on the plane? The manifest says he was, but so what? Maybe Prigozhin got wind from his Kremlin allies and decided to skip the flight. Maybe Prigozhin staged this whole thing himself and it had nothing to do with Putin. Maybe they were murdered by Russia before they got on the plane, and merely blew it up in the air to make it look like an accident. Who knows!
Any remains will likely be unrecognizable, and require DNA verification, and will anyone trust what the Kremlin claims they find? Their track record with the truth is shit, and as we’ve already seen, they’ll stage whatever they need to stage to support their lies, even if it’s comically inept.
But really, there are two obvious possibilities—either Putin killed Prigozhin to settle the score from the failed coup, or Prigozhin faked his death to hide from Putin. Yet there’s an entire world of conspiracy theorists currently reenacting Charlie’s famously memed scene from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”: [video at the link]
Of course you have the “Prigozhin wasn’t on the plane” crowd, like Ukrainian-American propagandist (in the most negative sense of the word) Igor Sushko, who you shouldn’t believe about anything: [Tweet and videos at the link: Likely false claims being made that Prigozhin of Wagner PMC was killed in a plane crash near Moscow in Tver. This stinks of Prigozhin’s own plot to disappear.
1. Plane manifest listed Prigozhin as passenger – this is “evidence.”
2. Two explosions heard in air before crash.]
President Joe Biden’s comments will feed a million new conspiracies in the days ahead: [Tweet at the link: Joe Biden on Yevgeny Prigozhin, July 13, 2023: “If I were he, I’d be careful what I ate. I’d be keeping my eye on my menu”]
Coming soon to a tankie near you: “The imperialist American CIA murdered Prigozhin because his Wagner Group was helping foster a new African socialist utopia!” With Wagner deploying to Niger to support coup leaders against the Western-backed ECOWAS coalition of regional nations, that’s a particularly tidy explanation. People do love to blame the West for everything, and Putin will happily feed that narrative if it’s in his interest.
For now, the tankies are being more vague in their insinuation: [Tweet and video at the link: The absolute dumbest humans alive are willing to entertain the idea Prigozhin was killed by the CIA rather than the guy who has people thrown out of windows every other day.]
What’s more plausible? Putin getting rid of someone who literally launched an almost-successful coup against him, or the CIA shooting him down near Moscow for undetermined reasons?
But don’t worry, logistics aren’t something that will deter a conspiracy theorist. [tweet and image at the link: PRIGOZHIN PLOT REVEALED -- Intelligence Sources Say CIA Assets Provided Targeting And Ukrainian Operators Infiltrated Russia To Carry Out The Attack]
Just make up some nonsense about “infiltrators” carrying surface-to-air missiles capable of hitting a passenger plane at cruising altitude (hint, you can’t carry those on your shoulder), and voila! No loose ends. [LOL]
Don’t ask me to make sense of this one: [Tweet at the link: Something big has happened! Business jet carrying 7 people has crashed in Russia’s Tver region, northwest of Moscow. All onboard DEAD including WAGNER CHIEF PRIGOZHIN! Has CIA struck for prank carried by Putin & Prigozhin in the name of Mutiny to loot money from NATO OR was Mutiny real & Putin has struck?]
This next one at least has internal logic, though I missed the conspiracy that the CIA was funding Prigozhin as he destabilized and overthrew Western-friendly governments in Africa. [Tweet at the link: I see that everyone is accusing Putin for his death even though the most likely perpetrator is the CIA who are a little bit embarrassed about Prigozhin fleecing them out of lots of cash and not delivering what was paid for.]
I dug into the darkest internet corners to find out more about this conspiracy, and it turns out there’s a whole world that truly believes that Prigozhin’s coup attempt was backed by the CIA. As one conspiracy account put it, “After the CIA backed Coup attempt earlier this year, Putin vowed NOT to seek revenge. But in reality Prigozhin was a marked man after that event! The CIA backed and supported the Coup attempt, and maybe behind his death, fake or not!”
Imagine being so stupid and clueless about the situation in Ukraine, Russia, and Africa, to think that the CIA would work with Prigozhin, and that there was anything the CIA could even offer Prigozhin of value that he didn’t already get from the Russian Ministry of Defense or his network of pals inside the Kremlin. [Correct. Good points.]
Not to mention, Putin never vowed NOT to seek revenge. Quite the opposite, in fact. “The office does not forgive, the past cannot be returned,” Putin said in the midst of Prigozhin’s coup attempt. But why let reality get in the way of a good conspiracy?
In fact, these morons think the CIA paid Prigozhin $6 billion for the coup attempt. [JFC!] [Tweet and image at the link: CIA revenge for pulling one over on them several months ago to the tune of 6billion (not a great feat since CIA is dumber than mud!) vs psyop, as Prigozhin is a very clever, strategic and tactical warrior. I hope for the latter until it is confirmed as certainty:
Prigozhin’s decorated jacket, full of medals for lots of reasons!]
Note how the CIA is at fault for everything, but they’re also “dumber than mud.” Kinda mirrors MAGA attacks on President Joe Biden—he’s a dotard who can’t string two sentences together, but he’s also a criminal mastermind [My thoughts exactly.]
Speaking of MAGA, do you think those guys can get in on the conspiracy action? Of course they can! [Tweet and video at the link: Another Video, where Russian Plane Carrying Wagner Boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, FALLS OUT OF THE SKY 🚨This Crash Mysteriously Comes Only 2 Weeks After it Was Revealed The Biden Crime Family Funneled Millions of Dollars Through Russia and Ukraine. [Oh FFS]]
Not bad… They’ll level up when they blame it on the Jewish space laser. In the meantime, what the hell is this: [Tweet and truly bonkers image at the link: We lost a real one today
He was a hero for Russian patriots,
A hero for dreamers of Annexing Canada
And a hero to Alpha Males everywhere
R.I.P Prigozhin Evegny
Gone but NEVER forgotten]
I don’t even know what to say about that one …
Now for something entirely different, did you hear that Prigozhin’s death triggers … something something something and it’s bad? [Tweet and image at the link: In case of Prigozhin’s death, the PMC “Wagner” has developed a plan of action, which is launched immediately, reports the pro-Kremlin Readovka. The mechanism is introduced automatically, what it consists of – it is unknown. The publication’s source says that in any case, it will be “very bad news”.]
Yeah, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Still, Prigozhin knew he was likely to be murdered. Hopefully he planned accordingly and left some kind of surprise behind.
Not sure this qualifies as “conspiracy theory,” but there is certainly a desire to find a pattern in the chaos: [Tweet at the link: 1. Today is exactly two months after Prigozhin’s mutiny started. 2. Another symbolism: ten people died in today’s crash. Exactly the same number of pilots died on board of the Russian military Il-22 plane on 24th June that was hit by Wagner mercenaries.]
Anyway, these are first-impression conspiracies. It’ll be interesting to see how they evolve over the next couple of days. The frame-by-frame “analysis” of the crash site should be particularly fun. It’s actually quite enjoyable seeing a bona fide war criminal, mass murderer, and Nazi get his comeuppance, regardless of the details.
More Ukraine updates coming soon.
StevoRsays
ABC news with updates on the Prigozhin crash / assassination :
Former Zimbabwean Test cricketer Henry Olonga has issued a warning about the pitfalls of social media, after he recently posted a heartfelt obituary for his old teammate Heath Streak, only to get a message back from Streak hours later.
&
Olonga said the “very unfortunate” episode served as a cautionary tale about the spread of misinformation, not just online.
“I find myself in the middle of it not because I started it — I wasn’t the first person to get it out there — but my messages somehow got some traction on social media and so people I think I’m the sort of ‘main man’,” he explained.
“Even though it was very premature … the silver lining in all this is that there was a lot of love for him. It was extraordinary, the outpouring of emotion that was all positive.
“I suppose it serves as a cursory warning to people to be absolutely sure about facts.”
Notwithstanding the difficulty involved in trying to correct the record, Olonga said the awkwardness should not obscure the fact that his friend is continuing to confront a very serious health battle.
A colonial-era statue honouring a former premier who mutilated the body of an Aboriginal man will be taken down in recognition of the hurt he caused Tasmania’s Aboriginal community, a final vote by Hobart’s council has decided. It will be the first time in Australia that a monument will be removed following pressure from First Nations people — and advocates hope it won’t be the last. In 1869, politician and surgeon William Crowther cut off and stole the skull of Aboriginal man William Lanne, with the intention of sending it to London’s Royal College of Surgeons. To conceal the act, he replaced the skull he stole with one from another corpse.
… (snip).. On Wednesday, Hobart City Council’s planning committee voted 8 to 2 in favour of removing the statue.
“It’s a really emotional issue for many Aboriginal people [and] also anyone who understands just how wrong it is to celebrate the actions of someone who did such evil deeds and racist deeds,” the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre’s Nala Mansell said.”When we see the statue, we’re reminded of the many Aboriginal people whose bones were dug up and sent to museums all around the world.
“We are seeing our heritage destroyed on a daily basis, we’re dealing with non-Aboriginal elected leaders who are making all the decisions about Aboriginal people for us.
“It just adds to the reminder of how difficult life has been for Aboriginal people for the past 220 years.”
Bakhmut has long been a ginormous question mark in the story of this war. Russia captured it, mostly using Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries and prison labor, after a bloody nine-month campaign. It never made sense—the city (Ukraine’s 58th or 59th largest) lacked any real strategic merit. Still, Russia threw everything it could at it, and Ukraine lost thousands of their own in its defense, when there were perfectly adequate heights to the city’s west to mount a less costly defense.
Indeed, once Russia hit those heights, that was that. It could obviously be argued that Russia culminated on this advance precisely because Ukraine fiercely fought for each city block, but ultimately, it was an incredibly costly campaign for both sides, over something with no strategic value.
Anyway, that advance was done. Russia was stuck in their Bakhmut fishbowl, with Ukraine raining death from the heights on anyone that moved out in the open. It was time for Ukraine to focus on the battle that mattered—the effort to cut Russia’s “land bridge” connecting mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula through Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in southern Ukraine. Instead, Ukraine deployed several of its best units to begin retaking territory north and south of Bakhmut.
I’ve questioned it before, and the obvious retort is “best to try and take it back before Russia has a chance to dig in.” That makes sense, but still, who cares? Who cares if Russia digs in around Bakhmut? The city has no geographic value. It’s been leveled to the ground, so there’s no one left to save from the occupiers. It’s not in a particularly important direction. So what was with Ukraine’s obsession to keep fighting there? It was no longer about bleeding Russians on the attack. It was them doing the bleeding attempting to retake Russian positions.
Turns out, NATO generals had the same questions, and have apparently convinced Ukraine to quit that bullshit and focus on where it matters […]
We mocked Russia early in the war for dividing its troops across four different axes and over a dozen separate directions, and here is Ukraine doing much of the same. But that is now changing. “In a video teleconference on Aug. 10, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; his British counterpart, Adm. Sir Tony Radakin; and Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, urged Ukraine’s most senior military commander, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, to focus on one main front,” the Times reported. “And, according to two officials briefed on the call, General Zaluzhnyi agreed.”
There is this weird sentiment that Ukraine can do no wrong, and to “trust” their decisions. They absolutely can get things wrong, and clinging to old Soviet doctrine that dictates attacking along multiple fronts is clearly wrong. Russia just proved that in this very war, just last year.
Under American war doctrine, there is always a main effort to ensure that maximum resources go to a single front, even if supporting forces are fighting in other areas to hedge against failure or spread-out enemy defenses.
But Ukraine and Russia fight under old Soviet Communist doctrine, which seeks to minimize rivalries among factions of the army by providing equal amounts of manpower and equipment across commands. Both armies have failed to prioritize their most important objectives, officials say.
Ukraine is finally making headway, and doing it in the Robotyne-Tokmak-Melitopol direction, which is literally the most heavily fortified stretch of Russian-held territory in the entire country. [map at the link]
As I type this, Ukraine has raised their flag in Robotyne and declared it liberated. [Tweet and map at the link]
It’s a small village with outsized strategic importance, marking Ukraine’s conquest of Russia’s first major line of defense. There’s at least three more to go, but after Ukraine consolidates the high ground around Robotyne, flattening its flanks to avoid salients and expel Russian forces from its best vantage points, it’s literally downhill the rest of the way to Tokmak. [map at the link]
If history is any guide, expect Russia to send wave after wave of hapless infantry to try and retake Robotyne. Ukraine can mow those down as it prepares to breach the next defensive line. Let’s hope the gods of war are smiling on Ukraine, and that line is weak and depleted thanks to Russia’s obsession with fighting in front of its lines, rather than protected inside them.
Mark Sumner, Laura clawson and others cover the Republican debate:
Live coverage of the eight not-Trumps on stage in Milwaukee is now at what seems like hour 200, but is only hour two. Nothing like sharing your evening with Fox News, as well as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
Feel that Burgum and Hutchinson energy.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Aug 23, 2023 · 9:03:52 PM MDT · Laura Clawson
Pence is working so hard to look and sound statesmanlike that you can feel the effort rolling off him in waves. His advertisement for himself is “proven leadership.” He has faith in Americans and in God.
Ramaswamy … wow. Fossil fuels, two genders, capitalism, the nuclear family, revolution. [Ramaswamy is like a tweet storm from Trump]
DeSantis is trying to smile. It’s a little disturbing. He’s a blue-collar kid. He understands the importance of the American dream. He’s a veteran. He’s a dad and a husband. “In Florida.” [DeSantis is almost not even there.]
————————–
Chris Christie, the ‘reasonable truth teller’ candidate says we must deport the 11 million undocumented people living here.
To which Chris Hayes replies by tweet: The fentanyl is coming through the ports of entry and airports, not that anyone cares about the truth here.
—————————–
Scott gets the same question, which last I knew was a China question but you wouldn’t know it from his answer. He goes to, “Let’s fire the 87,000 IRS agents and hire, or double, the Border Patrol.” This is not an answer on China, in addition to the zombie lie about 87,000 IRS agents. He wants to “finish the wall” and use “military-grade technology” to surveil the southern border. [JFC. Scott is horrible.]
Burgum jumps back in on the opioid crisis, which is a border crisis, in his telling.
Pence is randomly talking until Baier shuts him down. Baier asks about suspected cartel members with rifles. Would Hutchinson use lethal force? Why yes, he would, but he manages to be super boring about it. Hutchinson seems to think this primary is happening 20 years ago and it’s enough to just be on the far right rather than being on the far right and yelling a lot of violent slogans.
DeSantis is asked whether he would support sending U.S. special forces over the border. “Yes, and I will do it on day one.” He thinks he sounds strong but he still sounds whiny. After a little yelling about invading Mexico, he tries to humanize things by talking about “Angel moms” he’s met.
Pence is invited to explain why he’d be better on this than DeSantis. He’s back to talking about himself and Trump as “we.” He takes credit for getting money to “build the wall.” He promises the same level of success he and Trump had before Biden ruined everything.
————————-
Burgum gets the China question he’s been begging for. How would he deter China? He’s so excited by the chance that he basically starts blurting out fragments of talking points without connecting the dots. It’s a total foreign policy word salad.
————————–
Credit where due: Pence has some impressive ability to project his voice and keep focus as he yells over Ramaswamy, emerges victorious, rails against Putin, touts U.S. strength. Points to Pence on this one, I think; he got some cheers and seemed to dampen the audience support for Ramaswamy.
Haley is asked about her past criticism of DeSantis for calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “territorial dispute.” She doesn’t go straight at DeSantis, though. Instead, she argues that “a win for Russia is a win for China. Ukraine is the first line of defense” and goes after Ramaswamy. “You are choosing a murderer over …” and audience cheering drowns her out. [Haley was right.]
Ramaswamy wishes Haley well on her future on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon. She starts yelling and will not back down. The words that finally emerge are Haley saying Ramaswamy has no experience “and it shows.” It’s hard to make out what Ramaswamy says next, but by the time he’s audible, he’s talking about his love of Israel. Especially their border policies and their tough-on-crime policies.
DeSantis gets a crack at “territorial dispute.” He says the president’s responsibility is to protect your own country, and the border is what needs attention: “We’re going to use force and we’re going to leave them stone-cold dead.”
—————————–
Mike Pence has had a shockingly good debate. He established himself as the biggest defender of the Constitution, a true statesman and patriot, with a strong assist from Chris Christie.
But perhaps more impressively, he got a Ukraine-hostile MAGA crowd to cheer defending Ukrainian democracy. Given Donald Trump’s pro-Putin sensibilities, getting this crowd to cheer Ukraine was a real accomplishment.
——————————-
Ramaswamy starts yelling about pledging to pardon Trump.
————————–
Hutchinson, who did not raise his hand, says what he has said before, that Trump is morally disqualified and may be constitutionally disqualified from being president. Booing ensues.
—————————-
If Trump is convicted, would you still support him as nominee? Raise your hands. Hands go up, but not Christie’s. “Whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States.” He gets booed, says that booing is allowed but it doesn’t change the truth. He gets booed more.
Ramaswamy, whose hand was first to go up, says Trump was the best president evah, and then attacks Christie for running a campaign of grievance against Trump before turning to “weaponization of justice” claims.
Okay, here is one excerpt from the link in comment 87:
9:23: QUESTION: Maui, hurricane in California, and climate change is actually real.
RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU BELIEVE IN HUMAN CAUSED CLIMATE CHANGE.
Nobody raises their hand, and Ron DeSantis’s entire asshole clenches and he goes bugfuck. Ramaswamy says “climate change agenda” is a hoax and that he’s the only one up there who isn’t bought and paid for.
Chris Christie says Ramaswamy is a SKINNY AMATEUR LIKE BARACK OBAMA.
Nikki Haley says DOWN WITH ALL MEN, starting with all these men.
Good God these fucking people, we cannot even keep up.
Silentbobsays
India becomes fourth nation (after USSR, USA, China) to land on Moon.
Australia: Former ultra-ortodox Jewish principal sentenced to 15 years for child sexual abuse.
Reginald Selkirksays
This stinks of Prigozhin’s own plot to disappear.
My understanding is that the plane was outbound from Moscow, not inbound. That says to me that there is no way Putin could have been mistaken about whether Prigozhin was on board.
A federal district court judge turned down requests from two co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case involving former President Trump to transfer jurisdiction of their cases to federal court.
Judge Steve Jones of the Northern District of Georgia issued two simultaneous orders Wednesday, denying the requests from former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Department of Justice civil division chief Jeff Clark. Meadows and Clark requested in their motions that their cases are transferred and for the court to allow them to avoid arrest in the case…
On August 8th, the unmistakably unknown singer Oliver Anthony uploaded his original song “Rich Men North of Richmond” to YouTube, and as of Tuesday, the song sits atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The stripped-down Appalachian folk tune lamenting the plight of the working man, along with conflicting jabs at who’s responsible for said plight, was immediately extolled by rightwing figureheads like Matt Walsh, Jack Posobiec, Ian Miles Cheong, Kari Lake, and Joe Rogan—a real who’s who of people I’ve muted on Twitter and would certainly never pass the aux chord to…
Well, that incoherence is reinforcing itself tenfold as Anthony’s rise to fame continues. Fox News, which has been tracking the “Rich Men of Richmond” craze like a hound dog on a scent trail, interviewed Anthony on Monday after one of his performances. Anthony explained:
“We’ve gotta go back to the roots of what made this country great in the first place, which is our sense of community. I mean, we are the melting pot of the world and that’s what makes us strong, is our diversity, and we need to learn to harness that and appreciate it, and not use it as a political tool to keep everyone separate from each other you know?”
As quickly as conservatives and right-wing nutsos glommed onto the bearded singer with a high, lonesome, “authentic” warble, they freaked out over his embrace of diversity. Diversity is, of course, the first symptom of the incurable “wokeness” disease. “Promoted algorithm boosted ‘based’ red beard hillbilly song guy was faking his accent and says diversity is our strength,” one user tweeted, receiving over 8,500 likes. Another user wrote, “Did he sell out already to the rich men north of Richmond?” …
Liberty University, ironically, does not appear to be into liberty very much at all.
A new online petition created by students at the right-wing Christian college in Virginia claims the school has put an “absolute stop to dancing,” much like the town in Footloose (1984). The Change.org petition, called “Allow Dancing at LU!!,” was started last week and had just under 800 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon. It claims:
This year, the Liberty University Board of Trustees has decided to put an absolute stop to dancing, and instructed Res Life to enforce a strict no dancing policy. This action prevents halls from putting on hall formals, and instructs all RAs to put a stop to dancing when they see it…
Meh. If they don’t like overbearing puritanism, maybe they picked the wrong college.
tomhsays
Re: #93
That article is a little misleading in that the judge didn’t deny the removal of their cases to federal court, but denied their attempt to postpone their surrender and arrest in Fulton County as an attempt to move the case to federal court is litigated. He’ll rule on the removal after the federal court hearing on August 28.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., raged on Wednesday after Fox News prevented her from taking part in a post-GOP debate event on behalf of former President Donald Trump. The right-winger told Right Side Broadcast host Brian Glenn, who is also her boyfriend, that the network denied her entry to the spin room as a surrogate for Trump because he had decided to skip the debate, accusing the network of “censorship.” Fox News “just blocked us out,” she complained in a clip flagged by Raw Story. “They would not allow myself, Matt Gaetz, any other Trump surrogates to go into the spin room… So this is censorship from Fox News. This is censorship, not allowing surrogates for President Trump to go into the spin room… I’m still so mad that we just were blocked out. I literally am furious.” …
Kudos for the proper usage of “literally”. I didn’t think she had it in her.
Otherwise, demanding representation after a debate in which you did not participate is pretty stupid.
Norway is rebuilding a dilapidated reindeer fence along its border with Russia in the Arctic to stop the animals from wandering into the neighboring country — costly strolls for which Oslo has to compensate Moscow over loss of grassland.
Norwegian officials said Thursday that so far this year, 42 reindeer have crossed into Russia seeking better pastures and grazing land.
The reindeer barrier along the Norway-Russia border spans 150 kilometers (93 miles) and dates back to 1954. The Norwegian Agriculture Agency said a stretch of about 7 kilometers (4 miles) between the Norwegian towns of Hamborgvatnet and Storskog would be replaced…
Ukrainian GUR says it carried out a special operation – an amphibious landing, in the Tarkhankut peninsula of Crimea, where it destroyed several occupiers, as well as the S-400 air defence system. Russian officials tried to say the boats were destroyed, but independent sources are saying they all managed to get away.
Budanov promised us that there will be surprises around Crimea and, boy, he not only delivers but over-performs.
In the night of August 24, the Ukrainian GUR in support with the Ukrainian Navy executed special operations at the Cape Tarkhankut, in Russian-occupied Crimea and eliminated Russian manpower and equipment. All objectives have been achieved and in addition the Ukrainian flag hoisted, without any Ukrainian casualties.
The occupation administration of Crimea does not comment on the events, despite the mass appeals of local residents. The only message refers to supposedly “destruction of munitions according to a set schedule.”
The fact that Ukrainian SOF easily penetrate Russian defense positions in a supposedly highly secured area as in Tarkhankut is but another proof how thinly spread Russian forces are. Just like at the Wagner uprising in June 24 Russian forces seem to be not present due to concentration of all available Russian troops in Zaporizhzhia oblast, leaving literally everything else vulnerable.
Everybody loves abortion! Every time Americans vote on abortion, you losers lose!
NIKKI HALEY: I hate abortion because my husband was adopted. But stop demonizing all the abortions! Just some of them! Can’t we all agree on not giving ladies the DEATH PENALTY for having abortions?
RON DESANTIS: Oh I banned the shit out of abortion in Florida. Six week ban in Florida. I heard a heartbeat one time in an unborn babby. Ron DeSantis knows a lady named Penny who used to be an abortion, but now she isn’t HAHA SUCK IT DEMS.
MIKE PENCE: Oh I’ve been fucking up women on this for YEARS. Jesus Jesus Jesus. I am complete Christian fascist and if you elect me we will go so goddamned Handmaid’s Tale your heads will spin.
Also, Nikki Haley is my friend, but she is a woman, therefore a lib.
9:38: Haley is like goddamn, stop lying, there’s not gonna be an abortion ban because there ain’t no 60 percent of the Senate to do that.
Martha MacCallum says let’s get Governor Bergman in here! Come on, Governor “Bergman!”
He says no federal abortion ban. Fuckin’ Goverman Burgner! Or whatever!
9:41: Asa Hutchinson also too hates abortion, and now there is a split screen between Hutchinson and Burgernor Govman, because they are fighting for last place here we guess.
9:42: Tim Scott will not let California and New York and Illinois abort all their babies on the last day of pregnancy, as is currently required by the laws of those states. Also we think he just started crying or something.
Did Chris Christie and Ramaswamy just get out of all the whole abortion discussion or did we miss it?
Now we move on to new question, did Mike Pence do good things on January 6, or should we hang Mike Pence?
SCOTT: Mike Pence did right thing on January 6. Fire Merrick Garland! Fire Chris Wray! Put a blindfold on this one lady named “Justice!” Parents who go to school board meetings aren’t terrorists! Anti-abortion fascists should be allowed to commit crime!
LMAO.
…
10:06: Mike Pence says he deserves to know if anybody up there would hang Mike Pence.
“Mike did his duty, I got no beef with him!” Those are words DeSantis lit’rally just said.
Asa Hutchinson did not raise his hand when they asked if he’d support Trump if he’s convicted of all the crimes, BOOOOOO ASA HUTCHINSON, AUDIENCE FULL OF DOMESTIC INSURGENTS MAD BOOOOOOOOOO.
10:07: Chris Christie is firmly on the side of NO hang Mike Pence.
Nikki Haley also is a no on hang Mike Pence. But she trusts America to decide whether Donald Trump the criminal should lead them. “Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We can’t win a general election that way!”
Bill Dougums says he is no on hang Mike Pence.
Oh wow, all these people are gonna lose so hard! None of them are for hang Mike Pence!
The Republican Party has come a long way since “self-deportation”: Ron DeSantis is eyeing a military offensive against our allied neighbor to the south.
As president, George W. Bush supported a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform package. In 2008, John McCain was arguably a little to Bush’s right on the issue, but the Arizona senator nevertheless had a record of having voted for early iterations of the DREAM Act.
By 2012, as the Republican Party moved sharply to the right, Mitt Romney championed “self-deportation.” Four years later, Donald Trump announced plans to build a giant wall along the U.S./Mexico border. It became difficult to imagine leading GOP voices becoming even more radical.
But the party has clearly found a way.
A New York Times report on last night’s Republican presidential debate noted that during the event, “there were almost no evocations of immigration as one of the triumphant strains in the American tapestry, just a steady drumbeat of menace.” As a result, the analysis added, “proposals that were once fringe have become mainstream.”
On this front, one candidate stood out among the crowd. From the Times’ report:
Asked whether he would send special forces into Mexico to combat drug cartels, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida didn’t hesitate to swing for the fences. “Yes, and I will do it on day one,” he said.
[JFC]
The far-right governor went on to declare, “When these drug pushers are bringing fentanyl across the border, that is going to be the last thing they do. We are going to use force and leave them stone-cold dead.”
For those familiar with DeSantis’ national candidacy, the rhetoric was familiar. Indeed, in practically all of the Florida Republican’s public appearances, he repeats the “stone-cold dead” phrase as a go-to applause line — because the governor has apparently found that GOP audiences respond favorably to the idea of lethal violence at the border. [Too awful to contemplate]
To the extent that substantive policy details matter, it’s worth emphasizing that most of the fentanyl smuggled into the United States is brought in by U.S. citizens, which suggests that DeSantis’ “stone-cold dead” plan would involve the killing of Americans.
But if the Florida Republican has grappled with this aspect of the issue, he has hidden his concerns well. DeSantis has a vision that entails deploying troops into Mexico, executing drug smugglers, and possibly even using drone strikes on Mexican soil.
In case this isn’t obvious, Mexico is a U.S. ally, a U.S. neighbor and our biggest trading partner.
It would also apparently become a military target in a prospective DeSantis administration.
As bizarre as this might sound, the governor’s over-the-top rhetoric has become surprisingly normal in contemporary GOP politics. In March, for example, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said the Trump administration made “a mistake” by not launching military strikes in Mexico. A month later, Politico published a report that said: “A growing number of prominent Republicans are rallying around the idea that to solve the fentanyl crisis, America must bomb it away.”
As the summer progressed, a variety of GOP senators — including Arkansas’ Tom Cotton, South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, Louisiana’s John Kennedy and Ohio’s J.D. Vance — voiced support for U.S. military operations in Mexico.
DeSantis, in other words, has quite a bit of company. As the Times’ Jamelle Bouie put it overnight, it’s “genuinely bonkers that ‘invade Mexico’ is a mainstream Republican position.” […]
[…] As Ryan Cooper writes for the American Prospect, we’d do better to redouble treatment at home and beef up technology at ports of entry — where most fentanyl enters — rather than launch new military adventures south of the border.
But as long as the war-whooping thrills the MAGA masses, that alone counts as mission accomplished.
The good news is, Fox News’ moderators for the first Republican presidential debate asked the candidates about climate change. The bad news is, it didn’t go especially well.
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum didn’t just point to evidence of the climate crisis, they also showed the White House contenders a video clip of a young Republican who said the party’s indifference to the issue risked further alienating a generation of voters.
At that point, the candidates were asked to raise their hand if they believed “human behavior is causing climate change.” Gov. Ron DeSantis quickly denounced the exercise. “Look, we’re not schoolchildren,” the Floridian said. “Let’s have the debate.”
This apparently led the moderators to abandon the show-of-hands question, though the audience nevertheless learned a bit about how the participants view the issue. The New York Times reported:
Mr. DeSantis […] deflected and criticized President Biden’s response to the wildfires in Hawaii. Vivek Ramaswamy, the millionaire entrepreneur whose campaign has dabbled in conspiracy theories, seized on the moment to deny the scientific consensus on climate change.
“Let us be honest as Republicans … the climate change agenda is a hoax,” Ramaswamy said, adding that, as far as he’s concerned, “the reality is more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change.”
To be sure, the far-right entrepreneur’s answer was utterly ridiculous. The climate crisis is not a “hoax,” and the idea that people are dying from “bad climate change policies” is demonstrably absurd.
But while Ramaswamy’s answer was the worst, much of the field apparently wanted nothing to do with the question, and some struggled to deliver straight answers. Sen. Tim Scott, for example, declared, “If we want the environment to be better — and we all do — the best thing to do is to bring our jobs home from China.”
His fellow South Carolinian, former Ambassador Nikki Haley conceded that climate change is “real,” though she quickly added, “But if you want to go and really change the environment, then we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions.”
Or put another way, there’s a problem, but we should look to other countries to work toward a solution.
It was at roughly this point that President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign issued a written press statement:
“Families across America are confronting the scary realities of the climate crisis every day. This summer alone, communities across the country have experienced the deadliest wildfire in a generation, devastating droughts and dangerous extreme heat, and historic flooding and storms. Despite another record-breaking summer, MAGA Republicans have railed against efforts to take action on climate and some continue to deny its very existence. While these extremists cozy up to Big Oil and Big Gas, President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading the charge in tackling the climate crisis with real action — including the most significant climate and green jobs legislation in American history.”
In other words, the Republicans on the debate stage apparently didn’t want to talk about the climate crisis, but Democratic leaders were quick to remind the public that one party remains serious about the issue.
It didn’t have to be this way. As New York magazine’s Eric Levitz noted overnight, “In 2007, George W. Bush called for restricting carbon emissions from U.S. power plants. The following year, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, John McCain, proposed a mandatory limit on greenhouse-gas pollution in the United States. Fifteen years later, the eight candidates at the GOP’s debate could scarcely bring themselves to affirm the reality of climate change, following the hottest July on record.”
Or put another way, the problem is not just that Republican presidential candidates got the question wrong last night. The problem is made worse by the fact that the debate offered evidence of a party going backward, even as the global crisis intensifies.
All of which brings us back to the clip of the young Republican who was not only worried about global warming, but who was also concerned that the party’s indifference to climate change would push other young voters away. The answers from the debate stage couldn’t have been much clearer — or much worse.
Ukrainian forces have carried out their most complex and ambitious operations to date against Russian military facilities in the occupied region of Crimea, officials in Kyiv have said.
Special forces landed on the western shore of Crimea, near the settlements of Olenivka and Mayak, in a joint operation with the country’s Navy, according to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence.
“While performing the task, Ukrainian defenders clashed with the occupier’s units. As a result, the enemy suffered losses among its personnel and destroyed enemy equipment,” the intelligence agency said.
While they were there, the Ukrainian unit also raised the national flag, it added.
Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula which has been illegally occupied by Moscow’s forces since 2014, have not responded to the claims.
…
The area contains extensive air defenses and missile sites, including advanced systems. The Ukrainians said Wednesday they had destroyed an S-400 missile defense battery in the area.
…
Ukraine has meanwhile claimed some gains on the southern front in Zaporizhzhia region, and are still on the offensive around Bakhmut, as Kyiv’s counter-offensive gradually progresses in the east of the country.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces said Thursday that units had succeeded “in the direction of Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka, consolidating their positions, inflicting artillery fire on the identified enemy targets, and conducting counter-battery operations.”
“The enemy is suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons and equipment, is moving units and troops and actively using reserves,” the General Staff said.
Ukrainian defenders were also holding back Russian attempts to advance further north around Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, as well as efforts to break through west of Svatove in neighboring Luhansk. In this area, the Ukrainians say that the Russians have poured more forces into the battlefield.
About a hundred meters off the coast at Cape Tarhankut, the westernmost part of Crimea, at a depth of a ten to twelve meters is a unique museum of sculptures. The underwater museum has around 50 sculptures and busts of former Soviet leaders including Lenin, Stalin, and Marx, as well as replicas of some of the world’s iconic attraction such as the Eiffel Tower of Paris and London’s Tower Bridge.
The museum, so called the “Alley of Leaders”, was created in 1992 by scuba diver Vladimir Broumenskyy, a native of Donetsk. The Soviet Union had just collapsed and there was an excess of broken statues and busts of communist leaders that the eclectic crowds had pulled down from their pedestals. Some of those went to Moscow where it became “Park of the Fallen Heroes”. Vladimir Broumenskyy gathered a few and took them with him to Cape Tarhankut where he sunk them into the sea. The underwater museum has been growing ever since with new exhibits, and being located at an already popular scuba diving site, the museum has never complained about lack of visitors….
Iran and Saudi Arabia were among six countries set to join Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in the BRICS economic bloc from next year, the bloc announced Thursday, a move that will likely throw more scrutiny on Beijing’s political influence in the Persian Gulf. The United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also set to become new members of BRICS from 2024…
The Miami Herald’s headline this morning had it that the state’s governor “fights for attention” in the first GOP presidential debate. Instapolls and betting markets says it was a big win for Vivek Ramaswamy who as I put it last night “comes off as a cocky little shit” and thus will “probably be rising in the polls.”
When one of America’s two major political parties has become a cult of personality, its leading contender for the presidency an authoritarian-wannabe under four criminal indictments, its base a blood-thirsty mob rising to the promise of incipient political violence, it surpasses understanding how the hackneyed tools of campaign debate coverage have any bearing or utility (to the extent they ever did).
But that’s only one level on which the first GOP presidential debate of this cycle was operating.
What about sponsor/host/organizer Fox News, a propaganda outfit that four months ago agreed to pay out more than three-quarters of billion dollars to settle one aspect of its false claims about the last election? It coddled Donald Trump for years, it lost its viewer base to him and to the farther-right news outlets he stokes, and it begged him to participate in its faux civic event. This made-for-TV spectacle wasn’t about civic virtue or democratic engagement. It was about giving Fox News a chance to bolster its business model as a right-wing populist carnival barker appealing to the grievances, grudges, and hatreds of older white non-urban Americans. The debate moderators framed up question after question around the same dark vision of a nation in decline that animated Trump’s American Carnage inaugural address.
And yet that only begins to cover it.
The most generous analysis — the kind you might hope to see in mainstream media coverage — would focus on a Republican Party in disarray on a level conservatives have long falsely accused Democrats of but which no party has exhibited to this degree since before WWII. By comparison, the Democrats of 1968 look like they were cast for that iconic Coke commercial of the era. The Republican field sans Trump couldn’t agree on Trump, the Constitution, Jan. 6, Ukraine, climate change, or — unbelievably — abortion. Kumbaya.
And yet that still doesn’t fully capture the dysfunction and self-delusion that the GOP exhibited last night. It’s not riven by factionalism or dueling power bases vying for supremacy. Chris Christie, Asa Hutchison, and Doug Burgum represent no one and had no place being on the debate stage. Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, and Tim Scott represent the last vestiges of the former GOP, and their anemic response to Trump even now exemplifies how the Republican Party got itself into this mess to begin with. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy are explicit about wanting to be the next Trump and are soulless enough to pull it off but lack his skills and appeal. Ramaswamy was particularly horrifying to watch, a know-nothing who will say anything and do so convincingly.
If this debate had an iconic moment it was the halting raising of hands captured in the photo above when the candidates were asked if they would support Trump as GOP nominee even if he were a convicted felon by then. All but Christie and Hutchison were down for Trump 2.0.
Scientists have developed a new technique to reconstruct the path and origin of debris from the missing flight MH370 that was lost over the Indian Ocean in 2014 with 239 passengers.
The method, described in the journal AGU Advances,involves analysing the shell chemistry of barnacles to determine the environmental circumstances such as the temperature and ocean drift conditions under which the marine organisms grew…
From analysing some of the barnacles attached to the recovered flight fragment, they found the largest barnacles on it were likely old enough to have colonised on the wreckage “very shortly” after the crash and “very close” to the actual crash location where the plane can be found now.
“If so, the temperatures recorded in those shells could help investigators narrow their search,” Dr Herbert said…
When I heard the news of the tragic assassination of Mãe Maria Bernadete Pacífico on the night of Aug. 17, I was stunned, deeply troubled, and saddened. Bernadete Pacífico was a leader of the quilombola movement in Brazil, and was the former Brazilian secretary of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality. She also was a prominent priestess, known as mães de santo or Iyalorixá, in the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé religion. The reaction to news of her assassination was swift from the Brazilian government, Latin-American and Caribbean news outlets, as well as from family, friends, and the many people whose lives she touched. She was 72. <
Early in the morning after Bernadete Pacífico’s murder, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued this statement: “With regret and concern, I learned of the murder of Mãe Bernadette, a quilombola leader who was shot dead in Salvador. Bernadete Pacífico was Secretary of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality in the city of Simões Filho and demanded justice for the murder of her son, also a quilombola leader. The federal government, through the Ministries of Racial Equality and Human Rights and Citizenship, sent representatives and we await the rigorous investigation of the case. My condolences to Mother Bernadete's family and friends.”
The current Minister of Racial Equality of Brazil, Anielle Franco, whose sister Marielle was assassinated in 2018, issued this statement: “Dismayed by the murder of mother Bernadette, yalorixá, former Secretary of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality and leader of the quilombola community of Simões Filho, in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador. She was cowardly killed on Thursday night with gunshots to her face.”
Constance Malleret reported for The Guardian:
Human rights organisations in Brazil are clamouring for justice following the murder of a Black community activist who had been receiving threats.
Maria Bernadete Pacífico, a community and religious leader in the Pitanga dos Palmares quilombo – an Afro-Brazilian settlement of descendants of escaped slaves in the north-east state of Bahia – was killed on Thursday evening.
The 72-year-old, known as Mãe Bernadete (Mother Bernadete), had spent years demanding answers for the unsolved murder of her son Fábio Gabriel Pacífico, who was gunned down outside the community’s school in 2017.
She was killed on Thursday when two men wearing helmets entered her house and reportedly fired more than a dozen shots at her face.
[…] Racial tensions in Brazil were inflamed by the 2018 election of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who on the campaign trail compared Black quilombo members to cattle and said “they don’t even serve to procreate.”
But the president is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Brazil’s systemic racism. Around 56% of Brazilians identify as Black—the largest population of African descent outside of Africa—yet Black people make up just 18% of congress, 4.7% of executives in Brazil’s 500 largest companies, 75% of murder victims and 75% of those killed by police.
Things are getting worse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Brazilians, who already earn just 57% of what white Brazilians do on average, have died and lost their jobs at a higher rate. Police killings rose to 5,804 in 2019—almost six times more than comparative figures for the U.S.
Bolsonaro pushed forward an anti-crime bill that included a blanket “self-defense” justification for the use of force by police; the congress passed it with some limitations in December 2019, though critics still say it grants officers significant impunity. Activists and academics have accused the Brazilian state of employing a “death policy” against the Black population. […]
Humans produce around 4.4 billion tons of concrete every year. That process consumes around 8 billion tons of sand (out of the 40-50 billion tons used annually) which has, in part, led to acute shortages of the building commodity in recent years. At the same time, we generate about 10 billion kilograms of used coffee grounds over the same span — coffee grounds which a team of researchers from RMIT University in Australia have discovered can be used as a silica substitute in the concrete production process that, in the proper proportions, yields a significantly stronger chemical bond than sand alone…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his first remarks following the presumed death of Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, saying the mercenary leader helped contribute to Russia’s goals, but also faulted him for making “mistakes” during his life.
In comments that aired on Russian television media, Putin said he knew Prigozhin since the ’90s and the Wagner boss “had a difficult fate.”
“He made serious mistakes in his life,” Putin said, according to clips of the address. But the Russian president said Prigozhin “achieved the necessary results in his life, both for himself and when I asked him to do so for the common goal.”
A Russian business jet crashed Wednesday about 100 miles northwest of Moscow, killing 10 people.
Russia’s civilian aviation agency said both Prigozhin and Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin were listed as passengers on the plane.
Wagner-affiliated channels are claiming that air defenses shot the plane out of the sky, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Still, many are viewing the incident with suspicion, as the presumed death of Prigozhin comes about two months after he launched a failed rebellion against Putin.
Putin on Thursday expressed his “sincere condolences” to the victims and said the cause of the crash is under investigation and will be completed.
He also praised the role of the Wagner Group in the war in Ukraine.
“Wagner made a significant contribution to the fight against Nazism in Ukraine, we will never forget this,” Putin said.
nconfirmed reports have suggested a Chinese nuclear submarine has crashed in the Taiwan Strait—the body of water that separates mainland China from Taiwan—days after Beijing launched military drills around the island in a “stern warning” to Taipei and Washington.
Reports circulating online have claimed that one of China’s Type 093, or “Shang-class,” nuclear submarines had crashed in unknown circumstances at some point in the past few days. Some of the reports claimed the entire crew onboard the vessel had been killed…
There has been no official confirmation of a Chinese submarine running into difficulty in the contentious strait, and experts have been hesitant to speculate. The topic was not mentioned in a press briefing from China’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday and has not appeared in any state news agencies’ reports…
The Fulton County district attorney has asked the court to set Oct. 23 as the trial start date for all 19 defendants, according to a new court filing.
Willis had initially sought to have the trial start in early March 2024, but changed her requested date after Kenneth Chesebro, one of the defendants, yesterday filed a request for a speedy trial.
[…] Carlson’s Trump interview was a zero-impact snooze, no matter what Twitter’s dubious metrics report (more on that in a minute). But Twitter was also the place to showcase what Twitter does best, even under Elon Musk’s ownership: provide a place for people to comment, in real time, about a news event. Which in this case was the TV debate.
For evidence, consult your own Twitter feed and scroll back to last night. Your Twitter may not look like my Twitter on a normal day, but I’m confident that in this case it’s going to look mighty similar. I saw Twitter users doing what they’ve always done on Twitter when there’s a news event or an awards show or a big game: annotating the thing in real time, whether that means cracking wise or hooting in derision or whatever.
And, most tellingly, it extended to Musk, who dutifully tweeted out links to the Trump interview on his own site (remember that one part of Musk’s fantasy is that Twitter becomes the world’s biggest media platform) but then found himself weighing in on the TV debate, just like everyone else: [Musk’s stupid tweets extolling the trumpian-tweetstorm-incarnate Vivek Ramaswamy, the most annoying person in a group of very annoying people.]
[…] Wait a minute. Didn’t Musk also point out that the Carlson/Trump conversation had one gazillion views? Sure. And while we haven’t yet seen the Nielsen numbers from last night’s RNC debate, they’re certainly going to be lower than what we saw from the numbers those debates generated in 2015 and 2016, when Trump was the novelty.
But when those numbers do come out, remember that the TV ratings Nielsen reports have no correlation to the viewership numbers Twitter is reporting. For starters, as always, Nielsen is reporting the average viewership the debates generated, not the total number of views, which is what online outlets generally report. That’s not a new discrepancy, and at this point everyone in tech and media should know better but either doesn’t or pretends not to.
More important, under Musk, Twitter has moved to an even more fanciful description of “viewership,” where it’s not even pretending to count people who watch the video. Instead, it’s simply measuring the number of times someone has seen the tweet with the video scroll through their feed […]
But it’s pointless to spend time fact-checking Elon Musk’s Twitter claims at this point. It’s more useful to evaluate how the platform actually works. And here, there’s good news for Musk: Even after nearly a year spent trying to destroy his $44 billion impulse purchase, there’s still enough muscle memory for enough of his users that they can snap into place without a prompt.
If there’s something compelling on TV, people will want to talk about it on Twitter. Even in 2023.
* Yes, Musk now wants us to call Twitter “X,” but everybody still calls it Twitter so that’s what I’m going with here.
Followup to comments 55, 61, 72, 74, 81, 82 and 114.
[…] “Russia’s reputation for deceit, cruelty and violence is so widely accepted that nobody for one second thought that this was an accident,” retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told NBC News. “We all automatically assumed it was either a hit, or staged.”
[…] Whether or not the Kremlin was involved, the Russian state won’t mind the implication that it was, according to Tatiana Stanovaya, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the founder and head of the political analysis firm R.Politik.
“No matter what caused the plane crash, everyone will see it as an act of vengeance and retribution,” she said in a post on the messaging app Telegram. “The Kremlin wouldn’t really stand in the way of that.”
Stanovaya added that, “Prigozhin’s death must be a lesson to any potential followers.”
[…] Prigozhin’s supporters would likely be “more scared than inspired to protest,” Stanovaya said.
[…] Hodges, the former U.S. commander in Europe, is among those who believe Prigozhin’s death would be a symptom of further chaos and destabilization within the Russian state. “I anticipate that things in Russia are going to deteriorate,” he said. “Those in power hate each other. They don’t trust each other.”
Putin himself spent Wednesday evening at a ceremony marking 80 years since the then-Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany at the Battle of the Kursk, a famous World War II tank exchange.
He handed out medals to Russian soldiers who have been fighting in Ukraine, all while the private jet believed to be carrying his once loyal enforcer burned near the capital. […]
[…] By arranging for an online interview with the former Fox News host, Trump and his team figured they could distract attention away from the other GOP candidates, while giving the former president a platform of his own. It was an example of Counterprogramming 101.
But as NBC News’ report on the 46-minute episode noted, Carlson’s interview with the Republican frontrunner did get a little weird.
Donald Trump’s attempt to dominate the Republican presidential debate from afar Wednesday night veered into dark and occasionally bizarre territory as he mused with commentator Tucker Carlson about potential civil war, the manner of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s death in prison and whether he’s concerned about potential assassination attempts.
[…] Viewers learned about Trump’s thoughts on household water pressure. And the Panama Canal. And the seven wonders of the world (though the Republican struggled to remember whether the total was seven or nine). And mosquito-related deaths. And the fact that it’s a secret why he calls former Gov. Asa Hutchinson “Ada.” [FFS. Memory lapse.]
All of this, of course, came amidst predictable nonsense about the Jan. 6 attack, his many criminal indictments, his 2020 defeat, and his contempt for President Joe Biden.
But arguably the most notable exchange related to political violence. From a Vox report on the interview:
Carlson, the disgraced former Fox News host, asked Trump twice whether he believed America might be heading toward a “civil war” or “open conflict.” In response, the former president suggested that such violence was within the realm of possibility. “There’s a level of passion I’ve never seen, there’s a level of hatred I’ve never seen. And that’s probably a bad combination,” Trump told Carlson.
A related Washington Post report helped shine a light on the larger pattern of Trump’s rhetoric on the subject:
Trump, the polling leader for the Republican nomination, has repeatedly declined to condemn or rule out political violence. As a candidate, in 2015 and 2016, he encouraged rallygoers to rough up hecklers and protesters. As president, in 2017, he defended white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, one of whom killed a counterprotester, saying there were “very fine people on both sides.” In a 2020 presidential debate, he told the Proud Boys violent extremist group to “stand back and stand by.” And on Jan. 6, 2021, and ever since, he has praised his supporters who attacked police and broke into the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
[…] as Vox’s report added, “The idea that the United States is careening toward civil conflict is a central animating idea among violent far-right extremists. Trump indulging such dark speculation, given his influence on the American right, runs the risk of even further mainstreaming their ideas.”
Note that Tucker Carlson actually pushed Trump on the question of civil unrest or violence. He wanted Trump to acknowledge the possibility … and he wanted Trump to NOT condemn violence.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is demanding information from Willis related to her investigation.
In his letter to Willis, obtained by NBC News, Jordan requests specific information related to her probe, including whether she coordinated any of her efforts with special counsel Jack Smith, who has also brought charges against Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“There are questions about whether and how your office coordinated with DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith during the course of this investigation, Congress has an interest in any such activity that involves federal law enforcement agencies and officials that fall under its oversight,” Jordan wrote.
Jordan demanded Willis turn over all documents and communications:
…referring or relating to the DA’s office’s receipt and use of federal funds
…between or among the DA’s office and the DOJ and its components, including but not limited to the office of the special counsel, referring or related to her office’s investigation of Trump or the 18 co-defendants in the special counsel’s indictment of the former president
…between the DA’s office and any federal executive branch officials regarding Willis’ investigation of Trump or the 18 co-defendants in the special counsel’s indictment of the former president
Jordan’s request follows a similar pattern that he employed shortly after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought charges against Trump. Jordan also requested documents from Bragg, and demanded specific information into how federal funds may have been used to conduct the investigation into Trump.
If you were looking for the first Republican debate to be anything but the usual dismal fare, consider this a life lesson. The state of political debates has been trending towards all-night vapidity every year since the invention of television, and you can blame the network heads for that. You usually need only the first two minutes or so to judge how much of a car crash any particular evening will become. The more the opening song-and-dance looks like the introduction to a sports broadcast complete with a drone zipping around the auditorium, the worse the questions will be. The moment any commenter begins talking in metaphors like “tale of the tape” or “punching above his weight,” you know that that talking head is going to be a big bag of uselessness.
We have realtime dial technology, you know. There’s no good reason why the pundits […] can’t be wired up so that a powerful electric shock is dispensed to anyone who thinks choosing national leaders is just another game of nerd football. If a running back drops the ball it might cost a game. If an incompetent blowhard is elected to the presidency, it could lead to the deaths of 1 million people and a new grassroots movement to bring back polio. [I agree]
I’m very glad your graphics department put together another peppy song-and-dance to kick things off, every network who ever hosts these things, but how about next time we focus a little more on the polio part and a little less on pep?
There’s a push by numerous pundits to declare the absent Donald Trump the “winner” of the debate by virtue of the sheer dullness of everyone else’s performance, and I’m not seeing it. If anything, debate night proved that Republicanism can trundle along very well indeed without ever mentioning Trump again—which of course raises the question of why they haven’t gotten on with that already. You want anti-immigrant hate? Republicans have that. You want know-nothing blowhardism? Check out the Elon Musk impersonator. […] Predictably, Musk was heaping praise on Ramaswamy after the debate.
If you’re an insufferable godbotherer then you’ve got Mike Pence, who’s willing to channel Jesus Christ Himself at the drop of a hat so Jesus can tell you all about how brilliant Pence is while Mother looks on with adoration. If you want a rough-and-tumble asshole, Chris Christie is your guy. Nikki Haley is for the fans of tactical evasiveness, and Ron DeSantis is the jackass who grew up thinking he would be America’s Julius Caesar, only to learn that the general public already has a lot of people like that in their family and at their workplace and aren’t particularly interested in adding in another.
What Trump brought to the party last time was racism, lies, and penis jokes, and it turns out the party can still do just fine without the penis jokes. If Trump were silenced tomorrow […] the Republican base would soon forget he ever existed. Nobody was buzzing about Trump’s supposed counterprogramming when it was all over. The man buffooned his sloppy way through a question about a new civil war on Channel Elon and still, nobody cared.
Oh, but Trump did contribute to the debate even in his absence. His name and his snarling violent coup attempt brought us the debate’s highlight moment: When the candidates were asked whether they would still support Trump as Republicanism’s presidential nominee even if he were convicted for the anti-American conspiracy, all but one of these malignant fuckers took sheepish looks at one another and timidly raised their hands. Including, yes, the man who spent a week in an intensive care unit after Donald Trump gave him COVID, and a man who had to flee from the insurrectionist mob that Trump aimed squarely at him.
[…] If it’s a choice between insulting the segment of the Republican base that supports violent coup or supporting Trump’s supposed right to commit any crimes he wants, then Donald can wipe his ass on every flag in the country and they’ll salute him for doing it. Not even Pence thinks sending a violent, police-attacking mob after him is something that should disqualify a person from being granted the power to try it again.
Fascism is always this pathetic, by the way. The reason it hyper-focuses on supposed masculinity is because its adherents tend to be vapid, adrift, and powerless in their own lives. The militancy is a way to redeem themselves by substituting state-sanctioned violence for their own lack of success and courage. You’ve got a stage full of the most ambitious so-called patriots in the county. They think if they agree that attempting to overthrow the damn government ought to disqualify a person from the presidency, it would be much too risky a proposition to do so publicly.
[…] They can’t even stomach turning against a sneering ex-reality television star who’s spent his entire life believing that he, personally, can break whatever laws he wants. They would be Oval Office chair-warmers signing their name to whatever their donors’ lobbyists set down on their desk.
[…] The candidates gave their best lying jabs trying to stoke anti-abortion sentiment, and even the crowd of candidate-provided hyper-partisans mustered up only token applause. It is a small, small set of Americans who have invested themselves in banning abortion, and the party still does not realize that not even their own base wants the sort of theocracy Republican political figures have promised them. […]
Again: Nihilism. It was all just another evening of dull nihilism, one with a flashy opening and a lot of yelling and no real principles you could plant your flag in. This is a party that has lost its way, a set of performances even the most partisan of crowds appear to be tiring of. There should be a lesson there, but there’s nobody left in the party who seems capable of finding it.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has found that the plane crash presumed to have killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion, according to U.S. and Western officials. […]
The officials did not offer any details of what caused the explosion that was believed to have killed Prigozhin and several of his lieutenants to avenge a mutiny that challenged the Russian leader’s authority. […]
If the deaths are confirmed, the crash would be the most serious blow the group has ever suffered to its leadership. The passenger manifest included Prigozhin and his second-in-command who baptized the group with his nom de guerre, as well as Wagner’s logistics chief, a fighter wounded by U.S. airstrikes in Syria and at least one possible bodyguard.
It was not clear why several high-ranking members of Wagner, including top leaders who are normally exceedingly careful about their security, were on the same flight. The purpose of their joint trip to St. Petersburg was unknown.
[…] At Wagner’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, lights were turned on in the shape of a large cross, and Prigozhin supporters built a makeshift memorial, piling red and white flowers outside the building Thursday, along with company flags and candles. [Putin may have created a popular martyr.]
[…] According to the civil aviation authority, the flight manifest included Dmitry Utkin, who was long believed to be the founder of Wagner. Utkin’s call sign was Wagner, which became the company’s name. He was a retired special forces officer and a member of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service and was responsible for Wagner command and combat training, according to investigations by the Dossier Center and Bellingcat.
Other top associates listed on the manifest included Valery Chekalov, who was Wagner’s logistics mastermind, in charge of managing mercenaries and securing weapons, and Yevgeny Makaryan, who was wounded while fighting with Wagner in Syria. […]
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County jail Thursday afternoon, according to jail records.
Meadows is charged alongside 18 other defendants – including former President Trump – in a sweeping racketeering case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) that claims they participated in a criminal enterprise to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results and keep Trump in power.
Once Trump’s top White House aide, Meadows now faces two charges: violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer.
The solicitation charge is tied to his attendance at a call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), where Trump urged Raffensperger to help him “find” enough votes in his favor.
Meadows agreed to a $100,000 bond earlier Thursday – the same amount as several Trump lawyers charged in the case. His height and weight were recorded as part of the booking process, and he was given a prisoner identification number. He also likely received a mugshot, as the other defendants have. […]
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is set to unveil its new stamp honoring late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this October.
USPS announced Thursday it will hold a first-day-of-issue ceremony in October for the new Forever stamp commemorating Ginsburg’s legacy.
[…] She served on the Supreme Court for 27 years.
The stamp features an oil painting of Ginsburg wearing her black judicial robe and white collar. USPS Art Direct Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with art by Michael J. Deas, which was based on a photograph by Philip Bermingham.
“After beginning her career as an activist lawyer fighting gender discrimination, Justice Ginsburg became a respected jurist whose important majority opinions advancing equality and strong dissents on socially controversial rulings made her a passionate proponent of equal justice and an icon of American culture,” USPS said last year in an initial description of the stamp.
The first-day-of-issue ceremony will be held on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The USPS said the event is free and open to the public.
The first-class Forever stamp will be sold in panes of 20, according to USPS. Each stamp costs 63 cents.
[…] Meanwhile, back in America, two oligarchs who are still in Putin’s good graces, Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson, took a long bath together and put the whole sordid event on Twitter. […]
And during that long bath, Tucker looked at Trump and asked, “Don’t they have to kill you now?” Yes, it appears Tucker is scared Joe Biden and the Deep State are going to give a Putin Special to Donald Trump and throw him out a window. Or maybe Joe Biden will do the old “polonium in the wall ketchup” trick to Trump. […]
Tucker posted these highlights: [video at the link]
Tucker kept talking about it, according to people who watched it.
“Can I ask you — that gets back to my original question,” he said. “If the protests didn’t work, and you got elected anyway; the impeachment didn’t work, twice; indictment is not working … If you chart it out, it’s an escalation, is what I’m saying. So what’s next, after trying to put you in prison for the rest of your life? That’s not working. Don’t they have to kill you now?”
[…] AS FOR PRIGOZHIN!
Welp, we do not really know whether he was murdered or he deplaned himself or he wasn’t on the plane to begin with and he faked it.
Cathy Young has a pretty comprehensive piece in The Bulwark running through possibilities. He is proooooobably dead. This is prooooooobably Putin doing payback for Prigozhin’s mutiny, two months later. Which is quite crazy, considering how much Prigozhin has done for Putin over the years, not only with his Wagner mercenary group, but lest we forget, Prigozhin ran the Russian troll farm that helped Putin steal the 2016 election for Trump.
What a spectacular fall from grace […]
Yeah, Putin had a big day yesterday. It’s hard to keep all these oligarchs in line! Sometimes they fall out of sky. Sometimes they do interview at Bedminster and both their pants are falling down […]
Donald Trump fired his lawyer and hired Gunna’s attorney, ABC News reports. After former President Trump surrendered to authorities, he made the move immediately on Thursday (Aug. 24). Drew Findling, his previous lawyer, aided Gucci Mane, Offset, and others in legal battles. However, he has enlisted Steve Sadow after being indicted by a Fulton grand jury on 13 felony counts.
Sadow, also known as the “Billion Dollar Lawyer,” recently helped secure Gunna’s freedom in the YSL RICO case. Steve spoke about his new gig in an official press release, declaring Trump is innocent of all charges.
“I have been retained to represent President Trump in the Fulton County, Georgia case,” Sadow said. “The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him… We look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open-minded jury finding the president not guilty,” he added. “Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the president have no place in our justice system.” …
These exercises are pointless. Formal debates have judges and clear rules of argumentation. Political debates in the USA play to the audience, not the judges, and frequently ignore the actual questions asked.
Police secretly copied one or more computers they seized from the Marion County Record and unlawfully failed to hand over the copy when they returned evidence last week, an attorney for the newspaper asserts.
Bernie Rhodes, who represents the Marion County Record, plans to ask a judge to hold Sheriff Jeff Soyez in contempt of court unless a resolution can be reached Thursday.
Rhodes outlines the situation in a letter sent Wednesday to county counselor Bradley Jantz. In the letter, Rhodes says Jantz has not responded to his inquiries this week…
The US government has awarded more than $1.4 billion to kick-start the development of new vaccines and therapies to fight Covid-19, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.
The funding is part of Project NextGen, a $5 billion government initiative to develop new and more durable vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus, which continues to infect, hospitalize and kill Americans more than three years after its emergence.
“This is an investment in expanding our country’s ability to respond to the future variants that we might see coming out of Covid,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Tuesday.
The funding includes $300 million to the drug manufacturer Regeneron for the development and testing of a new preventive monoclonal antibody, similar to the now-defunct Evusheld, which will help protect people who don’t respond well to vaccines. Clinical trials of the new antibody therapy will begin in the fall.
As the virus has continued to evolve, antibodies like Evusheld have lost their potency against it. There hasn’t been an effective monoclonal antibody to help people with reduced immune function since late January.
Another $1 billion in funding will go to four companies that will lead clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines. HHS says the funding will support phase 2b clinical trials of new types of vaccines. HHS will select the vaccines that will be tested this fall, and the studies will begin over the winter…
As for monoclonals becoming obsolete as the virus evolves: this will continue to be the case. And since there are multiple variants circulating today, this approach looks to be less promising as time passes.
The attorney general of Washington DC is investigating Leonard Leo, the rightwing activist who has driven efforts to install judges on federal courts including the US supreme court, which he helped tip 6-3 in conservatives’ favour, Politico reported.
Citing a source with direct knowledge, the site said the scope of the investigation mounted by the Democratic attorney general, Brian Schwalb, was unclear…
A Fox TV broadcast station license renewal is facing an uncommon level of scrutiny at the Federal Communications Commission, with the FCC taking the rare step of allowing broader public input on a petition to deny the station’s renewal application.
The proceeding concerns WTXF-TV in Philadelphia, the only Fox-owned TV station that’s currently up for renewal. An advocacy group called the Media and Democracy Project (MAD) petitioned the FCC to deny the renewal on July 3, arguing that Fox “has repeatedly aired false information about election fraud, sowing discord in the country and contributing to harmful and dangerous acts on January 6, 2021.”
MAD says that Fox lacks the character required to maintain a license and hopes other Fox stations will lose their licenses, too. No other Fox stations are up for license renewal until 2028, according to a Bloomberg article…
MAGA World is forever and always awash in weird conspiracy theories. It’s what they do. […]
What you don’t see every day is MAGAs fretting over the possibility—nay, likelihood—that Donald Trump himself might be leading his faithful flock to the abattoir. […]
As Trump prepares to be fingerprinted and mugshot (mugshooted?) in Georgia, he’s summoned his hordes to gather at a rally there. But some folks were too smart for that. What if it’s an FBI setup? You know, like Jan. 6!
Planned for 10 AM Thursday morning, the rally was organized by Laura Loomer, an extreme right-wing anti-Muslim activist whom Trump is naturally enamored with. If you don’t know who Loomer is—well, congratulations. Unlike some of us, you won’t eventually need sizable hunks of your prefrontal cortex languidly scooped out of your head with your grandma’s old melon baller. Unfortunately for Loomer, she’s surrounded herself with “independent thinkers” who think something foul’s afoot.
NBC News:
Trump posted a link to a Newsweek article about the rally on his social media platform, Truth Social, as well as a screenshot of a Loomer post calling on Trump supporters to gather at the jail.
On both Truth Social and X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter, conservative users worried that undercover law enforcement officials and antifa activists were behind the rally, planning to use it as a “setup” to arrest Trump supporters.
“Watch out for the FBI and antifa/blm to stir up a riot,” a social media user with the display name “Ultra Maga” wrote.
Other MAGA devotees chimed in as well.
“Be careful, it could be a setup just like the J6,” wrote one commentator on social media.
“Watch out for FBI plants,” stated another.
“They can play havoc with your peaceful plans,” said another Trumpie, who apparently thinks Jan. 6 would have been a Woodstock-style love-in if not for the dread influence of the FBI. […]
Of course, Jan. 6 was not an FBI setup designed to “get Trump” and his supporters. The huge mob of violent protesters bashing in cops’ skulls in an effort to forestall Joe Biden’s electoral college victory was kind of a dead giveaway. The loud, sustained chants calling for Mike Pence’s extrajudicial hanging may have been a clue, too.
Weirdly, the idea that Jan. 6 was nothing but a setup has gained a lot of traction since former Fox fish stick fuckwit Tucker Carlson started beating that drum. Though it can’t be true that the Jan. 6 protests were both a false-flag operation designed to make Trump supporters appear violent and, as Trump has said, a completely innocuous nonevent during which protesters were “hugging and kissing” the police. Then again, one of the first rules of MAGA is that it’s fine to hold two entirely contradictory thoughts in one’s head simultaneously, so long as both are favorable to Trump. Consider their insistence that President Joe Biden is both a criminal mastermind and an incoherent, Depends-dependent mess who’s more focused on the beach and ice cream than his job. […]
“As Trump prepares to be fingerprinted and mugshot (mugshooted?) in Georgia,”
I believe the correct term would be “mugshat.”
——————-
the result of mugshatting is of course mugshite.
——————–
They need an excuse to not show. I think they know this time they will not push their way into the courthouse.
—————-
These rumors are great; they’ll prevent Trump from organizing large-scale violence. Unfortunately we still have the lone wolves to worry about.
——————–
The MAGAs are right. There is a vast, deep state conspiracy, using Jewish space lasers and Italian satellites, to zombify federal agents into entrapping innocent MAGA cultists. Everything is a trap, from renewing your vehicle’s registration to signing up to take cupcakes to your child’s school on his or her birthday. MAGA cultists should stay home, disconnect all electronic devices, and line the walls of their domiciles with aluminum foil.
———————
And they should especially not expose themselves by going out to vote. Or vote by mail, either — who knows who might be intercepting their mail?
—————————–
Deep state federal agents would put microchips in their mail-in and absentee ballots. The safest course of action for the MAGA cultists is to stay home and do and say nothing
—————————-
You do realize they will weigh Trump and check his height probably with his shoes off. We will get a chance to see Trump’s real height to weight ratio.
I call Morbidly Obese on my bingo card
————————-
Sorry to disappoint you, but they’ve been letting the defendants state their weight and height themselves, and just accepting that. TFG will turn out to be 6’1” and 185 lbs.
————————
Seth Abramson has never been in a cult is my thinking. “That’s all it is” makes it a bit -meh — when this one isn’t. I was in a christian one for 15 years. I believed the head Elder was going to help me in my walk with God and make me a better person. So all the bible blah blah blah was supposed to do that. Little did I know it was being used to keep me suppressed and oppressed and willing to do what I was told to do to get Jesus’ love. Also being used to create guilt in me and get more $ by my buying their bible, messages, and go to trainings. 1.5 years after we left we found out head honcho was worth at least $16M and each of his 8 kids would get $2M when he died. I didn’t know that and if “The Local Church” was condemned in any way, shape or form — we were martyrs for God’s move on earth.
Sound familiar? They want 45 because he makes them believe only he can make the world a better place for them. He’s told them so. He will suppress other races. He will suppress government and get it “out of their lives.” Stop immigration. Blah blah blah. But….he too is using them for grift. But….they won’t see it because by giving to him they believe he will do what he says he will. They are martyrs to 45’s MAGA on earth. That’s why too many correlate him to God.
We can joke and belittle but this is very real, and deep for so many in the 45 cult. I was deathly afraid to leave because we were told stories of people who died by freak situations when they left “the” church and God’s move on earth. God will smite. They are afraid to walk away because we’ve seen how he attacks R. Freeman, Raffensberg and so many more. His vitriol is horrific. They don’t want to join us because we are awful people and will stop 45 from fulfilling his promise to them. Much more than that that you are all aware.
So “that’s all it is” is not correct. What it is makes it a very frightening cult.
Two U.S. officials told NBC News that intelligence gathered so far points to sabotage as the cause of the plane crash that reportedly killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and others near Moscow yesterday. One of the officials said a leading theory is that the aircraft was downed by an explosive on board, but they do not have enough information to say that with certainty.
A gunman who opened fire at a beloved California bar popular with bikers, leaving three people dead, is a former law enforcement officer who targeted his wife, authorities said Thursday.
The shooter was identified as 59-year-old John Snowling, who retired as a sergeant from the Ventura Police Department in 2014, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
Snowling was among those killed when gunfire erupted at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon just after 7 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, officials said.
Four people in all were pronounced dead at the scene, including the gunman, officials said. Six other people were transported to a hospital, five of whom had gunshot wounds, Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said.
The shooter’s “wife was injured in the shooting and is not deceased,” the sheriff said Thursday.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies encountered the armed man and a shooting that involved multiple deputies, leaving the gunman dead, Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said. […]
The Florida State Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve new rules at state colleges for transgender employees and students that are intended to comply with a law, passed in May, restricting access to bathrooms. Colleges will be forced to fire employees who twice use a bathroom other than the one assigned to their sex at birth, despite being asked to leave. And bathroom restrictions also now apply to student housing operated by the colleges.
A Delaware judge on Wednesday rejected Newsmax’s attempt to throw out part of a defamation case brought by the election technology company Smartmatic against the right-wing network.
Smartmatic sued Newsmax after the network repeatedly aired false claims about the 2020 election — specifically the lie that the company’s software was involved in an international plot to rig the presidential election against Donald Trump. The company later updated its lawsuit to add 26 additional examples of alleged defamation, claiming it found the new material during the discovery process, when Newsmax turned over “hundreds of hours” of broadcasts.
Newsmax, a smaller pro-Trump network, denies the allegations.
The ruling on Wednesday from Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis means those additional allegations will remain in the lawsuit, in a blow to Newsmax.
The case is just one of several pending defamation suits tied to Trump’s election lies.
Smartmatic is also suing Fox News for $2.7 billion over the right-wing network’s airing of baseless conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election. Dominion Voting Systems, another voting technology company that settled a defamation suit against Fox News for a historic $787 million, is also suing Newsmax over the false claims.
“After I gave my life to Jesus Christ as my lord and savior I opened up the book and I read ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. And see I set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life,’” Mike Pence intoned from the debate stage Wednesday. “I knew from that moment on the cause of life had to be my cause.”
whheydtsays
Re: Lynna, OM @ #140…
Sigh, indeed. He’s running for a secular office, but wants to impose his religious beliefs on everyone, including those that do not adhere to his religion. Pretty good example of why I put candidates that express strong religious beliefs in their statements at the bottom of the list of those to vote for. The rest have to be pretty bad before I’ll vote for a candidate that’s all about their religion.
Donald Trump turned himself in Thursday evening for arrest and processing at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail after being indicted along with 18 others for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
After being booked, Trump made a statement to the press gathered at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. “I really believe this is a sad day for America. This should never happen,” Trump said. “If you challenge an election, you should be able to challenge an election. I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election, and I should have every right to do that.”
Unlike in the three other criminal cases in which Trump has been indicted, arrested and arraigned, the former president was obliged to pose for a mugshot at the jail, as have all of those charged with crimes stemming from the election plot. His bond had been set at $200,000, and he used Foster Bail Bonds Service to pay it, according to reports…
Just before he arrived in Atlanta, Donald Trump (or whoever writes his messages for him) sent an email to supporters that begins: “This will be my last email to you before I enter the Fulton County Jail to be ARRESTED as an innocent man.”
It’s a gripping opening line, and indeed, this was a big moment: Trump’s trip to jail was something no former president has ever gone through.
The 250-plus words that follow are filled with dire proclamations. “The people of our country will watch in shock and horror as a former President – and the LEADING OPPONENT to the current regime – gets WRONGFULLY ARRESTED in a notoriously violent jail at the hands of the ruling political party”, Trump protests in a typical line.
“I’m now about to enter Fulton County Jail. These are my last words to you before my sham arrest: I WILL NEVER SURRENDER OUR MISSION TO SAVE AMERICA” he continues.
And that’s when the message’s purpose becomes clear: “Please make a contribution to peacefully defend our movement as the Deep State tries to JAIL me for life as an innocent man all because I put AMERICA first.” The text itself is actually a hyperlink that leads to a donation page run by WinRed – a fundraising platform with a history of ripping off consumers.
Below that is a series of boxes beginning at $24 and going up to $250. Perhaps the goal is to cover the $20,000 he had to put down to bond out of the Fulton county jail.
The state Supreme Court Thursday rejected a request to order a recount of all mail-in ballots cast by Maricopa County voters in November’s general election.
The court’s order came one week after David Mast, a Kari Lake supporter in Maricopa County, and Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby, who refused to certify his county’s election results last year, filed their request for a special action.
But their argument that Maricopa County used improper methods to verify voter signatures on their mail-in ballot envelopes fell flat with the high court.
Justice Kathryn King wrote there was no “compelling reason” for why the duo’s request should start with the Supreme Court, indicating they should take their grievance to a lower court.
She pointed to the ruling in a separate case — Kari Lake’s election challenge — in which the judge found “clear and convincing evidence” that the Nov. 8 election was conducted lawfully. That case revolved around the proper verification of voter signatures.
If the two want to again challenge last year’s election, King wrote, they should start in a lower court.
Crosby and Mast targeted the process Maricopa County used to verify the signatures on mail-in ballot envelopes last fall. They argued the county illegally relied on more than just the official voter register to check the veracity of voters’ signatures…
“Putin is known to always keep his word!”
“More than that, Putin is all about the laws!”
The segment in which he responds to audience members makes an even better contrast with the podcast @ #333 in the previous chapter. I can’t imagine the psychological effects of living in this toxic political climate day after day.
Mugshot photo at the link. I’m sure Trump practiced that look in the mirror for days.
Trump is charged with 13 felonies in Fulton County, including racketeering, filing false documents, conspiracy to commit forgery, and others. He paid a $200,000 bond, also a first for him.
Re: Lynna, OM @ #146…
Apparently, Trump used a bail bond company, so he only actually paid $20K. (And, so far as I know, no matter what happens, he can’t get that back.) He also put out a fund raising appeal from the airport before departing, so it’s a good bet he’s trying to get his supporters to cover what he spent to get a bond.
The Republican Party remains divided on Ukraine, but an emerging talking point from the pro-Putin side is that the U.S. needs to “pivot to China.” Their claim is that supporting Ukraine and opposing Russian imperialism are somehow incompatible with the need to defend our Asian allies against an increasingly belligerent China.
Yet Russia and China are allies, and defeating Russia in Ukraine is absolutely critical for the defense of our Asian allies—for several very important reasons.
Tech bro and all-around man-splainin’ ignoramus Vivek Ramaswamy would outright surrender to Russia’s Vladimir Putin:
“I will end the war by ceasing further U.S. support for Ukraine and negotiating a peace treaty with Russia that achieves a vital U.S. security objective: ceasing Russia’s growing military alliance with China,” Ramaswamy is expected to say in a policy speech Friday, according to an advance copy of his remarks obtained by CBS News.
Ramaswamy would “offer a Korean war-style armistice agreement” that would cede most of Ukraine’s Donbas region to Russia.” And as part of the settlement, he said he would suspend U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, prevent Kyiv from joining NATO and lift Western sanctions against the Kremlin. He would also withdraw all troops from Ukraine and close all bases in Eastern Europe. …
In return, he says the U.S. would expect Russia to relinquish its military alliance with China, rejoin the nuclear non-proliferation START treaty, and withdraw all nuclear weapons and delivery capabilities from surrounding areas of Ukraine and annexed regions of the war-torn country.
Ramaswamy is just channeling his inner Donald Trump. The former guy vomits out words to the same effect.
Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to warn, “A big mess in Russia, but be careful what you wish for. Next in may be far worse!”
“Biden will do about Russia whatever President Xi of China wants him to do,” he added.
He further referred to China “wanting large portions of unpopulated land to have for their much larger population,” calling the current conflict an “unthinkable opportunity” for them to move on Russia.
House Republicans prattle on about the same nonsense. “Why would you pick Ukraine [for NATO membership]?” said MAGA Rep. Matt Gaetz to Newsmax, similarly eager to surrender to Putin. “Why not extend NATO to Russia and make it an anti-China alliance? Are we really thinking that we’re more afraid of the broke-down tanks from Russia than the fact that China is building a secret military base on the island of Cuba, 90 miles away from the United States? If we had to pick Russia or Ukraine for NATO, one could reasonably make the argument that Russia probably provides more benefit long term.”
The thing is, all these Republicans are wrong. In fact, anyone who thinks the United States can help defend our Asian democratic allies without first taking care of the Russia problem is delusional. Here are some of the reasons why.
RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE ALLIES. YOU CAN’T SEPARATE THE TWO
China may be reluctant to overtly support Russia’s war in Ukraine, but the two nations are united in several ways.
They are both major drivers of the BRICS framework (which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), attempting to build a counterbalance to Western hegemony by bringing together the so-called “global south.” While neither Russia nor China is actually in the global south, they are effectively rallying an international coalition of developing nations under their banner, and having decent success at it. Will it provide a real counterweight to the West’s dominant economic heft? Not anytime soon. But neither country can succeed in their long-term plans to counter Western power without building toward some kind of international union.
Whether the rest of the world accepts a more ambitious BRICS alliance, one with real teeth (it currently has none), remains to be seen. I’m guessing not. But China needs Russia to keep Europe preoccupied. Russia needs China for its economic survival and to keep the United States’ attention divided. The two have little reason to work at cross-purposes anytime soon.
That’s why Ramaswarmy and Gaetz’s notion that the West can pull Russia into an anti-China alliance is so patently ludicrous you can’t imagine they actually believe it. Russia needs to be feared and would never agree to join an alliance as a junior partner overshadowed by pretty much everyone else. […] At least with China, Russia can pretend to be an equal partner, and China is happy to play along. And neither will contain the other’s imperial, expansionist agenda.
Then there’s Trump’s ridiculous assertion that “[China wants] large portions of unpopulated land to have for their much larger population.” China’s population is shrinking, and its birth rate is now lower Japan’s. “For a country’s population to remain stable, a birth rate of 2.1 children per woman is required. China’s fertility rate is now at 1.16, while in Japan it is at 1.26,” reported Foreign Brief. China’s problem isn’t a lack of space for its people—it has a landmass three times larger than India, which is now the most populated country in the world. China’s problem is economic stagnation precipitated by an aging population, supercharged by corporations like Apple moving away from China, burned by the COVID-19 shutdowns, and rattled by China’s belligerence toward Taiwan. No one wants all their eggs in the China basket anymore.
So no, China doesn’t need “more land.” That’s just dumb, which is what we’d expect from Trump or his new mini-me, Ramaswamy. It is not an “unthinkable opportunity” for China to move on Russia. And even if it was, that’s not our problem. Why is Trump, as usual, doing his best to defend Putin and Russia?
RUSSIA WOULD SUPPORT A CHINESE ATTACK ON TAIWAN
We can make fun of Russia’s military all we want, but its Pacific Fleet exists and has dozens of surface vessels and submarines that would present a formidable challenge to any allied defense of Taiwan, or lead to a new Korean War. In addition, Russia has strategic bombers and other aircraft that would, again, provide support to a Chinese assault. These assets aren’t being degraded in Ukraine, but a toothless Russia in Europe would allow the U.S. to complete its pivot to Asia, redeploying to the east most, if not all, of its European-based assets.
Part of this pivot would be the understanding that Europe needs to be more proactive in its own defense—a debate and realization already underway. […] A growing rearmament is already underway, led by a hyper-aggressive Poland. It sucks that the military-industrial complex will benefit, but the alternative is far worse. It’s not our fault that Putin and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping exist.
RUSSIAN VICTORY WOULD FORCE THE U.S. TO PERMANENTLY DEPLOY FORCES TO NATO’S EASTERN FLANK, DILUTING THE U.S.’S ABILITY TO FOCUS ON ASIA
The Pentagon’s budget is massive and bloated because of the supposed need to simultaneously fight 2.5 wars. Right now, if Ukraine’s ammunition shortage is any indication, it’s not clear we’d have the munitions to fight a single-prolonged war against a near-peer adversary.
A Russian victory in Ukraine, which Trump, Gaetz, and Ramswamy would love to deliver, would retain Russia as a belligerent force capable of rearming and threatening its European and Central Asian neighbors. Treaty obligations would force the United States to retain a large European presence, diluting the U.S.’s ability to fully pivot to China.
Effective deterrence must make it clear to a possible adversary, like Xi, that any offensive action wouldn’t just be costly, but it also might not even succeed. The more troops, ships, and planes the U.S. deploys in or near Asia, the harder Xi’s calculations become.
IF THE U.S. ABANDONS ITS EUROPEAN ALLIES, ITS ASIAN ALLIES WILL TAKE NOTICE AND BE LESS LIKELY TO RESIST CHINESE BELLIGERENCE
The cornerstone of any alliance is trust. Russia and China exert power via force (the former) or economic soft power plus threats (the latter). Neither has true alliances that would compel them to defend another country, even if it runs counter to their own narrow national interests. You see that in Russia’s inability to rally a single other country, not even China, to contribute significant war material to their invasion. China knows that overtly aiding Russia would cost them economically. Meanwhile, China’s belligerent “wolf warrior” diplomacy has alienated every single one of its Asian neighbors except for North Korea, which serves China’s interest in having a buffer between its own border and democratic South Korea.
The U.S. does things differently. Our nation’s ability to defend its interests around the globe is based on multilateral treaty obligations. We’ve seen how worthless Russia’s security treaties are. Heck, Armenia learned that the hard way when the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization alliance refused to rally to its defense when Azerbaijan invaded several times over the past year.
A treaty is only as valuable as its participants’ ability to fulfill their obligations.
Several decades after being kicked out, the U.S. military is returning to the Philippines. Japan is shedding its post-World War II pacifism to more actively confront Chinese aggression. Australia is building new nuclear-powered submarines and working toward a stronger regional military presence. Even formerly hostile India is playing footsie with the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, increasing military ties as a counterbalance to China (take that, BRICS!). Even Vietnam is in the process of transitioning from former enemy to new ally.
All of these new and budding allies are watching how the U.S. handles the war in Ukraine. If they are going to place their eggs in the America basket, they need to know our nation will prove resilient and effective, even when the going gets tough. Why would the Philippines invite the U.S. back in if the U.S. would bail in a real confrontation? Vietnam shares a border with China—it wants to know that if it negotiates security guarantees with the U.S. and its regional allies, they’ll show up if Vietnam needs them to.
In Ukraine, the U.S. is confirming that it can be an honest and dependable friend and ally if it is ever needed in Asia.
Ultimately, it is clear that the best thing the U.S. can do to contain Chinese aggression is to reassure its Asian partners that it is a dependable ally, as well as defang Russia, thereby securing the European continent and allowing the Pentagon to focus its military might in defense of our Asian allies.
More Ukraine updates coming soon.
wzrd1says
SC @ 143, is it me or did Trump’s word salad make even less sense than usual? The Deep State arrested him in a county jail, isn’t deep state usually national, aka federal level? Violent jail, which he likely never even saw a cell of before throwing bail?
Oh well, regardless, I’m sure that it’ll go in to pay for someone’s new cat house or something equally corrupt.
At the Fulton County jail, Trump’s height was listed at 6-foot-3 and his weight at 215. The person being arrested provides their height and weight. There’s no scale.
As the Washington Post put is: “But based on some of his co-defendants, the numbers may not be accurate.”
215 pounds is nearly 30 pounds lighter than his disclosed weight at the time of his last official White House physical.
From the Washington Post:
[…] In January 2018, a White House physician claimed he was 6-foot-3 and 239 pounds, a number that many online commentators noted put his body mass index at 29.9 — just below the 30.0 threshold for medical obesity.
At the time, numerous comparisons with other people suggested the numbers were not accurate […]
whheydt @147, you’re correct. Trump used a local bail bondsman, to whom he (or his gullible cult followers) paid 10% of the $200,000 bond = $20,000. I’d be willing to bet that Trump used other people’s money.
On its independence day, Ukraine staged a daring raid into western Crimea. This is from the Ukraine Armed Forces’ official Telegram account (translated by the app):
‼️ In occupied Crimea, a joint special operation of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine took place with the support of the Navy
🤝 On the night of August 24, an operation of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine took place in support of the Navy in temporarily occupied Crimea. Special units on watercraft landed on the shore in the area of Olenivka and Mayak settlements.
☑️ During the execution of the task, the Ukrainian defenders engaged in combat with the units of the occupier. As a result, the enemy suffered losses among personnel, enemy equipment was destroyed. Also, the state flag flew again in the Ukrainian Crimea
The operation targeted the western tip of Crimea, at a base which has long been thought to be the launching point for drone attacks against Odesa. While details remain sparse, this video of the retreating special operations forces shows a massive subsequent bombardment of the target: [Tweet and video at the link]
Speculation is that the ground forces may have taken out radar and air defense facilities, opening up the base to drone and missile attacks.
Russia admitted the raid took place, but claimed a nearly naked guard stationed on the beach pinned down the Ukranians until a response force arrived to kill most of them. [Tweet and video at the link: The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that the Raid by Ukrainian Special Forces last night on a Beach Resort in Northwestern Crimea resulted in the Death of 15-20 Ukrainian Soldiers, after a Security Guard in his Underwear was able to “Pin Down” the Solders near the Beach until a Russian Rapid-Response Force arrived.]
Curiously, Russia had video of the guy getting dressed, but no video of the alleged dead Ukrainians. [Yeah, that was ridiculous.]
This attack follows a spectacular mission yesterday in the same area to destroy a modern-generation Russian S-400 air defense battery: [Tweet, video and images at the link]
It is curious that a Ukrainian drone, deep inside Russian-occupied territory, managed to hover over the air defense battery and capture the arrival of a missile, both of which this battery was supposed to be able to shoot down.
——————————
OMG, I see a Ukrainian combined arms operation! [Tweet and video at the link]
I see artillery, mortar, armor, infantry, engineering (check out the line charge firing at 0:20 to clear a path through the minefield), and air support (drones).
It’s not a big assault, maybe platoon-sized. I count two tanks, two infantry vehicles, and about 20 infantry. Still, that’s how you learn this stuff. Over time, as they get practice and gain experience, perhaps they can operate combined arms with larger elements.
My big criticism? This well-executed assault was wasted north of Bakhmut, instead of taking ground on the actually important southern front. The OSINT folks have noted that this isn’t particularly fresh video, and Ukraine has likely held that position for a while. This unit, which seemed to perform well, is hopefully on its way to (or already at) the southern front.
————————–
Ukraine has finished replacing the Soviet emblem on the shield of the 62-meter-tall Mother Ukraine statue in Kyiv. It now sports a shiny new Ukrainian trident, all in time for Ukraine’s big Independence Day celebration today.
I’m curious: Given all the civilian targets Russia hits, why not target this one, for the obvious symbolism? I’m guessing they know they’d probably miss, and don’t want to become the butt of more jokes. [images at the link]
—————————
This sounds like great news! [Tweet with screenshot examples: Lot of Russian dooming all of a sudden re the Tokmak axis.]
Note: Just because Russian Telegram is freaking out, that doesn’t mean it’s actually happening. But let’s hope.
I want to slow us down just for a moment. Because this is important. This is not something you want to rush into without thinking about it.
Over the last few days, we have seen mug shots released as the 19 defendants in the Fulton County case have started turning themselves in for booking at the Fulton County Jail. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman — one after another.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has promised that former President Donald Trump would be treated like anyone else. Trump would get a Fulton County mug shot like everyone else.
Tonight, just this hour, the sheriff has released that mug shot. And so we slow down, just for a second, because this is serious stuff for the nation, and for who we are as a country.
We have never before had a mug shot of a United States president, current or former.
But now we do. There it is.
Criminal defendant and former President Donald J. Trump, presumed innocent until proven guilty, in accordance with the rule of law, for his sake and for ours.
This is not something to take lightly.
Our constitutional republic depends on the very basic concept of rule by law, not rule by man. A constitutional standard under which a president is still just a citizen, and all citizens have equal standing before one system of law, which applies equally to everyone.
The rule of law and health of our democracy depend not just on the conduct of this criminal case, but on our ability as citizens to take this with the sort of heft that it deserves. To look at it and to see it, as American citizens who prize country above politics.
We have never been here before, where we are forced to consider an American president as a suspected and indicted felon. But here we are.
I don’t know if Ruby Freeman will feel any better today, but the man who harassed Freeman to make false statements about election operations on election night in 2020 is now DETAINED in the Fulton County Jail! Yes, Harrison Floyd, the head of Black Voices for Trump, has no bond agreement, so he is now a guest of the filthy, lice, scabies, and bed bug ridden Fulton County Jail. And before anyone feels the least bit of sympathy for Floyd, he has already been arrested in Maryland for assaulting an FBI agent!
The assault of the FBI agent occurred during the serving of a subpeona from Jack Smith’s grand jury.
According to an affidavit, Floyd screamed profanities and assaulted an FBI agent when he and another agent showed up to Floyd’s apartment in Rockville, Md., located in the suburbs of the nation’s capital.
After the agents shoved the subpoena into Floyd’s apartment door and attempted to leave, Floyd allegedly ran down the stairs after them.
“You haven’t shown me a badge or nothing. I have a f—ing daughter. Who the f— do you think you are,” Floyd screamed, according to court documents.
He allegedly struck one of the agents “chest to chest” twice, according to the affidavit.
[…] like any good Trump lunatic, Floyd obviously thinks he is above the law. And Floyd is a very arrogant man.
Harrison Floyd, a leader of Black Voices for Trump who was indicted in the Georgia election case, was arrested earlier this year for allegedly assaulting an FBI agent, court filings show.
Floyd surrendered at the Fulton County jail Thursday, joining a number of former President Trump’s co-defendants, but he is the only one to do so without negotiating bail in advance.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s office confirmed Floyd is being detained since he has no bond agreement…
Interrupting Newsmax’s live broadcast outside the jail on his way in, Floyd said, “My name is Harrison Floyd and the district attorney wants me to talk to her, but she doesn’t want to call me.” He later surrendered after being ushered away from the media by law enforcement.
You are a CRIMINAL DEFENDENT dumbass. Fani Willis will get to you in her own sweet time, and you need a lawyer who will talk to her. She doesn’t call you. Your lawyer does that.
Oh, and where is your Orange God King, Floyd? Seems Trump can try to raise some money for the white racist Giuliani, but you? Trump is going to let you rot in that filthy jail.
The only laugh I’ve had today was when the Trump motorcade was pulling up to the Fulton County Jail, and Rachel Maddow, Nicole Wallace, Joy Reid, Ari Melber and Alex Wagner were discussing how surreal it was.
And Vaughan Hillyard was giving us a play-by play of the route, when out of nowhere, Rachel said something like, “Wow, this reminds me of a gay pride parade. But, instead of all these SUVs at the front, there usually are dykes on bikes.”
Everyone on the panel laughed, but we heard nothing from Hillyard, and someone jokingly said something like “Rachel left him speechless.”
Rachel’s quote is how I’ll always remember Trump’s indictment in Georgia.
The Metropolitan police has come under fire after announcing it has discontinued its investigation into cash-for-honours allegation involving the king’s charity, the Prince’s Foundation.
The force said on Monday no further action would be taken after the conclusion of an 18-month inquiry into media reports that offers of help to secure honours and citizenship for a wealthy Saudi national were made by a former chief executive of the foundation.
The Met said it had considered offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 and the Bribery Act 2010. Several witness were interviewed, including two men under caution, and over 200 documents reviewed. A file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in October.
“With the benefit of the CPS’s early investigative advice, and after careful consideration of the information received as a result of the investigation to date, the Met has concluded that no further action will be taken in this matter,” it said in a statement.
The decision was criticised by Norman Baker, the former Liberal Democrat minister, and author, who had written to the Met police after asking them to investigate the Prince’s Foundation under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act.
He said: “This is an incredibly open and shut case with the evidence provided in writing. It is astonishing how this matter is not being taken forward. We need an explanation from the Crown Prosecution Service and the Met police as to why no action is being taken. But the suspicion must be that no action is being taken because of the nature of the potential offender, rather than a proper assessment of the potential crime.”
Here, there’s not even a pretence that Charles Windsor is “just a citizen”. A criminal case in the UK with a Mr. Smith as defendant would be given the title “Rex vs Smith”. We can’t very well have a “Rex vs Rex”, can we? It’s clear that Trump is attempting to reverse one of the actual democratic gains of the American Revolution.
KGsays
Mugshot photo at the link. I’m sure Trump practiced that look in the mirror for days. – Lynna, OM@146
I spontaneously LoL’d when I saw it. But he obviously loves it – even posted it on Musk’s pinboard.
Reginald Selkirksays
@148: RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE ALLIES.
Neither has a sense of loyalty to the other, they are allies only so long as they both see it as being in their own interest to be allies.
wzrd1says
@ 161, ah, but isn’t that actually true in general as well?
388 remain unaccounted for on Maui, 155 now confirmed dead. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/us/maui-wildfires-unaccounted-for-list/index.html
At least that’s not as bad as the earlier report of between 800 – 1000, as apparently, the FBI’s assistance removed duplicates on multiple lists. Some, ruled off the list apparently via cell phone usage data.
Which suggests that cellular service has been at least moderately restored.
And that provisions of the Patriot Act are still in usage with cellular data being collected and monitored. Let the debate on that continue.
“Wagner made a significant contribution to the fight against Nazism in Ukraine, we will never forget this,” Putin said. – Lynna, OM quoting The Hill@114
wzrd1@164,
Yes, I LoL’d when I saw that ludicrous image. CNN’s Stephen Collinson says “It’s impossible to know what Trump is feeling.” Well, maybe. But it’s easy to see what he’s thinking: “This is my defiant face, and it’s going to make me a lot of money”. The article’s pathetic suggestion that maybe he shouldn’t have been “mugshat” (I like that past participle!) because everyone knows what he looks like and he’ll exploit it, egregiously misses the point: he should at all stages of the legal process be treated exactly like any other defendant.
A federal judge yesterday granted Google’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC), which claims that Google intentionally used Gmail’s spam filter to suppress Republicans’ fundraising emails. An order dismissing the lawsuit was issued yesterday by US District Judge Daniel Calabretta.
The RNC is seeking “recovery for donations it allegedly lost as a result of its emails not being delivered to its supporters’ inboxes,” Calabretta noted. But Google correctly argued that the lawsuit claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the judge wrote. The RNC lawsuit was filed in October 2022 in US District Court for the Eastern District of California.
“While it is a close case, the Court concludes that… the RNC has not sufficiently pled that Google acted in bad faith in filtering the RNC’s messages into Gmail users’ spam folders, and that doing so was protected by Section 230. On the merits, the Court concludes that each of the RNC’s claims fail as a matter of law for the reasons described below,” he wrote…
Reginald Selkirksays
Trump posted his mug shot from the Fulton County, Georgia, courtroom in his first post on X since January 2021, writing: “ELECTION INTERFERENCE. NEVER SURRENDER!”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia can restrict the sale of the abortion pill, despite federal regulators’ approval of it as a safe and effective medication, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers determined Thursday that the near-total abortion ban signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in September 2022 takes precedence over approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration…
Estonia’s strongly pro-Ukrainian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, came under increasing pressure Friday to resign, after Estonian media revealed her husband’s role in a company that indirectly did business in Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Kallas, 46, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, had urged all EU companies to stop doing business with Russia after the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
Her husband, Arvo Hallik, said Friday he would sell his 25% stake in Stark Logistics, a trucking company that worked with an Estonian company involved in Russia. He also said he would resign as the company’s chief financial officer and step down from the board…
Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee is selling $34 t-shirts featuring his mug shot.
Steve Benen summarized a Politico article:
With Trump refusing to participate in this week’s Republican presidential primary debate, there was some speculation about whether there’d be a robust viewing audience, but the ratings for Wednesday night’s event were quite good: Fox News said 12.8 million people tuned in.
I attribute some of the audience interest to curiosity and not really to support for the candidates.
Vivek Ramaswamy said at this week’s debate that the U.S. Constitution was responsible for us winning the American Revolution. Ramaswamy is the same guy that recommended young voters past a civics test before they’re permitted to cast ballots.
At Wednesday’s debate, DeSantis twice boasted that he served in Iraq “alongside U.S. Navy SEALs.” One of his former Republican congressional colleagues, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger, wrote via social media soon after, “Ron DeSantis was a [member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps]. Nothing against JAGS, but quit trying to make people believe you were a navy seal.”
Steve Benen covered that particular bit of misinformation that DeSantis was promoting.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association is speaking out after it said a bakery in the Mission District has a “no cops allowed” policy.
The SFPOA said an officer was denied service last weekend at Reem’s California location in the Mission District because he was in uniform. The restaurant has two locations in San Francisco, including one inside the Ferry Building.
SFPOA President Tracy McCray claims one officer encountered anti-police bigotry last weekend.
2:20
SF police union says Mission District restaurant not allowing to serve officers
“He was told by one of the workers there that they had a policy where they didn’t serve people in uniform who were armed,” McCray said. “You know, I was just like ‘here we go again,’ you know, with this crap, basically.”
NBC Bay Area reached out to Reem’s but did not hear back.
Perhaps they should change the policy to one of refusing service to anyone who carrying a firearm. Since military personnel don’t usually run around carrying guns, off their bases in the US, I doubt they’ve been refusing service to them.
There’s never a good time for someone to experience a multifaceted problem with their legal defense team, but for Donald Trump, the timing is especially unfortunate: The former president has, after all, been charged with a series of felonies across multiple jurisdictions.
[Trump] is still confronting — a series of troubles with lawyers in his orbit. Some, for example, were indicted in Georgia last week. Others might yet face federal criminal charges.
Some of the lawyers in Trump’s orbit are facing disbarment. Others have made unflattering public comments about their former client. A couple of attorneys who remain part of the former president’s legal team have said things to reporters that seemed to undermine [Trump’s] interests.
And did I mention that Trump is struggling to keep up with “a mountain of legal bills”? Because that’s true, too.
But among the striking developments is the fact that the former president’s legal team keeps changing. As my MSNBC colleague Hayes Brown noted:
Atlanta criminal defense attorney David Sadow will be leading Trump’s legal team moving forward, according to a filing this morning. He replaces David Findling, who first signed on with Trump last August.
[…] Sadow has a highly credible resume and relevant experience […]
As for why Findling is leaving the former president’s defense team, it’s unclear whether his departure was voluntary or not. That said, there are couple of dimensions to this that are worth keeping in mind. The first, as The New York Times reported, is Findling’s notable background.
When Mr. Trump chose Mr. Findling last summer to head his Georgia legal defense team, the choice fit with Mr. Trump’s pop-culture ties and his affinity for oversize personalities. Mr. Findling, who is often photographed wearing stylish sunglasses, refers to himself as the #BillionDollarLawyer on Instagram. … Before he was hired, Mr. Findling had sharply criticized Mr. Trump numerous times on social media. In 2018, he referred to Mr. Trump as “the racist architect of fraudulent Trump University.” But once he was hired, Mr. Findling mounted a vigorous defense of Mr. Trump.
The second is the familiarity of the circumstances. It was, after all, just three months ago when Trump parted ways with Timothy Parlatore, a lawyer who helped lead the former president’s defense team in the classified documents case. A month later, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, two of the former president’s top lawyers, also “abruptly resigned.”
Now, Findling has joined them as former members of Trump’s legal defense team.
Will the revolving door spin some more as the Republican’s many criminal cases advance? Watch this space.
Followup to comment 176: “Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee is selling $34 t-shirts featuring his mug shot.”
A detail too delicious to leave out: Moments after surrendering at the Fulton County jail, Trump decided to include this slogan on that T-shirt: “NEVER SURRENDER,” the $34 T-shirt reads below a copy of the mugshot.
As Laura Clawson put it: “He was a man showing up when and where he was told to face serious criminal charges.”
Palm Beach Daily News: Report: Eric Trump denies Mar-a-Lago has been sold after Zillow reports a $422M sale
Although the real estate website Zillow had reported that former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach changed hands for $422 million Aug. 4, the Palm Beach Daily News has been unable to immediately confirm the sale through Palm Beach County courthouse and property records or state business filings.
Trump’s son Eric Trump on Friday released a statement denying the sale to Newsweek, which reported the Zillow listing.
No reports from Zillow that they were hacked.
It appears Donald Trump may have merely transferred the ownership of his Mar-a-Lago estate to his son not long before his arrest, according to online property records.
Documents state the property is owned by an organization, and the owner of that organization is Donald Trump Jr.
Yeah, we don’t know. Is Trump just getting a massive loan from Junior? Is Trump just attempting to hide assets? Is is all just “asinine” as Eric claims?
Interesting developments in Ukraine. Near the town Robotyne there are reports about Ukrainan progress but so far there are not independent confirmations. If the Ukrainan forces punch through the defensive line in the area sh☆t will get real for the Russians.
[…] The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery hasn’t hung Trump’s official portrait, but the mug shot has almost made that installation an afterthought. With a digital click from a sheriff’s photographer, Trump’s most lasting and accurate image has now been permanently engraved in all its dull, bureaucratic non-glory.
[…] the image conveys with blunt eloquence a singularly dismal chapter of American political history. The mug shot turns out to be its own kind of indictment. How reliably on-brand that Trump’s presidential portrait would find its highest expression in the visual language of Public Enemy No. 1.
“If you are a campaign, PAC, scammer and you try raising money off the mugshot,” a senior adviser, Chris LaCivita, wrote on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, continuing, “and you have not received prior permission …WE ARE COMING AFTER YOU you will NOT SCAM DONORS.”
Donald Trump’s tangle of legal challenges may not be affecting Republicans much, but it is moving a critical group of voters: Independents.
New Navigator Research polling shows independents now believe by a 2-1 margin that Trump is a criminal (i.e., he committed a crime/crimes).
Not only did the survey find that independents say Trump committed a crime 67%-18%, it also showed a net movement toward that view of 12 points since earlier this month. That’s a lot of movement among a group of voters that can prove decisive in nearly every election in these polarized times. [Tweet and poll results at the link]
[…] Independents matter, and they are consolidating on the “Trump is criminal” side. At the same time Republican voters are like, “This is fine.”
whheydtsays
Re: Lynna, OM @ #186…
Hmmm… If the mugshot is in the public domain (the picture having been taken by a government agency), they may have quite a bit of trouble attempting to enforce rights to it. I don’t know about Georgia, but in California, he might have better luck, as there are state laws granting people rights to their own images (passed to benefit actors in Hollywood).
@Lynna #177
Has anyone asked him if he also supports a civics test before running for office?
Pierce R. Butlersays
Lynna… @ # 103: “Let us be honest as Republicans … the climate change agenda is a hoax,” Ramaswamy said…
I like the way he put that. Or, he could’ve said, “Let’s be dry as water … let’s be cold as the sun … let’s be compassionate as conservatives …”
wzrd1says
LykeX @ 189, perhaps we should also have a poll test? Maybe even a poll tax?
Two methods used to disenfranchise voters during Jim Crow.
@ 190, Pierce, I believe you also read Nineteen Eighty-Four. I did, it was required in school, back during the ice age. Gave each of our kids their own copy and instilled a voracious appetite for reading.
A lawyer from Palm Beach County has filed one of the first legal challenges to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential race under a clause in the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Boynton Beach tax attorney Lawrence Caplan filed the challenge in federal court in the Southern District of Florida citing the amendment’s “disqualification clause” for those who engage in insurrections and rebellion against the United States…
Ohio Republicans are trying once more to thwart an amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, this time by amending the ballot initiative language to be more extreme.
The Ohio Ballot Board voted 3–2, along party lines, on Thursday to reject using the full text of the proposed amendment on the ballot in November. Instead, the ballot will have a summary of the proposal written by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, using language such as “unborn child” instead of “fetus.” The summary also removes all mention that the amendment would protect non-abortion forms of reproductive health.
A New York man will serve three months in prison for making threatening phone calls to Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Joseph Morelli, 51, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Syracuse after pleading guilty in February to threatening Greene in several calls to her Washington, D.C., office in 2022.
Prosecutors said Morelli left a voicemail at Greene’s office on March 3, 2022 stating, “I’m gonna have to take your life into my own hands … I’m gonna hurt you. Physically, I’m gonna harm you.”
On the same day, Morelli left a second message threatening to “pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull,” prosecutors said.
Morelli, of Endicott, New York, was indicted a month after the calls on three counts of transmitting interstate threatening communications…
A developing tropical system in the Caribbean – which isn’t even a depression or storm yet – is moving toward the Gulf of Mexico and could affect Florida by next week, forecasters said.
“The chance of a tropical depression or storm forming has increased, especially for later this weekend into early next week,” said Weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. “This system would most likely impact Florida around Tuesday or Wednesday, but it’s too early to determine the magnitude of any impacts.”
The next named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season will be Idalia (pronounced “ee-DAL-ya”)…
johnson catmansays
re Lynna @186:
If you are a campaign, PAC, scammer and you try raising money off the mugshot, and you have not received prior permission …WE ARE COMING AFTER YOU you will NOT SCAM DONORS.
They continued: “Only WE are allowed to scam our donors.”
Nicaragua’s government on Wednesday declared the Jesuit religious order illegal and ordered the confiscation of all its property.
The move comes one week after the government of President Daniel Ortega confiscated the Jesuit-run University of Central America in Nicaragua, arguing it was a “center of terrorism.”
The confiscation order published Wednesday claimed the Roman Catholic order had failed to comply with tax reporting…
One of the world’s biggest scientific publishers has retracted a journal article that claimed to have found no evidence of a climate crisis.
Springer Nature said it had retracted the article, by four Italian physicists, after an internal investigation found the conclusions were “not supported by available evidence or data provided by the authors”.
Climate sceptic groups widely publicised the article, which appeared in the European Physical Journal Plus in January 2022 – a journal not known for publishing climate change science.
Nine months later the article was reported uncritically in a page one story in the Australian newspaper and promoted in two segments on Sky News Australia – a channel that has been described as a global hub for climate science misinformation. The segments were viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube…
Several climate scientists told the Guardian and later the news agency AFP that the article had misrepresented some scientific articles, was “selective and biased” and had “cherrypicked” information.
After those concerns were raised, Springer Nature announced in October it was investigating the article.
In a statement Springer Nature said its editors had launched a “thorough investigation”, which included a post-publication review by subject matter experts.
The authors of the article also submitted an addendum to their original work during the course of the investigation, the statement said.
“After careful consideration and consultation with all parties involved, the editors and publishers concluded that they no longer had confidence in the results and conclusions of the article,” the journal said.
“The addendum was not considered suitable for publication and retraction was the most appropriate course of action in order to maintain the validity of the scientific record.” …
I swear, the media insistence on treating Fox News as if it isn’t primarily a propaganda outfit is going to kill us all. First we had The New York Times giving us the always unnecessary pre-debate fluffing of the moderators selected, one of the particular vanities of the pundit class that they especially like because it makes them feel like celebrities. Now we’ve got the equally unnecessary “let’s talk to the moderators to get their impressions of how the evening went.”
Politico does us the poor favor of giving us that one. I’m not even going to get to the actual audio interview because I want to just highlight how all of this is being presented in the first place. There is way too much drama here, all of it in service to pushing the self-importance of a network.
There was a lot on the line for each [candidate]. But there was also an enormous amount at stake for the news organization that hosted the debate: Fox News.
No, not really. We had the Times explaining to us beforehand that this was the Fox News attempt to polish up their “news”-side image after getting nailed for a three-quarters of $1 billion settlement for spreading straight-up-lies about Dominion Voting Systems. This despite decades of evidence that both the company and the two particular Fox talking heads in question, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, are not too worried about the company’s audience-pleasing blend of truth and falsehood. So what was at stake?
The only way Fox could have hurt themselves is by so obviously tipping the scales for or against candidates that the live studio audience started throwing things, and that didn’t happen. Possibly because the audience was too drunk to get a good aim. If audience reaction was any indication, Fox managed to get a strange, strange crowd in the building.
First there was Trump, who refused to participate and lashed out at Fox and its talent, including Baier, on social media.
Yeah, that’s called publicity. Who cares? Oh, right—ratings. If they had convinced Trump to come on, the ratings might have been higher. Not really a “news”-side concern, though.
Then there was Tucker Carlson, McCallum and Baier’s former star colleague who is in messy litigation with the network, and who nabbed Trump for himself and counter-programmed the evening with an interview that aired simultaneously with the Fox debate.
Do you know who’s been talking about Tucker Carlson’s big counterprogrammed interview with Trump? Nobody. Nobody cares. It was a flop from a political and publicity standpoint; there was nobody talking about Trump’s bog-standard sit-down on debate night. Not on Twitter, not on the networks. Nobody cared. Tucker and Trump have egg on their face—if anything, Trump’s absence proved that Republican presidential debates can run just fine without Trump and his grade-school insults and vocabulary. Trump blew it big time by not showing up because he gave America a taste of what it would be like to not have his sneering mug hogging all the cameras.
Then there was Rupert Murdoch hovering in the background. In the days before the debate there were new reports that the man who runs Fox, MacCallum and Baier’s boss, has his own strong feelings about who the GOP nominee should be.
Oh, right, the part where the whole premise of Fox news-side objectivity falls apart because MacCallum and Baier’s entire chain of command is keenly aware that “objectivity” that pisses off either the prime time pundits or the Murdoch clan itself will result in angry phone calls reminding you where you work.
I still have my suspicions that Fox asked Chris Christie the night’s most ludicrous question, which was about UFOs, in hopes that if anyone clipped any footage of Christie answering questions that evening it would be The Ludicrous Question and not any of his digs at Dear Felonious Leader. But you never know; the “fun” irrelevant question at the end of a debate is a press tradition, an elf-on-the-shelf for the pundit class.
Add to that the challenges of being the ones asking the uncomfortable questions in that arena on Wednesday. The candidates are primed to pounce on you if it serves their political interests. The boisterous crowd of partisans could turn on you at any moment.
These people make more money in a year than most of us will see in 10 or 20 or 50; they’ll be fine. […]
As for the “boisterous crowd of partisans,” Fox was clearly going for a crowd that would provide hooting and jeers rather than the sort that would tap out some light applause now and then, so it’d take some gall and then some for the moderators to fear being “turned on.” Not a thing.
Look, I get it. This is a sporting event. The network is going to boost “interviews” with its supposedly objective news stars because the network pays those people a whole lot of money and wants their names and faces to be as well known as can be mustered.
But if we’re going to play the whole thing off as a sporting event, then you’ve got to accept the implication of that: There ain’t no larger stakes. It’s a manufactured drama. And it’s a crooked sport anyway, because nobody’s going to get fined for not following the night’s rules, the referees know who they want to win and how to rig the game against the ones they don’t, and the scoring system is based almost entirely on who arrives in the “spin room” and how much bluster they can pump out.
Ehhh. Maybe we’re all just crabby—listening to Vivek Ramaswamy will put anyone in a sour mood for a few days. But the national media’s continued insistence that Fox News is anything other than the toxic propaganda peddlers the network was designed around is just so, so tedious.
Of course, the internet is full of memes related to Trump being arrested in Georgia, and to his super-villain mugshot. One of my favorites is a photo of the plane where the Trump name is replaced by P01135809. Looks good.
The past 24 hours have seen a slew of RICO-indicted conspirators booked into Georgia’s Fulton County jail. The biggest fish of the bunch was former President Donald Trump, whose mugshot typifies the faux-bravado we’ve come to expect from him.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that after Trump’s booking, five more co-defendants surrendered overnight at the same jail.
After midnight, Michael Roman, Trump’s 2020 campaign director of Election Day operations, was booked and released on a $50,000 bond. Like Kenneth Chesebro before him, Roman faces charges that he worked to create slates of “fake electors” to be used to cast electoral votes against the will of American voters. Roman’s work allegedly spanned many states, including Georgia. The seven counts against him include impersonating a public officer as well as conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, and committing false statements.
Around the same time, Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still was booked in and released on a $10,000 bond. Still faces similar charges to Roman, but according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he might also end up suspended from his state Senate seat, pending the resolution of his case. Still is an interesting case because his lawyer has already brought up Trump’s name as a defense. In a filing with the court preceding his surrender, Still’s attorney argued:
Mr. Still, as a presidential elector, was also acting at the direction of the incumbent President of the United States. The President’s attorneys instructed Mr. Still and the other contingent electors that they had to meet and cast their ballots on December 14, 2020, in order to preserve the presidential election contest.
While some might interpret that as legalese for Trump made me do it, the general consensus is that Still’s attorney hopes to argue that because Still was acting on behalf of the federal government, Still should essentially be immune from state prosecution, per the Constitution’s supremacy clause. That’s their argument at least. And even if Still were successful, he would still be tried in federal court.
Another late-night surrender came from Jeffrey Clark, a former senior Justice Department official, who reportedly worked on creating excuses for the fake-elector plan. He reportedly drafted a letter, using government letterhead, that attempted to lend credence to the false election-fraud claims peddled by Trump and crew. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Clark was issued a $100,000 bond.
Clark was followed by Misty Hampton, who was released on a $10,000 bond for her part in the conspiracy. Hampton, an elections supervisor in rural Georgia, faces computer- and voting-machine-related charges—alleged behavior that appears to be unfortunately common among other MAGA-affiliated officials across the country.
Later that night came the booking of attorney Bob Cheeley. Cheeley had already secured himself a $50,000 bond before surrendering to county officials. Cheeley is one of those who took video of election workers counting ballots and falsely claimed they were counting votes multiple times.
Illinois chaplain Stephen Cliffgard Lee and Trevian Kutti, Kanye West’s former publicist, had until 12 PM Friday to surrender. The former was able to fundraise $7,500 to make 10% of the bond needed for his release, while Kutti was able to secure a $75,000 bond earlier this week. Both were booked Friday, with their very own special mugshots.
Trumpland’s attempted coup d’état to keep their disgraced loser of a leader in power failed. As history has taught us: If you fail to overthrow a government, you generally pay the piper with jail time, exile, or even death. Based on that, Trump and friends have gotten off easy.
All of the new mugshots are available at the link.
Sidney Powell, a former Trump attorney charged alongside the former president in the Georgia election interference case, has filed a motion for a speedy trial.
Powell’s request makes her the second of the 19 charged in the case to do so.
Kenneth Chesebro, the attorney who drafted the fake electors memo, likewise pushed for a speedy trial, and is now facing an Oct. 23 trial date.
While a Georgia judge agreed to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s suggested date, he set the October timeline for Chesebro only, despite a suggestion from the prosecutor that she was ready to try all 19 defendants.
Former President Trump opposed Chesebro’s motion, indicating a desire to sever his case from Chesebro if the trial timetable were advanced.
Powell is facing charges on six counts, including conspiracy to commit election fraud, as well as charges related to a voting system breach in Coffee County, Ga.
It’s a little strange. On the one hand, we have Republican heads exploding all over the place, crying about how they just want their kids to be kids and they can’t be kids for some reason if they know that LGBTQ+ people exist.
On the other, boy are they desperate for children — other people’s children at least — to stop watching cartoons and start working (in potentially very dangerous jobs).
Earlier this year, they tried to float a bill that would make it legal for children as young as 14 to work in bars and serve alcohol, which is really not the sort of thing that is meant to happen outside of CW teen dramas.
Now, they want to eliminate work permits entirely and just take it on the good word of those employing young people that everything is on the up and up.
As of right now, 14 and 15-year-olds who wish to join the workforce must obtain a permit. It costs $10 and requires a statement from the prospective employer explaining the nature of the job and a statement from one’s parents saying they give permission for their child to work. It’s not a big deal and can even be done online, but Republican legislators say even that is just way too much red tape for teens and anyone who might want to hire them.
[…] The state Senators say that this will not change the hours or the nature of work children are allowed to do, but without that small regulation, it certainly makes it a lot easier for potential employers to skirt the law just a little bit if they know that no one has an eye on them.
I actually worked without a permit when I was 15, under the table. I thought I had been hired to work at this particular place due to my vast knowledge of old Hollywood and silent film era stars, but luckily enough, some people told me that the owner had a reputation for hiring underage girls who all kind of looked like I did and I quit immediately. But if something had gone badly … I could have been in a not-great situation.
There are reasons for work permits that go beyond simply annoying people who wish to start a Bugsy Malone-themed juke joint. Keeping track of where kids are working, ensuring they are working legally, ensuring that they are only working a certain amount of hours, ensuring that the state knows what kind of work they are doing keeps them safe.
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO agrees.
“This is a dangerous strategy, and it should be stopped immediately. We understand the value of kids having part-time jobs, learning work ethic and having to learn some skills, but they need to be safe at work and requiring a work permit for kids as young as 14 and 15 is important,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, the organization’s president said in a statement. “What is administrative red tape to one group is a safety measure to another group.”
It’s certainly not enough “red tape” to make it worth undermining children’s safety — and the more the rules around child labor relax, the more room there is for things really going wrong.
Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is facing two lawsuits from former employees who say that when they worked at the company he cofounded, Strive Asset Management, they were aggressively pressured into violating securities laws, according to Bloomberg, which first reported these lawsuits Friday morning (Aug 18) …
Consumer facial tissue brand Kleenex will soon be no more in Canada, as the company that makes the iconic product has decided to exit a major part of its business in this country.
Kimberly-Clark, which makes many other paper product brands, including Cottonelle, Huggies, Poise and Depend, says it has made the decision to stop making the consumer-focused versions of Kleenex facial tissues in Canada, even as its other products will stay on the shelves.
“We have been operating in a highly constrained supply environment, and despite our best efforts we have been faced with some unique complexities on the Kleenex business,” said Todd Fisher, Kimberly-Clark’s Canadian vice-president and general manager, in an emailed statement.
“This decision is one that will allow us to shift our resources to better focus on other brands in Canada and meet the needs of our consumers with continued innovation and value,” he said…
wzrd1says
Wonder how the Russian propaganda is getting injected into the West?
‘ Russian intelligence is operating a systematic program to launder pro-Kremlin propaganda through private relationships between Russian operatives and unwitting US and western targets, according to newly declassified US intelligence.
US intelligence agencies believe that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is attempting to influence public policy and public opinion in the West by directing Russian civilians to build relationships with influential US and Western individuals and then disseminate narratives that support Kremlin objectives, obscuring the FSB’s role through layers of ostensibly independent actors.
“These influence operations are designed to be deliberately small scale, the overall goal being US [and] Western persons presenting these ideas, seemingly organic,” a US official authorized to discuss the material told CNN. “The co-optee influence operations are built primarily on personal relationships … they build trust with them and then they can leverage that to covertly push the FSB’s agenda.” ‘
More at the URL. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/politics/us-intel-russia-propaganda/index.html
We already knew Ukraine had liberated Robotyne, the small but strategically important settlement on the advance toward the logistical hub city of Tokmak and, beyond that, Melitopol. But Ukraine hasn’t stopped there. With Russia’s first major defensive line breached, Ukraine’s advance is picking up steam.
It’s difficult sorting through frantic Russian Telegram sources, rumors, and visually confirmed advances, so all the usual “fog of war” caveats apply. But by all indications, Ukraine has advanced south and east from Robotyne, and is either inside Novoprokopivka, or imminently so, while simultaneously threatening Verbove to the east. [map at the link]
Some Russian Telegram sources even claim Ukraine has taken Novoprokopivka, having simply walked in as Russian forces fall back to the next defensive line. That means Ukraine breached not only the first major line north of Robotyne but also the line on the road blocking the advance south to Novoprokopivka. The next major Russian defensive line is at Solodka Balka, through the heights east and west of it.
Ukraine hasn’t confirmed Novoprokopivka’s liberation, but there is interesting video evidence that something is going on. First, let’s start with this video of Ukraine absolutely mauling a Russian armored column heading north to reinforce Novoprokopivka, where the T0408 road enters the western edge of the town. [Tweet and video at the link]
Honestly not sure what hit them. Could be artillery-deployed mines. It wasn’t dumb artillery, which isn’t that precise and even less so against moving targets. It wasn’t Javelins or other anti-tank missiles, unless Ukraine can see them from the hills around Robotyne. Which is possible, I suppose. It’s around 4 kilometers, the absolute edge of a typical anti-tank missile’s range. Still, the explosions don’t seem like clean hits, they seem to be hitting the ground around the armored vehicles, kicking up dust and dirt. They’re certainly not being hit with GMLRS rocket artillery. Could be laser-guided artillery rounds, which I didn’t realize could hit moving targets this effectively. My best guess as to what it was? Remotely deployed mines.
Regardless, all this tells us is that Ukraine has fire control over the road supplying the Russian garrison at Novoprokopivka. This next video is far more interesting: [Tweets and videos at the link] Yup, these armored vehicles appear to be fleeing Novoprokopivka. That certainly looks like dumb artillery, since it’s striking the fields around the road. But the key detail here is that Russian forces are abandoning the settlement. It lends credence to the claims Ukraine waltzed in.
Ukraine’s General Staff is certainly celebrating something. [Tweet and video at the link: “In the sectors from Novodanilivka to Novoprokopivka and from Mala Tokmachka to Ocheretuvate, our forces not only made significant advancements but are now solidifying their hold on the newly captured territories.”]
So you don’t have to look at a map, they’re talking about the advances directly south and east of Robotyne. This is what that looks like, based on visually confirmed advances: [map at the link]
Remember, this is the last bit of high ground before heading downhill all the way to Tokmak. Ukraine is still attacking uphill at this point, but they’re almost there: [map at the link] Hill 166 is our fellow writer RO37’s name for the highest elevation point in the area, at an elevation of 166 meters. Once taken, Ukraine will be in a commanding position in that direction. So it makes sense for Russia to pull out of Novoprokopivka and finally occupy the defensive lines they created to, you know, defend. Those lines run right through Hill 166.
Tatrigami_UA, a Twitter user who describes themself as a Ukrainian intelligence officer, shares his read of the situation: I’ll share a few details about Tokmak-Robotyne axis, without elaborating details:
– Situation for russians worsened lately;
– They’re frantically trying to prevent breakthrough;
– Claims about depleted russian reserves, reinforcements and forces for rotation are incorrect.]
The situation for Russia is getting desperate, but Tatrigami_UA doesn’t buy claims that Russia is running low on reserves. There are reports that Russia is transferring units from Kherson and their Kreminna and Kupyansk attacks to plug gaps, but I don’t know how valid they are, and no one credible has confirmed it. We shouldn’t assume that Russia is out of troops.
In any case, breaching that first Russian defensive line at Robotyne was huge, and there is clear momentum on the other side of it. Now we’ll see how effective that next line will be. If Ukraine dislodges Russia from it, particularly that ridgeline through Hill 166, the shape of the battle will dramatically shift.
A Florida man has been charged with several counts of battery after injecting a potentially hazardous chemical into his upstairs neighbors’ home.
After a hidden camera showed Xuming Li using a syringe to inject a chemical into the bottom of a door, he was charged with three counts of battery for dispersed chemical agent, possession of a controlled substances, aggravated stalking and battery on law enforcement via the chemical agent, according to the arrest affidavit out of Hillsborough County…
India’s prime minister and China’s leader agreed Thursday to intensify efforts to de-escalate tensions at the disputed border between them and bring home thousands of their troops deployed there, according to an official from India’s foreign ministry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of a Johannesburg summit where the BRICS bloc of developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — invited six other countries to join the group, including Saudi Arabia and Iran…
Prigozhin’s death has transformed Wagner centers across Russia into memorial places and the first reaction many share is disgust which is all too human. PMC Wagner is a terrorist organization which had little regard for his victims and members alike. But there is something far more important when seeing this and it bodes a grim and inescapable reality for Putin.
Putin made his move and it was none which required a prophet. His relentless and seething need for taking revenge can be tracked through his entire life, especially when it comes to betrayal. Litvinenko is but one of the prominent names which instantly comes up.
Murdering Prigozhin, however, is strategically seen and especially at this very moment an absolute blunder. While the murder of Litvinenko was in the twisted logic of Putin’s Kremlin a rather safe affair, Prigozhin’s murder is an outright mad gamble, or better described: blind hate and recklessness. The timing cannot be worse. Russian troops are getting hammered along the entire frontline, Russian cities are getting strafed by Ukrainian drones, blunting Russia’s already untenable lie of an “special operation” and the midst of this developing catastrophe the leader of Russia sidelines the most popular fighting unit and assassinates their commanders.
You do not have to be an expert to understand what this means in terms of troops’ morale. There are many both, inside and outside Russia who are absolutely confused what “logic” can possibly lead to such a mad step, even when considering that Putin’s vengefulness has been well-known, and the answer is easy: vanity, money and a complete detachment of reality. Combined with his narcissistic ego, it was no surprise that he would take out his most dangerous opponent in Russia.
I can imagine that having all 3 main Wagner leaders (Prigozhin, Utkin and Chekalov) in one controlled place, was for Putin too good to be to allowed to simply to go to waste. And so he probably gave the order to decapitate Wagner.
Every supporter of Wagner knows that it was Putin who murdered Prigozhin and there is no story which Putin or anyone else around the Kremlin can cook up in order to make them think, differently. There is nothing what Putin can do in order to quell this. There will be an answer, sooner rather than later. The first test will be when the attempt will be started to assign Wagners to the Russian military or even other PMCs. That moment will determine whether they can mount resistance in an organized fashion.
Some might argue, “well, they are mercenaries and it does not make a difference who is going to pay them” and they have point because there are many working for Wagner who see it that way. But that thinking alone would be too short-sighted, especially when reflecting what popularity Wagner has garnered over the past 18 months, ironically even thanks to the help of Putin’s media. But the ghost is out of the bottle. They being pressed into Shoigu’s PMC Patriot or Gerasimov’s Russian (fail) army will be a notable downgrade, and I’m talking of both, money and status.
No matter where this is going, it will further weaken the Russian war effort, which already many Pro-Russian channels warned will happen. Putin’s grinning face on the very same day when Prigozhin was blown out of the skies over Tver was the very best depiction of an self-own one can possibly give. It was another episode showing how far detached Putin has become from reality. His self-defeating vengefulness has reached a point where his self-centering interests will put Russia’s wider interests into backseat and his above all, even and especially above people who once were part of his inner circle. This and exterior catastrophes are usually the sufficient propellants to make dictatorships implode.
So, we can sit back and see how this will play out. I for one will prepare for another supply of popcorn.
When the US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) first arrived in Ukraine, the difference it could make for Kyiv’s forces was immediately clear. It allowed them to strike Russian positions hard at ranges far beyond all other available artillery.
While it’s still a formidable weapon, even as Russia’s forces have somewhat adapted to it by pulling back their ammunition depots and command and control centers, a former US artillery officer says it’s time to increase their destructive capacity.
He argues that what these rocket artillery systems need now is a firepower boost from M26 cluster rockets, which would allow Ukraine to increase the lethality of its HIMARS and turn them into an area weapon that could threaten Russian artillery, crippling a key capability in this fight. Cluster rockets would be a step up from the deadly 155 mm shells called dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) — commonly known as cluster munitions — that the US recently delivered to Ukraine…
But what Kyiv’s military needs now are DPICMs for HIMARS in the form of M26 or M26A1 rockets, Rice said. These 227 mm rockets are packed with around 650 and 500 submunitions, respectively, which is a substantial increase over the nearly 90 submunitions that Ukraine’s current cluster munitions contain…
“You need the HIMARS cluster munitions, which is an area weapon, so that every time a Russian artillery piece fires, you fire a rocket to the grid zone and you take out the artillery piece,” Rice said…
Vivek Ramaswamy has described himself as an “outsider”, accusing rivals for the Republican presidential nomination of being “bought and paid for” by donors and special interests.
But the 38-year-old Ohio-based venture capitalist, whose sharp-elbowed and angry display stood out in the first Republican debate this week, has his own close ties to influential figures from both sides of the political aisle.
Prominent among such connections are Peter Thiel, the co-founder of tech giants PayPal and Palantir and a rightwing mega-donor, and Leonard Leo, the activist who has marshaled unprecedented sums in his push to stock federal courts with conservative judges….
…[The USA Today] reported that human rights groups believe more than 20,000 babies were snatched away from mostly low-income mothers in Chile and then put up to be adopted by people in foreign countries who paid what they believed were legitimate fees – yet who had been lied to about the babies’ circumstances. Midwives, doctors, social workers, nuns, priests and judges all had roles in the plot, which was financially lucrative for its participants as well as Pinochet’s government….
A Texas judge on Friday blocked the state’s upcoming ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the latest in a legal fight over efforts by conservatives to restrict such care around the country.
The decision came on the same day a Missouri judge ruled that a similar law can take effect….
…More than 30 marine scientists from around the world have signed an open letter explaining that these orcas were showing a wide range of behaviours, many of them “playful social behaviour”, and that these should not be characterised as “attacks”.
One theory is that the behaviour was the equivalent of a cultural fad, which means it might just disappear – much as fashion trends come and go with [human] people.
“We urge the media and public to avoid projecting narratives on to these animals. In the absence of further evidence, people should not assume they understand the animals’ motivations,” the scientists write in the letter, saying wildlife should not be punished for exhibiting unusual behaviour.
They are particularly concerned that the narrative is putting orcas at risk of being harmed by humans. It may demonise them in the same way the film Jaws led to a spike in the fear of great white sharks, they say. Earlier this month, footage emerged appearing to show a sailor opening fire on a pod of orcas.
Iberian orcas are considered critically endangered, with possibly fewer than 40 individuals in this population. They are a genetically distinct subpopulation, which mainly feeds on bluefin tuna.
The letter states: “We are concerned that factual errors related to these interactions are being repeated in the media … we believe this narrative inappropriately projects human motivations on to these whales and we are concerned that perpetuating it will lead to punitive responses by mariners or managers.
“Science cannot yet explain why the Iberian orcas are doing this, although we repeat that it is more likely related to play/socialising than aggression. However, it is unfounded and potentially harmful to the animals to claim it is for revenge for past wrongs or to promote some other melodramatic storyline.”
…
The letter concludes: “When we are at sea, we are in the realm of marine life. We should not punish wildlife for being wild. We need to keep cool heads when wild animals exhibit novel behaviour and we must put greater effort into adapting our own actions and behaviour to the presence of wildlife.”…
The family of one of Britain’s most famous prime ministers will travel to the Caribbean this week to apologise for its historical role in slavery.
Six of William Gladstone’s descendants will arrive in Guyana on Thursday [yesterday] as the country commemorates the 200th anniversary of a rebellion by enslaved people that historians say paved the way for abolition.
The education and career of William Gladstone, the 19th-century politician known for his liberal and reforming governments, were funded by enslaved Africans working on his father’s sugar plantations in the Caribbean.
As well as making an official apology for John Gladstone’s ownership of Africans, the 21st-century Gladstones have agreed to pay reparations to fund further research into the impact of slavery.
John Gladstone was the fifth-largest beneficiary of the £20m fund (about £16bn today) set aside by the British government to compensate planters when the Slavery Abolition Act was passed in 1833.
Early in his career, William spoke in parliament in defence of his father’s involvement in slavery and also helped calculate how much his father would be compensated.
John Gladstone owned or held mortgages over 2,508 enslaved Africans in Guyana and Jamaica. After emancipation he was paid nearly £106,000, a huge sum at the time.
The Demerara rebellion in August 1823 began on one of his plantations. It was led by Jack Gladstone, an enslaved man forced to take his owner’s name, and his father, Quamina, who had been transported from Africa as a child.
About 13,000 Africans rose up in Demerara, a British colony that later became part of Guyana. Conditions for the enslaved were particularly brutal there. The plantations were the most profitable in the British empire, with an enslaved person in Demerara worth twice that of one in Jamaica.
More than 250 enslaved Africans were killed and a further 51 sentenced to death when the uprising was crushed. Many of the convicted were tortured, decapitated and had their heads impaled on poles as a warning to others. Quamina’s body was hung in chains outside one of John Gladstone’s plantations.
Charlie Gladstone, 59, who lives in Hawarden Castle, the north Wales home of his great-great grandfather William, said: “John Gladstone committed crimes against humanity. That is absolutely clear. The best that we can do is try to make the world a better place and one of the first things is to make that apology for him.
“He was a vile man. He was greedy and domineering. We have no excuses for him. But it’s fairly clear to me that however you address it, a lot of my family’s privilege has stemmed from John Gladstone.”
The Gladstone family plans to apologise at the launch of the University of Guyana’s International Institute for Migration and Diaspora Studies, which they are helping to fund with a grant of £100,000.
They are members of the Heirs of Slavery, a group of families who can trace their ancestors back to the enslavement of Africans. Others include the Trevelyans, whose ancestors owned more than 1,000 enslaved people, and the Lascelles, who built Harewood House in Yorkshire with proceeds from slavery. In February, the aristocratic Trevelyan family made reparation history by travelling to the Caribbean and publicly apologising….
…
The Church of England, the Dutch and Belgian royal families and the Dutch prime minister are among those who have apologised for their countries’ role in slavery. Rishi Sunak has refused to apologise….
“After a comprehensive initial evaluation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center led by Dr. Merije Chukumerije and follow-up evaluations at the Mayo Clinic led by Dr. Michael J. Ackerman and Atlantic Health/Morristown Medical Center led by Dr. Matthew W. Martinez, the probable cause of Mr. James’ sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has been identified,” the family said in a statement obtained by CBS Sports. “It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated.”
According to the family, doctors aren’t just expecting a full recovery for Bronny. They believe he will be able to return to the court at some point soon….
How shocking – nothing to do with vaccines. (For the ignorant “congenital” means present at birth).
Dozens of protests have taken place in regime-held areas in southern Syria since mid-August. People took to the streets after the government announced that the price for fuel would be increased by 200%. However, the protesters’ demands are not just economic – they are also calling for an end to the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Our team spoke to a protester in As-Suwayda, a city with a large population of people from the Druze religious minority, where the recent protest movement has been especially strong….
Finnish police have arrested Russian ultra-nationalist Yan Petrovsky, the Finnish television channel MTV3 reported on Friday.
A leader of neo-Nazi paramilitary group “Task Force Rusich,” Petrovsky is wanted in Ukraine on suspicion of committing war crimes in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014–2015. According to MTV3, Kyiv has already requested Petrovsky’s extradition.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Rusich “participated in combat alongside Russia’s military in Ukraine, including near Kharkiv, in 2022.” The Department also says that Petrovsky replaced neo-Nazi Alexey Milchakov as Rusich’s commander last year, after Milchakov was injured while fighting in Ukraine….
…
Petrovsky has been under U.S. and E.U. sanctions since last year….
A highly unusual drought, right in the middle of Panama’s supposed wet season, has lowered water levels in two reservoirs that supply the canal. As a result, operators have had to restrict the size and number of ships that pass through its system of locks each day…
;;;
It is “technically feasible”, says Jean-Paul Rodrigue at Hofstra University, who has studied the long history of discussions around building the canal a Nicaraguan Canal. But there are many obstacles. “The problem is the distances involved are much longer, significantly longer,” he says.
Any such route would likely take the form of two canals linking Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific in the west, and to the Atlantic in the east. One of these canals would be around 15 miles (25km) long and the other, connecting to the Atlantic, would be even longer – around 60 miles (100km).
;;;
Take Mexico’s plan for a land bridge – a huge system of railways, highways and pipelines, linking the west coast of the country to the east coast. The Mexican government first announced plans for the project in 1975, and has recently prioritised investment in it again, despite opposition from local communities.
In Colombia, there is a proposal to build an underground maglev railway to transfer containers. Automated ports could load the containers onto maglev trains, which would then whisk them off to an automated port on the other side of the country – in less than 30 minutes…
Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen.
The Alabama attorney general’s office on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58. The court filing indicated Alabama plans to put him to death by nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method that is authorized in three states but has never been used.
Nitrogen hypoxia is caused by forcing the inmate to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen and causing them to die. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with oxygen. While proponents of the new method have theorized it would be painless, opponents have likened it to human experimentation…
This is Blackswan, a K-pop group whose members hail from around the world. There is Gabi from Brazil; NVee from the United States; Sriya from India; and Senegal-born Fatou, who now lives in Belgium…
Pierce R. Butlersays
Reginald Selkirk @ # 97: Kudos for the proper usage of “literally”. I didn’t think she had it in her.
Most likely, MTG uses “literally” as just another synonym for “very”. We shouldn’t take her use of words too literally.
wzrd1says
[Even as a hypothetical, please do not invoke such violent fantasies to make your point.–pzm]
wzrd1says
In some stories, I honestly think that I don’t drink enough.
In some, wishing I had a 100% xenon atmosphere.
wzrd1says
Interesting auto-editing. I now see no difference between far right and you.
Pity.
I’ll now refrain from discouraging violence.
wzrd1says
Hrm, gotta change ISP’s, as early response was much different from initial response.
Noted.
And due to penetration to even traffic, I hold little hope for this civilization.
While we have social and religious conservatives in our midst, we are content for them to avoid life choices that they find troubling or sinful. We baulk, however, at letting them impose their views on the substantial majority who don’t share their beliefs.
The moderate majority has believed that our western societies are trending towards acceptance, leaving behind the unfounded fears, prejudices and dogma that controlled key life decisions. Resistance to bodies like the Voice can come from a misguided belief that no act needs to be taken to reverse longstanding practices and policies that harm groups, that time itself is the cure.
The more motivated “conservatives” around us have, however, been strategic in making sure that our complacency works to their benefit. Many of them have not accepted the changes we embrace. Some of them continue to work to reverse these majority-supported positions.
Note that the American public holds “progressive” social views in similar percentages to Australia, but the majority is coming to be restricted by the theocratic rules of the few.
.. (Snip)…
The information we need to monitor this motivated and implacable faction is scattered and easily missed. But we cannot dismiss this movement as fringe, or dismiss America’s growing Christian Nationalist “conservatism” as irrelevant in Australia. The copycat politicians and strategists here are working to make it your problem.
Plus this one as well on the importing of Trumpist style culture war hate mongering into Oz :
t is hard to gauge the importance of the Trumpist Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event that took place in Sydney this weekend. There were more high-profile figures speaking than previously, and several currently serving politicians alongside white supremacists and antisemites.
CPAC’s budget did not allow the recreation of the Nazi “odal” rune stage shape that emerged in the 2021 American version. The organisers did maintain the spirit of trolling the left into futile outrage against deniable provocations: the weekend’s press passes were slapped with the words “fake news” in large print.
Despite claims that it was a sold-out event, there seemed to be many empty seats. It was streamed live on Alan Jones’s low-rating “network” ADH TV and the production values seemed intent on making the show look a glitzy echo of the American parent on a TV screen. The man behind the “network,” conspiracy-peddling Maurice Newman, was on the speaker list with several ADH TV presenters. This suggests the weekend was as much about raising the profile of Australia’s further-right-than-Sky viewing option for the base.
… (Snip)..
The weekend continued the usual apocalyptic tone from the Right. The war of values is existential. On the dark side is the Voice to Parliament and climate action. The existence of trans people was constantly demonised, with them depicted wrongly as a threat to women and children. Alan Jones redeployed the ridiculous kitty litter hoax from the American anti LGBTQIA+ propaganda networks. Barnaby Joyce warned against the dangers of politicians with the “wrong conviction,” alluded to supporting abortion as one of the loathed progressive values that we must escape. He bemoaned that being a politician of conviction, by his standards, can involve consequences like derision, ridicule, hate, jail and death. The founders of the fundraising platform of white supremacists, Give Send Go, depicted abortion and trans health care as crimes they would not support.
The motto of CPAC Australia 2023 was “We are one,” an echo of the QAnon mantra “Where we go one, we go all.” That apocalyptic conspiracy has pervaded the Christian Nationalist movement, and many disparate factions united at CPAC to fight for their paranoid reactionary politics tied to that banner.
Promising but wish more protection for old growth forests was already in place :
Logging in native forests is set to be banned in Victoria and Western Australia in 2024, leaving the New South Wales timber industry asking questions about its own future. The NSW government has committed to creating a Great Koala National Park, which will take in existing state forests that span from the Clarence Valley to south of Coffs Harbour.
These areas include swathes of forest that are currently available to be selectively harvested for hardwood.
Industry and conservationists are waiting for details on how the promised koala park will meet timber demands and ecological outcomes.
The principal investigator of the mission from its earliest days, Dr. Alan Stern, is not happy about the situation. “New Horizons is the only spacecraft in the Kuiper Belt, and the only one currently planned to go there. We have valuable new Kuiper Belt observations, and a search for a new flyby target, still to complete every year until we leave the Belt. Quitting this exploration prematurely, after spending nearly $1 billion to get New Horizons to the Kuiper Belt, seems to many of us to be tragically mistaken, a poor use of taxpayer money, and a lost scientific opportunity that can never be recovered from.”
I remain with a standing joke.
I have a gun and can’t find a damned grease fitting to fix it to.
Lest one despair.
Never found the missing grease points, did learn of advancements, some missing the targets.
Guess, one misses the target, give up and call Apollo 1 the final,
Or realize, despite fuckups. we’ve advanced and now have a struggle phase, again.
Or go far left or right and go with nuke everything.
Personally, I’ll prefer traction. I’m just in a shit mood and spasms from hell.
Hence, let God sort them out, I’m out of time. :P
Insert dirty joke here.
Or better, proper grease points on specific vehicles.
Women have their own lubrication points, for partners to, due to interference, rediscover.
I’ve 17 more sillies to deliver, someone kindly provide a target for silly.
wzrd1says
Oh, for the record, I have a gun and know how to grease my car is, well, deficient, as improved engineering made such incredible number of grease points redundant, laughably so.
A mutual joke being, “lifetime lubrication”, the laugh being, by the time it fails, it’s gone through several old timer lifetimes.
Still good for lubing soles, when offending. ;)
I may be a dummy, but Dad didn’t raise no fool. :P:p:P:p
wzrd1says
No, hoping to provide context.
Rather than being an outside context problem.
For when it’s inspection day, line up your turds for inspection.
Really. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/health/poop-color-meaning-green-red-black-wellness/index.html
Trivia, why is poop brown? Broken down heme, which is excreted in bile, both helping break down food during digestion and getting rid of that worn out iron protein, heme.
One thing missed in the story, red can also come from foods, as well as blood. Or liver failure, when the heme doesn’t break down.
At the shelter, a man panicked when he saw red stools and outed his resumption quite humorously, all due to red stools from the beets he overconsumed the day previously.
And I’ve had to consider black and wonder, is that melena or… No, that’s right, I had spinach the previous day and I really do love my spinach. The iron in spinach not being exceptionally bioavailable, well, most passes through and chemistry does the rest to make it resemble melena – aka blood in stool from high up in the digestive tract.
Also missed, fats floating as an oil slick in the toilet and floating stools, both of which are due to undigested fats.
Yep, as old Sarge once said, “Shit means somethin’!”.
wzrd1says
‘ “Do you want us to be in civil war? Because that’s what’s going to happen,” former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax.
It’s far from a mainstream view, and Trump’s multiple arrests have so far yielded little in the way of mass protest. But there is clearly a new openness on the right to using the language of war in terms of “taking the country back.” ‘
And remember, once the iron’s hot, it’s time to solder.
Sorry, got that on what passes for my mind, as I’ve a fan sitting apart, awaiting soldering in a new thermal fuse and currently only waiting for me to find a damned can of oil that isn’t WD40 (remember 3 in one oil and similar, that seems to be an endangered species these days).
Fan motors are notorious for failing due to overheating and blowing the dollar thermal fuse. The lubricant evaporates and absorbs dust, causing lubricant failure and causes the motor to overheat. Lubricating occasionally, typically annually will prevent the problem.
Got a nice carpet shampooer too, it simply needs a belt and replacement nozzle.
It’s one of my hobbies, rehabilitating appliances that otherwise would go to a landfill. It all started learning how to fix vacuum tube radios, later transistor radios and over time, learning how the circuits worked, theory to practice.
After all, it’s all fairly simple physics.
wzrd1says
Spain’s football federation has threatened to take legal action against one of the country’s star players, Jennifer Hermoso, accusing her of lying about being kissed by federation president Luis Rubiales. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/sport/spain-football-federation-legal-action-jennifer-hermoso-spt-intl/index.html
I freely invite Spain’s football federation to kiss me uninvited – straight on both of my ass cheeks. Preferably, in Macy’s window during the New Year’s Day parade.
How is it that in 61+ years of life, I’ve never found myself kissing anyone uninvited?
wzrd1says
Dear God in heaven, the British Museum doesn’t even keep inventory of their artifacts!
Now, trying to scramble to reacquire some 2000 missing items. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/british-museum-recovery-intl/index.html
Sounds like there are about to be a large number of upper and middle management positions opening up there.
birgerjohanssonsays
Wzrd1 @ 210
We have plenty of willing mouthpieces in Swedish social media that parrot Russian talking points.
They are often strongly associated with SD, our right-wing populist party.
[…] I’m not up for speculating wildly […] I can […] speak generally […] I am a lot less surprised by this than the public and media, especially by the stripped down version of what is being reported.
[…]
people in a position of trust steal stuff […] classic, definitional white collar crime.
[…]
a museum employee is the most likely person to steal from a museum. They have access and opportunity and insider knowledge. Museums all know this […] try to prevent things walking out […] However, a motivated person with insider information can find ways to steal
[…]
A lot of museum security depends on people just not wanting to steal stuff (or being scared to). […] Detecting a white collar, insider thief is super hard.
[…]
museums generally have a pretty long history of waiting to report (or at times even deal with) thefts. […] There are a number of reasons why, from embarrassment to fear, with a lot of “maybe we just misplaced it somewhere” in between. Stuff does go missing in museums for days, months, even years at a time before turning back up in the wrong drawer
[…]
It’s bad this happened, but nothing about it is surprising to me.
Finally: I see reporting that says that the items […] are possibly worth “tens of millions of pounds”. I find that to be unlikely:
1. Most Roman etc gems on the market are in the few thousand range. Just because a gem is in the BM doesn’t mean it is valuable.
2. A piece stolen from a museum has an actual value of zero. NO ONE wants to buy something stolen from a museum. They only have value if the BM is the one selling them.
The antiquities trade is under-regulated […] an expectation that the market police itself. It doesn’t work; […] It isn’t profitable to do it.
Now today, I’m […] thinking, it also doesn’t work because when the market TRIES to police itself and report bad actors, no one listens:
[Telegraph – Antiquities dealer who uncovered British Museum theft was treated like ‘village idiot’]
Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk’s organization for right-wing youth, understands something important about reaching young people: “that politics is always downstream from culture, and if we can reach people where they’re at culturally—that’s how we influence our nation.” One of their big ways to do that is through the creation of their own organizational influencer, Alex Clark, and her “cuteservatives” project. Hoo boy. The good news for progressives is that while organizing by reaching people where they’re at culturally is a powerful strategy and therefore a potentially scary one when the right adopts it, I don’t think this particular effort is going to win over a lot of young women who were on the fence politically speaking.
You may remember Clark from coverage of her calling hormonal birth control “poison,” or telling the crowd at TPUSA’s Young Women’s Leadership Summit that “The Top 4 Lies of Modern Feminism” are birth control, abortion, fertility care, and day care. But she’s so much more than that! Interspersed with her coverage of abortion bans and miracle adoptions, she writes listicles like “the cutest swimsuits for cuteservatives this summer” and “the ultimate cuteservative Christmas gift guide.” (I am not linking, but you can find them if you want.) She is really determined to make “cuteservative” happen.
Recently, Clark sat down for a cuteservative roundtable discussion with high school and college students. Media Matters’ Madeline Peltz was all over it in a real act of public service as the group discussed important issues, like whether being conservative makes you popular with boys.
That video can be found here: [video at the link]
According to Clark, if she goes to a bar and announces she is conservative, men “flock” to her. One of the college-aged participants said that her experience was, “They just see you as a rare gem. That’s the way that I feel about it. They’re like oh, you want to be a tradwife? [traditional wife] Perfect.”
But other answers were more mixed. High school boys are more interested in hunting and fishing, and possibly see the conservative high school student on the panel as intimidating. (This is not an intimidating child, for the record.) A participant from California said that her politics become more of a selling point when she leaves her state.
“If women, as a whole, withheld sex before marriage, would we be better as a society?” Clark asked the participants, who unanimously answered yes. Clark then went on to ask, “Do you think we control a lot more than we think with our ability to give or withhold sex as women?” An interesting question for a group of unmarried young women, but apparently being cuteservative means being transactional or manipulative about sex. That sounds like such a healthy way to live.
The high school student responded effusively, saying that people on the left want women in careers and also “want us to be on OnlyFans, want us to be in unstable relationships to break down the family structure.” Man, I don’t know; having a career, an unstable relationship, and being on OnlyFans sounds like a lot of work. These young women, though, repeatedly tripped over themselves to talk about how important and fascinating they think motherhood is, eager to show how the cuteservative-to-tradwife pipeline works.
Led by Clark, who noted that she had not chosen to go to college, the young women—including the one who is in medical school—also talked about how useless their education was. Continuing their eager sucking up to Clark and TPUSA, they gushed about how much more they learn from TPUSA events than from school, although unlike Clark, they are attending or plan to attend college. The high school student justified her decision by saying she wants to “change it from the inside out, this system of control that the left has established.”
The medical student insisted, “I didn’t learn any U.S. history other than for one month in fifth grade. Out of elementary, middle school, and the little bit of high school I attended, even in college it’s not required—nothing, nothing whatsoever—so it’s been difficult trying to learn that myself.” Hmm … honey, maybe U.S. history was taught during the part of high school that you did not attend—which was apparently most of high school. Or you could have taken a college-level U.S. history class even though no one was requiring you to do so. Just a thought. One of the college students, a politics major, said she had not learned from college. Instead, “I learned from YouTube. I learned from my own merit.”
Watching this roundtable is watching a group of mostly earnest young women […] trying to position themselves how Clark and TPUSA want them to. It’s kind of cringe. They’re so programmed.
But the goals here are what’s important. Clark and TPUSA want to make “cuteservative” happen because they think it will lure young women to their movement, which will then benefit the young men in the movement through the provision of tradwives. Of course professional right-wing influencers like Clark remain very visible well past the expiration date they’re touting for women in general, but the masses are supposed to ignore that and absorb the “be cute, then be a wife” message.
Clark has made a career of alternating between posting thirst traps and railing against hormonal birth control, and she’s obviously doing very well for herself. (Based on her Instagram, I’d estimate that her swimsuit budget alone outstrips the budgets of some towns.) That’s what the far right requires of young women these days: Be “cute”—not too sexy—and sexually unavailable, at least until the point where you transition to tradwife and are perpetually sexually available to your husband, the unquestioned head of your home. (Or so goes the mythology.) Be outspokenly right-wing to an extreme on issues specifically involving women and their role—or lack thereof—in our society and culture, but always recognize that your eventual goal is to step out of public life and into the home. And, of course, if the message doesn’t land with most young women, it’s feminism’s fault.
One of the most telling aspects of this mini movement is this: ‘benefit the young men in the movement through the provision of tradwives.” So, which rich men are also backing this nonsense?
wzrd1says
Wait a minute here, are you trying to tell us that medical schools don’t comprehensively cover US history, the veritable central star of the universe? However will they become capable of performing brain surgery without comprehensively covering US history?!
As for the YouTube educational method, it is great if your goal is learning about chemtrails and flying saucers. Again, not exceptionally good for much else and I’d not want an elected leader that’s thus miseducated, nor would I permit someone whose knowledge was exclusively garnered from YouTube.
But then, I can trust such a group to consider the only tool in existence being a hammer. It’s always entertaining, if a bit loud, when one watches them try to cut a board with it.
wzrd1says
Bob Barker of “The Price is Right” fame has died at the age of 99.
wzrd1says
JFC! https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/us/florida-flagler-county-schools-black-assembly/index.html
The principal and a teacher at a Flagler County, Florida, elementary school are on paid administrative leave after an assembly was held only for fourth and fifth-grade Black students, who were collectively told to improve their school performance, according to the school district – regardless of how each student was doing individually.
Where did the educators learn that trick from, Whatsamatta U?
wzrd1says
Apparently, Yale is a phenomenally dangerous place, more dangerous than most war zones. At least, that’s what Yale’s police union is telling first year students on arrival.
The flyers, titled “Welcome to Yale: A survival guide for first-year students of Yale University,” were distributed by the Yale Police Benevolent Association, a union representing Yale police officers, and featured a cloaked skull.
The flyers claimed New Haven’s crime and violence rates were “shockingly high” and “getting worse,” according to the Yale Police Benevolent Association’s pamphlet.
The flyers also stated rates of murders, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts had gone up this year.
“Nevertheless, some Yalies do manage to survive New Haven and even retain their personal property,” the flyers stated, followed by advice for students including staying off the streets after 8 p.m. and avoiding public transportation. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/us/yale-police-union-crime-flier/index.html
After all, what better way to imbue trust in the student body than to outright lie to them on their very first day.
Of greater importance, if the union is lying outright, can we trust the officers who belong to that union’s sworn testimony?
As a juror multiple times over, I’d be forced to take such testimony with a grain of salt the size of Gibraltar.
That isn’t fair to The Onion. The Onion is satire, often biting satire. This is just a sad, pitiful grift.
———————–
proudly ignorant is no way to go through life
——————-
Lots of luck attracting young women to this sort of crippling message. EVERY young woman I know wants as much education as she can afford, because even though most want to marry and have kids some day, they do NOT want to be totally dependent on a man.
——————
Several of my granddaughters and many of their girlfriends are going the trades or diploma route or both. My second oldest granddaughter left university, which she hated, and is a 3rd year Apprentice Welder. She loves it. Her younger sister went straight into Machining and is a 4th year Apprentice. If they get married, which both have said they have no interest in doing, they will enter the marriage with high income skills.
———————-
Yeah, denying your sexuality until you turn ownership of it over to a man for life sounds super-empowering
———————
It’s such a BS claim. Who goes into a bar and “announces” anything? I’m trying to picture Clark stopping in the doorway of a busy bar and shouting anything, much less “HI BOYS, I’M CONSERVATIVE!”
——————–
I dunno. Conservative women going to a bar without an escort in order to pick up men?? Doesn’t sound very conservative to me. It sounds particularly dangerous if you are not on birth control.
——————-
Less than a half-step removed from “Keep sweet, pray and obey.”
———————–
It was previously thought that socioeconomic hardships in the South were largely to blame for high divorce rates, however Glass and her fellow researchers concluded that the conservative religious culture is in fact a major contributing factor thanks to “the social institutions they create” that “decrease marital stability.”
Specifically, putting pressure on young people to marry sooner, frowning upon cohabitation before marriage, teaching abstinence-only sex education and making access to resources like emergency contraception more difficult all result in earlier childbearing ages and less-solid marriages from the get-go, Glass writes in the paper.
wzrd1says
Why failure is your child’s best tool.
Or, Why you should advise your child, not incessantly shield them from making mistakes. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/health/setbacks-failure-child-learning-tool-wellness/index.html
Our eldest once made an observation, “Dad, you give excellent advice. You make questionable decisions at times, but you give excellent advice”. I simply asked her, “Why do you think that I’m able to give such advice, save that I learn from my mistakes?”.
Mistakes don’t define someone, what defines them best is what they do in response to their mistakes.
The three words that have gotten me out of trouble the most are, “I fucked up”. Trying to cover it up only compounds one’s problems, admitting, adjusting and correcting fixes things up far more effectively and easily.
wzrd1says
New safety equipment needed in American high school football games. Kevlar vests and helmets. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/us/oklahoma-high-school-football-game-shooting/index.html
One dead, four injured at high school football game shooting. A total of 9 cops were present, five hired for security, two on duty stopped by and two off duty, one officer discharged their firearm. The deceased was 16 years old, two pistols were recovered from the scene.
When I began researching for this article, I planned to write about how Ukraine had made a mistake in launching repeated assaults that have now been bogged down north and south of Bakhmut. I thought Ukraine needed to transfer most of these troops to the southern front as soon as possible. I was going to start things off by asserting that Ukrainian Supreme Commander General Zaluzhnyi, who I once called a military genius, surely made a miscalculation at Bakhmut that needed to now be fixed.
But having done a deep dive into the topography of the Battle of Bakhmut, I’m coming to the realization that the Ukrainians may be playing a much more complicated game of attritional chess than I realized. I think Ukraine can and will transfer a significant force of troops from Bakhmut to the southern front in the near future—and they told several Western generals on August 10 that they were planning on doing so.
But this move may be because the trap Ukraine laid for Russia at Bakhmut has run its course, not because those attacks lacked meaning.
AMERICAN CRITICISM OF UKRAINIAN ALLOCATION OF MILITARY STRENGTH
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported an August 10th meeting held between top Western military officials and their Ukrainian counterparts, including Zaluzhnyi.
Ukraine’s Forces and Firepower Are Misallocated, U.S. Officials Say
American strategists say Ukraine’s troops are too spread out and need to concentrate along the counteroffensive’s main front in the south.
Ukraine’s grinding counteroffensive is struggling to break through entrenched Russian defenses in large part because it has too many troops, including some of its best combat units, in the wrong places, American and other Western officials say.
The main goal of the counteroffensive is to cut off Russian supply lines in southern Ukraine by severing the so-called land bridge between Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula. But instead of focusing on that, Ukrainian commanders have divided troops and firepower roughly equally between the east and the south, the U.S. officials said.
As a result, more Ukrainian forces are near Bakhmut and other cities in the east than are near Melitopol and Berdiansk in the south, both far more strategically significant fronts, officials say.
American planners have advised Ukraine to concentrate on the front driving toward Melitopol, Kyiv’s top priority, and on punching through Russian minefields and other defenses, even if the Ukrainians lose more soldiers and equipment in the process.
Here is the U.S. officials’ criticism, in map form. [map at the link]
Very broadly speaking, the Russo-Ukrainian War can, in its present form, be divided into roughly four theaters of conflict.
– Northern front (Luhansk front): A Russian offensive aimed at recapturing Kupiansk and Lyman
– Eastern front (Donbas front): A Ukrainian counterattack near Bakhmut, with both sides launching attacks near Donetsk suburbs, such as around Avdiivka and Makiivka
– Southern front (Zaporizhzhia front): Predominantly Ukrainian attacks toward Tokmak, and south of Velyka Novosilka
– Western front (Kherson/Dnipro River front): Minor skirmishes and artillery duels around Ukrainian river-crossing missions, which arguably now includes the western coast of Crimea due to Ukrainian raids.
In the simplest terms, American officials told Ukraine they had misallocated their troops, that there were too many troops committed to the Eastern front, and not enough to the Southern front.
Those are the two fronts where Ukraine has committed troops for major offensives of their own.
Russia has committed reportedly nearly half its army to the Northern front, and Ukraine has assumed a strategic defensive stance in that region. Only company-sized and smaller units have been observed fighting in the Western front, with neither side committing to any major actions, apart from some significant artillery duels.
To a certain extent, Ukraine’s needs for troop allocations in the North are dictated by the amount of pressure applied by Russian combat resources in that area, unless Ukraine is prepared to give up strategic locales like Kupiansk or Lyman. Both are key logistical cities that defend important regions behind them (Kupyansk is to Kherson, as Lyman is to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk). Thus it makes sense that Ukraine’s commitment of forces to these areas would not be voluntary in any sense of the term. Pointedly, these brigades were not part of the U.S. leadership’s allegations of misallocation of resources.
The criticism from American military leadership focused on the Eastern Front, but listed only one city by name: Bakhmut.
THE CURRENT ALLOCATION OF UKRAINIAN FORCES
Let us explore the current makeup of Ukrainian forces presently allocated to Ukraine’s two primary offensives in the South, and Ukraine’s Bakhmut counterattack.
I am looking primarily at well-trained regular army and elite brigades because these are the only units that generally participate in offensive actions. Air Assault, Marine, Mountain Assault, Mechanized Infantry, Assault, and Tank Brigades fit this definition.
Territorial Defense Forces and Ministry of the Interior units (like the Operational Storm Brigades) generally assist by holding down territory and defending, but rarely lead attacks, therefore are not included units in a tabulation of purely “offensive force.” [map at the link]
Relying on unit locations, as geolocated by Ukraine Control Maps and Poulet Volant:
The Southern front has 14 Brigades. The Tokmak/Robotyne axis has seven offensive brigades: the 82nd and 46th Air Assault; and the 47th, 33rd, 65th, 116th, and 118th Mechanized, while the Velyka Novosilka axis also has seven offensive brigades: the 23rd and 31st Mechanized, and the 35th, 36th, 37th, and 38th Marine;, as well as the 4th Tank.
The Eastern front’s Bakhmut Axis has 11 Brigades: In the south (Klishchiivka/Kurdyumivka), there’s the 3rd Azov Assault, 5th Assault, 24th Aidar Assault, 82nd Air Assault, 22nd and 24th Mechanized, and the 17th Tank. The north (Dubovo Vasylivka/Berkhivka/Zaliznyanski) is currently home to the 30th Mechanized; 57th Motorized, 77th Airmobile, and 10th Mountain..
Presently, out of roughly 25 brigades that could theoretically be used by Ukraine on the offensive, a mere 56% of the brigades are committed to the critical attacks southward to attempt to cut off the land bridge. Ukraine is believed to have only three armored brigades suitable for an offensive left in reserve—the 115th and 117th Mechanized, and the 1st Tank.
Even assuming these forces are slated for the Southern front, that would leave only 61% of Ukraine’s brigades committed to the assault on the Russian land bridge, and almost half of Ukraine’s available offensive resources committed to attacking Bakhmut.
American and British officers argued to the Ukrainian General Staff that this was an overallocation to Bakhmut when there were better strategically valuable routes of advance available in the Southern theater.
BAKHMUT AS AN ATTRITIONAL BATTLEFIELD
Over the past week, I got into a significant disagreement on that app formerly known as Twitter, about whether it was wise for Ukraine to commit large amounts of troops to attacks around Bakhmut. I argued it was not, those in disagreement with me argued that it was.
The arguments presented in favor of attacks in Bakhmut were as follows:
– Ukraine is fixing Russian troops at Bakhmut so they cannot be deployed to the Southern front.
– Bakhmut is a symbolically important location for Russia that they must defend, so it represents an ideal location to wear down Russian forces.
On a surface level, this made no sense to me. Ukraine launched assaults on Russian defensive positions on formidable heights both north and south of Bakhmut, before bogging down in back-and-forth combat for more than the past month. It made no sense to me to continue to launch assaults at strong Russian defensive positions that hadn’t budged for so long.
However, upon studying the topography of the fighting more carefully, I came to a realization: Ukraine’s advance had weirdly stopped; rather than repeatedly assaulting Russian-held heights, it was focused on low-lying areas, near freshly captured Ukrainian-controlled hills.
BAKHMUT AS A FIXING OPERATION
There are a few circumstances when a fixing operation makes sense.
– The primary offensive area is so crowded already that additional troops are not needed, and attacks elsewhere to draw defenders benefits the main vector of attack.
– The attacker can pin down more defenders than it commits to the attack.
– The attacker can efficiently attrit the enemy with minimal losses and maximal damage.
The first condition does not apply here, Ukraine has plenty of complementary axes of attack that it could invest more offensive resources into, but has not.
However, Ukraine may have been drawing Russia into an attritional battle that satisfies the 2nd and 3rd conditions since at least mid-July.
For example, Ukraine continues to launch attacks into and around Klishchiivka, trying to drive Russian forces back south of Bakhmut, but then retreats in the face of Russian counterattacks—only to repeat the process over the course of a few days.
This pattern has held true since Ukraine fully secured the heights west of Klishchiivka around July 19, but arguably held the crest of the hill since July 8. [map at the link]
Put the battlefield map over a topographical map south of Bakhmut, and you see what’s going on. [map at the link]
Ukraine has controlled the dominant heights south of Bakhmut and west of Klishchiivka since early to mid-July. Ukraine controls the southern portion of the town proper as well. Kllischiivka lies in a gully between two hills, and has been fiercely contested by both Russian and Ukrainian troops.
Interestingly, after Ukraine gained control of the dominant heights, Ukraine quickly moved into the city of Klishchiivka, then the advance completely stopped. Since then, Ukraine has launched repeated attacks towards Klishchiivka and Andriivka in the lowlands east of the heights, over and over.
Yet each time, Russia has counterattacked and regained possession or prevented full control.
This is a somewhat odd state of affairs. Attacks often peter out right as they reach a strong enemy position. Generally, that’s not at the foot of a hill the attacker just captured, where the enemy army is forced to fight in the shadow of enemy artillery observers and maximal firepower.
My personal question would be: Could this be intentional on Ukraine’s part?
if Ukraine’s objective for combat around Bakhmut were solely attritional, that is, not to gain ground, then there would hardly be a better place to conduct such combat than around this location. Sitting on the dominant heights to the west, Ukrainian observers and drones can look down into the lowlands from the heights west of Klischiivka, providing laser-spotting and GPS coordinates of Russian positions to Ukraine’s conventional and rocket artillery.
For example, this video of Russian tanks rolling toward Klishchiivka was posted by The Telegraph just four days ago. Ukrainian artillery observers easily watch the tanks moving through the lower lying roads, from a high elevation. The Russian column is then devastated by Ukrainian artillery fire. [video at the link]
Some may protest, saying “they’re observation drones; even without the high ground, they could just fly higher,” but I don’t agree with this viewpoint. Part of the challenge in flying observation drones is keeping the drones alive in the face of electronic warfare—jamming in particular. While drones observe from above, they are constantly being targeted by jamming weapons; both sides would be trying to spot drones using specialized radar equipment.
The lower drones fly, the more radar is subject to “clutter.” Trees, terrain features, buildings, even cars can provide clutter for radar to reflect against, making the drone even harder to spot. The higher the drone flies, the easier it is to spot.
Thus, a drone on a 600ft tall hill, flying 50 feet above air is more difficult to detect, and therefore more likely to survive than a drone flying 650 feet above sea-level ground.
Drones have reduced the importance of higher ground in artillery observation, but such advantages certainly have not been eliminated.
UKRAINIAN TACTICS NORTH OF BAKHMUT
Ukraine appears to be doing something similar in the north of Bakhmut. Ukraine has advanced towards what many presumed to be key areas Ukraine wanted to control in order to encircle Bakhmut from the north. Yet Ukraine instead advanced right up to those cities, but no further, fighting right at the base of a series of hills under Ukrainian control. [map at the link]
Much of the fighting here too, along the M03 highway north of Ukrainian-controlled heights, in the valley to the west of Dubovo Vasilivka, and the towns of Berkhivka and Yahidne, just “happen” to be at the base of hills Ukraine advanced to but moved no further.
I think a working assumption was that Russian counterattacks were holding back Ukrainian troops from these positions. However, looking at the Battle of Bakhmut as a whole, from May-late July, Ukraine has systematically advanced to the edge of the hills north and south of Bakhmut, and precisely no further. [map at the link]
I find it difficult to see that as anything but deliberate. […]
By all rights, it looks like Ukraine has established itself in a solid defensible position controlling the flanks of the eastern heights around Khromove, then proceeded to invite Russian troops to run headlong into the lowlands below the heights over and over—into the kill zones of Ukrainian artillery.
AMERICAN, BRITISH AND UKRAINIAN MILITARY LEADERSHIP AGREE THIS HAS BECOME POOR RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Having looked at all of that, one might conclude that Ukraine’s attacks north and south of Bakhmut may have been a worthwhile use of Ukrainian forces, up to now. Ukraine captured or firmly secured a series of dominant heights north and south of Bakhmut, then spent several weeks attacking and withdrawing at the base of those heights, sending just enough troops to entice Russian units to counterattack and retake those villages in the lowlands.
This may have been an efficient place to conduct attritional combat, as Ukraine drew Russia into a series of repeated counterattacks, straight into the teeth of its artillery brigades observing Russian movement from the dominant heights.
However, it bears asking, does the present situation continue to be a good allocation of Ukrainian offensive forces? What I find significant is that in The Times article, Zaluzhnyi reportedly agreed with the assessment that Ukraine had misallocated its forces. Too many forces were committed to the Eastern front, and not enough to the Southern front.
I shall posit a purely speculative hypothesis for why this happened. Most Western observers assumed that Russia had exhausted most of its offensive energy during Russia’s lengthy winter offensive, and that Russia would devote its remaining reserves to fortifying its defenses in the south. It seems likely that Ukraine might have thought the same.
However, Russia instead had a far more aggressive strategy. Australian retired Major General Mick Ryan observes that Russian General Valery Gerasimov had taken an active defense strategy, aimed at stripping Ukrainian resources by taking the offensive in the north, draining Ukrainian reserves.
These actions forced Ukraine to deploy numerous Mechanized Infantry units, including a number from their reserves to block Russian attacks: the 21st, 14th, 41st, 88th, 32nd, 43rd, 66th, 67th, 63rd, and 42nd Mechanized, and the 25th and 95th Air Assault, among others. Given the huge concentration of Russian forces arrayed in the north—up to half the Russian troops in Ukraine—it makes sense that Ukraine’s defense would require an immense number of units.
However, this may have had the effect of unintentionally skewing Ukrainian commitments of forces between Bakhmut and the Southern front. When many of the units presently engaged in Luhansk (north) were in reserve, Ukraine likely anticipated using many of them in combat in the south.
It may be that once Russian offensive pressure forced Ukraine’s hand in transferring units from its operational reserves to the north, Ukraine’s force commitments to the south sharply declined as a percentage of overall forces committed to the southern offensive.
If my read of the situation is right, Ukraine allocated troops to the Bakhmut fight with two likely objectives: securing heights on either flank of the western heights to prevent further Russian advance, and to then draw Russia into a series of attritional counterattacks, based on Russian fear of an encirclement that Ukraine had no intention of completing.
These plans likely unfolded comporting to Ukraine’s operational aims in this sector, drawing Russia into a 5- to 6-week series of attritional engagements under highly unfavorable circumstances. Whether or not this is intentional is purely speculative on my part, but at a minimum, Ukraine appears to have been fighting see-saw battles in ideal circumstances.
But now that Russia has been attrited for some time, and Ukraine has presumably had plenty of time to prepare defenses on the heights, it may be time to move these troops elsewhere. There’s no further particularly useful ground to be gained by Ukraine through further assaults either north or south of Bakhmut. It’s one option to continue to try to attrition Russia’s forces under ideal circumstances, but devoting about 40% of Ukraine’s forces to an attack where Ukraine has seemingly no intention of advancing seems excessive.
Ukraine may continue these back-and-forth attacks in the lowlands for a while, but I expect that in the coming weeks, Ukraine might begin repositioning these troops for serious attacks intended to gain strategic ground elsewhere—particularly if Ukraine begins to break through north of Tokmak, and Russia fatally compromises its defenses elsewhere in the south in an attempt to stem the tide.
I will be writing the Ukraine Update for Sunday, where I will explore the topic of where troops from the Eastern Front could be more effectively deployed on the Southern front.
Let’s get this out of the way first: Fox News is not making an effort to improve its credibility, Fox News does not care about its credibility, Fox News makes money by pushing true news stories and fake ones interspersed in whatever proportions best keep its viewers addicted to their carefully nurtured anger, and anyone who falls for Fox corporate’s claims to the contrary is just being willfully gullible at this point.
Case in point, yet again: A new story on Military.com describes the lengths the U.S. Marine Corps had to go to get Fox News to pull down a July story falsely claiming that the Corps stiffed the family of Sgt. Nicole Gee, a Marine killed in Afghanistan, forcing her relatives to pay $60,000 to ship the remains of their loved one back home.
“Fox News eventually deleted the story with no correction, and it never reached out to the Gee family with an apology as the Marine Corps requested,” the site reports. It took multiple complaints from the Marine Corps before Fox pulled the story, and they didn’t do it without first getting some choice words sent their way about using “the grief of a family member of a fallen Marine to score cheap clickbait points.”
And this is the top spokesperson for a branch of the nation’s armed services fighting tooth and nail to get Fox to pull one of its half-researched, fake, “clickbait” stories. For anyone without access to either a warehouse full of lawyers or a few hundred attack helicopters at their disposal, getting Fox to pull false claims would appear to be nigh-on impossible.
As for how this happened, it followed the usual path for news stories that turn out to be false. Military.com reports Fox News reporters didn’t speak to Gee’s family before posting the piece, and didn’t wait for the Pentagon to return their inquiries. The sourcing for the story appears to rest entirely on a claim from Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, who appears to have contacted Fox with the story after meeting with the family and badly misunderstanding the actual circumstances. The story fit a narrative that conservatives working at Fox desperately wanted to be true, so it was hastily published before due diligence was done.
You might be tempted to call this an error on the part of a specific Fox News reporter, but let’s be real. When you’ve got primetime hosts like Sean Hannity pushing out fake stories with glib abandon, why should anyone else in the company waste time double-checking their facts?
Reginald Selkirksays
@236
Broken down heme, which is excreted in bile, both helping break down food during digestion and getting rid of that worn out iron protein, heme.
I feel professionally obligated to correct this. The protein is globin. The heme is a small molecule called tetrapyrrole which encircles the iron atom. Most of the recycling action happens in the spleen; the iron gets reused and the tetrapyrrole gets broken down to bilirubin and other “bile salts.”
Oh no, QAnon doofuses are updating their cult beliefs based on Trump’s mug shot.
We’ve long suspected that Donald Trump lives on another planet, but who ever thought it had such low gravity? Our favorite felonious punk may not actually be 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weigh 215 pounds on Earth—as his Fulton County booking info indicates—but anyone can spin this obvious fib into gold and make him look like a conquering hero. Anyone who’s a QAnon adherent, anyway.
Yes, QAnon is still alive and unwell, and its advocates are still waiting for that storm to come. And it turns out Trump’s latest arrest—and the release of his mug shot—are all part of the plan.
After being mugshot (mugshooted? mugsharted?) yesterday, Trump returned to X, which is what nobody calls the platform formerly known as Twitter, to send an X, which is what nobody calls a post formerly known as a tweet, to his supporters in the death cult, which is what many of us call the party formerly known as the GOP. The xweet included Trump’s mug shot and a grift summons.
Remarkably, QAnon folks saw something in it other than a surly, glowering weirdo who looks like he’s on Day Two of a three-day Strawberry Yoo-hoo cleanse.
As Vice News reports, within minutes of posting the mug shot, Trump was deluged with “supportive” comments from folks certain that the Big Reveal—i.e., the arrival of the long-promised “Storm”—was nigh.
[S]upporters quickly claimed there was a secret code within Trump’s tweet, pointing out that the three letters at the beginning of each line spelled out END. This was then linked to a message posted by Q in 2019, that reads: “There is no step five. End.”
For QAnon fans who have been waiting for years for the conclusion of this conspiracy, this claim was too enticing to ignore. “The crime is complete, they have finally arrested the president after they stole the election, now the military can’t ignore this anymore,” one user of a QAnon-focused message board wrote. ”Their job is to protect the constitution and not the politicians. Now the crime is complete, the entire bait has been swallowed. Brothers and sisters… Welcome to act III.”
Yeah, “act III” is here all right—but it looks like it’s gonna teach us a lot more about hubris than heroism. Meanwhile, for those of us not watching “Sound of Freedom” on an endless loop […], the xweeted photo—Trump’s first activity on the account in over two years—looks conspicuously like the same asshole that’s been relentlessly shoved in our faces for the past eight years, only 10-20% more assholish.
This interpretation ignores the fact that for years, QAnon influencers have been predicting that Trump would signal his return by returning to Twitter and writing: “The storm is upon us.” They have also told their followers that Trump was going to return to the Oval Office.
[…]millions of people continue to believe in this conspiracy despite all the evidence to show that it was not orchestrated by a government insider revealing top secret information, but was instead run for the most part by a former pig-farmer in the Philippines and his son.
Right. Like anyone who supports Trump is ever going to be dissuaded by anything that happens in consensus reality. It’s nothing but 24/7 conspiracy theories with this lot. Some of them even think JFK Jr. is still alive and working with Trump, even though his plane was clearly shot down by Jewish space lasers nearly a quarter-century ago.
Yet even among conspiracy theorists, the QAnon folks are too much. In an Aug. 4 New York Times story aptly titled “Even Conspiracy Theorists Are Alarmed by What They’ve Seen,” conspiracy theory researcher Dr. Annie Kelly asked folks who’ve long done their own research—since “the pre-social media era”— about the impact the internet has had on their culture of conspiracy.
Unsurprisingly, QAnon came up.
Many expressed discomfort with and at times outright disgust for QAnon and the related theories claiming the 2020 election was stolen, and said that they felt as if the very worst elements of conspiracy culture had become its main representatives. […]
[E]ven those who pride themselves on their openness to alternative viewpoints — Sept. 11 truthers, Kennedy assassination investigators and U.F.O. cover-up researchers — have been alarmed by what they’ve seen. […]
The belief that the incentives of social media had shorn conspiracy research of its serious, scholarly edge [LOL] was a common theme for our interviewees. “The things that we’re describing are not really the same thing,” [author and parapolitical researcher Joseph E. ] Green declared to me flatly, comparing the salacious videos of QAnon influencers with the archival work and conferences that he had been involved with. The scholarly work “is never going to have that commercial appeal,” he said. “You know, just like if I try to get somebody to watch a film by Ingmar Bergman, it’s much more difficult than to get them to watch a film by Michael Bay. It’s almost not even the same thing, right?” […]
In the minds of many conspiracy theorists, [Alex] Jones and his imitators don’t deserve the title. In his 2017 book, “Trumpocalypse Now!: The Triumph of the Conspiracy Spectacle,” Kenn Thomas, a towering figure in the world of 1990s conspiracy, termed the recent crop of opportunists looking to profit from the hard work of researchers “conspiracy celebrities.” And the conspiracy celebrity in chief, Mr. Thomas said, was Donald Trump, who referred to conspiracy theories he hadn’t researched and didn’t understand.
Which brings us back to QAnon’s mug shot messages. And they were just as dangerously fun as everybody’s favorite Michael Bay movie.
“It’s always darkest before the storm,” one Trump supporter xweeted in response to the mug shot. “Tsunami Trump is coming for the swamp.”
Wouldn’t a tsunami make the swamp immeasurably worse? Shouldn’t that be Wet Vac Trump? Or Intracranial Stent Trump?
There were also folks desperately parsing the xweet for hidden meanings that simply had to be there.
As Vice News noted, some posters seized on the time the xweet was xweeted: 9:38 PM ET. As anyone with eyes can see, that’s 21:38 in military time, and Q drop 2,138 reads, “Battlestations ready. WWG1WGA.” (WWG1WGA is the shorthand version of the QAnon mantra “where we go one, we go all.”)
Apparently the notion that Trump is a “self-reported” 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds is risible enough to give even QAnon cultists pause. Yet! Yet! Yet! Those numbers do make sense in the context of the Q conspiracy, obvi. After all, if you add 6, 3, 2, 1, and 5, you get 17—and Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet.
Duh!
Others—shall we call them mug-shot truthers?—were convinced the photo wasn’t real, because there was no shadow, the Fulton County insignia was smaller in his photo than in his co-conspirators’ shots, and he looked thinner in the photo than he did outside the jail. Not 215 pounds thin, of course, but thinner.
Clearly, some QAnoners will never relinquish their febrile fantasies. […]
Because, as Kelly and her study of conspiracy theorists note, the fact that there’s nothing on the other side but more buried clues is kind of the point.
Researchers have discovered that graphene naturally allows proton transport, especially around its nanoscale wrinkles. This finding could revolutionize the hydrogen economy by offering sustainable alternatives to existing catalysts and membranes.
Scientists from the University of Warwick and the University of Manchester have finally solved the long-standing puzzle of why graphene is so much more permeable to protons than expected by theory…
In a recent publication in the journal Nature, a joint effort between the University of Warwick, spearheaded by Prof. Patrick Unwin, and The University of Manchester, led by Dr. Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo and Prof. Andre Geim, presented their findings on this matter. Using ultra-high spatial resolution measurements, they conclusively demonstrated that perfect graphene crystals indeed allow proton transport. In a surprising twist, they also found that protons are strongly accelerated around nanoscale wrinkles and ripples present in the graphene crystal…
A new open source intelligence—commonly referred to as OSINT—geolocation from a Russian drone unit was too shocking not to include.
Russian Bober FPV Drone Group posted a video that OSINT Technical group member Imi (m) geolocated on Friday. [map at the link]
That would be where the red pin and blue star are below. [maps at the link]
This puts the Ukrainian advance east of Novoprokopivka—within 1000-1500m of the main Russian defense line and what I call Hill 166. This was considerably further than was understood by even the most optimistic Ukraine mappers.
After weeks of local speculation, the purchasers of 55,000 acres of northern California land have been revealed. The group Flannery Associates – backed by a cohort of Silicon Valley investors – has quietly purchased $800m worth of agricultural and empty land, the New York Times has reported. Their goal is to build a utopian new town that will offer its thousands of residents reliable public transportation and urban living, all of which would operate using clean energy.
The project was spearheaded by Jan Sramek, a 36-year-old former trader for the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, and is backed by prominent Silicon Valley investors including Michael Moritz, a venture capitalist; Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of Linkedin; Laurene Powell Jobs, the founder of the philanthropic group Emerson Collective and wife of Steve Jobs; Marc Andreessen, an investor and software developer; Patrick and John Collison, the sibling co-founders of the payment processor Stripe; and the entrepreneurs Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, the Times reported…
No mention of whether the development will be named Galt’s Gulch.
wzrd1says
@ 252, thanks for the coverage. I thought I had Goobered it down a bit excessively.
Technically, stercobilin is the breakdown product from bilirubin that makes poop brown, otherwise it’d look like clay.
Heme itself can get downright nasty if broken down incorrectly or converted, something utilized by many anti-malarial drugs to poison the parasite. That whole process being conducted by one of the more toxic substances our bodies require – oxygen, all from changing iron’s state.
The Republican senator described the actions by the group of Wisconsin Republicans as “political activity.” He made his comments a day after the former president was arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges that he attempted to overturn 2020 election results in the state, the fourth criminal case he faces while campaigning for a second term in the White House.
The group of Wisconsin Republicans who signed the fake elector paperwork are not facing criminal charges, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said earlier this month those participating in the fake elector scheme should be held accountable.
[…] For elected Republicans, simply being interviewed by Fox News appears to effect a remarkable transformation, one in which they’re suddenly transported to a pleasant fantasy-land where every lie is accepted without reservation, pushback, or even questioning, all in the noble service of a seemingly endless spigot of disinformation. No matter how outrageous, treasonous, or otherwise false the lie, if it comes from a Republican, it can always be readily regurgitated on Fox News.
The story related to Fox News by a Republican congressman about one family’s struggle to get the remains of their daughter, a U.S. Marine sergeant, returned home, is no exception.
The U.S.’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, carelessly orchestrated by Trump and left to Biden for its actual execution, provided Fox with a golden opportunity to lambast the Democratic president. […] Afghanistan was, for a fleeting moment in 2021, thrust back into the spotlight as U.S. troops began to evacuate Kabul. That withdrawal was accomplished, but not without a tragic loss of life. Thirteen American servicemembers were killed during the withdrawal effort by a suicide attack just outside the Kabul airport. Those who died included a Marine sergeant named Nicole Gee.
One might expect politicians to exercise some restraint when commenting on the death of an American servicemember. One might even expect that a news outlet would be circumspect about reporting on the sad task of, transporting her remains home to the family.
But for Fox News, it was simply another chance to impugn President Biden.
As reported by Drew Lawrence, for Military.com:
The Marine Corps worked behind the scenes last month in an attempt to convince Fox News to retract its false story claiming a Gold Star family was forced to pay $60,000 to ship the remains of a Marine killed in Afghanistan, according to emails obtained by Military.com.
A service spokesman notified the news network that it was pushing an incorrect story and accused it of using the grief of fallen Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee’s family to draw in readers, the email exchanges, released through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request, show. Fox News eventually deleted the story with no correction, and it never reached out to the Gee family with an apology as the Marine Corps requested, the family said.
The “story” originated with a Florida member of the U.S. House, who‘d met with families of those killed in the Kabul attack and spoke to reporter Michael Lee. As The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi explains:
The July 25 FoxNews.com story relied on an account from freshman Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who stated that the family of Sgt. Nicole L. Gee had shouldered “a heavy financial burden” of $60,000 to retrieve her body from Afghanistan. Gee, 23, was one of 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in the frantic final days of the U.S. withdrawal.
It’s easy to understand why Fox News would have found the story irresistible: It implied that the Biden administration, already being gleefully attacked by Fox for carrying out Trump’s withdrawal plans, was callously foisting the burden of its own efforts on poor Gold Star families. $60,000? Cue the outrage machine! The Biden administration spits on veterans, and worse, their grieving families!
Of course, the story was a lie. As Lawrence’s report explains:
Gee’s family never paid a dollar to transport her remains, and the Marine Corps let Fox News know — in no uncertain terms — that the July 25 story was false in a series of emails over the following days.
Lawrence’s report notes that the transport of Sgt. Gee’s remains had been paid for by a non-profit before the Department of Defense became involved. As such, Mills’ “account” was completely false.
The Marine Corps did more than simply advise Fox leadership that the story was false. As Lawrence notes, in a series of emails directed to Fox executives, the Corps “accused [Fox] of using the grief of fallen Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee’s family to draw in readers,” and demanded a retraction, an apology, and a public statement from Fox explaining why the story was wrong.
According to Lawrence and Farhi’s reporting, Fox’s initial response was to change the story’s headline from the inflammatory “Family forced to pay to ship body of Marine killed after Pentagon policy change: ‘Egregious injustice.” to “Family shouldered burden to transport body of Marine killed in Afghanistan, GOP Rep says.“ The latter headline is a CYA (cover your ass) move, as it places the assertion firmly in Mills’ lap. According to Farhi’s report, there was no explanation given for the headline change in the body of the story, as is standard journalistic practice.
Of course, the CYA headline was still grossly misleading; it drew a scathing response from the Marine Corps spokesman, Major James Stenger, who, as Farhi reports, called Fox’s backtracking “disgusting.”
Stenger emailed executives again to say that the new headline and story were still false. “Using the grief of a family member of a fallen Marine to score cheap clickbait points is disgusting,” he wrote.
Fox ultimately deleted the entire story from its website, without an apology or retraction. Nor, apparently, did anyone from the network contact Gee’s family at any stage in this process—including during the original reporting—according to Lawrence and Farhi.
The only person to take responsibility here is Gee’s mother-in-law. She explained her frustration about the transport process—which includes a 47-page policy—in the meeting with Mills. According to Lawrence’s reporting, she attempted to contact Fox News to correct the mistake, although it’s not clear what if any response she received.
Mills deleted the story which he had previously proudly displayed on his website once the Fox link became inactive. On July 27, two days after the story was initially published, he issued a mealy-mouthed and wholly ambiguous walk-back of his account, while still indirectly blaming Biden for the bombing—and the family for being confused. But it was too late: the Republican Party’s bumbling coach of fools, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, had put his two cents in … and he’s never taken them back. [Tweet is available at the link]
Neither Fox News nor Lee—the reporter behind the original story—responded to The Post’s requests for comment.
Of course they didn’t. For them, it was just another day at the office.
The shooter in the racially motivated attack at a Dollar General left three messages that included his “disgusting ideology of hate,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
What we know about the Jacksonville Dollar General shooting
– Three people were killed in the shooting today at a Dollar General before the gunman killed himself, Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
– The identities of the three people killed — two males and one female — have not been publicly released. All three were Black, Waters said.
– The shooter, a white man in his 20s, traveled from Clay County, where he lived with his parents, to Jacksonville, where he carried out the shooting, the sheriff said.
– The FBI has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting and will investigate it as a hate crime.
[…] The firearms possessed by the suspected shooter were marked with swastikas, Waters said today.
wzrd1 @225, while discussing other issues, you subjected all of the readers of this thread to your fantasies of what you would consider appropriate (or perhaps alternative) violence.
I am referring to the following phrases and sentences:
Why not instead simply skin the convict alive, then dump salt on them to dehydrate them? Or burn them at the stake?
[…]
Or, let one executioner’s family member share the same fate, just short of fatally.
[…]
And shoot in the gonads motherfuckers that want to torture prisoners.
[…]
And that’s the nice version, other versions involve suffocating the bastard in their own blood, after witnessing their terrorist family dying by their preferred means.
[…]
Mod: apologies, but what works is what works, it holds the maniacs away from another Long Knives moment. [I do not accept that apology. Just refrain from posting such stuff on this thread.]
[…] Seriously, WTF was that “solution”, other than demanding torture to fucking death?! Cyanide would’ve been a better solution and history would’ve taken care of that bullshit.
Hell, exposing them to a massive cobalt-60 source for a half hour would avoid any major pain and still be lethal, as would shooting them in the head with a 12 gauge, nuking the location or detonating a thermonuclear device.
[…] And we’re supposed to be better than that, if not, nuke Russia so that they’ll nuke us and get life over with. […]
You provide some context for this outpouring of graphic and detailed violence. For example, you wrote, “In person, most of us are all nice, the rest get ostracized. I don’t, as I prefer being a nice guy, but well know the monster that was raised and loathe it. And value it, as other would-be monsters fear it.” And, for example: “And it’s an honest emotional context. I will always value peace over conflict beyond verbal.”
However, there is no context that would be an adequate excuse for you posting the violent text. I have asked you to refrain from posting such stuff on this thread. And yet, you continue to do so. I am going to bring this matter to PZ’s attention.
As far as I am concerned, you can discuss the issues you wish to discuss, including your past experiences with difficult circumstances, without subjecting all of us to additional violent fantasies about torturing or killing human beings.
If other readers wish to weigh in, including to say that I am over reacting, please feel free to do so.
Update: wzrd1 @225, as you can see, PZ chose to delete the content you had posted earlier
Gunshots were fired on the visitor’s side of the stadium at Choctaw High School during the third quarter of their game against Del City High School on Friday. At least four other people sustained injuries as a result of the incident, according to police.
A 16-year-old boy is dead after a shooting at an Oklahoma high school football game Friday, according to police.
Gunshots were fired on the visitor’s side of the stadium at Choctaw High School during the third quarter of their game against Del City High School on Friday, the Choctaw Police Department said in a statement.
An argument between at least two men led to the shooting, police said.
The 16-year-old was shot in the groin area and succumbed to his injuries. He was not a student in the Choctaw or Del City school systems, according to police.
At least four other people sustained injuries as a result of the incident, including a 42-year-old man who was shot in the chest and is now stable in the ICU, police said.
A young girl was shot in her thigh, treated at a hospital and released. Two other girls, who police believe are students, sustained broken wrists and a broken leg while trying to leave the area. Police did not share the ages of the girls.
Police have not identified any of the victims from the incident.
An officer with the Del City Police Department discharged his firearm at the scene, which the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office is investigating as an officer-involved shooting. There were two Del City police officers at the scene for security purposes.
The Choctaw Police Department also had five officers at the game for security purposes, as is routine for home games.
There are no suspects in custody at this time, but investigators have been given the description of a person of interest.
[…] In a joint statement, Choctaw-Nicoma Park Schools Superintendent David Reid and Mid-Del Schools Superintendent Rick Cobb said both districts are working with police. […]
wzrd1says
Lynna and all, my apologies. I was decidedly out of sorts at the time. I will be addressing the issue with my physician, as I’ve had feedback personally as well. Some weird inflammatory issue that causes a moderate fever and mental status changes on soft tissue injury.
Thanks for removing the objectionable content. I can barely recall posting something at the time.
Probably going to end up on steroids for a while again. :/
[…] “I’ve enjoyed getting to know better Elon Musk recently,” Ramaswamy said, according to NBC News. “I expect him to be an interesting adviser of mine because he laid off 75 percent of the employees at Twitter.”
Ramaswamy has previously complimented Musk’s management of the social media company, now called X, saying he would run the government the way that Musk runs the company.
“What he did at Twitter is a good example of what I want to do to the administrative state,” Ramaswamy said in an interview on Fox News last week. “Take out the 75 percent of the dead weight cost, improve the actual experience of what it’s supposed to do.” […]
Saturday’s event was smaller than the historic 1963 gathering, but marchers and speakers vowed to continue battling racism and inequities to fulfill Martin Luther King’s dream.
As a teenager in 1963, Ann Breedlove rode in a caravan of buses and cars from Albany, Georgia, to the March on Washington. It took more than a day, she said, but the journey proved to be pivotal.
It was then that she learned of the power of fighting for justice, a cause she has taken up for the last six decades.
On Saturday, Breedlove was back in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial for the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. Her feelings on being there were mixed.
“I see many little children and young people walking around here and they will remember this day as a day that they were present for something that mattered,” said Breedlove, who now lives in Atlanta. “That’s what it was like for me. I wasn’t into social justice as a teenager. But coming to the march changed me. And that’s what this can do for these children here.”
The parade of dozens of speakers, each addressed many of the same concerns of the Aug. 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, speaking to the progress yet to be made. The emphasis then was multi-pronged: end segregation; strengthen voting rights; improved public education; fair wages and civil rights. It was a watershed moment in the Civil Rights movement, marked by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, the most famous of the dynamic orator’s addresses.
Saturday was billed as a “continuation, not a commemoration,” hosted by a number of organizations, including Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute, which is modeled after King’s principles. The speakers addressed some of the aforementioned issues, along with the added concerns over Black history being scrubbed from K-12 education, the chipping away of abortion access, the Supreme Court abolishing race-conscious college admissions, and a reversal on LGBTQ rights.
“It’s a shift, a change that has taken place,” Breedlove said. “It’s too bad we are still talking about these issues. But our leaders and Black people are speaking louder. We’re tired — sick and tired — of asking for justice. It’s time to fight back. I’m a great grandmother who remembers the Ku Klux Klan raiding our house and us having to get under the bed when they came on their horses. Today is different. That’s not happening. But we still are getting it in different ways.”
“Our voices are going to be louder than the politicians,” she added, “who are not doing what they need to do to help us.” […]
Sharpton, the rambunctious minister who has been a civil rights leader for decades, ended the four-hour event under a pale blue sky mixed with billowy clouds in typical Sharpton fashion: With the vigor of a pastor. […]
“The dreamers are saying that if you’re LGBTQ or trans, you have a right to your life. The schemers are saying we’re going to make you look like you’re something that should not be tolerated in human society … The schemers are being booked in Atlanta, Georgia, in the Fulton County jail. The dreamers will win. The dreamers will march. The dreamers will stand up. Black, white, Jewish, LGBTQ. We are the dreamers. We are the children of the dream.”
[…] Russia appeared to signal it remains committed to Wagner’s role in Libya, with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov paying a visit to the country Tuesday and meeting Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar. Flouting an international arms embargo, Wagner paramilitaries have armed and backed Haftar, whose faction has waged a campaign against the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli.
There was no indication Wagner’s operations would be scaled back in Libya, and though its leadership and activities might be reorganized, the effort will “have to obey the same logic, which is to have a semi-private company that will operate on a clandestine basis,” said Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute think tank.
But it may not be an entirely smooth transition for the Kremlin.
“The demise of Prigozhin would almost certainly have a deeply destabilizing effect on the Wagner Group,” British military intelligence said in its assessment Friday.
Prigozhin’s drive and extreme brutality permeated Wagner, the assessment said, and “are unlikely to be matched by any successor.”
After Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny against the country’s military leadership two months ago, it was already clear the Russian Defense Ministry had the intention of absorbing the mercenary force, allowing mutinous fighters to sign contracts with the regular military as part of a deal that also allowed Prigozhin and his fighters to go into exile in neighboring Belarus.
Months of bad blood between the mercenaries and Moscow’s military leaders could mean that a lot of Wagner fighters would rather be commanded by anyone but Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov could be the man for the job. He said earlier this year he wanted to create his own mercenary force in the style of Wagner. Kadyrov lamented Prigozhin’s loss and “iron character” in a statement on Telegram on Thursday, one of the few top Russian officials to speak out after the crash, but called him out for putting personal interests ahead of “matters of paramount national importance.” Unlike Prigozhin, Kadyrov has maintained absolute loyalty to Putin.
There are also questions about the fate of Wagner fighters who went into exile in Belarus, where their presence close to NATO’s eastern borders has put U.S. allies on high alert. But it’s unclear how many fighters are still stationed there, and who could assume command over them.
The number of Wagner mercenaries in the country had been gradually decreasing even before Wednesday’s plane crash, with the majority going back to Russia, Andrii Demchenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Service, said Friday.
But President Alexander Lukashenko insisted that Wagner was alive and well in Belarus. While some fighters were leaving, the “core” of the group remained, the country’s state media agency Belta reported him as saying Friday. He said he could call up to 10,000 fighters back within days, if needed.
[…] The most likely outcome is that Wagner will splinter into two, with the remaining leaderless groupings in Belarus disbanded, and the other faction active abroad morphing into something else that can be a tool of Russian foreign policy, according to Emily Ferris with the Royal United Services Institute.
“The Kremlin will have likely learned its lesson that personalities like Prigozhin with their own dangerous ambitions are a wild card, and any new leader would likely be someone handpicked by the Kremlin,” she added.
Might not come to anything much but we could have a good comet visible to the unaided human eye breifly here :
These values initially suggest that comet Nishimura will brighten quickly in the days to come. Indeed, since its discovery it has been doing just that. On Aug. 23, veteran comet observer Carl Hergenrother of Arizona reported the comet’s brightness had risen to magnitude +7.9; an increase of 10-fold since its discovery eleven days earlier. According to the reputable comet expert Seiichi Yoshida, comet Nishimura could approach second magnitude in brightness (as bright as Polaris, the North Star) when it is nearest to the sun on Sept. 17.
Hence the reason that many websites are proclaiming that a bright comet will be readily available to be seen in September.
But while it may get bright, actually making a sighting of it will become increasingly problematic after the first week of September.
Emphasis on the may here with comets famously unpredictable and prone to fizzling but – hopefully maybe this one will live up to or even exceed expectations – just don’t bet on it and wait and see if you can..
Step 1: Change the question to one you want to answer
Time for another challenge from atheist activist Ed Krassenstein! I’ve covered the first two already. Here’s the third: “Why are the stories in your holy book more right than the stories in another holy book, or for that matter an ideology that someone comes up with and writes about today?” …
Other religious “wisdom” is untestable opinion. The Bible’s truths are open to being verified or falsified. Some questions remain about the Bible’s historical veracity, but they are few compared to the thousands of ways it has been verified. It has never been falsified…
The creation as described in Genesis did not happen. Noah’s flood did not happen. The captivity in Egypt and subsequent 40 year exodus in the desert did not happen. Does this person even understand what ‘falsified’ means?
Jesus shines brighter than the sun, putting every other religious leader in the shadow of His magnificence. Even His story is better than any other, far too good to be mere legend, as the skeptics would have you think. As I wrote in Too Good to Be False, He is the one example of perfect love in all history or literature. His way is the only way of grace: God reaching from heaven to lift us up to him, rather than us having to claw our way to God by our own feeble efforts. His story can also be verified as true.
“Far too good to be mere legend” – WTF?
Jesus’ story can be verified as true? You are welcome to try. In fact, why don’t you start by proving that Jesus even existed?
robrosays
Good news. According to this NYT op-ed by Nicholas Kristof, religion at least in the form of going to church/synagogue/mosque is dying a slow death in the US of A: America Is Losing Religious Faith. If the decline continues, by the mid-2030s “believers” will be less than half the population instead of over 60% of the population currently.
Reginald Selkirksays
Atoms Aren’t Empty
Flash forward to 2023, where Mario Barbatti is a theoretical chemist and physicist researching light and molecule interactions. He’s also a professor of chemistry at Aix Marseille University in France. Writing this week for Aeon, Barbatti argues that “there are no empty spaces within the atom.
“The empty atom picture is likely the most repeated mistake in popular science.”
It is unclear who created this myth, but it is sure that Carl Sagan, in his classic TV series Cosmos (1980), was crucial in popularising it…
Survivor of Mao’s Revolution Xi Van Fleet joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss Donald Trump’s arrest and the impact it could have on the high-stakes 2024 election.
Ukraine has established its first naval drone brigade and also unveiled its largest and most destructive uncrewed suicide submarine…
Surface naval drones have carried out almost all of Ukraine’s attacks but now it is launching a submarine drone, a black 20ft-long vessel called Marichka.
“Marichka will hit the ships on the underwater part, which can be even more destructive for the warships,” Navalnews said.
“A swarm of these suicide underwater uncrewed vehicles is very hard to defend.”
Earlier this year, Ukraine launched a far smaller submarine drone called the Toloka but it is unclear if it has yet been used to attack the Russian navy.
Being a law enforcement officer is a demanding career, especially when absolutely bizarre stuff happens. Deputies in Wood County, Wisconsin faced just that kind of situation after a high-speed chase with a suspect in a car that was reported stolen only moments before. The weird part was that the guy driving the stolen car was the one who reported it stolen…
Deputies were able to determine the suspect wanted to get in a high-speed chase with them for whatever reason and that he was recently diagnosed as schizophrenic…
After GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy compared a Black Congresswoman to the grand wizard of the KKK, one might think he’d relent.
Nope.
Ramaswamy is doubling down on his attack against Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley and activist author Ibram X. Kendi, both of whom he compared to the white supremacist organization responsible for horrific crimes against Black people…
Ukrainian gains north of Tokmak may be prompting changes to the strategic calculus on both sides of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Western advisors recommended that Ukraine shift forces from the Bakhmut Front to the Southern Front on an August 10th meeting between Western military officers and General Zaluzhnyi—to which General Zaluzhnyi agreed. Ukraine currently has around 14 armored brigades deployed on the Southern Front in two battlefields, 12 deployed around Bakhmut, and three in its operational reserves.
It appears highly likely that Ukraine will switch to more of a defensive stance around Bakhmut in the future, and bring some of the forces down to the Southern Front. [map at the link]
Furthermore, Russian pressure on Lyman may be subsiding. Russia reportedly gathered around 100,000 troops, or around half the front line forces available to Russia in the entire Ukrainian theater to the Northern Front in Luhansk Oblast. The largest of the attacks appear to have been the Russian attack from the city of Kreminna aimed towards the strategic rail hub at Lyman, which Ukraine liberated during the Kherson Counteroffensive last September. [map at the link]
Mick Ryan commented that General Gerasimov, Russia’s current supreme commander in Ukraine, took an active defense strategy, aimed at simultaneously mounting a significant defense while attempting to make real territorial gains in the North.
As Russia concentrated forces in the north, particularly around Kreminna, Ukraine rushed many units to block this advance. The famed 25th Air Assault Brigade, the 95th Air Assault, the 42nd, 63rd, 67th Mechanized Brigades and numerous TDF brigades were deployed in the area west of Kreminna
Some early advances were made in late June, prompting some pro-Russian bloggers to claim Russia had or was about to liberate Lyman, but Russian progress has been virtually non-existent since early July. Daily progress has amounted to a matter of a few meters. [map at the link]
Ukraine officially liberated Robotyne on August 23rd and over a course of a few weeks from early to mid August, proceeded to deploy 4 new armored brigades. This included the elite 82nd Air Assault brigade equipped with Challenger 2s along with Marder and Stryker AFVs. I assessed this represented the deployment of Ukraine’s de facto main forces on the Tokmak axis, with only three armored brigades remaining in reserve.
Ukraine pressed deep into the flanks of Russia’s positions east of Novoprokopivka, placing Ukrainian troops just 1000~1500m from the Surovikin line that crosses the hills due south of Ukraine’s furthest advance. [map at the link]
Russia appears to have responded to this development by stripping its offensive forces around Kreminna to rush reinforcements to the Tokmak direction.
Rob Lee on the app formerly known as Twitter commented that captured unit patches from the Tokmak direction indicated Russia likely moved multiple regiments of the Russian 76th Air Assault Division from Kreminna to defend Tokmak.
This was because the captured patches were uploaded to facebook by the account associated with the 73rd Maritime Special Operations Center (Ukrainian Special Forces), which has been geolocated to the Tokmak direction offensive as recently as a few days ago.
The 76th Air Assault Division is a VDV (Airborne Paratroopers) unit, and one of Russia’s last relatively intact elite paratrooper units.
While the arrival of fresh VDV units from the Kreminna direction no doubt signal a serious fight ahead for Ukraine in its attempts to breakthrough in the Tokmak direction, it also represents an opportunity. With pressure on Lyman subsiding with the leaving of some of Russia’s best units, Ukraine could begin stripping its defenses in this area of its best soldiers to send south as well.
Between Bakhmut and the Kreminna directions, Ukraine may be able to bring multiple brigades south, perhaps five to seven brigades, possibly even more. Given that there are only seven mechanized brigades committed to the Tokmak direction presently, this would represent a substantial infusion of new forces to the Southern offensive.
The question is where they should be headed. While the possible number of plans are bewilderingly numerous, here are three possible (and fairly obvious) ways to make use of new armored brigades arriving from the Northern and Eastern Fronts.
The options I see are:
– Widen the current Robotyne/Tokmak axis of attack with a new major offensive towards Verbove.
– Rotate the troops around Velyka Novosilka and press towards the line of defense
– Launch an attack from Vuhledar towards Olhynka to cut the East/West railline and disrupt the flow of supplies to the Velyka Novosilka direction. [map at the link]
WIDEN THE ROBOTYNE/TOKMAK OFFENSIVE BY ATTACKING VERBOVE
One thing that became very apparent during Ukraine’s attack towards Tokmak through Robotyne was that Russia placed an absolutely mind-blowingly large minefield as its first line of defense in the Tokmak direction. Ukrainian sources were horrified at both the extreme density of the minefield, and the fact it stretched not for a few hundred meters as would be typical, but for several thousand meters at many points.
It took Ukraine almost eleven weeks to fully breach this first line of defense.
Hypothetically, a Ukrainian attack towards Polohy (to the east), or resuming Ukraine’s early thrust towards Vasylivka (to the west) would complement Ukraine’s attack towards Tokmak. [map at the link]
However, as is apparent from above, an attack towards Polohy or Vasylivka would require Ukraine to penetrate Russia’s incredibly formidable first and main line of defense once more, along with it’s minefields.
To say this does not appeal to me is an understatement. It’s possible, if not likely that the defenses further east are less developed that this immediate area, but Russia seemingly anticipated that Ukraine’s main effort would be in this general area. Further, Vasylivka and Polohy are on primary railroutes that connect Russian and Ukrainian controlled territory, and as key railhubs are particularly obvious areas of attack. If anything, both are probably even more heavily fortified than the Robotyne direction.
However, if Ukraine continues to penetrate deeper into Russia defenses in this direction, Ukraine will begin to form a long and narrow salient, and that may leave it vulnerable to counterattacks aimed at the flanks or rear of its advance.
Throwing additional brigades in the same direction of the advance would overly concentrate Ukraine’s forces and may be counter productive.
So one option would be to open a new thrust aimed at widening Ukraine’s advance. [map at the link]
Attacking towards Verbove would allow Ukraine to circle around the first line of defense then take it from behind.
Subsequently, Ukraine could follow the roads towards Tarasivka, then advance southwest towards Tokmak to create additional threats to flank Russian defenses along Ukraine’s current directions of advance. [map at the link]
This would help to support and complement Ukraine’s current attack towards Tokmak, further stressing Russian local defensive resources without crowding the current vectors of advance.
I believe this is the most likely use of Ukraine’s additional resources.
SUPERCHARGE THE VELYKA NOVOSILKA AXIS OF ADVANCE
One alternative use of new armored brigades available in the south would be to strengthen the advance from Velyka Novosilka instead. While the advance towards Tokmak has picked up the pace in the past couple of weeks with the addition of fresh reserves, the Velyka Novosilka direction has somewhat stalled since capturing Urozhaine about 10 days ago.
The 35th and 36th Marines have taken the lead in this axis of advance, but they have been spearheading the attack for nearly three straight months without rest, and may be in need of rotation from the front line.
Furthermore, even if Ukraine is able to capture its main goal of securing Staromlynivka, a powerful Russian defense line awaits. Marine brigades are light troops with few tanks or Infantry Fighting Vehicles suited for assaulting fortified positions.
One solution to both of these problems would be to rotate in some powerful mechanized infantry or assault brigades in the place of the 35th and 36th Marine Brigades. [map at the link]
This may add fresh momentum to Ukraine’s advance in this sector that has somewhat stalled for the past two weeks. It wiil help preserve and restore the elite 35th and 36th Marine brigades who will have time to work in replacement troops and equipment, while driving downs towards Staromlynivka.
Beyond Staromlynivka are now 2 Russian fortified defense lines. [map at the link]
This secondary defense line has made it harder for Ukraine to turn a breakthrough south of Staromlynivka into a decisive event, and to link the two thrusts towards Tokmak and south of Velyka Novosilka into one wider assault (such as encircling Polohy).
It’s unclear if the second defense line is ready. For example, satellite imagery can detect the digging of trenches or building of fortifications. It cannot detect minefields, and Russian trenchworks unsupported by minefields are considerably less formidable.
Nonetheless, the construction of a new extensive trenchline may make a breakout in this direction more difficult, and may make expanding Ukraine’s successes around Robotyne more attractive.
NEW VUHLEDAR OFFENSIVE
While Ukraine has already launched some attacks south from Vuhledar towards Pavlivka, it has not been in any kind of significant strength. Adding multiple brigades from the North and East could turn this area into a new threatening area of attack for Ukraine.
The big objective would be to take the rail line east of Olhynka. [map at the link]
Ukraine’s current 2 offensives at Velyka Novosilka and Tokmak both would advance towards Russia’s East/West railway.
Vuhledar actually represents the closest position Ukraine has to the rail line, being a mere 18km away. Capturing this rail line would sever the primary flow of supplies or reinforcements from Russia and the Eastern Front to the Velyka Novosilka direction. [map at the link]
The Russian Army currently defending this area with two brigades, one of which is the 155th Naval Infantry. The 155th Naval infantry was utterly devastated in the attacks on Vuhledar from February to May 2023. It has not been reconstituted according to UK intelligence, nor has the unit received a significant infusion of new men or materiel.
Due to the precarious nature of the defensive position, Russia moved the 14th Spetsnaz Brigade into Pavlivka in late July to strengthen the position, but it effectively represents the lone unit of strength in this sector.
Ukraine presently has only the 72nd Mechanized in this sector, but if several fresh armored brigades can be brought to this sector, it may not take much to push just 18km to sever the railway.
This may represent a highly disruptive attack to Russian defenses to the west of this position, particularly the defense against the thurst from Velyka Novosilka.
Unfortunately, no railhead exists in either the Velyka Novosilka direction or the Vuhledar direction for Ukraine to use, making logistical support more difficult. It may be difficult for Ukraine to sustain a simultaneous major assault in the Olynka direction as well as the Velyka Novosilka direction, thus I assess this avenue of assault to be the least likely of the three presented options.
CONCLUSION
It’s never easy to predict how Ukraine will run its operations, but given the present logistical constraints, avoidance of major Russian defenses positions, and exploiting earlier successes, I believe the most effective use of additional forces in the south would be for Ukraine to use it to broaden the Robotyne salient. An attack northeast from Verbove would open up a new road supply route that could run east of Ukraine’s current advance.
The threat would be serious enough to draw Russian resources away from the main defense of Ukraine’s direct advance towards Tokmak. Simultaneously, Ukraine could use the attack to threaten to flank Russian defenses, making the main attack directly towards Tokmak more potent.
Ukraine would benefit greatly from an infusion of additional armored brigades from the Luhansk and Bakhmut.
[…] They do it by loading ships with grain in occupied ports, ships that have turned off their satellite tracking beacons. The ships rendezvous with other ships elsewhere, and do ship-to-ship transfers of grain to make it even harder to trace the shipments. From there the grain moves through the Bosphorus Strait to customers like Syria, Iran, and others.
Farmers in occupied Ukraine and Crimea have little choice but to cooperate and accept whatever pittance the occupiers are willing to pay them. Meanwhile Russia has ended a deal to allow Ukraine to export grain from the ports it holds and has been targeting them, as well as disrupting efforts by farmers in Ukraine to grow and harvest their grain.
Bellingcat and Scripps report the Russian effort is becoming more brazen. They detail the extensive ship maneuvers to carry this out, with many ship-to-ship transfers being centered in the Kerch Strait. Despite the Russians playing games with ship tracking beacons, the investigators have been able to use satellite photos, Lloyds of London shipping data, and visual ship tracking as they traverse the Bosphorus Strait to unravel the operations and the companies carrying them out. They report the grain (and the profits) are not going to the Russian people, but instead where they will advance Putin’s agenda. The money helps finance the war and buy weapons while evading sanctions. […]
More at the link.
See also this YouTube video, a 17-minute video produced by Bellingcat: “Russia’s Ghost Fleet: Uncovering the Covert Grain Trade from Occupied Ukraine”
This video is also available at the main link, scroll down to view it.
Ships that disable their transponders should become ineligible for insurance, and should face tariffs on docking fees and on fuel.
It’s easy enough to review the transponder data for any particular ship over the last xxx months, since it all gets recorded as it is collected, worldwide.
—————————
Here’s the “free” grain [Putin] promised his African allies as a “magnanimous” gesture. Makes me sick—not that starving people will get it, but that people have been lied to and will thank Grandfather Bunkerman for his great generosity.
—————————
The grain is STOLEN, and being transported illegally by accomplices.
—————————
Cargo ships going between Iran and Russia on the Caspian Sea also go dark
Re @ 281 it is the lower link.
The “Freedom caucus” is making terrorist demands. Do what we want or we blow up everything.
whheydtsays
Re: birgerjohansson @ #282…
Yeah… It’s more like a case of, “Hold my bomb!”
KGsays
Reginald Selkirk@272,
Your link contains the following:
According to quantum theory, the building blocks of matter — like electrons, nuclei and the molecules they form — can be portrayed either as waves or particles. Leave them to evolve by themselves without human interference, and they act like delocalised waves in the shape of continuous clouds. On the other hand, when we attempt to observe these systems, they appear to be localised particles, something like bullets in the classical realm.
This is blithering nonsense, suggesting there is some magical property of human observation that turns waves into particles.
KGsays
In fact, why don’t you start by proving that Jesus even existed?
Well, that he did is the consensus of relevant experts. Claiming proof would be too strong – as is the case for all but a small number of individuals from that time (I’d limit it to those whose existence is directly evidenced by actual objects from the time, such as monuments, tombstones or coins with their names attached, or the Vindolanda letters – and for the majority of these, we know very little about them), but it’s by far the simplest and most coherent explanation of the evidence we have.
Reginald Selkirksays
@284: I agree, I don’t like that language, which is more explicit later:
To compensate, our conceptual reconstruction of matter at the submolecular level should consistently describe how nuclei and electrons behave when not observed – like the proverbial sound of a tree falling in the forest without anyone around.
Even some physicists have made the mistake you mention, descending into mystical woo.
I would suggest measure or interact with instead. Physicist John Wheeler preferred the term register.
An ancient bean known as sweet lupin is creating new opportunities in Canada for high-protein, plant-based foods — including a vegan form of soft serve being sold at one of Winnipeg’s most iconic ice cream stands.
“We started selling it this year. The feedback has been great,” said Justin Jacob, owner of the Bridge Drive-In, famous since 1957 for its soft-serve ice cream.
“Last week, we sold out of the non-dairy mix. … It’s definitely a higher volume than our old non-dairy product that we were offering before.”
The ingredients in traditional ice cream, which include cream, butterfat, milk and eggs, make it a no-go for vegans and those with lactose intolerance or dairy allergies.
Lupin soft serve gives them a tasty alternative, says Jacob.
“We can now still kind of mimic exactly a banana split or whatever you’re used to getting,” he said. “You can still kind of keep your dietary restriction but substitute in all non-dairy products.” …
Bridge Drive-In, or BDI as it’s known to locals, has for years offered a vegan option made from a U.S.-sourced coconut powder, but Jacob didn’t like the taste or the texture.
Demand for dairy alternatives has been growing, so several years ago, he partnered with John Thoroski at the University of Manitoba’s Dairy Science Pilot Plant, which operates as both a classroom for agriculture students and a development lab for commercial clients.
They tried making soft serve with peas, beans and other legumes. They had the most success with oat milk, but they couldn’t find a place to buy the product in bulk, and it was too expensive to purchase from the grocery store.
Soon after, Thoroski was approached to try high-protein, high-fibre beans of the sweet lupin plant by Lupin Platform, a Calgary-based start-up group. It contracts with farmers to grow, mill and sell lupin beans as an ingredient and nutritional additive. It says it has already helped to develop five food ingredients and 12 food prototypes using lupin grown in Canada.
The legume belongs to the same family as peanuts and lentils and is not to be confused with the colourful lupine flower, also known as bluebonnet, which is a different species of lupin. Sweet lupin is grown and cultivated in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal, but the beans are also eaten as a snack or street food in the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.
About 35 per cent of the bean is protein, similar to soy. It has higher fat content than most legumes, but much less than dairy products. That, and its unique starch and oil composition, gives it a rich, smooth and creamy texture that provides a satisfying mouth feel very similar to dairy ice creams, says Thoroski.
“The lupin was … better than most of the other stuff that we had tried in terms of texture,” he said. “So far, [it] seems to be making pretty good non-dairy ice cream.”
He describes the taste as similar to brewed tea, which, he admits, doesn’t mix well with all flavours.
Sweet lupins are gluten-free, so some companies are also using the bean in flour and pasta, says Lupin Platform spokesperson Lisa Bateman…
Canadian farmers who have already planted sweet lupin find it’s a sustainable rotational crop, she said, because growing it takes less water than some other crops, and it adds nutrients such as nitrogen into the soil, reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer…
Tropical Storm Idalia has formed in the Caribbean and could strengthen into a hurricane, bringing high winds and storm surges to Cuba and Florida later this week.
The storm has sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and could reach Category 2 strength with sustained winds of 96 to 110 mph when it is forecast to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday…
Reginald Selkirksays
The National Hurricane Center predictions for Idalia are interesting. TROPICAL STORM IDALIA
Crossing Florida is expected to deplete the hurricanes’s winds, but it may strengthen and reform again in the Atlantic, possibly even threatening Bermuda.
Shuwaski Young, the Democratic nominee for Mississippi Secretary of State, announced Sunday that he will withdraw from the race, citing medical concerns.
In a news release, Young said he recently suffered a hypertensive crisis, the medical term for a sudden and severe increase in blood pressure, and although he attempted to continue the campaign he ultimately decided to walk away…
If the election commissioners approve Young’s withdrawal, the state Democratic Party Executive Committee will be allowed to appoint someone as a substitute to appear on the ballot in November against incumbent Republican Michael Watson. Young was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
#BREAKING Russia is hiring young Cubans to sign contracts and go to #Ukraine, at arrival in #Russia they take the passports and documentation, make them sing contracts and send them to die. They end up not being paid also, and are asking for help to escape
@292
Making them sing their contracts is just cruel. Are they provided with accompaniment?
Pierce R. Butlersays
Lynna… @ # 292 – Loath as I am to accept anything cited from Twitter, the story of Cubans getting treated like trafficked domestic workers seems like something that really ought to resonate at many levels.
I wonder how the “tankie” leftists will handle such cognitive dissonance…
whheydtsays
Re: Pierce R. Butler @ #294….
They will probably blame it on the US, and specifically US embargoes on Cuba. (No, that doesn’t actually make sense, but for True Believers, it doesn’t have to.)
This article focuses more on Cubans living in Russia.
Cuban immigrants living in Russia have reportedly joined Moscow’s fight in Ukraine after President Vladamir Putin signed a bill granting citizenship to anyone who enlists in the army.
“Several Cubans” were taken Wednesday to the area of the “special military operation,” which is how Russia refers to the war, after signing year-long contracts to join the army, the Ryazan Gazette, a local news outlet in the Ryazan region of central Russia, reported.
The Cubans and others who signed fighting contracts will receive a one-time payment from Russia’s federal government equivalent to $2,433 and another $2,500 from Ryzan’s regional budges, according to the local report.
They will also reportedly receive a monthly salary of $2,545.
The deployment of Cuban immigrants in Ukraine comes after an announcement last week that Belarus was considering training Cuban military personnel.
Belarus Deputy Defense Minister for International Military Cooperation Valery Revenko said that he sat down with Cuban officials, including Cuba’s military attaché in Russia and Belarus, Colonel Col. Mónica Milián Gómez.
“Most attention was given to the training of Cuban military personnel in the Republic of Belarus and the promotion of military cooperation between the two countries in a planned manner,” Revenko said in a tweet in Spanish.
The meeting took place during a military weapons exhibition, Belarus’ Ministry of Defense said in a brief statement.
It remains unclear what type of training Cuban fighters may be receiving, but Evan Ellis, a Latin American Studies research professor at the U.S. Army War College, told The Miami Herald there were numerous possibilities.
“It could be anything from cyber to intelligence to special operations training or just an ‘initial’ exchange to explore broader support,” he said. “Belarus may be doing this for Russia because Russia doesn’t have the capacity right now.”
Ellis said that Belarus could also become a “’coordinating site’ where Cubans and others can meet with Russians and possibly other actors.”
Dozens of Russian officials have travelled to Cuba in recent months — and some former Cuban government insiders are warning that Russia might plan to again use the island as a forward base on the United States’ doorstep.
This week, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel went on the Spanish-language version of Russia Today to insist on Cuba’s “unconditional” support for Russia.
“We condemn and we don’t accept the expansion of NATO to the borders of Russia,” he said.
Last week, for the first time ever, Cubans appeared alongside Russians fighting in Ukraine, both in the Russian Army and in the Wagner Group.
Russia says they joined as volunteers and are not part of the Cuban army.
But it was Cuba’s regular armed forces that signed a deal this month to train troops in Belarus, a close ally of Moscow heavily involved in the Ukraine war.
Vladimir Rouvinski, a Russian expert on his country’s relations with Latin America at the Instituto Colombiano de Estudios Superiores de Incolda in Cali, Colombia, said the Kremlin sees Cuba as America’s “near abroad.”
“Russians are interested in expanding the relation with Cuba from the logic of reciprocity, in order to say to the United States, ‘We’re here again, and we may make some troubles for you, so pay attention to us,'” he said.
he Russians are coming as Cuba faces its worst economic crisis since Soviet subsidies ended in 1991.
Cuban agricultural production has collapsed and it must now import 80 per cent of its food. But the pandemic cut the flow of tourists bringing the hard currency Cuba needs to buy food overseas. President Donald Trump’s tightening of restrictions on U.S. remittances to Cuba further reduced the Cuban government’s reserves.
Over the past few weeks, Russian oligarchs have signed agreements with Havana covering a wide range of commercial interests: supplying wheat to Cuba; investments in its sugar and rum industries; revitalizing ports, urban infrastructure and hotels. Russia has agreed to help restart Cuba’s steel industry and, more importantly, supply the country with oil.
“The Cuban government does not have a strong position,” former Cuban diplomat-turned-dissident Miriam Leiva said from Havana. “It depends on the Russian government giving it oil, food and money. They are even allowing Cuban land to be leased for the first time, for Russian investors.
[…] The dormant relationship between Havana and Moscow began to revive in 2014, when Russia turned to Cuba for diplomatic support for its annexation of Crimea.
Havana obliged and in turn received forgiveness of 90 per cent of its debts with Russia — over $40 billion, a sum Cuba was in no position to repay anyway.
[…] “Now the Russians come to Havana,” said Blanco. “And they say, ‘Well, we’re ready to help, but you would have to change your constitution, change your laws, revise this or revise that.’
“In less than a week, they’re calling for the parliament to check everything out and see how they’re going to accommodate the Russians.”
[…] The war in Ukraine still drives the alliance.
Cuba abstained from the historic March 2 United Nations vote that saw 141 countries condemn the Russian invasion. By the fall, it had moved to a more openly pro-Russian position — voting with Russia and five other countries to block Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy from addressing the UN General Assembly, supporting the Russian annexation of four regions of Ukraine, and voting against a motion calling for Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine.
[…] Since March, the island has hosted not only Lavrov, but also Nikolai Patrushev — who has headed Russia’s Security Council for 15 years — Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and Boris Titov, an oligarch with a presidential commission who led a delegation of Russian business leaders that signed agreements for 30 projects in Cuba.
[…] The Cuban regime’s goal, he said, is “to avoid the total collapse of the Cuban economy that’s on the horizon.”
[…] The pending arrival of Russian banks in Cuba could help Russian businesses evade sanctions imposed by countries that don’t sanction Cuba, such as EU member states, Japan and Canada.
But the two former Cuban diplomats who spoke with CBC News said they fear that Russia will demand bigger sacrifices from Cuba.
[…] Blanco agreed the Cuban side likely would draw the line at permitting land-based missile launchers on the island.
“I think the Russians are going to manage a way to have a permanent presence without establishing a military base in Cuba,” he said.
“They may send a ship, or a nuclear submarine. They send it in August, in September that leaves and then another one comes and takes its place, and then another one and another one. And by the time that you realize it, they have normalized a rotative, flexible, permanent presence in the Western Hemisphere, 90 miles away from the United States.” […]
birgerjohanssonsays
Good news for your elderly relatives
And maybe PZ, in 15-20 years.
A Waynesville woman charged with sending fictitious arrest writs to Western North Carolina public officials and private individuals, accusing them of corruption, treason and more, has been convicted and sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Darris Gibson Moody, 57, created these fake “writs of execution” using an antigovernment website created by Timothy Michael Dever, 57, of Naperville, Illinois. The website issued fictitious court judgments convicting hundreds of public officials and private individuals across multiple states of bogus crimes.
Dever pleaded guilty to five counts of aiding and abetting threatening interstate communications and was sentenced Aug. 24 by Judge Martin Reidinger in U.S. District Court in Asheville. Dever was ordered to serve 10 years in prison plus three years of court supervision after he is released.
Moody also pleaded guilty to making threatening interstate communication and was sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release…
Fox News apologized Saturday to a Gold Star family for publishing a false story last month claiming that the family had to pay $60,000 to ship the remains of their fallen relative back from Afghanistan because the Pentagon refused to pay.
“The now unpublished story has been addressed internally and we sincerely apologize to the Gee family,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement, referencing the family of fallen Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, who was one of 13 service members killed in a terror attack at the Kabul airport in 2021 while assisting with US withdrawal efforts.
The apology came after a Military.com report this week drew attention to the issue and indicated that the right-wing outlet’s top executives had repeatedly been notified by senior members of the Marine Corps that it was pushing a false story.
In an email to Fox News President Jay Wallace and other network personnel, Marine Corps spokesman Maj. James Stenger privately accused the outlet of capitalizing off Gee’s death “to score cheap clickbait points,” according to documents obtained by Military.com through a public records request.
Stenger, who is the top spokesman for the Marine Corps, added that he viewed the behavior of Fox News as “disgusting,” according to Military.com.
Initially, after being notified about the false report, Fox News only changed the headline on the story to attribute the claims to Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, who had advanced the narrative but later recanted. The outlet later scrubbed the story from its website without a correction or explanation. It remained deleted on Saturday after the apology…
birgerjohanssonsays
Trump is spreading a “roomer” about DeSantis on social media.
Still no goddamn spell check, but maybe his fans never notice anything.
… I make opinions based on evidence and came into this as a skeptic. But in the face of overwhelming evidence, I’ve come to believe there’s certainly an afterlife.
About 45% of people who have an NDE report an out-of-body experience. When this happens, their consciousness separates from their physical body, usually hovering above the body….
Hey mister super skeptical dipstick: their consciousness does not separate from their body, rather they have a sensation of their consciousness leaving their body. This is the sort of lack of rigor you are not even aware you are suffering from.
The Ohio Ballot Board has adopted summary language that voters would see on their ballots when they go to the polls in November to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Backers of the amendment say the language adopted is inaccurate and biased — and they are considering a lawsuit.
The language adopted by the Republican-dominated board refers to “unborn child” instead of “fetus,” the medical term used in the amendment itself. It also refers to prohibiting “the citizens of the State of Ohio from directly or indirectly burdening, penalizing or prohibiting abortion before an unborn child is determined to be viable, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means.” That language is different than what is in the amendment.
Lauren Blauvelt with Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said the language adopted is incorrect and political.
“The entire summary is propaganda that is written by anti-abortion politicians,” Blauvelt said.
Democrats had wanted the board to use the 250-word amendment as the ballot summary. But Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is against abortion rights, said that was too long….[the summary is now 203 words.]
Backers of the amendment said they are considering a lawsuit over the proposed language. If they file, it would go before the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court. Three of the four GOP justices have publicly declared personal anti-abortion stances.
The Kremlin has finalized its list of candidates that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will face in the upcoming presidential elections in Russia in 2024, according to ‘independent’ Russian news outlet Meduza on Aug. 28. Interestingly, all of these candidates share a common feature.
The primary criterion for selecting these candidates was their age. Meduza reports that it was mandated that all candidates must be at least 50 years old in order to present Putin as a leader who is not aged…
Putin will likely compete against Gennady Zyuganov, a geriatric communist and Russian nationalist; Leonid Slutsky, a far-right politician who has faced allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior; and Alexei Nechayev, who is often referred to as a ‘businessman.’…
The Polish Railway’s radio system was hacked on Friday and Saturday, bringing 20 freight and passenger trains to an unprecedented standstill. The hack, believed to be carried out by Russia, took advantage of a critical flaw in the railway’s radio security system, with the issue reportedly restored within hours.
An investigation into the cyberattack is underway, and the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported that the radio signals sent to stop the trains were interspersed with a recording of Russia’s national anthem and a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin…
[…] Earlier, as he informed Chutkan that the defense plans to file motions to dismiss for each conspiracy charge in the case as quickly as possible, Lauro argued that the prosecution’s entire case is political and told Chutkan that the defense may allege that the charges were brought in “retaliation” for Trump and his allies’ attacks on and investigations into the President’s son, Hunter Biden. [FFS]
[…] Before setting the trial date for March 4, 2024, Chutkan said she takes seriously the defense’s ask that Trump be treated like any other defendant, but points out that normally the defense doesn’t get organized discovery like Smith’s team has provided.
She acknowledged that the government’s request for a January trial date would not give the defense team enough time to prepare, but said the Trump’s ask was way too long to delay.
Trump has known about the investigation for some time now, she said before setting the March date, pointing out that three years would have passed since Jan. 6 by the time the trial starts. Jury selection will begin on that date.
After Chutkan set the date, Lauro said he wanted it on record that the defense team objects to the schedule. We will abide by your rules, but we will not be able to have an adequate defense, he said.
“Your objection is noted,” Chutkan said.
[…] Chutkan says she has spoken with the judge in Florida overseeing the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
This “gives Mr. Trump seven months,” she said.
[…] This case is one defendant and 4 counts, why is this case complex? Chutkan asks. Lauro argues they will be back many many times in the courtroom arguing “very very complex issues.”
A highlight from the hearing in front of Judge Chutkan today:
Trump’s lawyer, Lauro, confessed that he did nothing so far to prepare: “Lauro: There’s no obligations for a defense to begin preparing simply because a grand jury is investigating.”
Terry Gou, who founded contract manufacturer to the stars Foxconn, has delivered on his previous promise to stand for election as president of Taiwan.
Gou launched his candidacy with a speech and a Facebook post.
The billionaire’s pitch may sound familiar to followers of US politics in recent years. He has promised that if elected, he will:
Use his entrepreneurial experience to cut through political morasses that incumbent parties have proved they cannot address;
Upgrade Taiwan’s industry to a new level;
In just four years, make Taiwan a more successful economy than Singapore;
Secure a peace deal with China that lasts 50 years.
Guo is felt to be more pro-China than many Taiwanese politicians – Foxconn’s many investments in China are an eloquent reminder he knows how to work with senior mainland officials. However, some of Foxconn’s plants have been criticized for providing deeply unpleasant working environments, with the mega-manufacturer sometimes caring little for complaints…
Pope Francis has criticized the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the United States Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with political ideology.
Francis made the comments during a private meeting on August 5 in Lisbon with members of the Jesuit religious order, of which he is a member, during his trip for World Youth Day. They were published on Monday by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, which is vetted by the Vatican secretariat of state.
The remarks are an acknowledgment of divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church where conservatives had long found support on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage in the papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Conservative Catholics in the U.S. have also blasted Francis’ emphasis on social justice issues such as the environment and the poor, and his calls for the church to be more welcoming and less judgmental towards some, including the LGBTQ+ community…
Hurricane Franklin is forecast to become the Atlantic’s first major hurricane of the season on Monday and is on track to pass close to Bermuda on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday…
Franklin is too far east to be a threat to the mainland USA.
larparsays
Lynna, OM @ 308
Doesn’t Trump have a 100 page report with “irrefutable evidence” ready to go. I think it was in response to the Georgia case, but should cover the federal case too.
whheydtsays
Re: larpar @ #312…
He claimed that he did, but it hasn’t been released in any form. I’d be dubious about the claims.
larper @312, yeah, right. That was Trump’s ridiculous boast earlier. He walked that back by claiming that his lawyers advised him to present the evidence in court instead of at a press conference. The Inveterate liar was so foolish that his lawyers managed to talk him out of the public display of foolishness.
I wonder if Trump thinks “100 pages” is a lot … especially when compared to the evidence Jack Smith has amassed. Maybe it is a 100-page excerpt from the goobledygook that Sidney Powell and Rudi Giuliani prepared.
At last count, assorted congressional Republicans have expressed interest in impeaching Vice President Kamala Harris, six cabinet secretaries, the Trump-appointed director of the FBI, and a federal prosecutor. But there can be no doubt that one person is at the top of the list: President Joe Biden, who’s increasingly likely to face an impeachment inquiry, despite the inconvenient fact that there’s still no evidence that the Democrat has actually done anything wrong.
It was about a month ago when House Speaker Kevin McCarthy jolted the political world, declaring during a Fox News interview that Republicans’ investigations into Biden and his relatives had risen “to the level of impeachment inquiry.” Six days ago, the California congressman added he was prepared to advance this plan unless GOP lawmakers receive a series of documents — some of which Republicans hadn’t even requested.
Over the weekend, McCarthy went a little further. NBC News reported:
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden is a “natural step forward” following Republican probes into the business dealings of the president and his family. In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy, R-Calif., was asked whether he plans to launch an impeachment inquiry when Congress returns next month.
The House speaker specifically said, “So, if you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry.”
McCarthy and I might have different definitions of “natural.” [LOL]
As the process prepares to move forward, there are three key elements to keep in mind.
1. Some of McCarthy’s members are not on board with this bizarre scheme. Congressional Leadership 101 tells us that good leaders find issues that divide opponents and unite allies. McCarthy has a knack for uniting opponents and dividing allies, and this fixation on an impeachment inquiry is clearly part of the pattern.
One unnamed House Republican told CNN, for example, “There’s no evidence that Joe Biden got money, or that Joe Biden, you know, agreed to do something so that Hunter could get money. There’s just no evidence of that. And they can’t impeach without that evidence. And I don’t I don’t think the evidence exists.”
With plenty of other GOP members having already made similar comments, McCarthy is reportedly prepared to open an impeachment inquiry without a vote, probably because he suspects such a vote would lose. (In 2019, McCarthy insisted that a floor vote was necessary to initiate an impeachment inquiry. Perhaps he’s forgotten.)
2. Other Republicans want to skip the “inquiry” and proceed with drawing articles. While McCarthy faces some pressure from members representing competitive districts, many of whom want the party to steer clear of this strange crusade, the House speaker is simultaneously facing related pressure from the opposite direction.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, for example, argued earlier this month that an impeachment inquiry is an offensive waste of time — the Florida Republican wants to skip it and proceed “more explicitly towards impeachment” — while Donald Trump has been increasingly vocal in denouncing this approach. “Biden is a Stone Cold Crook,” the former president wrote by way of his social media platform yesterday. “You don’t need a long INQUIRY to prove it, it’s already proven. … Either IMPEACH the BUM, or fade into OBLIVION. THEY DID IT TO US!”
Or put another way, McCarthy is facing pressure from Republicans who say that an impeachment inquiry is a bridge too far, and from Republicans who are arguing that it doesn’t go far enough.
3. There’s still no incriminating evidence. The GOP lawmaker who was afraid to be candid on the record was entirely right: Republicans have spent 2023 looking for evidence of wrongdoing they could use against the president. They’ve failed spectacularly.
[…] McCarthy likely lacks the political strength to throw cold water on the intra-party fire.
With each passing day, the House speaker takes steps to prove the thesis true.
[…] Between post-Soviet oligarchs, gulf princelings, American plutocrats and Israeli technologists there was a trade in power and secrets that seemed to operate beyond and outside the formal relations between the various countries in question.
[…] step back a bit and these seem more like examples of a much larger phenomenon: a world of global oligarchs operating in a world of soft mutual blackmail, often using technology developed by militaries and then privatized by state adjacent security firms, all operating at a remove from the formal relations between states.
Two recent stories brought me back to this topic.
The first is a story in The New York Times about Elon Musk’s over-mighty dominance in space launch and satellite technology. As the Times story explained, today more than half of the active satellites in the sky are controlled by Elon Musk, a truly astonishing statistic. They are launched by SpaceX, which Musk built on the back of the US government contracts. They serve Starlink, the SpaceX subsidiary which provides satellite internet service. Starlink allowed Musk to become a significant independent operator making decisions about Ukraine’s war-fighting ability which the State Department and Pentagon had to contend with to their chagrin.
Before continuing, let me make one point about Musk. If you’re familiar at all with my writing you know I have a very low opinion of Elon Musk, a character both ridiculous and increasingly malevolent. His control of SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter gives him vast power over three critical drivers of power and influence in the 21st century world. With that said, though, I have not spoken to anyone versed in launch technology systems who doesn’t think SpaceX has solved a series of basic technological problems which have had a transformative effect on the industry.
The other story is the apparent assassination of erstwhile Putin henchman Yevgeny Prigozhin and one would imagine the end of Wagner Group as an independent force. Prigozhin is of course a vastly different kind of player. But I would argue we should see him and Wagner as part of the same larger story.
[…] I want to put the trend and thicket of questions on our collective radars. A central feature of the Early Modern era was weak and underfunded states licensing private entities to exercise state-like powers and then later trying to claw back that license. All of the colonies of that would later become the fledgling United States were founded on this basis. The arc of colonial North American history saw the English and then British monarchies trying to assert directly monarchical control over these fledgling societies. A better known example is the British East India Company which conquered and administered large parts of South Asia before being brought under tighter and tighter state control until being finally extinguished in the 1850s. We live today in an age of reversal in which increasingly public disinvestment, privatization and the rise of a global billionaire class is in key ways reversing that process.
Terrorist Attack In Jacksonville
America is living through a reign of white supremacist terror, but we won’t bring ourselves to call it that, treat it that way, or hold accountable the provocateurs in the Republican Party who are catalyzing and instigating the attacks.
You might be forgiven for missing the significance of the weekend news that a gunman who fits the profile of domestic right-wing terrorist – white, male, 21 years old – allegedly targeted Black people and opened fire in a Jacksonville Dollar General store, killing three people of color before committing suicide.
It’s easy and not entirely erroneous to drop this incident in the bucket of runaway gun crimes in an America with few gun regulations. But it’s the wrong bucket to put in it. This is the runaway violence of white supremacists against minority groups happening in tandem with the rise of a radical right-wing Republican Party, but with little public acknowledgment or understanding of what’s really happening.
Thank god, though, for Jacksonville’s Black police chief, who went out of his way to call this what it is. “He targeted a certain group of people, and that’s Black people,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said in a Saturday news conference.
The terror attack is being investigated as a hate crime, and the feds are involved. The pattern is familiar, according to early accounts from law enforcement:
– The gunman was heavily armed and in tactical wear.
– He had Glock and an AR-15-style rifle marked with swastikas.
[…] – He had authored several “manifestos” with a racist ideology.
[…] An ongoing series of terror attacks by so-called lone wolfs in an environment full of right-wing hate, calls to violence, and demonization of minorities ends up looking a lot like the Islamic extremism American imagination’s conjure whenever the word “terrorism” is used.
[…] DeSantis was booed by some in the crowd at a vigil for the victims. This follows years of him attacking any recognition of racism in this country and his restrictions on teaching about it. DeSantis, who has also weakened Florida’s gun laws, played the tough guy in his comments on the shooting, describing it as the work of a “major league scumbag.”
[…] “I’m sure the boogeyman white supremacist exists somewhere in America. I’ve just never met him. Never seen one, never met one in my life, right?” Ramaswamy said at a county-level Republican Party event in Iowa. “Maybe I’ll meet a unicorn sooner. And maybe those exist, too.”
That was Friday. On Saturday, the Jacksonville gunman left a suicide note and a racist document at home and went to a historically Black university, which he left after being confronted by a security guard. The gunman then went to a Dollar General in a predominantly Black neighborhood and killed three people—Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19; Jerrald Gallion, 29; and Angela Michelle Carr, 52—with a gun adorned by swastikas.
On Sunday, CNN’s Dana Bash challenged Ramaswamy about his comments, putting them in the context of the killings. “I’m sure they’re grieving for their loss,” Ramaswamy responded. “And I don’t want to politicize those victims, Dana. This is a very sensitive situation, where we should have nothing but foremost respect for those victims and not bring them into partisan politics.” [Slimy attempt to avoid the real issue.]
[…] Guns and racism are the problems here. The basic Republican response is calling for more guns and denying that racism is a serious force in this country—exactly the opposite of a real solution.
“The unprecedented high temperatures this summer have been devastating to the nation’s elderly population and have also altered Japan’s culture in unexpected ways.”
Japan as a nation has long possessed a keen awareness of climate. Kigo, the phrases that evoke the feel of the seasons, are the foundation of haiku poetry. Shun, the term for seasonality, guides the menu selections at dining establishments, ranging from luxury restaurants to neighborhood izakaya. The distinctive trilling of bush warblers and the drone of cicadas are deployed in films as aural markers of place and time. The blooming of cherries in spring and the progression of autumnal colors in fall are covered by newscasters as nationwide happenings. The four seasons, known as shiki, could be called the beat and meter of nearly everything traditionally Japanese.
[…] it could be argued that summer is Japan’s favorite season of all. It is a time of neighborhood festivals, of baseball tournaments, of kakigōri shaved ice and other cool treats, of visits to beaches, and of hunting for bugs in ponds and forests—the stuff that fond childhood memories are made of, which is also undoubtedly why so much anime, such as Hayao Miyazaki’s “Ponyo,” Makoto Shinkai’s “Summer Wars,” and Hideaki Anno’s “Evangelion,” is set in the summertime.
Now climate change may threaten Japan’s love affair with the summer season. Early in August, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that the month of July had been the hottest on record, since 1898, when modern observation methods were introduced. The nation’s average of 25.96 degrees Celsius broke a record set forty-five years earlier. In downtown Tokyo, temperatures soared nine degrees Celsius (sixteen degrees Fahrenheit) above the seasonal average.
[…] Those who could afford to decamped to the seaside or highlands such as Karuizawa or Hakone, which remain popular summer destinations today. But city dwellers who couldn’t escape the capital devised all sorts of ingenious methods for surviving sweltering days: swapping kimonos for diaphanous yukata robes; cooling themselves with gorgeously decorated uchiwa fans; or uchimizu, the sprinkling of water to cool down sidewalks and streets.
[…] On the streets of Japanese cities, the once familiar flip-flap of uchiwa fans has been replaced by the whirrs of personal cooling gadgets. Construction workers and outdoor laborers wear jackets equipped with built-in fans. Pedestrians use handheld electric ones, or don chilled neck rings that are kept in a freezer until worn. There are personal air-conditioning units, hung around the neck, that direct breezes at the wearer’s face. The heat has even started affecting summer fashions: women have long used parasols to shade themselves from the sun, but they are now being joined by increasing numbers of men.
[…] Rising temperatures are feared to cause decreased harvests of rice and shiitake mushrooms, both key ingredients of Japanese cuisine.
And then there are the burdens of a hyper-aged society. Japan is the first nation to experience a demographic tipping point where more than twenty per cent of the population is over sixty-five years old. Heat has proven a silent killer of these older citizens. Thirteen hundred people die of heatstroke annually in the country, the majority of them elderly. This is compounded by a widespread reluctance to use air-conditioning among the senior population, who were raised without the technology in their lives. […]
But the air-conditioning issue is as much about economics as it is about culture. Half of Japan’s public-welfare spending goes to support the elderly, and a quarter of single elderly women live below the poverty line. Even among those who do embrace the technology, a major jump in electricity costs this year is forcing those on limited budgets to choose between sweating and switching air-conditioners on. [I am familiar with that situation.]
[…] a large majority of citizens have said that they want their nation to take an active role in combatting climate change. […] The pandemic slowed down already sluggish environmental efforts even more. Leaders refuse to state a date by which they plan to stop relying on fossil fuels, while large-scale renewable-energy projects remain in bureaucratic limbo. […]
As the surveys and protests in Tokyo show, many Japanese people seem to feel that the time has come for a new story, in which leaders address climate change with open eyes.
Excerpts from a longer article which includes seasonal kilo, the building blocks of haiku… and how appreciation of those is diminished by climate change.
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who became known as “Joe the Plumber” after he famously confronted then-candidate Barack Obama over his tax policy during the 2008 presidential campaign, died Sunday. He was 49.
During last week’s GOP presidential debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tried to use the wild story of a woman who reportedly survived “multiple abortion attempts” to attack Democrats for supporting abortion access and defend his own stance against it. But it turns out there’s a lot more to the story, including the crucial fact that the person who first tried to end this pregnancy wasn’t a doctor but the woman’s own father—and that doctors did try to save the baby’s life. Instead of being an indictment of legal abortion, the story actually shows the lengths desperate people will go in order to end a pregnancy in the face of restrictive laws.
DeSantis spun the bogus tale in response to a question about whether Americans would accept the six-week abortion ban he signed in Florida. After first dodging the question and claiming Democrats are actually the extremists for supporting “abortion all the way up to the moment of birth” (there is no such thing), he pivoted to the rehearsed anecdote: “I know a lady in Florida named Penny,” he said. “She survived multiple abortion attempts. She was left discarded in a pan. Fortunately, her grandmother saved her and brought her to a different hospital.”
Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown looked into the life of Penny Hopper, the woman DeSantis referenced, and found that she was born in Wauchula, Florida, in 1955. That’s almost two decades before Roe v. Wade established a right to abortion and made the procedure legal in Florida. Hopper has said she was born at 23 weeks’ gestation, weighing just one pound and 11 ounces. She believes that her parents tried to abort her at home and were unsuccessful—but DeSantis conveniently left that part out…
Tucker Carlson said something stupid in Hungary this weekend, don’t faint. (Tucker has been lapdancing his way through Hungary again, also don’t faint at that.)
He was over there in his second favorite authoritarian white ethno-state, speaking at some weird right-wing festival called the MCC Feszt, and he told the crowd that America hates Hungary and Russia because they are Christian countries. Yes, that’s the victim mentality white grievance message he went to deliver.
“They hate Hungary. And they hate it not because of what it’s done, but because of what it is. It’s a Christian country and they hate that. And that’s the truth. And nobody wants to say it, but it’s true.”
Nobody wants to say it. Everybody’s scared to say why they don’t like the current dirty white fascist regime that’s taken over a perfectly lovely country and stolen its democracy. It’s because they’re Christian.
“That is exactly why they hate Russia,” he said.
Uh huh. Has nothing to do with how Russia has tried to steal the past couple American presidential elections, played the same playbook in democracies all over the world, invaded its sovereign next-door neighbor and started raping, killing and kidnapping its babies, started a genocide, wants to do the same thing in any other country Putin views as being in his sphere of influence, etc.
Nah, it’s because they’re Christian.
He claimed that the reason some call Viktor Orbán a “Putin suck-up” is because “one thing that Russia and Hungary have in common is, a big part of the population identify as Christians.”
That Christian identity, he said, is “not fine with Washington at all.”
[…] Anyway, so this is all ridiculously stupid, as we said. For once, Twitter Community Notes made itself useful, linking to data showing that 16 percent of Russians say religion is important to them, and only seven percent go to church regularly. In Hungary it’s 19 and 19. Russia has a law against evangelizing outside of the church. For more of the one million ways to debunk what Tucker said, check out Jonah Goldberg’s timeline, because he spent a lot of time this weekend retweeting them.
Even Tucker acknowledged in his talk that Hungarians really don’t go to church.
So what on earth is he talking about? Because he sure seems to be talking about something!
Let’s be honest about what white nationalist Americans mean when they say “Christian.” It’s not about Jesus. It’s a different kind of Christianity, one that’s long existed, especially among white people, but used to more often pay lip service to being Christ-ianity. These days it’s really just authoritarian white supremacy shaking a cross at people. But if they don’t have a cross lying around, they’re happy to beat the shit out of people with swastikas or whatever else they have handy. [I agree.]
That’s the kind of Christianity the government is pushing in Hungary, and that the state is pushing in Russia. Read up on Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, which under Putin is just an extension of the state. He’s as defensive of Putin’s baby-massacring wars as Putin’s mouthpieces in America are.
It’s not about the people. It’s about the state. And as is typical of these right-wing authoritarian governments, it’s a kind of a Potemkin village Christianity situation.
And it’s the kind of Christianity that’s real popular among MAGA types in America. It’s what they wish would be the state religion in the US, to own the libs with their critical race woke drag storytime theories. Read Tim Alberta’s huge long read on the subject. Then read former Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore on how conservative evangelicals are quite literally actively rejecting Jesus’s message because they think it’s “liberal talking points.” And no, they don’t have an about-face when it’s explained that the “liberal talking points” come from Jesus. They say, “Yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak,” explains Moore.
That’s what’s happening to much of white Christianity, in America and elsewhere. And that is what poor put-upon perpetual victim white grievance Christianity people like Tucker are whining about when they say “BLUBBBBBER BLUBBBBER! THEY HATE US BECAUSE WE’RE CHRISSSSTTTTIANS!”
The Gospels indeed teach that Jesus said folks would be hated for his sake.
Thing is, the verse after that does not feature Jesus saying, “So yeah, go be a bunch of white supremacist Nazi gutter-ass scum-fucker anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of fascist human garbage, and tell ‘em Jesus said it’s cool.”
White conservative Christians are always adding that verse.
Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff to discuss the ELIZA chatbot created by Joseph Weizenbaum in the 1960s and how it led him to develop a critical perspective on AI and computing that deserves more attention during this wave of AI hype.
Ben Tarnoff writes about technology and politics. He is a founding editor of Logic, and author of Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future….
This past July, Earth reached the hottest temperature since record-keeping began, according to the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction. And the record-breaking temperatures are impacting everything from our bodies, to our food supplies to the habitability of the planet. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Abbot recently signed legislation prohibiting localities from passing any laws that require shade or water breaks for outdoor construction workers. As we continue to see the devastating effects of rising temps, it’s clear we need to rethink how we conceptualize and deal with heat. Our guest this week points out that simply cranking up our A.C. units isn’t the way out of this and that we instead need to urgently reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Jeff Goodell is author of “The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet” and a contributing writer at Rolling Stone. Goodell joins WITHpod to discuss the deleterious ways extreme heat impacts every living thing, what rising temps reveal about fault lines in governments and more.
There was a time when French people put up picture of Marshal Philippe Petain on their walls. He is a figure of immeasurable stature to the country of France. Victor of Verdun, a one-time minister of war, and finally, a traitor to his country. Or was he? Did Petain allow the stain of collaboration to tarnish his reputation, or did he use his figure to guard the French people from worse Nazi atrocities during the Vichy era? The answer to those questions would divide France in the years following World War II. The trial of Petain, which took place during a humid July in 1945, would leave some venerating the figure of Petain while others looked upon him as betrayer of the French people.
Professor Julian Jackson, is professor emeritus of history with Queen Mary University of London. His latest work is France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain published by Harvard University Press in 2023, covers the political trial of Marshal Petain for treason. Dr. Jackson has authored an award-winning biography of Charles de Gaulle and other works on the history of modern France including his next work an exploration of the life of Andre Gide.
birgerjohanssonsays
Yes! It is time for my weekly fix of Noah, Heath and Eli.
Reginald Selkirk @ #288 and Lynna @ #319, thank you for those links!
birgerjohanssonsays
If we are talking films, I want to mention the coal power propaganda film made by Prager U that will now be an official educational film in Florida schools.
The horror…the horror..
See link @ 328 for details.
In August, the Defence Forces of the southern part of Ukraine destroyed a Russian mobile coastal radar station for over-the-horizon detection Predel-E, worth $200 million.
Source: Defence Forces of the South on Telegram
Quote: “Mobile coastal radar station of over-the-horizon detection with increased secrecy Predel-E – this is how ambitiously and pompously the Russians presented the novelty of their military-industrial complex to a narrow circle of specialists in June this year. Then they sent it to the temporarily occupied Kherson Oblast in secret to monitor our actions both at sea and on land.”
Details: The military added that although the exclusive Predel-E was also covered by a quite modern Leyer-2 electronic warfare system, but “nothing can be hidden from us on our land”.
A Russian-born Swedish citizen was charged Monday with collecting information for the Russian military intelligence service GRU for almost a decade.
Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said Sergey Skvortsov, 60, was accused of “gross illegal intelligence activities against Sweden and against a foreign power.” Prosecutor Henrik Olin later identified the foreign power as the United States.
Skvortsov was arrested in November together with his wife in a predawn operation in Nacka, outside Stockholm. Swedish media reported that elite police rappelled from two Black Hawk helicopters to arrest the couple.
Skvortsov has been in custody since his arrest and denies any wrongdoing, according to his defense lawyer, Ulrika Borg. His wife was released without charge following an investigation by Sweden’s security agency.
According to the charge sheet, obtained by The Associated Press, Skvortsov from July 1, 2014, to November 2022, “secretly and/or with the use of fraudulent means conducted activities for the Russian state with the aim of acquiring information about conditions whose disclosure to a foreign power could endanger Sweden’s security.”
“It was first and foremost electronic equipment” to be used in Russia’s military, Olin later told a news conference.
“He was part of a network,” Olin said, adding it was “a huge puzzle” to gather the evidence.
Prosecutors said Skvortsov used his import-export business to illicitly obtain technology and hand it over to the Russian military intelligence service GRU, prosecutors said…
Foxconn is selling off two of its large facilities in Wisconsin after years of neglected promises to bring thousands of jobs to Eau Claire and Green Bay. The Taiwanese manufacturing company has pivoted from one potential production idea to the next since it broke ground in 2017 and gave then-President Donald Trump an opportunity to take photos and claim he’s bringing jobs back to the United States.
The company said it was building “innovation centers” around Wisconsin including an LCD factory that never came to fruition. In 2019 and 2020, The Verge reported that little progress had been made on the project and two buildings were sitting empty. Now those two buildings are being sold off along with any hope of a Foxconn employment boom…
Tropical Storm Idalia continues to strengthen as it nears the western tip of Cuba as of Monday afternoon. The 2 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows the storm has 70 mph sustained winds with gusts to 75 mph putting her just shy of Category 1 Hurricane status.
Idalia will continue to move north around 8 mph through tonight, then pick up a bit of forward speed and shift slightly to the north-northeast tomorrow and Wednesday, with her eye set to make landfall along the west coast of Florida, perhaps near Cedar Key, sometime Wednesday morning as a MAJOR hurricane (Category 3 or a possible Category 4).
Floridians and those farther north along the Gulf Coast continue to make preparations as life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, tornadoes and localized flooding will occur through midweek. Idalia will then curve northeast, paralleling the coast of Georgia and South Carolina (as a Tropical Storm again at that point) bringing flash flooding and strong wind gusts through Thursday afternoon. After that, Idalia will move east and pass likely north of Bermuda by the start of the weekend.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Franklin has undergone rapid intensification and is now a Category 4 storm with 145 mph sustained winds. Thankfully, Franklin is not impacting land at this time, and is expected to take a track well northwest of Bermuda [yay!] making its closest pass to the island on Wednesday morning with tropical storm conditions likely.
Franklin is such a large and powerful storm that the entire East Coast will feel an effect in the form of rip currents and dangerous surf and swell….
Two Russian soldiers near Tokmak are broken down on the side of the road. They have a small child with them. Another vehicle comes along. They get in and drive off, leaving the child behind and a weapon leaning against the vehicle. And what are two soldiers doing with a small child anyway?
This video is from a drone, which didn’t bomb the Russians because of the child.
Link. The video is also available at that link, scroll down.
No, I don’t know what happened to the child, but that little tyke was way too small to be left alone.
A 20-year-old man has become the first Ugandan to be charged with ‘aggravated homosexuality,’ an offense punishable by death under the country’s recently enacted anti-gay law, prosecutors and his lawyer said.
When Russia began digging trenches in an area of Luhansk Oblast more than 30 kilometers behind the current line of engagement, it was easy to ridicule the strategy. And I did. The whole idea that Russia was building defensive positions so far from the action seemed to be an admission that it was going to cede much of the territory it had taken in Ukraine. The components of the works being assembled, like those unsecured “dragon’s teeth,” seemed laughable.
But what I derisively called the “Putin Line” was the beginning of extensive excavations and preparations across the occupied areas of Ukraine that saw Russian trenching machines excavate hundreds of kilometers of anti-tank and anti-personnel trenches. Trucks brought in pre-cast concrete pillboxes as cranes dropped off hundreds of thousands of those previously snicker-worthy dragon’s teeth. As the whole thing started to come together, Russia spread enormous numbers of mines in front of and among the other fortifications, creating minefields measured in kilometers and creating defensive lines that were anything but a joke.
It’s a massive, complex, interlocking system of defense and it’s effectively slowed Ukraine’s counteroffensive more than anyone—even Ukraine—expected. However, it wasn’t Vladimir Putin who designed the defenses. It was the former head of Russia’s operations in Ukraine, Gen. Sergei Surovikin. Surovikin has been missing in action since June after being sidelined in connection with the Wagner Group rebellion. Every day that his hands are off the controls, his creation becomes less of an obstacle and more of an artifact.
[snipped history of past Russian endeavors that failed when the guy at the top was removed] […] even those kicked out of Russian military academies early so they can fill in the gaps at the front lines are unlikely to find that their commanding generals are exactly open about the big strategic picture.
In no sense is Surovikin a good guy. His actions in Chechnya and Syria earned him the nickname “General Armageddon” within the Russian ranks. Syrian civilians knew him as “The Butcher of Syria.” The waves of missiles that have gone into civilian homes and infrastructure across Ukraine since he took control of Russia’s invasion are exactly Surovikin’s style. So is the regular use of artillery to smash civilian neighborhoods and drive out any source of resistance to Russian occupation.
It’s not even certain that Surovikin is anything close to a good general. Killing civilians and causing terror appears to be his speciality. He’s never had a notable victory in the field against something close to a comparable force, and his “victories” in Syria were mostly in the form of causing maximum bloodshed for minimum gains. The death of a number of Russian soldiers under his command in Chechnya, which Surovikin used as the excuse for a bloody rampage, turned out to have been caused by poor discipline and the drunken firing of a grenade launcher by his own men.
His period of command in Ukraine didn’t start until October 2022, when his entry was heralded by an increase in the number of rockets and drones being directed into Ukrainian cities many kilometers away from the fighting. He was handed the top spot soon after Ukraine had taken back Izyum in the hugely successful Kharkiv counteroffensive. He went on to swiftly lose Kherson as Ukrainian commanders decisively out-generalled him to cut off supply routes, squeeze Russian forces, and liberate the only regional capital to come under Russian control with a parade rather than an artillery bombardment.
Two months after the liberation of Kherson, Surovikin was bumped down to deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. In the spring of 2023, Surovikin was repeatedly invoked by the ex-living ex-head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, as the only commander that his forces would recognize. Surovikin was also said to have been in communication with the Wagner forces at the time of their June mutiny. Shortly after Prigozhin halted his troops on the road to Moscow, Surovikin disappeared from public view. In July, there were reports in Russian media that he had been “detained.” In August, he was said to be “under a kind of house arrest,” though where that house might be is something of a mystery. […]
While the Butcher of Syria is off enjoying his vacation courtesy of picking the wrong side in the latest Russian civil war, the troops and commanders remaining in Ukraine are left dealing with his creation. As RO37 has been reporting, it seems like the effectiveness of the Surovikin Line is waning. It took 11 weeks of hard fighting for Ukraine to effectively penetrate and overrun the first line of defense in the Surovikin Line. However, progress now seems to be accelerating.
Russian military bloggers are making daily statements about the shortage of materials, the lack of coherent strategy, and the frustration of Russian forces on the ground. There’s nothing particularly new about this. Complaining that leadership sucks is a feature not limited to the not-so-dearly departed Prigozhin. Russians would probably be screaming that they were short of bullets, short of bombs, and that their officers were all idiots even if they were marching forward.
But they’re not marching forward. Right now, in the area around Robotyne and Verbove, the question is only whether to believe the good news or the really good news. [Tweet and maps at the link]
The good news says that Ukrainian forces are advancing on Novoprokopivka and have come into contact with the defensive lines—including a large anti-tank trench—northwest of Verbove. The really optimistic version of the story insists that Ukraine has already broken through defenses between these two locations and a portion of the defensive line is in the rearview. That optimistic view appears to be … too optimistic. But there are reasons to think that it may soon be the case. [Tweet and video at the link]
What’s clear from OSINT analyst Emil Kastehelmi’s overview is that the Surovikin Line was either never finished or hasn’t been updated to adapt to the advance of Ukrainian forces toward what were obvious weak points. [tweets and images at the link: Heavy fortifications are built in order to block any potential advance on the main road towards Tokmak. This is an important avenue of approach, so defending it is very logical. However, while concentrating on this section, the Russians may have missed something important.
The main defence line west of Verbove seems to be in a significantly worse state.
At the beginning of August, no preparation work for finalizing these trenches had begun. At the end of August, low-resolution images show almost no signs of any trench improvements either.]
There are several potential reasons for this. The Surovikin Line may be […] something so complex in operation and so personal in design that only the man who had the original vision can hold it together. Or it may have been more a skeleton than a completely fleshed out system; something that was meant to change and develop as Ukraine tried to break through.
Surovikin’s defenses may also have an issue in that they are Surovikin’s defenses. No one else may have a strong incentive to prove the ousted general’s preparations are effective, or to be somehow seen as the protégé of a guy currently suffering from severe defenestraphobia (and yes, that’s the real name for a fear of windows).
If any failure on the Zaporizhzhia front can be blamed on the guy already conveniently chained in the basement of the Lubyanka, Russian officers are going to feel very, very good about keeping it that way.
Was the whole fighting in front of the trenches plan, which certainly has its value as well as cost, what Surovikin intended in the first place? Was the well rested and intact Russian army just now supposed to be sitting south of Verbove, waiting to pick off any Ukrainian survivors who made it through kilometers of minefields, drones, and overlapping arcs of artillery fire? We don’t know. To a large extent, it doesn’t matter. But if the Surovikin Line is now an artifact of a discarded strategy, being only poorly used by people who don’t understand—and don’t want to understand—how to adapt to Ukraine’s advance … that’s cool. [Tweets at the link: So, the main points of this thread:
– Fortifications are not as strong in all areas of the first main defensive line, as known as the Surovikin line
– Russian preparedness varies
– Positive developments for Ukraine are possible in the near future, especially local success]
Northern front reports over the last two days indicate a lower level of fighting around Kupyansk at the far north of the line. Russia’s attempt to take that town, or to force Ukraine to move back across the Orkhiv River, may be over for now.
However, Russia has reportedly moved more forces to the area around Svatove with the intention of extending a salient west toward Borova. A similar effort in July resulted in the capture of three small villages, which Russia held for about a week before Ukraine took them back and returned the line to where it had been originally.
Ukraine continues to hold against efforts by Russia to extend the salient out of Kreminna. Russian forces are bragging about the effectiveness of VDV forces recently deployed to the area not in terms of extending the Russian advance, but by claiming they were essential in halting a Ukrainian advance toward Kreminna. Ukraine continues to hold their position in the forests south of the city despite months of Russian attacks in the area.
On the eastern front, drone and satellite images show that Ukraine controls more of Klishchiivka than has been indicated on official maps. It’s likely there is no Russian force either in or near the town. Two attempts by Russia to move armored columns into Klishchiivka have met with disaster as Ukraine uses the high ground west of the town to their advantage.
Ukraine has reportedly advanced into Andriivka, a smaller town south of Klishchiivka along the same highway, taking both Russian positions and Russian forces.
Ukraine appears to have the strategic positions in the area well in hand, but it’s hard to see how they move forward either to take Bakhmut or to strike defensive lines to the east as long as Russia holds onto the hills around Dubovo-Vasylivka to the northwest of Bakhmut. Exactly why Ukraine is holding so many forces in this area is something of a mystery.
On the southern front the big action is, of course, south of Robotyne as Ukraine tests the integrity of all those defensive lines. What happens at Verbove and Novoprokopivka may be a good predictor of just how effective the remaining Russian defensive lines will be now that Ukraine has cracked the outer shell. That big circle of defensive positions around Tokmak may be a lot less concerning should it turn out that minefields behind the front line are much thinner and trenches are much more poorly defended. Here’s hoping.
birgerjohanssonsays
Lynna, OM @ 340
A consistent pattern is that everything in Russia is worse than it seems, especially in the corrupt military.
I will not at all be surprised if the rear defensive lines turn out to be crap, thrown up in a hurry by brass who just need to tell their bosses “It is done” without regard to wether it will hold up to being tested by Ukrainan attacks.
The whole post-Soviet culture makes me optimistic.
birgerjohanssonsays
This explains a lot about the gap between North and South.
-The distinct culture of the American South was a carryover from the regions of the British Isles the migrants came from (mainly peripheral regions not as integrated in the more dynamic changes of the economy).
This made the culture of the antebellum South curiously adverse to what we consider enterprise, while the yankees mostly came from parts of England that had undergone a greater transition in the face of a changing economy.
Think I heard something on the radio the other day that factcheker RMIT has found up to / over /exactly (?) fifty lies coming from the ‘No”side on Australia’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum the date of which willapparently be announced tomorrow. I couldn’t find a full list but via RMIT :
Australia’s landmark referendum – to be held between October and December 2023 – will decide whether to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the country’s Constitution. Upon a yes vote, a proposed advisory body made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will be set up, ensuring that they will always be able to advise the government and Parliament on matters that affect them. The mechanism is also designed in a way so that future parliaments cannot remove such voice, unless a referendum is held and manages to earn the support of a majority of voters across the nation, as well as the support of a majority of the states.
While the Voice to Parliament (“the Voice”) offers an instrument for reconciliation with Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, online misinformation and inaccurate statements have distorted and misinterpreted the proposed mechanism in numerous ways. One of the most popular and contentious narratives circulating online calls the referendum “racist” or “racially divisive”.
This has been echoed by prominent political figures, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who told the audience at the 2022 conservative conference CPAC that the Voice would “institutionalise discrimination” (against the rest of the Australian population who are not Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples); Shadow Indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price went further to call it “racial separatism”.
CrossCheck has monitored social media content about the referendum since it was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July 2022. Below we decode seven common confusions misconstruing the impact the Voice would have on racial equality in Australia, and offer critical context:
Former federal Liberal Indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt has called on party members to be brave and speak out in support of the Voice to Parliament. He spectacularly resigned his membership of the Liberals earlier this year, less than 24 hours after leader Peter Dutton announced the party would formally oppose the independent advisory body.
Mr Wyatt made the comments as he joined Health Minister Mark Butler and the Labor MP who replaced him at the 2022 election, Tanya Lawrence, in campaigning for The Voice in Perth’s eastern fringe.
“I would love a lot of my ex-colleagues to be brave and just say, ‘I think it’s time that we listen to Aboriginal people in a real and constructive way, and we engage them as equal partners, as we do with every industry that comes to our parliamentary officers’,” Mr Wyatt said. He said he had spoken to colleagues while he was in parliament who were supportive of the Voice, but said he believed “political” factors were stopping them from speaking out.
Australia’s regressive leftovers led by the rotten Gestpotato (an overpaid racist as ex-cop) are getting more and more left over and unappetising every day..
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Ukraine said on Tuesday that its forces had pushed deeper into Russian defensive lines near the village of Robotyne, a day after claiming control over the village on the southern front.
The military spokesperson Andriy Kovalyov said Ukrainian forces were edging further in the Zaporizhzhia region…Agence France-Presse reports.
“Ukrainian forces had successes in the direction of Novodanylivka to Verbove,” he told state media on Tuesday, naming two hamlets in the region.
He added that the troops were holding captured territory and attacking Russian artillery. These claims are yet to be independently verified….
A year and a half ago, Russia undertook a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since that time, Ukraine has taken back more than half of the territory then lost. If we don’t let them down, the Ukrainians will win this war, and bring us a more secure world.
StevoRsays
Media Watch on the UFO / UAP foolery and Aussie credulous reporting on it here :
Excerpt (Ugly word that one huh? Maybe I should say “extract” instead? Same meaning?) :
So, how has David Grusch got the world’s best reporter to believe? Grusch is a former US intelligence officer who was on a Pentagon UFO task force, and did have high security clearance. But he has produced no documents, no photos, no spacecraft and no bodies to prove his claims. And when asked for detail Grusch says the UFO program is so secret that even Congress can’t be told: … (Snip)..David Grusch did not produce evidence to Ross Coulthart in his TV interview either. And as science writer Mick West — and others — have pointed out, none of the whistleblower’s claims are first hand:
From the same episode of Media Watch a segment on debunkinmg a Climate Science denying paper :
Science publisher Springer Nature retracts a 2022 study that dismissed the climate emergency. The study was championed on the front page of The Australian newspaper.
Plus from the transcript – again, click button to get that :
That story from environment editor Graham Lloyd relied on an obscure, eight-month-old study published in a scientific journal called the European Physical Journal Plus. Media Watch said at the time its claims were garbage and pointed out that three of the four authors were well-known climate sceptics, something The Oz did not tell us. But the study was manna from heaven for the folks at Sky News, including Chris Smith, several months before he was sacked for disgracing himself at the network’s Christmas party:
&
So, will The Australian be doing the same (retracting the bogus proven wrong article- ed) given its article is still online? We asked the Editor, Michelle Gunn, and then her deputy, but we did not get a reply. Instead, the paper has published a new story by Graham Lloyd, arguing that the discredited study has fallen victim to a ‘heated campaign’ and should not have been retracted. And is that any surprise? In the last few weeks we’ve seen wildfires raging in Canada and Greece, and heat records being smashed around the world, with July reportedly the hottest month ever. Yet 10 days ago Chris Kenny was running this opinion piece in The Australian, calling for fathers to better protect their children from climate hysteria and claiming:
The Vatican sought to defend Pope Francis on Tuesday after the pontiff sparked fury in Ukraine by praising Russia’s imperial rulers — a history President Vladimir Putin has invoked to justify his ongoing war.
The Kremlin delighted in the controversy, which stemmed from comments Francis made to a group of young Russians urging them to see themselves as the heirs of a “great” empire.
“Don’t forget your heritage. You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of saints, rulers, the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire — educated, great culture and great humanity,” he said, speaking to young Russian Catholics in St. Petersburg by live video on Friday.
“Never give up on this heritage. You are descendants of the great Mother Russia, step forward with it. And thank you — thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russian.” …
StevoRsays
Chandrayaan 3 has already produced some interesting data on the lunar regolith and just how cold it is :
Since reaching the moon’s south pole, Chandrayaan-3 has been hard at work – having deployed a rover named Pragyan to explore the cratered surface, harnessed integrated cameras to send back videos of its environment and even started completing research objectives planned for a two-week stay on the orb. … (snip)… The purpose of this experiment, in essence, is to use a temperature probe as well as 10 individual temperature sensors to measure temperature profiles of lunar south pole soil. The goal, ISRO explains, is for ChaSTE to help scientists understand what the thermal behavior of the moon’s surface is like. And, as it appears, ChaSTE has already found some stuff out. Illustrated by a graph ISRO released, the experiment has probed various temperatures of the moon’s surface at different depths, marking the “first such profile for the lunar south pole.”
Taiwan’s weather authorities warned residents of heavy rain and strong winds starting Wednesday as Typhoon Saola skirts by the island’s southern coast on its way to China’s southern coast.
The typhoon is moving northwest with sustained winds of 162 kph (101 mph) and gusts of up to 198 kph (123 mph), according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. The typhoon’s eye won’t hit Taiwan’s mainland, but is expected to graze the island’s southern cities with its outer bands…
The transparent squid is a genetically altered version of the hummingbird bobtail squid, a species usually found in the tropical waters from Indonesia to China and Japan. It’s typically smaller than a thumb and shaped like a dumpling. And like other cephalopods, it has a relatively large and sophisticated brain.
The see-through version is made possible by a gene editing technology called CRISPR, which became popular nearly a decade ago.
Albertin and Rosenthal thought they might be able to use CRISPR to create a special squid for research. They focused on the hummingbird bobtail squid because it is small, a prodigious breeder, and thrives in lab aquariums, including one at the lab in Woods Hole…
Albertin and Rosenthal wanted to use CRISPR to create a bobtail squid without any pigment, an albino. And they knew that in other squid, pigment depends on the presence of a gene called TDO.
“So we tried to knock out TDO,” Albertin says, “and nothing happened.”
It turned out that bobtail squid have a second gene that also affects pigment.
“When we targeted that gene, lo and behold we were able to get albinos,” Albertin says.
Because even unaltered squid have clear blood, thin skin, and no bones, the albinos are all but transparent unless light hits them at just the right angle…
KGsays
A consistent pattern is that everything in Russia is worse than it seems, especially in the corrupt military. – birgerjohansson@341
Well, that has not so far turned out to be the case with Russian preparations for and resistance to the Ukrainian counteroffensive. There were many predictions that Russian defensive works would be useless, Russian troops would flee or surrender en masse, the Ukrainian advance would be as fast as that in the north-east last year, and so on. I’d be delighted if you turn out to be right about the further defensive lines, but I see no reason to expect it.
birgerjohanssonsays
An interesting take on maturing night vision tech from In Range.
A 127-year-old water main under New York’s Times Square gave way early Tuesday, flooding midtown streets and the city’s busiest subway station.
The 20-inch (half-meter) water main gave way under 40th Street and Seventh Avenue at 3 a.m., said Rohit Aggarwala, commissioner of New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The rushing water was only a few inches deep on the street, but videos posted on social media showed the flood cascading into the Times Square subway station down stairwells and through ventilation grates. The water turned the trenches that carry the subway tracks into mini rivers and soaked train platforms.
It took DEP crews about an hour to find the source of the leak and shut the water off, Aggarwala said.
The excavation left a big hole at the intersection of 40th Street and Seventh Avenue, where workers were digging with heavy equipment to get to the broken section of pipe.
While that intersection remained closed to car traffic, surrounding streets were open by rush hour.
Subway service, however, was suspended through much of Manhattan on the 1, 2 and 3 lines, which run directly under the broken pipe.
Aggarwala said it appeared that only two local businesses were without left without water at the start of the work day…
Ukraine claimed that an attack that damaged five fighter planes at a Russian airfield was carried out using “cardboard” drones from Australia.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) told the Kyiv Post on Saturday that it had struck a MiG-29 four Su-30 fighter jets at Kursk airfield in western Russia.
As well as the planes, the drones damaged two Pantsir missile launchers and part of an S-300 air defense system, the SBU told the outlet.
According to prominent pro-Russian blogger @fighterbomber, which closely follows the Russian air force, the attack was the first use of Australian-provided delivery drones made of cardboard…
This month, a team from Purdue University tackled the low visibility problem head-on. Combining thermal imaging, physics, and machine learning, their technology allowed a visual AI system to see in the dark as if it were daylight.
At the core of the system are an infrared camera and AI, trained on a custom database of images to extract detailed information from given surroundings—essentially, teaching itself to map the world using heat signals. Unlike previous systems, the technology, called heat-assisted detection and ranging (HADAR), overcame a notorious stumbling block: the “ghosting effect,” which usually causes smeared, ghost-like images hardly useful for navigation…
HADAR went back to basics, analyzing thermal properties that essentially describe what makes something hot or cold, said Jacob.
Thermal images are made of useful data streams jumbled together. They don’t just capture the temperature of an object; they also contain information about its texture and depth.
As a first step, the team developed an algorithm called TeX, which disentangles all of the thermal data into useful bins: texture, temperature, and emissivity (the amount of heat emitted from an object). The algorithm was then trained on a custom library that catalogs how different items generate heat signals across the light spectrum.
The algorithms are embedded with our understanding of thermal physics, said Jacob. “We also used some advanced cameras to put all the hardware and software together and extract optimal information from the thermal radiation, even in pitch darkness,” he added.
Our current thermal cameras can’t optimally extract signals from thermoimages alone. What was lacking was data for a sort of “color.” Similar to how our eyes are biologically wired to the three prime colors—red, blue, and yellow—the thermo-camera can “see” on multiple wavelengths beyond the human eye. These “colors” are critical for the algorithm to decipher information, with missing wavelengths akin to color blindness.
Using the model, the team was able to dampen ghosting effects and obtain clearer and more detailed images from thermal cameras.
The demonstration shows HADAR “is poised to revolutionize computer vision and imaging technology in low-visibility conditions,” said Drs. Manish Bhattarai and Sophia Thompson, from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, respectively, who were not involved in the study…
HADAR isn’t without faults. The main trip-up is the price. According to New Scientist, the entire setup is not just bulky, but costs more than $1 million for its thermal camera and military-grade imager. (HADAR was developed with the help of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency known for championing adventurous ventures.)
The system also needs to be calibrated on the fly, and can be influenced by a variety of environmental factors not yet built into the model. There’s also the issue of processing speed.
“The current sensor takes around one second to create one image, but for autonomous cars we need around 30 to 60 hertz frame rate, or frames per second,” said Bao.
For now, HADAR can’t yet work out of the box with off-the-shelf thermal cameras from Amazon. However, the team is eager to bring the technology to the market in the next three years, finally bridging light to dark…
A Saudi court has sentenced a retired teacher to death for criticising the ruling family in messages to his nine social media followers.
According to Human Rights Watch, 54-year-old Mohammed al-Ghamdi was sentenced to death on July 10 for various offences related to his activity on YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter. The ruling may be the first death sentence for social media posts.
The charges reportedly levied against the retired teacher include “describing the King or the Crown Prince in a way that undermines religion or justice”, “supporting a terrorist ideology”, and disseminating fake news “with the intention of executing a terrorist crime”.
On Thursday, Mohammed’s brother, Saeed al-Ghamdi, tweeted that his brother’s sentencing may be an attempt “to spite me personally after failed attempts to return me to the country”. Saeed, an Islamic scholar, lives in self-imposed exile in London and is wanted by the Saudi authorities.
“I appeal to anybody who can help to save my brother from this unfair and unjust ruling,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has long faced criticism for its frequent use of the death penalty. In 2022, the kingdom performed 196 confirmed executions, according to Amnesty International, making it the third-most prolific executioner after China and Iran…
Police charged a University of North Carolina graduate student Tuesday with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a faculty member that caused a campus lockdown amid a search for the gunman.
Tailei Qi, 34, is due in court later Tuesday for an initial hearing in the Monday killing of Zijie Yan inside a science building on the Chapel Hill campus. In addition to the murder count, he is charged with having a gun on educational property.
Yan is listed on the school’s website as an associate professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, while Qi is listed as a graduate student in Yan’s research group.
Qi, who lives in Chapel Hill, was arrested during a roughly three-hour lockdown that followed the shooting, authorities said at a Monday news conference.
“To actually have the suspect in custody gives us an opportunity to figure out the why and even the how […] UNC Police Chief Brian James said. “And we want to learn from this incident […]
Campus police received a 911 call reporting shots fired at Caudill Labs just after 1 p.m. Monday, James said. An emergency alert was issued and sirens sounded two minutes later, starting a lockdown that led frightened students and faculty to barricade themselves inside dorm rooms, bathrooms, classrooms and other school facilities.
Officers arriving at the lab building found a faculty member who had been fatally shot, James said. Based on witness information, police took the suspect into custody just after 2:30 p.m., according to the chief.
[…] The lockdown was lifted around 4:15 p.m. No other injuries were reported.
[…] Yan led the Yan Research Group, which Qi joined last year, according to the group’s UNC webpage. Yan earned his PhD in materials engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and previously worked as an assistant professor at Clarkson University. He joined the Chapel Hill faculty in 2019.
Qi is a graduate student in the department of applied physical sciences who studies nanopartical synthesis and light-matter interaction. He moved to the U.S. from China after earning a bachelor’s degree in physics at Wuhan University, according to the UNC webpage for the Yan Research Group.
[…] Students started listening to police scanners to try to get information about where the shooter was, Ulm said. The panic eventually subsided. And people were allowed to use the nearby restrooms. Still, he called it “surreal seeing the mass panic.”
About two hours after the first alert went out, officers were still arriving in droves, with about 50 police vehicles at the scene and helicopters circling over the school.
It took about an hour and a half to lift the lockdown after the arrest because authorities were making sure they had the right suspect in custody, James said.
Police also had received calls around campus about other potential victims and gunshots that needed to be checked out, he said.
[…] the weapon has not been found.
“We are looking for a firearm. It is too early to determine if the firearm was legally obtained,” he said.
The university, with about 20,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students, canceled Tuesday classes.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) early Tuesday announced the first 10 drugs chosen for Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
These single-source drugs were chosen based on their eligibility under the IRA and are the “highest total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs” under Medicare Part D, according to the CMS. In total, these medications account for $50.5 billion in total gross Part D costs.
Negotiations over these drugs, if manufacturers agree to the process, will take place over 2023 and 2024. Drugmakers have until Oct. 1 to sign agreements.
The CMS will publish the “maximum fair prices” for these drugs in September 2024. The negotiated prices for these drugs will go into effect beginning in 2026.
President Biden is expected to give a speech to mark the selection of these drugs.
[…] “Today, my Administration announced the first 10 Medicare Part D drugs that have been selected for price negotiation — for the first time ever,” Biden continued. “They are among the most common and costly prescriptions that treat everything from heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn’s disease — and more. This is on top of progress we made in reducing the cost of insulin to $35 a month for seniors on Medicare.”
Lauding the plan as a “key part of Bidenomics,” Biden also noted that he was “not backing down” in light of the lawsuits that have been filed against Medicare drug price negotiation.
Eliquis
For treating: Prevention and treatment of blood clots
Manufacturer: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Jardiance
For treating: Diabetes; Heart failure
Manufacturer: Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Co. Xarelto
For treating: Prevention and treatment of blood clots; Reduction of risk for patients with coronary or peripheral artery disease
Manufacturer: Janssen Pharmaceuticals Januvia
For treating: Diabetes
Manufacturer: Merck Farxiga
For treating: Diabetes; Heart failure; Chronic kidney disease
Manufacturer: AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Entresto
For treating: Heart failure
Manufacturer: Novartis Enbrel
For treating: Rheumatoid arthritis; Psoriasis; Psoriatic arthritis
Manufacturer: Immunex Corporation Imbruvica
For treating: Blood cancers
Manufacturer: Pharmacyclics and Janssen Biotech Stelara
For treating: Psoriasis; Psoriatic arthritis; Crohn’s disease; Ulcerative colitis
Manufacturer: Janssen Biotech NovoLog
For treating: Diabetes
Manufacturer: Novo Nordisk
Pierce R. Butlersays
While I’ve got the chance…
Hurricane Idalia’s track now aims straight for where I live: the center of the storm will, they say, hit here a few hours before dawn on Wednesday. I live maybe ten miles from the line where they say Idalia will slow down enough to degrade to a mere tropical storm, but they still predict ~60 mph (96 kmh) winds for some exciting hours.
But we’ll certainly lose power well before that, probably before sundown. While taking a break from various prep work, I just want to send y’all a wave. It might take a week or more before anybody in this neighborhood goes online again, depending on how one somewhat remote cell tower holds up, but we’ve all been through this before and know the moves. So far just showers and a dramatic but brief thunderstorm last night, cloudy but dry (in a very humid way) now.
Will look forward to scanning this thread to catch up on my what-happened? fix – thanks again to Lynna & all for keeping it up!
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (AP) — Plans to build the world’s tallest flagpole are being delayed — again.
The tiny town of Columbia Falls in Maine is extending its moratorium on big developments for another six months following a proposal for a flagpole taller than the Empire State Building, with an observation deck and a flag larger than a football field. The planned tourist attraction would also have an auditorium, living history museums and a monument.
Town officials said they lacked rules and regulations for such a large project.
The town of 485 residents began grappling with zoning regulations after Morrill Worcester proposed a structure stretching skyward some 1,461 feet (445 meters). Worcester’s family operates a wreath-making company and founded the Wreaths Across America organization, which provides holiday wreaths for military cemeteries…
On Monday, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows took a legal swing for the fences by unexpectedly testifying in a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones. Meadows’ testimony went on for nearly five hours, during which time he described a view of his role so expansive it made everything he did—from lining up phone calls with false electors to trying to force his way into offices where votes were being counted—part of his official duties.
Meadows is seeking to get his indictment in the racketeering case against Donald Trump and his 18 co-conspirators moved from a Georgia state court to federal court. To do so, Meadows is counting on constitutional provisions that protect federal officials who are performing their duties against prosecution by state courts. Moving the case to the federal district court in northern Georgia might give Meadows a marginal improvement in terms of finding Trump-friendly jurors, but he has already made it clear this isn’t the end goal. Moving the case to federal court is a preliminary step before asking for dismissal of charges.
Putting Meadows on the stand at this point is extremely unusual because it allows him to be cross-examined, giving prosecutors the opportunity to address his defense strategy well in advance of the actual trial. Meadows and his legal team apparently thought this long-shot play was worth it. They were almost certainly wrong.
Most of Meadows’ time on the stand was spent walking through the incidents that were described in the RICO case assembled by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. This included multiple instances in which Meadows lined up calls or meetings with officials involved in tallying votes. It included Meadows’ part in organizing false electors for Trump. It included Meadows involvement in multiple meetings in which strategies for overturning the election results were discussed. And it included Meadows making multiple attempts to get into a Georgia elections office where mail-order ballots were being evaluated and counted.
As CBS News reported, Meadows’ solution to at least two of the criminal acts cited in the indictment was simple enough: He claimed they never happened.
Act 19 of the indictment describes an incident in which Trump and Meadows met with Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office John McEntee and “requested that McEntee prepare memorandum outlining strategy for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” including having Mike Pence “count only half of the electoral votes from certain states and then return the remaining electoral votes to state legislatures.”
Act 96 of the indictment describes Meadows “sending a text message to Office of the Georgia Secretary of State Chief Investigator Frances Watson that stated in part, ‘Is there way to speed up Fulton county signature verification in order to have results before Jan 6 if the trump campaign assist financially.’”
Meadows testified that he never asked “Johnny McEntee for this kind of a memo” and that he never sent such a text to investigator Watson … because he sent it to the Georgia secretary of state’s office instead. Presumably neither of these acts would have appeared on the indictment without both written and verbal evidence, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
[…] According to Meadows and his attorneys, all his other actions come down to two things: First, his role as chief of staff includes “broad-ranging duties to advise and assist the President” and one of those roles is to protect a “federal interest in ensuring accurate and fair elections.” If that description sounds like it includes permission for Meadows to do anything, and to interfere in elections as he pleases, it’s because that’s exactly what Meadows argued on the stand.
For Meadows, that means it was fine for him to both shoulder his way into a Georgia elections office “on his own initiative,” and to sit by as plans were made to seize voting machines using the military. All of it was, according to Meadows, performed as part of his official duty.
[…] There’s nothing in any description of the chief of staff’s duties that includes trying to sneak a peek at mail-in ballots, or even Meadows’ vague “ensuring accurate and fair elections.” He’s creating a standard in which he can define his role, moment to moment, without concern over fixed limits.
That’s not going to fly.
For the most part, Jones was silent during Meadows long-running soliloquy, but he did speak up on a few points. As Reuters reports, those included asking if there was “any part of the U.S. Constitution that outlined a role for the president in administering state elections.” The answer there would be no. It would also be the heart of what Meadows argued for five hours.
Meadows and his attorneys are absolutely right in that the Constitution provides very broad protection of federal officials in the performance of their duties. But they’re dead wrong in suggesting that those duties can be redefined as they see fit to create a blanket exemption from state laws in all circumstances.
What Meadows did in Georgia, and elsewhere, following the 2020 election wasn’t work to support fair elections in the United States. It was work in the effort to promote the election of Donald Trump, regardless of the legality of the actions.
[…] Meadows all but admitted to his role as a campaign staffer outright when he was questioned about his actions in both lining up and participating in the call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. According to Meadows, the call was made “to come to a less litigious resolution” of the Trump campaign’s lawsuit against the state. Asked by Assistant District Attorney Anna Cross what federal duty was being served in trying to settle a private lawsuit out of court by brokering an agreement with a state official, Meadows only repeated that his duties were “broad.”
Broad enough, apparently, to include efforts to evade legal settlements and seek an agreement outside the law to keep his favored candidate in power.
Here’s another big issue with Meadows’ claim of seeking a “less litigious” solution: By the time of the Raffensperger call on Jan. 2, Trump had already filed and lost multiple lawsuits and appeals in Georgia. […]
In fact, by the time Trump was on the phone with Raffensperger, his campaign had already lost over 50 lawsuits in their attempt to halt the 2020 election in multiple states. The only thing still outstanding in Georgia was an appeal of his twice-failed efforts to decertify the results—an appeal made the day before Trump called Raffensperger. That appeal would be rejected three days later.
[…] Meadows was looking for a solution that wasn’t so much “less litigious” as it was extra-legal.
That Meadows could find a definition of his role as chief of staff that included all his efforts to overturn the 2020 election always seemed unlikely, and the characterization that he provided on the witness stand was little short of ludicrous. […].
Posted by readers of the article:
A less litigious resolution would have been to accept the results of the election.
—————————
the essence of whether the case should be moved to federal court hinges on whether Meadows was performing his official duties — and if the answer is no then he clearly has intent to abuse the power of the presidency (and political campaign funds) in order to corruptly influence state elections officials.
————————–
He’s been living in MAGA World for so long that he no longer has a basic understanding of reality.
———————–
Meadows wants to be pardoned by whoever the next Republican President is whenever that happens. A pardon can’t happen unless Meadows is tried federally.
Saturday, August 26, a racist coward gunned down three Black people at a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General. He should forever remain nameless but his victims should not. They were people with lives, loved ones, and dreams, and within 11 minutes, they were gone forever.
Authorities have identified the three victims as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29, and 19-year-old Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr., known as AJ, who worked at the store.
Democratic state Sen. Tracie Davis represents Jacksonville, whose Black residents Gov. Ron DeSantis has actively disenfranchised. Speaking at a Sunday morning vigil, she said, “We have three people who are dead because they are Black. Shopping. In our community. Gunned down. Because they were Black.”
After a white supremacist massacred nine Black people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, some especially shameless Fox News pundits suggested it might’ve simply been an attack on Christians. However, the Jacksonville killer’s motivations were so blatant, Republicans and right-wing media couldn’t whitewash them.
Angela Carr was an Uber driver, and she’d just dropped her friend off at the store when the gunman fired into her Kia sedan 11 times, riddling her with bullets. Her son, Chayvaughn Payne, described his mother as someone who’d give people “her shirt off her back.” There were few strangers in her life, and she invited new friends to cookouts and family functions.
“This is really hard to process,” Payne said, still in shock. “To lose a mother for nothing.”
In addition to her son, Carr had two daughters and 14 granddaughters. All their future cookouts will bear the mark of this senseless violence.
When the killer entered the store, he killed AJ Laguerre and chased out some customers. The New York Times was uncertain why he did the latter, but it’s possible those customers weren’t the right hue for his massacre. Sheriff T.K. Waters confirms that most of the customers he deliberately spared were white.
Laguerre had just graduated high school and was working as a cashier. His distraught father, Anolt Laguerre, said, “He hasn’t even lived his life yet.” No, he hadn’t, and now he never will. As a father myself, I know that Anolt Laguerre will struggle for the rest of his life to understand why his son was murdered. Hate seems too simple an answer.
Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion was shot as soon as he entered the Dollar General with his girlfriend. He was going to spend the weekend with his four-year-old daughter.
Sabrina Rozier, Jerrald’s mother-in-law, said his daughter “was his world and he was her world.”
“And now we’re trying to figure out how to tell her, because we haven’t told her yet,” she added. “We don’t know yet.”
It is easy, perhaps too easy, to dismiss the killer as mentally disturbed, even insane, and although the killer had no prior criminal record, according to Sheriff Waters, authorities had held him for an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric evaluation in 2017, when he was just 15.
[…] holding racist views and even acting violently on them doesn’t make you crazy. After all, that would mean generations of white Americans during slavery and segregation shared a collective madness.
We have noted that Monday was the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, but 63 years ago on Sunday, August 27, 200 white men wielding baseball bats and axe handles “chased, beat, and threatened” Black Jacksonville residents conducting peaceful lunch counter sit-ins. This was when my father was 12.
According to the Florida Historical Society:
The attack began with white people spitting on the protestors and yelling racial slurs at them. When the young demonstrators held their resolve, they were beaten with wooden handles that had not yet had metal ax heads attached.
While the violence was first aimed at the lunch counter demonstrators, it quickly escalated to include any African American in sight of the white mob. Police stood idly by watching the beatings until members of a Black street gang called “The Boomerangs” attempted to protect those being attacked. At that point, police night sticks joined the baseball bats and ax handles.
Bloodied and battered victims of the vicious beatings fled to a nearby church where they sought refuge […] Eventually the white mob dispersed.
How many of those men are still alive? How many of them voted for Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump? Florida reportedly objected to an AP African American studies course because its slavery lesson “may lead to a viewpoint of an oppressor vs. oppressed based solely on race or ethnicity,” which was the reality of the time.
This “madness” is a choice. It’s a willful corruption of the soul, and it’s what cost Angela Michelle Carr, Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, and Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr. their lives.
On a private call with Christian millionaires, home-schooling pioneer Michael Farris pushed for a strategy aimed at siphoning billions of tax dollars from public schools.
The message Michael Farris had come to deliver was a simple one: The time to act was now.
For decades, Farris — a conservative Christian lawyer who is the most influential leader of the modern home-schooling movement — had toiled at the margins of American politics. His arguments about the harms of public education and the divinely endowed rights of parents had left many unconvinced.
Now, speaking on a confidential conference call to a secretive group of Christian millionaires seeking, in the words of one member, to “take down the education system as we know it today,” Farris made the same points he had made in courtrooms since the 1980s. Public schools were indoctrinating children with a secular worldview that amounted to a godless religion, he said.
The solution: lawsuits alleging that schools’ teachings about gender identity and race are unconstitutional, leading to a Supreme Court decision that would mandate the right of parents to claim billions of tax dollars for private education or home schooling.
“We’ve got to recognize that we’re swinging for the fences here, that any time you try to take down a giant of this nature, it’s an uphill battle,” Farris said on the previously undisclosed July 2021 call, a recording of which was obtained by the watchdog group Documented and shared with The Washington Post. “And the teachers union, the education establishment and everybody associated with the education establishment will be there in full array against us — just as they were against home-schoolers.”
Nevertheless, Farris assured the conservative donors, their money would be well spent on this legal campaign. A conservative supermajority reigned on the nation’s highest court. In statehouses and at school boards, political activism over parental rights had reached a fever pitch. […]
The 50-minute recording, whose details Farris did not dispute in a series of interviews with The Post, is a remarkable demonstration of how the ideology he has long championed has moved from the partisan fringe to the center of the nation’s bitter debates over public education.
[…] Yet it is outside the courtroom that Farris’s influence has arguably been most profound. No single figure has been more instrumental in transforming the parental rights cause from an obscure concern of Christian home-schoolers into a GOP rallying cry.
When former president Donald Trump called for a federal parental bill of rights in a 2023 campaign video, saying secular public school instruction had become a “new religion,” he was invoking arguments Farris first made 40 years ago. The executive order targeting school mask mandates that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed on his first day in office cited a 2013 state law guaranteeing “fundamental” parental rights that Farris helped write.
In Florida, a home-schooling mom introduced Farris’s ideas to a state lawmaker, setting in motion the passage of the state’s Parents’ Bill of Rights in 2021. The law, repeatedly touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on the presidential campaign trail, laid the groundwork for the state’s controversial Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed by its critics the “don’t say gay” bill.
[…] In a 1987 speech, he called public schools “very, very dangerous” and “per se unconstitutional” because of the worldview they conveyed to students, according to “Battleground,” a 1993 book about the case.
“Inculcation of values is inherently a religious act,” he said. “What the public schools are doing is indoctrinating your children in religion, no matter what.”
[…] In May 2021, Farris attended a gathering of conservative activists at which former attorney general William P. Barr denounced public schools’ “indoctrination with a secular belief system” that is “antithetical to the beliefs and values of traditional, God-centered religion.”
Farris was approached after the speech by Peter Bohlinger, a Southern California real estate magnate who helps lead Ziklag, a group devoted to expanding Christian influence over American culture and government.
Membership in the organization — named after a town in the Bible that David used to organize raids against enemies of the ancient Israelites — is restricted to people with a net worth of at least $25 million, according to a page on Ziklag’s website that was viewed by The Post but has since been made private. The group envisions schools that welcome prayer and “a conservative, biblical worldview in science, humanities and the arts,” according to a Ziklag document that was among several recordings and other materials obtained by Documented and shared with The Post.
[…] Farris had recently set up a Center for Parental Rights at ADF. Bohlinger laid out the plan on the donor call: ADF lawyers would file lawsuits they hoped would lead to a Supreme Court ruling that declared a constitutional right to vouchers for private and home schools. As a result, Ziklag’s education committee estimated in one document, the public education system could lose about $238 billion a year — a third of its total funding.
[…] Legal experts said that even if the Supreme Court’s conservative majority struck down the school policies being challenged, it is unlikely the justices would upend America’s educational landscape by declaring a constitutional right to public funding for private and home schooling.
[…] Whether or not the lawsuits succeeded, he told the donors, their work would have an important consequence.
“More and more people,” Farris said, “will be upset about what’s going on in the public schools.”
More at the link.
Reginald Selkirksays
@362
“Meadows all but admitted to his role as a campaign staffer outright when…”
And if he was serving the cause of the Trump campaign (political activity) rather than the office of the president (official duties), then he runs square into the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act Bars Meadows’ Removal Bid
Even though the legal hurdle is low and the law is favorable to federal officers, Meadows faces a seemingly insurmountable barrier. In their briefs before Judge Jones, Meadows’ lawyers have remarkably conceded that “all the substantive allegations in the Indictment concern unquestionably political activity.” In the context of these charges, that should be fatal to Meadows’ claim for removal. A proper and straightforward understanding of the Hatch Act – which prohibits executive branch employees from interfering in elections–indicates that Meadows will not be able to meet his burden of showing the alleged conduct was connected to his official duties…
Warehouses with the property of the Russian Railways caught fire in the centre of Moscow on Komsomolskaya Square, also known as the Square of the Three Stations.
Quote: “The fire occurred near warehouses in the vicinity of the Three Station Square in Moscow (popular name for Komsomolskaya Square – ed.) and does not affect train traffic. Russian Railways sent a fire train to help extinguish the fire.”
Details: Black smoke is reported to be clearly visible several kilometres away from the fire. Emergency services are now on their way to the scene.
Initially, propagandists cited the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russian and stated that a warehouse was on fire, while Telegram channels reported that several warehouses were on fire…
The FBI and European law enforcement agencies dismantled a massive network of hacked computers that had been used to defraud victims of hundreds of millions of dollars, agencies announced Tuesday.
The Justice Department seized over $8 million in cryptocurrency from the hackers and removed their malicious code from an unspecified number of infected computers in the US and around the world, according to the announcement, which said around 200,000 were infected in the US and 700,000 globally.
It’s a blow to a hacking tool known as Qakbot that Russian-speaking ransomware gangs had used to cause “significant harm” to health care providers and government agencies around the world, the Justice Department said. The department said law enforcement agencies in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom helped with the takedown…
Overuse is draining and damaging aquifers nationwide, a New York Times data investigation revealed.
[…] The Times analyzed water levels reported at tens of thousands of sites, revealing a crisis that threatens American prosperity.
Nearly half the sites have declined significantly over the past 40 years as more water has been pumped out than nature can replenish. [maps at the link]
In the past decade, four of every 10 sites hit all-time lows. And last year was the worst yet.
[…] Many of the aquifers that supply 90 percent of the nation’s water systems, and which have transformed vast stretches of America into some of the world’s most bountiful farmland, are being severely depleted. These declines are threatening irreversible harm to the American economy and society as a whole.
The New York Times conducted a months-long examination of groundwater depletion, interviewing more than 100 experts, traveling the country and creating a comprehensive database using millions of readings from monitoring sites. The investigation reveals how America’s life-giving resource is being exhausted in much of the country, and in many cases it won’t come back. Huge industrial farms and sprawling cities are draining aquifers that could take centuries or millenniums to replenish themselves if they recover at all.
Groundwater loss is hurting breadbasket states like Kansas, where the major aquifer beneath 2.6 million acres of land can no longer support industrial-scale agriculture. Corn yields have plummeted. If that decline were to spread, it could threaten America’s status as a food superpower.
Fifteen hundred miles to the east, in New York State, overpumping is threatening drinking-water wells on Long Island, birthplace of the modern American suburb and home to working class towns as well as the Hamptons and their beachfront mansions.
Around Phoenix, one of America’s fastest growing cities, the crisis is severe enough that the state has said there’s not enough groundwater in parts of the county to build new houses that rely on aquifers.
In other areas, including parts of Utah, California and Texas, so much water is being pumped up that it is causing roads to buckle, foundations to crack and fissures to open in the earth. And around the country, rivers that relied on groundwater have become streams or trickles or memories.
“There is no way to get that back,” Don Cline, the associate director for water resources at the United States Geological Survey, said of disappearing groundwater. “There’s almost no way to convey how important it is.”
[…] One of the biggest obstacles is that the depletion of this unseen yet essential natural resource is barely regulated. The federal government plays almost no role, and individual states have implemented a dizzying array of often weak rules.
The problem is also relatively unexamined at the national scale. Hydrologists and other researchers typically focus on single aquifers or regional changes.
All of this helps enable and reinforce practices that have drained aquifers, such as growing water-intensive crops like alfalfa or cotton in dry areas and overreliance on groundwater in fast-growing urban areas.
Several states including Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado have rules that allow groundwater to be pumped from some regions until it’s gone. Some areas have even set official timelines for how quickly they plan to use up groundwater over the next few decades.
Oklahoma is working to determine how much water remains in its aquifers, information that state lawmakers could use to set limits on pumping. But Christopher Neel, the head of water rights for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, said people might not necessarily welcome the government telling them that their land is running out of groundwater.
“If we start showing that kind of data, that kind of goes into your property values,” Mr. Neel said. “If we show an area may be depleted in, let’s say, two years, well, if someone tries to sell that property, they’re not going to be able to.”
[…] Climate change is amplifying the problem.
Global warming is shrinking the snowpack that feeds rivers, increasing the reliance on groundwater to sustain communities, lawns and crops, even as rising temperatures mean that plants need more water. A warmer world also causes more surface water to evaporate, leaving less to seep through the ground to replenish overstressed aquifers.
Even in places experiencing more violent rainstorms because of climate change, the heavier rainfall only helps so much. That’s because much of the water from extreme downpours races away quickly to the ocean, before it can sit and soak into the aquifer below.
It adds up to what might be called a climate trap. As rising temperatures shrink rivers in much of the country, farmers and towns have an incentive to pump more groundwater to make up the difference.
[…] By draining aquifers that filled up over thousands or millions of years, regions risk losing access to that water in the future when they might need it even more, as climate change makes rainfall less predictable or droughts more severe.
[…] The most visible symbol of America’s agricultural bounty is the “center pivot” irrigation system, a metal contraption on wheels that is attached to a pump and revolves around a central point. A single arm, mounted with sprinklers, can be as long as half a mile, dispersing hundreds of gallons per minute from a well, 24 hours a day, for weeks or months on end.
Across much of the High Plains, the landscape is dominated by these pivots.
But a visitor to Wichita County, in Western Kansas, will see fewer of them. The reason: There’s little water left to lay down. The wells have begun to go dry.
[…] advances in pump technology after World War II created an American agricultural powerhouse, turning the west and the High Plains into a bounty of corn, alfalfa and other crops, delivering yields that surface water alone couldn’t support.
[…] depletion means many communities could simply run out of drinking water.
A little more than one-third of America’s total volume of drinking water comes from groundwater, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
[…] In one particularly stark example, Arizona said in June that it would stop granting permission to build houses in the Phoenix area that rely on groundwater, because there wasn’t enough water for the homes that had already been approved.
Arizona has seen an explosion of wells, and they’ve gotten much deeper. In effect, across much of the state, the wells are chasing rapidly falling water levels downward.
[…] The federal government sets rules on groundwater, but not its overuse or depletion, although experts say Congress has the constitutional authority to do so. Overall, federal responsibility for water is scattered among a half-dozen different agencies.
America’s approach to regulating water is “a total mess,” said Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University.
[…] as people drill deeper wells, the likelihood of arsenic contamination increases
[…] In the Houston area, overpumping of groundwater, along with oil extraction, has caused some land to sink by more than 10 feet over the course of decades, according to local officials. In Florida, overpumping sometimes causes sinkholes.
[…] Pumping water can cause the earth above an aquifer to slump, collapsing the space left behind by the water that was removed. Once that space is lost, it can no longer hold water.
That process, called subsidence, is happening around the country, and more than 80 percent of it is the result of groundwater use […] subsidence has affected more than 47,000 square miles of land and waterways across the United States […]
House Freedom Caucus member Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said Monday he is planning to introduce two amendments to eliminate federal funding for the three prosecutors who indicted Donald Trump — Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
[…] Clyde — who sits on the House Appropriations Committee — said he will likely add his amendment’s to the 2024 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriation bill that is up for consideration when Congress returns from their lengthy August recess next month. [snipped Clyde’s comments that just basically repeated everything Trump has said]
[…] It’s the latest iteration of a shutdown-risking gambit members of the House Freedom Caucus have been flirting with since earlier this summer. Before the August recess, a handful of far-right members delayed the appropriations process by attaching riders to normal appropriations bills that fan culture war flames, like restricting abortion access for members of the military or carving out funding for gender affirming care. Only a handful of these bills passed out of committee before the congressional break. It’s unclear if enough House Republicans would support the larded up bills to pass the House, but they’re dead on arrival in the Senate.
Stuffing right-wing grievances into must-pass spending bills only further delays the appropriations process and risks a government shutdown […]
House GOPers’ ongoing attempts to “defund” anyone who they say is coming after Trump is not limited to Clyde’s efforts. […]
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who has endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid and has been actively campaigning for him — is also in the mix. She announced earlier this month that she would introduce an amendment using the Holman rule to block funding for Smith’s investigation into Trump.
Meanwhile, MAGA loyalist Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is pushing to cut off funding for Smith’s office. And Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has introduced two House bills that would block all federal grant funding from Bragg and Willis’ offices.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) has also been active in using the GOP majority and their subpoena power to come after the prosecutors. Most recently, in an effort to poke holes in Willis’ credibility, Jordan announced they opened an investigation into the Fulton County DA.
[…] Trump’s indictments in New York and Georgia would not be affected by a government shutdown as they are not federal cases. And the two federal cases filed by the DOJ and Smith’s team are criminal matters, which have been exempt from shutdowns in the past.
“Criminal litigation will continue without interruption as an activity essential to the safety of human life and the protection of property,” the DOJ wrote in a September 2021 memo detailing a contingency plan in case of a shutdown.
One of the more dispiriting aspects of Donald Trump’s disturbing ability to inspire the unthinking allegiance of his followers is the fact that so many of them, by any objective standard, really ought to know better. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the behavior of the lawyers he enlisted to provide legal cover or justification for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The case of John Eastman is particularly troubling. As the so-called legal architect of Trump’s plans to keep himself in office despite clearly losing a free and fair election, once he started dispensing his advice, Eastman had a responsibility as a lawyer to provide Trump with all available legal options under the circumstances. That responsibility, however, did not confer on him the right — under the widely understood rules of lawyers’ professional conduct — to advise Trump or others within Trump’s orbit to avail themselves of pseudo-legal justifications that patently flew in the face of existing law. […] Eastman is facing disciplinary proceedings in the state of California right now […]
Last week the attorney for the California State Bar, prosecuting those proceedings, submitted a 91-page report authored by its expert, Matthew A Seligman. Seligman, a Fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford University and a specialist in election law, evaluated Eastman’s actions, including his supposed legal theories, and concluded they could not have been made by any lawyer in good faith.
That report has not yet been released to the public, but the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin obtained a copy. As Rubin observes, the report has serious implications that go well beyond John Eastman’s ability to continue practicing law: It also contains bad news for Donald Trump and others indicted in connection with his schemes to overturn the 2020 election. […]
“Dr. Eastman sought at every turn to avoid every public test of his theory, and he privately confessed … that his theory had no chance of persuading the court,” Carling said in his opening statement.
Carling also said Eastman was “fully aware” that his plan was damaging the nation — including putting Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress in danger during the insurrection — and that his actions “breached the most important ethical duties of attorneys: of honesty and adherence to the rule of law.”
[…] The disciplinary procedure allows Eastman allows to call his own witnesses, and submit his own reports as well. However, the witnesses listed by Eastman, for the most part, simply reveal just how deeply enmeshed Eastman himself is in the right-wing subculture. [snipped list of witnesses]
What all of these singular individuals have in common is that they lack the capacity to actually defend Eastman’s actions as a lawyer. They are instead listed for purposes of bolstering his defense that he (presumably) had a good-faith belief that the 2020 election was fraudulent. However, that “belief” is not really the issue that faces the State Bar in its disciplinary proceedings, but whether Eastman acted on that belief in an unethical manner — i.e., in conflict with existing law — in providing legal “cover” to Trump and his cohorts. […]
Not only Eastman but Donald Trump and his other co-indictees in Georgia have relied on similar arguments […] As Rubin notes, however, the findings contained in that report [Seligman’s report] may — and likely will — also impact how legal arguments by the other defendants are viewed by the judges presiding over Trump’s multiple cases. For example, Trump’s defense that he was simply acting on the advice of counsel does not apply when that advice is made — as Seligman’s report suggests — in bad faith. Similarly, as Rubin observes, Trump’s justification that he was acting in an official capacity is undercut by a finding that his actions were not even legally plausible. As Rubin points out, Seligman’s report and its conclusions may also impact Trump’s arguments that he is immune to state prosecutions under the Supremacy Clause and negate the efforts by Trump and others indicted (including most recently Mark Meadows), to remove their cases to federal court on the basis that they were acting under the “color of office.” […]
Nearly 3 months of the most intense and brutal Russian propaganda, thousands of photos from hundreds of angles, and just 5 of 71 Leopards provided to Ukraine were destroyed, with no crew losses.
Russians lost a rare 9S36M radar unit of a Buk-M3 air defense system by a HIMARS strike. The unit price is around $40 million and not many of these vehicles, which have been introduced in 2015, have been manufactured.
Igor “Strelkov” Girkin’s appeal for release has been denied. He is has to stay detained until September 18.
We all know that it is only about his criticism regarding the Russian leadership’s (failing) war strategy. Apparently, this is Moscow’s only way to contain it.
Lynna’s take: Sheesh. Two white conservative women serving on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are really showing their ignorance, along with an out-sized sense of privilege. They are ranting, and doing so publicly.
Now Wisconsin’s other far-right justice is losing her shit over the fact that liberals just took a majority on the state Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years.
Even before progressive Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in on Aug. 1 following her landslide victory at the ballot box earlier this year, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley began having an epic meltdown, as chronicled in delicious detail by law professor Quinn Yeargain. Most telling of all was her rant that her fellow jurists amounted to no more than “politicians wearing robes.” That, of course, was pure projection: Just last week, Bradley was seen attending the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee and partying at a Koch event afterward.
But Bradley’s comrade in arms, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, is no less apoplectic. Ziegler now appears to be leaking internal court emails venting about her liberal colleagues that she thinks will make them look bad. In reality, they only reflect poorly on her.
After progressive justices used their new majority to appoint a new administrator for the state court system, she seethed, “This is nothing short of an unprecedented coup.” No, it’s not—nor is it an “illegal experiment,” as she later fumed. Or “a historical disgrace.” Or a “hostile takeover.” It’s actually just called having an election.
And nor was any of this done “without regard for the Constitution, case law, or Supreme Court rules.” It’s really simple, as Yeargain has explained: The state constitution says that the court’s “administrative authority,” which includes the ability to hire and fire officials, can only be exercised “pursuant to procedures adopted by the supreme court.” The Supreme Court—that is, a majority of justices, not the chief justice acting alone.
After a decade-and-a-half of enjoying unquestioned authority, though, Ziegler can’t abide this new reality. She’s even claiming that she plans to try hiring a new administrator, despite the fact the position is already filled—incidentally, by a judge who was originally an appointee of Scott Walker.
“We need a Director of State Courts, and I will have that position posted for a nationwide search,” she insisted. Prospective applicants may want to consider passing on this opportunity. [LOL]
Like Bradley, Ziegler is a master of projection, too. In 2008, Ziegler became Wisconsin’s first-ever Supreme Court justice to be disciplined by the Supreme Court itself for failing to withdraw from 11 different cases involving a bank where her husband served on the board of directors when she was a lower court judge. She was also required to pay $17,000 in fines. [Yep. She’s a rightwing zealot with a deficiency in ethics.]
Now she’s acting out like a toddler who’s been denied more ice cream and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a lawsuit. (Good luck with that!) But her liberal colleagues, wisely, know how to deal with this sort of tantrum.
“You stand in the company of equals and your vote does not count extra (let alone prevail against four other votes),” wrote Justice Rebecca Dallet in response to Ziegler’s latest diatribe. “Whether you like it or not is irrelevant. Your frantic emails and public statements notwithstanding, your power has been limited, in accordance with the constitution, which allows a majority to rule and to develop procedures you must respect.”
In other words, elections have consequences. And as both Ziegler and Bradley will soon find out, there are going to be a whole lot more of ’em.
SC @372, thanks for posting this comment from Dmitri: “Nearly 3 months of the most intense and brutal Russian propaganda, thousands of photos from hundreds of angles, and just 5 of 71 Leopards provided to Ukraine were destroyed, with no crew losses.”
It’s good to take a step back and see the full picture. That also turns out to be a good way to counter Russian propaganda.
The Miami Herald has a nice little scoop about Florida Republicans’ rejection of AP African American Studies courses, one of the twenty or so scandals bubbling around the state since Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to go all White Boots Hitler. (He’s proposing that we execute border-crossers on sight if someone suspects them to be “hostile” drug traffickers, so spare me your hand-wringing about the comparison.)
The rejection of the AP courses stunk of racism. And surprise: It was exactly that. Some of the state reviewers’ objections to the course were, according to The Miami Herald, because it did not give both sides of chattel slavery.
For example, a lesson in the Advanced Placement course focused on how Europeans benefited from trading enslaved people and the materials enslaved laborers produced. The state objected to the content, saying the instructional approach “may lead to a viewpoint of an ‘oppressor vs. oppressed’ based solely on race or ethnicity.” [as also mentioned in comment 363]
Got it. So the state reviewers are part of the racist hard-right that believes merely teaching about generations of Africans captured to be used as European and American slaves promotes racism at least as much as, if not more than, the actual enslaving did, and they don’t want Florida’s children to grow up learning about The Thing That Made America What It Is, because when you actually describe it in detail, it makes all those involved with the slave trade look like absolute monsters.
The Herald’s article gets worse from there:
In another lesson about the beginnings of slavery, the course delved into how tens of thousands of enslaved Africans had been “removed from the continent to work on Portuguese-colonized Atlantic islands and in Europe” and how those “plantations became a model for slave-based economy in the Americans.”
In response, the state raised concerns that the unit “may not address the internal slave trade/system within Africa” and that it “may only present one side of this issue and may not offer any opposing viewpoints or other perspectives on the subject.”
[…] “Why are you presenting only one side of the Portuguese adoption of industrialized slavery?” is the soggy faux-intellectualism of racist piglickers who almost invariably turn out to have second lives as internet neo-Nazis.
John Duebel, the director of the state agency’s social studies department, and Kevin Hoeft, a former state agency official who now works at the New College of Florida in Sarasota, were identified as the two evaluators in the review. Hoeft is listed as an “expert consultant” to the Civics Alliance, a national conservative group that aims to focus social studies instruction in the Western canon and eliminate “woke” standards. His wife is a member of the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
And there we go. Hoeft was appointed to a New College position by arch-conservative Richard Corcoran, who himself landed the role in DeSantis’ restaffing of the college with members of the racist hard-right—a series of appointments that included the fascist propagandist Christopher Rufo, best known as the racist who invented the “critical race theory” panic out of thin air.
Hoeft is linked to far-right groups. He served as an “education policy analyst” for the anti-LGBT extremist group Family Research Council and is listed as an “expert consultant” to the Civics Alliance’s “American Birthright” education program, a plainly fascist-colored conservative alternative to “woke” programs. Also, he’s married to the Leon County vice chair for the extremist group Moms for Liberty.
And Duebel is the toady who got his ass booed by a crowd of teachers for introducing new state standards requiring middle schoolers to learn “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
The Herald can’t identify which reviewers made each individual objection to the AP courses, but with team leadership like Duebel and Hoeft, it was almost self-evident that the review team would reject an AP African American Studies program for presenting only “one side” of slavery.
Look, the moment DeSantis began remaking the state’s educational programs around hoaxers like Rufo, it was clear that these people are fascists. They’ve got the book bans going strong, they’ve got the focus on making education “patriotic” instead of accurate, they’ve got leaders who advocate extrajudicial executions, they’ve got Actual Damn Nazis waving flags of support on Florida street corners, and they’ve already institutionalized the process for putting undesirables of an ethnic group onto mass transport so they can be shipped out of their personal fiefdoms. And now the Republican Party consists primarily of people who believe that their Dear Leaders should be allowed to commit felonies and erase elections.
In their minds, we can’t tear down Confederate monuments, because those teach us our history, but we also can’t teach our full history, slavery and all, because that would upset the children. […] Nobody has to treat any of these people seriously, not in any venue or on any subject. There’s no both sides to slavery. […]
[…] Those little girls are what, 7, 8, maybe 9? And they’re wearing more makeup than I ever have. And bikinis? Really? And that photo isn’t some outlier…here are a few more: […]
Young children are being forced by parents to participate in these unhealthy pageants causing them to gain mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorders… all for what? The title of “Grand Supreme”? A gaudy, rhinestone encrusted crown? […]
pageants score provocative dancing the highest making parents teach their young girls to act and perform this way all because they want to win. […]
Putin’s propagandists are giving rave reviews to GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy after last week’s Republican presidential debate. The arrogant, misinformed biotech entrepreneur was the only candidate to decisively raise his hand when Fox News moderator Bret Baier asked whether anyone onstage would oppose providing more funding to Ukraine.
“I would not and I think that this is disastrous that we’re protecting against an invasion across somebody else’s border when we should use those same military resources to prevent … the invasion of our own southern border here in the United States of America,” Ramaswamy said before getting into a heated argument with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Ramaswamy added:
“I find it offensive that we have professional politicians on the stage that will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their pope Zelenskyy without doing the same thing for people in Maui or the south side of Chicago … I think that we have to put the interest of Americans first.”
And he declared that ”Ukraine is not a priority for the United States of America.”
All of that was music to the ears of Russia’s TV propagandists. Still, they made clear that Donald Trump remains number one in their hearts. They believe Trump’s indictments have only boosted his standing in the polls as the favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination. Julia Davis, who monitors Russian media, wrote in The Daily Beast:
Referring to Trump’s booking record in Georgia, reporter Valentin Bogdanov, who is based in New York City, told the audience of 60 Minutes, “Our strawberry blonde! There is only one like him in the United States.” In his report for the evening edition of Vesti on channel Rossiya-1, Bogdanov showcased Trump’s mugshot along with that of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley. He mused that in his legal struggle, Trump likely sees his rightful place alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, like someone “who suffered for the sake of truth.”
During his Saturday show on channel Solovyov Live, Yevgeny Satanovsky continued the same train of thought, lionizing Trump alongside some of the most prominent historic figures: “He is like Nelson Mandela, like Martin Luther King Jr., he is being persecuted by an evil shadow government!” Satanovsky feverishly claimed that Trump might be assassinated, like Abraham Lincoln or John F. Kennedy. [JFC]
The same combination of mugshots have been featured in social media posts by MAGA cult members. And Fox News’ Will Cain compared Trump’s mugshot with King’s. [video at the link]
And while Trump remains Russia’s favorite, clips of Ramaswamy’s debate performance were featured all over Russian state media, Davis reported. On Friday’s broadcast of the Russian “60 Minutes,” Ramaswamy’s debate remarks were set to Johnny Thunder’s 1968 song, “I’m Alive.” [video at the link]
[…] So Ramaswamy has apparently replaced DeSantis as Russia’s Plan B should Trump falter in the presidential race. As “60 Minutes” host Yevgeny Popov said: “We should take a closer look at this Mr. Ramaswamy. The last time, we had installed President Trump for Americans, but our bet didn’t quite work out. Why not try again? Let’s give it another try and see how Ramaswamy will perform, in case Trump doesn’t manage to win the post of the president.” Popov then added, “Just kidding.” Or was he?
But still, Putin’s pals remain convinced that Trump will win the Republican nomination. “The debate has demonstrated that Trump has no real competition within the Republican party,” Kornilov said.
Trump has declared that he would negotiate with Putin and end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours without giving any specifics. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy panned Trump’s claim, saying Ukraine would reject any plan that ceded occupied territories to Russia.
But what Trump, Ramaswamy, and MAGA cultists are doing is giving aid and comfort to the enemy, giving Putin every motivation to prolong the war through the November 2024 election. Russia’s best hope for a successful outcome is the election of an isolationist “American First” Republican president who will withdraw support from Ukraine and undermine NATO.
[…] Ramaswamy, who is a foreign policy naif, has taken an even more radical “America First” position than Trump. He unveiled his foreign policy platform on Monday in an article in The American Conservative. Ramaswamy wrote:
I will go to Moscow in 2025. I will deliver peace in Ukraine under the only terms that should matter to us—terms that put American interests first. The Biden administration has foolishly tried to get Xi to dump Putin. In reality, we should get Putin to dump Xi.
A good deal requires all parties to get something out of it. To that end, I will accept Russian control of the occupied territories and pledge to block Ukraine’s candidacy for NATO in exchange for Russia exiting its military alliance with China. I will end sanctions and bring Russia back into the world market. In this way, I will elevate Russia as a strategic check on China’s designs in East Asia.
It is preposterous to think that selling out Ukraine would cause Putin to dump General Secretary of China Xi Jinping. During the debate, Haley called out Ramaswamy, saying: “A win for Russia is a win for China. Under your watch, you will make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience and it shows.”
And this brings us to our very own made-in-the-U.S.A. Putin propagandist Tucker Carlson, the ousted Fox News host. During the GOP debate, Carlson aired his pre-taped interview with Trump on his show on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Now Carlson wants to follow that up by interviewing Putin.
Top Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled media organization Russia Today, revealed Carlson’s interview request in a comment during a broadcast Sunday on state TV channel Russia-1.
”Tucker is doing a great job. By the way, he’s really asking for an interview with Vladimir Putin. it would be great if someone hears this and gets this message to the president. The most popular host in all of U.S. history. So what, he was thrown out of Fox News even though he didn’t say anything especially radical. He just didn’t sing in tune with the rest of the choir. So they threw him out.” […] [video at the link]
on Tuesday said it had disrupted a disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement that the social media company described as the “largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world.”
The company took down more than 7,700 accounts and 930 pages on Facebook. The influence network generated positive posts about China, with a particular focus on positive commentary about China’s Xinjiang province, where the government’s treatment of the Uyghur minority group has prompted international sanctions.
The network also attempted to spread negative commentary about the U.S. and disinformation in multiple languages about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, Meta said. The network was or is present on nearly every popular social media platform, including Medium; Reddit; Tumblr; YouTube; and X, formerly known as Twitter, according to the company…
An Mi-8 helicopter belonging to the Federal Security Service (FSB) crashed in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. According to Russian state news agency TASS, the helicopter crashed in a forest near the village of Prudnyi and all four people onboard the helicopter were killed. The Mi-8 was conducting a training flight…
Rachel Maddow shares reporting in The New York Times that Donald Trump has spoken openly to his aides about his desire to use the presidency to get himself out of legal trouble, and asks whether that means the threat of legal prosecution if he leaves office will prompt Trump to make sure he never does leave office.
With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump, recruiting thousands of Americans to come to Washington on a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with a vision closer to his own.
Led by the long-established Heritage Foundation think tank and fueled by former Trump administration officials, the far-reaching effort is essentially a government-in-waiting for the former president’s second term — or any candidate who aligns with their ideals and can defeat President Joe Biden in 2024.
With a nearly 1,000-page “Project 2025” handbook and an “army” of Americans, the idea is to have the civic infrastructure in place on Day One to commandeer, reshape and do away with what Republicans deride as the “deep state” bureaucracy, in part by firing as many as 50,000 federal workers….
Third parties are just not a thing in American presidential politics. The first-past-the-post nature of our system means that without supplanting one of the major parties, the best-case scenario for any third-party candidate is to play the spoiler.
So why engage in such a futile endeavor? One obvious reason is to use the high-profile nature of the campaign to bring attention to one’s pet issues. This is why Ralph Nader or Cornel West might throw their hat in the ring: Their need to promote themselves and their causes trumps any negative consequences of their quixotic campaigns. In the case of Nader, he played spoiler and we got George W. Bush and an endless war. We could have had a climate champion instead in Al Gore.
But let’s be clear: No Labels is not that. The fledgling “political party” doesn’t have a message to sell. Their name literally says, “We stand for nothing.” Theirs is a more cynical pursuit: a bunch of washed-up, loser politicians grifting conservative billionaires out of millions, using ridiculous and easily refuted arguments to line their pockets and pretend to retain some semblance of relevance. [And to draw enough votes from Biden to give Trump a chance to win … or so they think, but review the polls below.]
This was all clear as I faced off with No Labels Co-chair Pat McCrory, the transphobic former governor of North Carolina, this past weekend on “Meet the Press.”
The core of the argument is encapsulated in this tweet: [Tweet at the link: “People claiming a third party can’t win also “predicted Trump could never” win, No Labels Co-Chair @PatMcCroryNC says. @markos: “You are creating this idea that there’s a mythical unicorn creature that will agree with these people who want something” besides Biden/Trump.]
Here’s the transcript of the broader exchange:
CHUCK TODD: Welcome back. So let’s look at a Biden general election campaign and this idea of a third party. Pat, you are a big part of No Labels. You guys are recruiting candidates. What is this ticket going to look like, and is this a 100% commitment that there is going to be a ticket from No Labels?
PAT McCRORY: Well, Nikki Haley in the debate confirmed that 65% of the people are disgusted with both Trump and Biden being our only choices. They’re asking, “Isn’t America better than this? Can’t we have a better choice?” And the momentum, the movement of No Labels is on fire right now. People are looking for another potential candidate —
CHUCK TODD: I get that people don’t want —
PAT McCRORY: And I know — wait a minute. There are a lot of people —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: No, there are not.
PAT McCRORY: There are a lot of people —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: No, there are not.
PAT McCRORY: There are a lot of people – I’m telling you right now. A lot of people who predicted Trump would never be president are the same people who are saying, “There’s no way in hell a third party can win.” I’m telling you. We’ve never had 65% —
CHUCK TODD: Go, Markos.
PAT McCRORY: – of the people disgusted —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: So, No Labels —
PAT McCRORY: – with both parties.
MARKOS MOULITSAS: – is literally a movement that says, “We stand for nothing.” Imagine going to Walmart —
PAT McCRORY: That is so –
MARKOS MOULITSAS: – or Target and seeing no labels on a product.
PAT McCRORY: You haven’t read obviously the –
MARKOS MOULITSAS: The products are the problem.
PAT McCRORY: – 30-issue statement —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: No, here.
PAT McCRORY: – of No Labels.
MARKOS MOULITSAS: The issue statement ignores abortion. And it has such —
PAT McCRORY: You missed the whole —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: – barn-burning issues such as medical —
PAT McCRORY: You never read it.
MARKOS MOULITSAS: – tort reform. That’ll light up the audience.
PAT McCRORY: You have not read it.
MARKOS MOULITSAS: So the –
PAT McCRORY: He hasn’t read it.
MARKOS MOULITSAS: – reality is it’s finance-industry heavy. Oh, I read it. No, I actually did read it. I read it last night.
DANIELLE PLETKA: That’s why he couldn’t sleep.
MARKOS MOULITSAS: Yeah, really.
PAT McCRORY: Well, Nikki Haley —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: So …
PAT McCRORY: – basically repeated the No Labels agenda —
MARKOS MOULITSAS: So the problem isn’t they don’t like Biden or Trump. It’s that you are creating this idea that there’s a mythical unicorn creature that will agree with these people who want something else. That doesn’t exist. When [Monmouth] polled Manchin and Huntsman, it’s like what? 12% —
Let’s run down the arguments.
There’s broad “disgust” with both Trump and Biden.
Yes, neither is particularly popular with the broader electorate in our deeply polarized society, but both are actually popular within their own parties.
Here is President Joe Biden with an 83% favorable, 10% unfavorable rating among Democrats: [graph at the link]
And here is Donald Trump with a 77% favorable, 13% unfavorable rating among Republicans: [graph at the link]
Trump is at 34%-58% among independents, while Biden is at 32%-60%. Is there “disgust” there? Maybe. But it’s not a unanimous opinion. Left-leaning independents might pine for Bernie Sanders while center-right, never-Trump independents might pine for Mitt Romney. Far-right nuts might want … Ted Nugent? This is an important point, which we’ll return to in a bit.
A bit later in the show, I was asked why there wasn’t a real Democratic primary. “Biden’s actually very popular among Democrats. In Civiqs polling—Civiqs with a ‘q’—Biden is sitting around 80% with Democrats,” I said, underplaying Biden’s actual support of 83%. “There’s no space. You think there’s no space for an anti-Trump? There’s really no space for an anti-Biden.”
If you watch the segment, the whole panel—including supposed Democrat Stephanie Murphy, a former congresswoman from Florida—scoffed. They thought it was so ludicrous that anyone would have a favorable opinion of Biden despite the overwhelming evidence in the polling. Do some people wish their favorite Democrat were the nominee instead of Biden? Of course! But that’s a far cry from “disgust.” And yes, all three had stories about how their social circles didn’t like Biden, but the D.C.-groupthink was strong.
And if you think I’m biasing Biden’s numbers by pointing to our very own Civiqs polling, Gallup just asked respondents whether they approved of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president. Among Democrats a whopping 87% approved, even higher than in Civiqs polling. This is not controversial. The data is clear.
“There are a lot of people—I’m telling you right now,” McCrory said. “A lot of people who predicted Trump would never be president are the same people who are saying, ‘There’s no way in hell a third party can win.’ I’m telling you. We’ve never had 65% of the people disgusted with both parties.”
Okay, that’s different than Biden versus Trump. That’s talking about the parties. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Among Democrats, 81% approve of the Democratic Party, which is shocking given the real problems with our party. The party brand is shit among independents at 24-65, but we know that. It’s why we lose elections in places that should naturally be Democratic, like poor rural counties.
Overall, the Democratic Party approval rating is 38-55. Horrible! But I’d rather have those numbers than the Republican favorability rating among all Americans: 27-64. Ouch. It is only 66-20 approval among Republicans, probably because Trump does such a good job of trashing every other Republican. Among independents it’s 17-70. Brutal.
Still, trying to extrapolate the idea that “voters will support my third party” from those numbers is absurd. The reason the Republican Party favorables among Republicans are so low is because some are angered by the MAGA takeover of the party while others think the party isn’t MAGA enough. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s numbers among Democrats are high because we are unified to an unprecedented level—but there are still those who wish we were more like Sanders, and a smaller but still real crowd who wishes we were more “centrist.”
There are a million opinions in politics and you can’t shoehorn them all into two parties. But here’s the thing: You can’t shoehorn them into three parties, either—not without a major realignment.
McCrory then pushes back against my rational notion that a party that is called “No Labels,” which literally means, “we stand for nothing,” actually stands for nothing. He pushes their 30-point platform with such great ideas as number one: “America can’t solve its biggest problems and deliver the results hardworking taxpayers want, need, and deserve unless Democrats and Republicans start working together side by side on bipartisan solutions.” How is a third party going to get the two other parties to work together? And seriously, Democrats have a pathological desire to engage in bipartisanship. The problem there is one-sided. It is Republicans who refuse to engage. […]
Or how about, “National service could help heal America’s political divide.” And then there’s, “It’s in America’s interest to work with our allies to advance our mutual interests.”
I mean, it’s pablum! And if you’re looking for substance on actual issues, forget it. Abortion?* “America must strike a balance between protecting women’s rights to control their own reproductive health and our society’s responsibility to protect human life.” That’s how they manage to talk about abortion without taking an actual position on it. The “balanced” position was Roe v. Wade. If they really wanted to “strike a balance,” all they’d have to say is, “Return to the Roe v. Wade standard.” But they don’t.
Indeed, “No Labels” is an apt name as they don’t actually create an ideological framework that sets them apart from the two main parties. Did you know that they’re also against crime (idea eight) and want our students to be number one (idea thirteen)? Everyone says that, and everyone (mostly) means it! The question is how we get there. And if you think their detailed explanation of their ideas provides more substance, think again. In idea 13, their proposal is to spend more time “reaching for excellence,” and they think, “Our next president should send a signal to us and the world that America is embarking on a national goal to make our students number one in math and reading within a decade.” Well that’s easy! Just send a signal!
Ultimately there’s one big point when talking about third parties, and here it is:
MARKOS MOULITSAS: So the problem isn’t they don’t like Biden or Trump. It’s that you are creating this idea that there’s a mythical unicorn creature that will agree with these people who want something else. That doesn’t exist. When [Monmouth] polled Manchin and Huntsman, it’s like what? 12% —
There are myriad reasons for rejecting the two major parties and their two likely nominees. There isn’t a gap in the ideological spectrum just waiting to be filled by someone who proudly proclaims his strong support for medical tort reform (idea five). Their attempts to sidestep difficult issues like abortion, gun control, and democracy simply mean that anyone who cares about those issues will stick with the major parties since Republicans and Democrats aren’t shy about where they stand on those critical issues.
No Labels likes to quote polls that show a generic third-party candidate as competitive in a presidential matchup against Biden and Trump. Those polls are useless for two reasons: 1) an unnamed candidate who people can imagine as their ideal will always poll better against an actual human with actual positions on things people care about, and 2) third parties always poll better than they perform in actual elections. [Yep, that’s true.]
On the first point, we have recent proof thanks to a recent Monmouth University poll.
First they asked about a Biden-Trump matchup:
Biden: 47
Trump: 40
Then they added a generic third-party candidate:
Biden: 37
Generic: 30
Trump: 28
Finally, they gave us names for the third party—a “fusion” ticket featuring Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican former Gov. Jon Huntsman:
Biden: 40
Trump: 34
Manchin: 16
A generic candidate takes 10 points from Biden and 12 points from Trump. An actual name takes 7 points from Biden and 6 points from Trump.
But here’s where the poll gets extra interesting: Monmouth then added a question about voting for a spoiler candidate.
Asked if a third-party vote would spoil the election and lead to a Biden victory:
Biden: 39
Trump: 37
Manchin: 20
In other words, if people think their third-party vote helps Biden, they’re more likely to vote third party and Trump notches his best three-way numbers. But … if told their vote for a third party would benefit Trump, check it out:
Biden: 43
Trump: 33
Manchin: 20
People don’t want Trump to win, and this gives us Biden’s most comfortable winning margin.
And of course, Manchin wouldn’t come anywhere near 20%. “Meet the Press” moderator Todd directly pointed this out to McCrory using my “unicorn” frame:
CHUCK TODD: Pat, can you give us some names? Because, you know, Manchin and Huntsman, that’s not going to get you your unicorn. What other candidates —
PAT McCRORY: I’m just saying, I don’t think there’s going to be a shortage —
CHUCK TODD: Is Will Hurd one of your candidates?
PAT McCRORY: I don’t think there’ll be a shortage of candidates —
CHUCK TODD: Why can’t you guys name some names?
MARKOS MOULITSAS: Who is it?
This was a huge messaging victory. The biggest political show on television just flipped the No Labels discussion frame from “people want a third party candidate” to, “Oh yeah? So who is your unicorn?” As McCrory showed, they have no answer for that because the second anyone floats a name, any potential support will quickly evaporate under the inevitable scrutiny and attacks from multiple sides.
That’s not a bad thing! If someone claims that they can fill a massive, unsatisfied percentage of the electorate, then they’ll have to prove it. And there isn’t a single person who can pull that off. It certainly won’t be former Rep. Will Hurd. And if it is? Well, having someone run third party who explicitly calls himself a Republican is fine with me. Let the right split their vote as many ways as possible.
If Republican billionaires like Justice Clarence Thomas’ sugar daddy Harlan Crow want to shower $70 million on No Labels to run a Republican spoiler candidate, more power to them.
(*Fact checking myself: I was wrong in saying that their platform doesn’t mention abortion. In my prep, I jotted down that they “don’t take a position” because they don’t. It just came out wrong in the moment.)
I personally think that people who don’t reply to polls, people who don’t pay that much attention to how elections actually work … those people might vote for a third party candidate just for the hell of it. And they might just accidentally put Trump back in the White House. No Labels is more dangerous than Marko Moulitsas would like to think.
Fascist-bot 9000, the president-ish candidate formerly known as Ron DeSantis, has now reached the point in his campaign where he’s grimly surveying the listless, mewling meatsicles blankly staring back at him on his life raft and trying to decide who to eat first. In other words, there’s still hope, but he’s going to need to ratchet up the evil if he’s going to stand a chance against Donald Trump.
Well, he’s doing just that, it seems. During last week’s GOP primary debate, which marked the candidates’ first chance to show the public they’re just as obscenely feral as Trump, DeSantis bragged about canning two “radical left-wing district attorneys” because they “wouldn’t do their job.” […]
But it turns out there’s a lot more to DeSantis’ boast than meets our already jaundiced eye—and none of the details make him look good. Or fair. Or anything approaching honest.
The Daily Beast recently spoke with one of those suspended prosecutors, Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell, who was reportedly dismissed “just as she was about to crack down on a wide-ranging cover-up by deputies who, she says, were faking documents to hide lethal and abusive behavior.”
“They thought that I was overly critical of law enforcement and didn’t do anything against ‘real criminals,’” Worrell told The Daily Beast. “Apparently there’s a difference between citizens who commit crimes and cops who commit crimes.”
As Worrell tells it, the approximately 20 law enforcement agencies in Central Florida “were all working against me, because I was prosecuting their cops, the ones who used to do things and get away with them.” According to The Daily Beast, her account was supported by two other people who spoke with the outlet anonymously.
Worrell wasn’t the first prosecutor DeSantis removed, of course. Last year, DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren because Warren had said he wouldn’t pursue criminal charges against people who seek or provide abortions or gender transition care. Warren sued to get his job back, but a federal judge declined to reverse the dismissal despite acknowledging DeSantis had violated Florida’s constitution.
In the process, however, the public discovered DeSantis had also put Worrell in his crosshairs. The Daily Beast:
Just as DeSantis’ staff was readying to pounce on the Tampa prosecutor’s office, Worrell began to get odd vibes from her own local sheriffs near Orlando—who seemed to be aligning themselves alongside the DeSantis administration, too.
It became most apparent on a Zoom call her executive staff had with Orlando County Sheriff John W. Mina and his top brass in July 2022, which was first uncovered by the Orlando Sentinel. “I was at home and had COVID. I got on the meeting, and the call was being recorded. No one told me in advance that it was going to be recorded. In that call, the sheriff’s disposition was very aggressive and accusatory,” Worrell told The Daily Beast, describing what happened next as “an ambush.”
According to Worrell and another person with knowledge of the call, Mina began to pepper her with specific questions about cases that her office had failed to prosecute. The problem was, the cases actually reflected police misconduct and ineptitude, rather than forgiving or forgetful prosecutors. For example, both said the Orlando County sheriff complained about the state attorney’s failure to jail a particular known gang member fresh out of prison who was caught with a gun in his car. However, Worrell’s staff on the call countered that description of the case, noting that the felon had actually been illegally accosted by detectives who spotted him at a gun show, where they demanded to know what he was doing out free, followed him into the parking lot, and proceeded to break every rule in the book.
As Worrell notes, she was actually upholding the law—and the U.S. Constitution—rather than intentionally flouting it.
“They took him into custody—without a warrant. Went into his pants pocket—without a warrant. Clicked key fob—without warrant. Went in—without warrant,” Worrell told The Daily Beast. “There’s this little thing called ‘unreasonable search and seizure,’ and you can’t get evidence without a warrant. We were unable to go forward with charges because it was an illegal search and seizure. And we had lots of communication with the sheriff’s office about this case, trying to salvage the case. As the state attorney, we’re not here to rubber-stamp what the sheriff’s office does. We can’t condone that.”
From there, DeSantis’ office appears to have conducted a pressure campaign to oust Worrell, “fishing for the very statistics and cases it could wave around to justify her removal,” according to The Daily Beast.
In one case, Osceola Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez collected statistics that “became the backbone to the governor’s eventual executive order plucking Worrell from office.” The document noted that only 3 out of 32 people arrested for drug trafficking had received mandatory minimum prison sentences. However, as The Daily Beast notes, the statistics “were stretched beyond belief, counting as failures even cases resulting from December 2022 arrests that weren’t magically finished in court three months later in March.”
But while DeSantis is using these firings to burnish his “anti-woke” bona fides, his true motivation may be even more sinister. At the time of the firing, Worrell’s investigators were reportedly at the tail end of a corruption investigation into the Osceola County sheriff’s office, “and the interruption would be welcome relief to majors who kept phoning friends at the State Attorney’s office nervously checking for updates in recent weeks.”
“As we were investigating, there was all sorts of illegal activity that started coming up: officers signing each other’s reports, getting them notarized in someone else’s name when they signed them themselves, fraudulent documents,” Worrell told The Daily Beast.
Of course, Worrell’s case is just the latest in a chilling series of right-wing efforts to remove prosecutors who don’t toe the line. Republicans in the Georgia legislature appear eager to test a new state law that gives a newly created state commission the power to remove prosecutors. State Sen. Clint Dixon has indicated he’ll file a complaint against Fani Willis, who has charged Trump with multiple felonies over his efforts to steal the 2020 election, when the commission launches in October.
[…] Meanwhile, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz recently introduced a censure resolution targeting U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who’s overseeing Trump’s federal trial for (allegedly!) attempting to snuff out American democracy.
In other words, the party of law and order is pretty selective about the laws it wants to enforce, and the only order it really cares about is the old one, where cops could get away with pretty much anything they wanted to and no one batted an eye.
Of course, despite DeSantis’ dogged attempts to somehow sink lower than Trump, his presidential prospects just keep plummeting, and Wednesday’s debate was just another example. Let’s hope DeSantis quits before his politically hyped law-and-order agenda turns Florida into just another lawless police state.
An Alabama legislator was arrested Tuesday on felony voter fraud charges accusing him of voting in a district where he did not live.
Republican Rep. David Cole of Huntsville was arrested on charges of voting in an unauthorized location, according to Madison County Jail records. The details of the charge were not immediately available in court records, but the arrest comes after accusations that Cole did not live in the district in which he was elected.
Cole, a doctor and Army veteran, was elected to the House of Representatives last year.
Voter fraud is a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The Alabama attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case against Cole, a spokeswoman confirmed…
Explosions in Pskov (videos 1 and 2) and Bryansk (3) and Orel Oblasts (4), Russia, with reports of unidentified UAV sightings in other regions. This appears to be a well-orchestrated drone raid on Russia.
In Pskov, four IL-76 planes were reportedly hit in an airfield. All flights from and into the airport have been cancelled. Additionally, reports of a military unit in the city being hit were published.
Pskov is a city far from Ukraine, near the border with Estonia.
Videos at the link.
whheydtsays
Re: SC (Salty Current) @ #391…
There is at least one claim floating around that a Tu-22 supersonic bomber was also at least damaged at Pskov.
Hmmm…. All this make me wonder if someone might consider filking something from Rimski-Korsakov’s 1872 opera “The Maid of Pskov”…
StevoRsays
The Referenndum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Oz will be the 14th October 2023. ABC news has this live coverage here :
The world’s largest producer of titanium is located in the small city of Verkhnyaya Salda, Russia, about 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow. In fact, Russia is so blessed with an abundance of this tough, light, heat- and corrosion-resistant metal, that it once made whole submarines out of titanium. Unsurprisingly, Russian fighter jets like the Sukhoi Su-30 make heavy use of lightweight titanium alloys in their airframes, and more use of titanium in their engines. It may be five times more costly than alternatives, but for the best performance, it’s worth it.
Over the weekend, four of those Su-30 jets, along with a MiG-29, were destroyed by a squadron of aircraft launched from Ukraine. Those aircraft were made from cardboard and rubber bands.
The cost of an Su-30 is currently estimated to be about $40 million. The cost of the Sypaq Corvo drones that took them out starts at a reported $670. Russia claims it shot down two of the pelican-sized cardboard drones. But it didn’t stop the rest from taking out not only those jets, but—and this is kind of hilarious—a pair of Pantsir anti-aircraft guns and an S-300 surface-to-air missile battery. Even if Ukraine used a dozen of those drones to take out these targets, the cost-to-destruction ratio was about 25,000:1.
Welcome to a new world.
t’s been a long time since we cranked out the incomplete and badly outdated Field Guide to Drones of Ukraine. The Sypaq drone was not in there, which isn’t surprising. Almost everything that’s flying around the heads of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers today was absent from that list.
Battlefield evolution is fast.
When the illegal invasion of Ukraine began, the most important drones on the battlefield were large, complex, and expensive systems like the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2. At about $5 million each, these drones definitely undercut the cost of a modern fighter jet, and their long range and variety of weapons certainly give them an array of uses. Early in the war, the Bayraktar played a critical role in uplifting Ukrainian morale and generating some real (if small) victories that helped sustain the nation until it was able to reverse the tide around Kyiv. [video at the link]
The Bayraktar is still effective. Still impressive. Still out there knocking down targets.
But the biggest change in the past year has been the rise of two different forms of what, at the war’s outset, were known as “kamikaze drones.” That is, drones that don’t just carry bombs—they are bombs.
One of those is the type of drone most associated with Ukraine’s “army of drones,” the low-cost, first-person view (FPV) quadcopter steered by an operator wearing a set of augmented reality goggles. The most common of these drones is either of two versions of this FPV drone from China’s Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd, usually known as just DJI. [video at the link]
A newer version of this drone came out earlier this year with some considerable advantages, but the older version is still widely available at a reduced price, so its skeletonized body is often what’s attached to a grenade that’s capable of doing this: [Tweet and video at the link]
Ukraine is also producing FPV drones domestically, as well as sourcing them from other producers. However, the DJI drones are, for the moment, appreciated for their stability, ease of use, and for the robustness of their communications systems.
While purpose-built kamikaze drones like the U.S.-manufactured Switchblades were looked on as a potential game-changer earlier in the war, these FPV drones have turned out to be the terrors of the air. Similar small quadcopters that are controlled with a screen, rather than FPV goggles, are often used in dropping grenades into trenches or in a combination of reconnaissance and opportunistic attack. Pairing the regular quadcopters and the FPV drones has made the battlefield vastly more unpredictable and deadly for front-line forces.
At longer range, larger drones with more independent operation are vital for attacking targets like those Su-30s that were taken out on a Kursk airfield. But even there, the cost of entry has gone way down. Not only are the cardboard terrors from Sypaq cheap and easy, but their structure and low-slow flight makes them hard to spot on conventional radar, where they reportedly look much like birds. Only these birds are capable of carrying 5 kilograms of payload and ranging well over 100 kilometers. [video at the link]
Take one step up to reach the Chinese-made Mungin-6, which is another drone now frequently used by the Ukrainian military. At $14,500 (cheaper in bulk), these drones have electric motors to give them vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), a gas-powered motor for range, and a lifting capacity of 20 kg. [video at the link]
Are these drones suitable for reconnaissance, dropping bombs, or as an alternative to a precision-guided missile? Yes, yes, and yes. Just as with the smaller FPV drones, Ukraine is also making its own version of these larger drones. Those home-grown drones are likely what’s been repeatedly finding its way into the financial district of Moscow.
A review of recent losses on both sides shows over and over that the majority of vehicles and artillery are being lost to direct impact by drones, with “kamikaze” drones playing a larger role. [Tweet with Google docs spreadsheet at the link]
It’s been that way for weeks now. Even where drones aren’t the direct cause of loss, they’re the primary means by which artillery, and even aircraft, are identifying targets at range. Cheap, ubiquitous drones mean that even when they are not being used as guided missiles or to drop grenades onto troops, they are providing precise coordinates for artillery strikes and immediate feedback on targeting efficiency. Drones aren’t just becoming more deadly by the day, they are also making every other ranged weapon on the battlefield more effective.
There’s another factor in addition to the falling cost/rising capability curve that is making drone swarms so deadly: ease of training. It takes much less time to make someone a proficient user of an FPV drone or quadcopter than it does to train them in driving a tank or performing most traditional military roles. Both sides are making increasing use of drone operators who have limited combat training, but who have skills with drones which, unlike many pieces of military hardware, can be easily learned and drilled in small groups away from military bases. Drone schools are operating apart from other military training, and volunteers—even those who may have physical issues that keep them from shouldering a pack—are signing up.
Handing a new recruit a rifle and sending them to the front line with less than a month’s training is likely to end with a dead recruit. Putting that same recruit at the control of a drone may keep them out of harm’s way as they acquire skill and real-world experience. They may lose a few drones in the process, but that’s a low cost for a better-trained operator.
Ukraine is showing a future in which the most effective agents of death are not large, complex, hard-to-maintain systems, but systems that are cheap, plentiful, and operated by troops with minimal training. Both Russia and Ukraine are struggling to integrate this into their tactics.
It’s not clear that this democratization of discount destruction is a factor that anyone should welcome. But it’s certainly one that will be difficult to stop.
—————————————-
The State Department has announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine.
It includes AIM-9M missiles for air defense, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, mine-clearing equipment, Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets, over 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition, ambulances, demolition munitions for obstacle clearing, as well as spare parts, services, training, and transportation.
———————————-
Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar says that Ukraine’s military has captured “dominant heights” around Bakhmut, leaving the Russian army “trapped” in the city.
This statement follows news in the past few days that, in addition to Klishchiivka, Ukraine has moved to capture the nearby towns of Andriivka and Kurdyumivka. However, at last report Russian forces are still on the heights northwest of Bakhmut at Dubovo-Vasylivka, and Russia has uninterrupted access to defensive lines to the east so … “trapped” would seem to be overselling Ukraine’s gains in the area.
If Ukraine moved north from the position at Berkhivka, it would seem possible to cut off those Russian forces on higher ground, but positions in the area northwest of Bakhmut haven’t shifted much in the past two months.
Ukraine’s holding of the ridgeline running west of Klishchiivka gives them strong tactical advantage and fire control over the lower ground to the east. Why Ukraine is expending effort at this point to occupy towns in the lower area, and to liberate positions to the south, isn’t clear. It may be a matter of trying to keep Russia engaged in the area to prevent Russian forces from relocating to the southern front. It may be exploiting weakness generated by Russian forces that have already left.
————————————
[…] At this point there are several sources with a better grip on deployment of units and placement of defensive positions who are providing regularly updated maps. I will likely switch to one of these sources soon rather than continue to try and modify my out-of-date maps.
However, before I hit the big “off” button on Google Earth, here’s something of a look at how things have changed over the previous week in the area around Robotyne, because I don’t think the news of marginal gains here and there really reflects how much has happened.
The first map shows where things were about a week ago, shortly after Ukrainian forces had broken through Russian positions and entered the northern part of Robotyne. [map at the link]
The second map shows where things are a week later—and it’s probably conservative. [map at the link]
Ukraine has not just taken Robotyne: They’ve advanced along a 15 km section of the front, occupying tactical high ground, clearing defensive positions, and holding their advances against multiple Russian attempts to counterattack. That little finger of blue reaches out toward the dragon’s teeth and large tank trench to the south, which represents the next obstacle. There are sources out there that have Ukraine already engaged in clearing those defenses. This is unconfirmed, though Ukrainian drones are certainly working against Russian vehicles parked behind the next set of Russian defenses.
This map from analyst Def Mon provides a better sense of where Ukraine is now relative to Russia’s prepared defensive lines. [Tweet, image and maps at the link]
There are also reports that Ukraine has advanced to the southeast, reaching the outskirts of Verbove. This is also unconfirmed (and it’s hard to believe that they would make such a move without pausing to broaden any breach of Russian defenses).
————————-
[Tweet and video showing a Ukrainian soldier demonstrating a Lithuanian anti-drone EW weapon.]
[Tweet and image documenting destruction a school in Ukraine. More than 1,300 schools in Ukraine have been completely destroyed in Ukraine, according to a UNICEF report. Other schools have been hit by shelling, and some have closed.]
Hmmm. In the recent past, Republicans in Tennessee have claimed that they changed some rules in order to preserve civil discourse in the state’s House chamber. Doesn’t seem to have worked.
The Tennessee special session on public safety ended in chaos on Tuesday. A physical conflict broke out between House Speaker Cameron Sexton and state Rep. Justin J. Pearson while citizens in the gallery chanted for Republicans to be voted out of office. After Monday saw Republicans vote to silence Rep. Justin Jones before he could call for a vote of no confidence in the speaker, the Republican-controlled legislature forced through an adjournment of the House sine die on Tuesday. The General Assembly isn’t currently scheduled to reconvene until January 2024.
As Sexton made to exit the chamber, Jones and Pearson stood on opposite sides of him, holding small protest signs. Sexton tried to slip past a throng of lawmakers and dropped his shoulder into Pearson. Multiple men then moved between Pearson and Sexton as the two lawmakers got into a shouting match, with the speaker pointing his finger threateningly at Pearson. WKRN News 2 provided video of the disorder. [video at the link]
Reporter Kelsey Beyeler of Nashville Scene posted another, closer angle of the physical interaction between Sexton and Pearson. [Tweet and video at the link]
State Rep. Gloria Johnson tweeted that from what she saw, Pearson “could file charges for that assault the Speaker committed as well as Jason Zachary.” (State Rep. Zachary is the man in glasses who can be seen using his elbow to press against Pearson while Sexton is pointing at Pearson.)
[…] Outside the chambers, mothers whose children attended the Covenant School during its mass shooting this past March, and many of whom are Republicans, were in tears. A mother named Mary Joyce explained why so many people were overcome with emotion:
Today, we will go home and we’ll look at our children in the eyes — many of whom were sheltered from gunfire that tragic day on March 27. They will ask what our leaders have done over the past week and a half to protect them. As a mother, I’m going to have to look at my nine year-old in the eye and tell her: nothing.
[photo at the link]
Jones spoke to the Covenant mothers, their supporters, and gathered reporters, saying that the GOP’s plan is to hope people forget about commonsense gun legislation when they reconvene in January. In a video provided by @TheTNHoller, Jones said:
“The speaker chose to end session because he felt the public pressure. And what he’s hoping is that you don’t come back in January. What he does not realize is he’s giving us more time to organize even more people, to hold him accountable, and to push against this extremist session that we saw.
This was not a session about public safety. This was a session about silencing dissent, about criminalizing children, and abuse of power. And so we are appreciative of all people who came. You deserve an apology. Particularly, the Covenant families deserve an apology from this House, because what happened in there was a sham. And rather than face you, the speaker ran back to his office and locked the door.
But no matter if he goes to hide in his office or comes out here to see the people, we know that his time is up. We know that his time as speaker is up. And that he was so afraid of a vote of no confidence that he wouldn’t even let any other business be heard. But we don’t need a vote from them because the people can take a no-confidence vote on the speaker. Raise your hand if you want to vote no confidence in Speaker Cameron Sexton?
[The crowd of people gathered in the rotunda responded loudly and affirmatively.]
I believe it passes overwhelmingly. Thank you all for being here. Power to you all. We’ll keep showing up. This is your house. This does not look like the people’s house right now, but we’re going to make this the people’s house. Cameron Sexton’s on the wrong side of history, and we know that we are on the right side of history. Power to the people!”
On Aug. 14, Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants were named in a wide-ranging indictment that included racketeering by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked for a trial date in March 2024.
But last week, one of Trump’s co-defendants, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, asked for a speedy trial under a Georgia law that allows defendants to request a trial within weeks of indictment. In response to this request, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee set a trial date for Chesebro on Oct. 23. Soon after this, former Trump attorney Sidney Powell filed a similar request. Attorney John Eastman, who was instrumental in designing the legal argument that led to the Jan. 6 insurrection, is expected to do the same.
Now Willis is trying her best to keep all the trials together, as her basketful of deplorable defendants try to pull her case apart.
n other cases where Trump has been indicted, his attorneys have tried to argue that the trial shouldn’t begin until well after the next election. So far, that argument hasn’t been doing well with judges. As soon as Chesebro requested his speedy trial, Trump’s legal team moved to sever Trump’s trial from Chesebro’s to avoid being dragged into the early date. Willis immediately filed a motion to have all the cases placed on a fast track to keep them together, but that motion hasn’t yet been considered.
With Trump’s former attorneys lining up to go early, and other defendants like former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows appealing to have their cases moved to federal court, there’s a strong possibility that Willis’ case will fragment into multiple trials. That would make it harder to prosecute the central RICO charge, and to use the mandatory sentence associated with it as leverage to persuade some of the defendants to testify against Trump.
The indictment against Trump & Co. includes descriptions of 161 acts made in support of the racketeering operation, and 41 additional felony charges resulting from those acts. Telling the story of how it all fits together is far easier if the trial involves a single, coherent story showing how the defendants acted in concert, rather than being broken into a series of small, apparently unrelated incidents.
For Willis, the best scenario would be to keep the whole circus under one tent. With 19 defendants, that has always been unlikely. However, the fewer sideshows, the better when it comes to a RICO case. […]
There are reasons that Chesebro, Powell, and Eastman want to get ahead of the rest of the pack. As The New York Times points out, one factor is simply cash. A trial that begins sooner is likely to come with a smaller price tag in terms of legal bills, travel costs, and life disruption, than the same trial dragged out over years.
The Washington Post also suggests that Chesebro, always a believer that he’s the smartest person in any room, simply hoped to catch Willis napping. Only … that doesn’t seem to be the case and Willis may find herself starting with “a clean shot at a single defendant against whom there is replete evidence.”
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner suggests that Trump may be unhappy about the speedy trial requests because they open the door for these first-movers to toss the boss under the nearest bus.
“You know what the co-defendants in the first trial will do?” Kirschner said. “They will point the finger at the empty chair and say, ‘Those are the bad guys, Trump and [Rudy] Giuliani and [Mark] Meadows. It’s not us.’ So this could break really bad for Donald Trump.”
[…] Willis is […] attempting to apply some glue to this rapidly fragmenting pot. For example, despite requesting, and being granted, an early date, Chesebro apparently never formally asked that his case be severed from the rest, leaving it up to everyone else to make a request. [!!! Hmmm. Major oversight?]
Accordingly, the State of Georgia respectfully seeks clarification from the Court as to whether the Court’s intention was to sever Defendant Chesebro’s trial from the other Defendants … if the Court’s intention indeed was to sever Defendant Chesebro’s trial from the other Defendants, because Defendant Chesebro has not filed a motion to sever and because the Court has held no hearing on a motion to sever, the State of Georgia respectfully requests that the Court set aside its Case Specific Scheduling Order entered on August 24, 2023
In other words, since Chesebro didn’t ask to go it alone, the court shouldn’t provide him a solo court date. And if it does give him a date, then everyone else who doesn’t hustle forward with a request to cut themselves free from Chesebro should be stuck going at the same time.
It’s going to be difficult for Willis to force other defendants into court at the date already awarded to Chesebro, so the most likely outcome is going to be that the rest line up to request that they be cut loose from Chesebro, as Trump has done already. If Eastman and Powell really want to go early, they can always just not sever their cases, and tag along with Chesebro. But putting all three of them behind a defendant’s table together—Ms. Kraken and the Jan. 6 power duo—is going to make a big chunk of the scheme obvious, even if the actions of the other 16 defendants don’t get full air time.
[…] But if Chesebro is sitting at a table by himself, ahead of all other cases, a jury might be challenged to convict on the charge that really matters—the RICO indictment that guarantees time in jail. Maybe Chesebro is gambling that this is his best chance at evading that conviction. He may even be right.
For Willis, all of this has to be terribly frustrating, but probably not unexpected. Keeping the whole set of 19 defendants together was always unlikely. It may now be impossible.
Essentially, it involves Vivek acquiring a failed pharmaceutical drug that went through 4 unsuccessful trials that he would market as an Alzheimer’s breakthrough. He put his mom, a doctor, on the research team and suddenly, the drug showed remarkable improvement (Ahem). The drug was rebranded, and his company took in millions. Yet before the phase 3 trials began, Vivek and his family emptied their shares.
The saga involves manipulated data, a company based in Bermuda, destroyed lives and alleged insider training knowledge.
The GOP is bending themselves into pretzels trying to tie something, anything, to Joe Biden; but just one minute of research on any of their candidates shows a wealth of corruption. Just thought you should know…
Video produced by Driven Progressive is available at the link. The video provides a lot more details concerning the scam that Ramaswamy ran.
Posted by readers of the article:
Great. This con-artist really is like his “favorite president of the 21st century”.
———————
Hope he joins Elizabeth Holmes in prison. Health fraud costs lives.
———————-
wouldn’t it be a beautiful thing if his candidacy led to criminal charges?
———————
He made his money the old fashion way…grift.
Pierce R. Butlersays
@ my # 359 – I lied.
Per the Nat’l Hurricane Ctr at the time, the edge of Idalia would have marched across this county by now (a bit after midnight), with more rain than wind until maybe 5 am; it would drop from ‘cane to mere Tropical Storm right along Interstate 75. So far: dry/humid; some thunder; the lights haven’t even flickered; the air hardly moves. High-level clouds glow from the combination of moonlight and streetlights; doubtless all the night critters are aprowl.
Per the NHC maps, we’re near the center of the wind path – and on the eastern edge of the rain path, projected to drench Tallahassee and a strip across Georgia & both Carolinas all the way to the coast. The local amount-of-rain chart shows a textbook saddle formation overnight from what had been a straight 100% line, but only a minor drop of expected inchage [?].
The local windage forecast has dropped and moved back several hours, while analyses still say Idalia continues to gain lots of heat and water as it sweeps slowly across the record-warm Gulf. IANAMeteorologist, but I suspect that means the rain component of this fork will cause most of the damage this time.*
IOW, local experience completely contradicts NHC/NWS (so far), nor do I recall ‘canes here splitting wind/rain to significant degree. The forecast now calls for about half as much rain as it had earlier today, with more steady winds and later, longer, slightly weaker gusts before dawn. The (entirely well inland) County has ordered mandatory evacuation of mobile/manufactured housing and opened three shelters, one specifically for the ill and their caregivers (cots available only for the former); no idea what’s happening there or on the roads. I doubt many of the supposed-to-be evacuees have obeyed that order.
So, I still expect to go incommunicado for a while sometime tomorrow (this) morning, with abundant entertainment with shovels, chainsaws, or other implements as needed ensuing come daylight &/or a calm(er) interlude. Howsomeverotherwise, nothing at all has gone according to recent local forecasts (all too accurate, mostly, in our last few TSs), and (so far) that worries me more than Idalia per se.
*It appears certain that a penis touched an anus somewhere along that route, provoking all due smitage from the Almighty. :-O Why don’t the “real” meteorologists ever mention this?
StevoRsays
Yikes!
Some of the world’s leading astronomical observatories have reported cyberattacks that have resulted in temporary shutdowns. The National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, or NOIRLab, reported that a cybersecurity incident that occurred on Aug. 1 has prompted the lab to temporarily halt operations at its Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and Gemini South Telescope in Chile. Other, smaller telescopes on Cerro Tololo in Chile were also affected.
Only temporary sure but science gets booked a long time in advance and telescope time esp on such large and valuable scopes is very precious and rare. I wonder what has been lost here?
tomhsays
@ Lynna #396
In an otherwise informative article, I see the same mistake repeated over and over. These two quotes are from the article.
“That would make it harder to prosecute the central RICO charge, and to use the mandatory sentence associated with it as leverage”
“the RICO indictment that guarantees time in jail.”
This is simply not true. The RICO charge in Georgia law is O.C.G.A.§ 16-14-4, which is spelled out in the idictment, and it does NOT guarantee time in jail.
(a) Any person convicted of the offense of engaging in activity in violation of Code Section 16-14-4 shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by not less than five nor more than 20 years’ imprisonment OR the fine specified in subsection (b) of this Code section, or both.[my bold]
Sorry to make a big deal of it, but it’s irritating to see such a simple mistake repeated over and over. And it is kind of a big deal whether prison is mandatory.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the high rate of convictions for Russian soldiers refusing to fight demonstrates the poor state of morale in the Russian army and the reluctance of some elements to engage in combat….
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, tweeted on Wednesday morning:
Today’s large-scale combined attack of the RF (cruise missiles+Shaheds) on Kyiv is an unquestionably deliberate attack on the civilian population.
The motive: revenge for the growing accidents in the RF itself; failures on the frontline; ethnic hatred and attempt of psychological intimidation.
Undoubtedly, an attack of this kind is qualified as an act of demonstrative terrorism, thought out, premeditated and committed by a group of persons in prior conspiracy.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was working out where the drones were launched from to prevent further strikes… [LOL]
Vladimir Putin had been informed immediately, as would be the case in any such “massive attacks”, he added.
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck targets in at least six regions deep within Russia on Wednesday, including an airfield where they destroyed military transport planes.
Kyiv confirmed the Russian planes had been destroyed in Pskov, without commenting on the nature of the incident, Reuters reports.
It generally withholds comment on strikes on territory inside Russia, though it says it has a right to hit military targets.
“Yes, four IL-76 transport planes were destroyed in Pskov at an airfield, they are beyond repair. Also, several other of those (aircraft) are damaged, but the information is being checked,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s GUR military agency, told Reuters.
birgerjohanssonsays
From Youtube
“Russia in pain Russia in pain
The invasion losses were all in vain
The cannon fodder keep facing death
The Czarfuhrer boss couldn’t care less
They fight to boost czarfuhrer’s powers
In Ukraine they turn into flowers
The Ruble’s drop is hurried
Murdered Wagnerites get buried
Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and even higher gusts.
This makes Idalia the strongest storm to make landfall in the Big Bend region in more than 125 years.
Idalia is the third hurricane to make landfall in Florida in the last 12 months, following Hurricane Ian in September 2022 and and Hurricane Nicole in October 2022.
Appearing on the Gabon 24 television channel, the officers said they represented all the security and defence forces of the central African nation.
The soldiers said election results giving incumbent Ali Bongo a victory were annulled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
Gabon voted Saturday in presidential, parliamentary and legislative elections in which Bongo and opposition leader Ondo Ossa led a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job. Bongo ascended to the presidency of the oil-rich West African state in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had ruled the country for 41 years….
A Portuguese-language spyware called WebDetetive has been used to compromise more than 76,000 Android phones in recent years across South America, largely in Brazil. WebDetetive is also the latest phone spyware company in recent months to have been hacked.
In an undated note seen by TechCrunch, the unnamed hackers described how they found and exploited several security vulnerabilities that allowed them to compromise WebDetetive’s servers and access its user databases. By exploiting other flaws in the spyware maker’s web dashboard — used by abusers to access the stolen phone data of their victims — the hackers said they enumerated and downloaded every dashboard record, including every customer’s email address.
The hackers said that dashboard access also allowed them to delete victim devices from the spyware network altogether, effectively severing the connection at the server level to prevent the device from uploading new data. “Which we definitely did. Because we could. Because #fuckstalkerware,” the hackers wrote in the note…
John Eastman, the lawyer indicted in Georgia on RICO charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, appeared on Fox News Tuesday for an interview in which he seemed to pretend like an incriminating email he sent—and which has been in the public record for some time—simply doesn’t exist.
On The Ingraham Angle, Eastman was asked by anchor Laura Ingraham about whether the prosecutors can prove the case, which Ingraham said revolved around Eastman and the other defendants “all basically agreeing—implicitly, explicitly—that you all knew this was phony and that your decision amongst yourselves was to advance the plan to overturn the election.”
Eastman responded that the prosecution has “all the evidence” and “all my emails.”
“My phone was seized over a year ago. They have got all that stuff as well. I challenge them to find a single email or communication that supports that implausible theory,” he claimed.
Yet emails show that after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, Eastman persisted in trying to get Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the electoral votes, begging his counsel to break the law…
The Free Syria flag again flew high in villages, towns and cities across the country Aug 25, as thousands filled the streets, reviving the chants of the revolution. Protests had days earlier erupted in the regime-held south of the country, first in the Druze-majority city of Sweida (Suwayda) and Dera’a—the town that saw the initial anti-regime protests of the 2011 uprising. They were triggered by the cost-of-living crisis, especially the recent increase in fuel prices as the regime has yet again cut subsidies. But protests sparked by economic demands soon escalated to renewed calls for the downfall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship.
Inspired by Sweida and Dera’a, protesters then took to the streets in other regime-held cities, including Aleppo, the country’s largest, which was savagely bombarded by regime and Russian warplanes in 2015-6. Demonstrations were also mobilized in support of the new uprising in opposition-held Idlib, and in Raqqa, Hasakeh and Deir ez-Zour—which are occupied by US-backed Kurdish forces in an uneasy alliance with the Assad regime….
The post is drawn from one at Leila’s Blog, to which he links. It’s notably her first post since September 2022.
…In Druze-majority Sweida the clerical establishment has voiced support for the protests, signaling a shift in a region which has previously maintained a position of neutrality through the revolution. Druze protesters sang revolutionary songs “Syria is ours, not Assad’s”, they chanted. They also chanted the anti-sectarian slogan “one, one, one, the Syrian people are one” and Bedouin Sunni tribesmen joined them sending a clear message of unity in spite of the regime’s ongoing attempt to ferment sectarian division. One symbolic demonstration raised a revolution flag at the tomb of Sultan Prasha Al Atrash, a Druze hero of the anti-colonial struggle against the French. Syrians are once again struggling for national liberation – from a criminal regime which has no popular legitimacy.
Since 16 August more than 52 locations in the south have witnessed protests and other acts of civil disobedience….
On Friday, protests spread around the country with people taking to the streets under the banner “Friday of Accountability for Assad”. In scenes reminiscent of the early days of the revolution, women and men from all different social backgrounds were calling for the fall of the regime. Many chants and banners also demanded Assad’s imperial backers – Russia and Iran – leave. Protestors in the north chanted in solidarity with their compatriots in the south. In Idlib, and Atarib in the Aleppo countryside, the flags of the Druze and Kurdish communities were raised alongside the revolution flag. And there were numerous displays of solidarity with the Ukrainian resistance. In the camp of Mashhad Ruhin in Idlib where people displaced by Assad’s terror now live, the crowds gathered and chanted “the people want the fall of the regime”. Children, who were not even born when Syria’s revolution began, knew the words to every revolutionary song. Even members of the Alawite community, Assad’s loyalist base, have been taking to social media in recent days voicing their anger at the regime which has destroyed the country.
In Sweida women led protests calling for the release of political prisoners – a key demand of all Free Syrians. More than 130,000 individuals have been detained or forcibly disappeared by the regime since 2011. Posters demanded the release of Ayman Fares, a son of Lattakia, who released a video which went viral a few days ago criticizing the regime and was arrested whilst trying to flee to Sweida. The regime deals with dissent in the only way it knows – with severe repression. In both Aleppo and Dera’a there have been reports of security forces firing on protestors with two civilians reported killed in Al-Fardous neighborhood of Aleppo city. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reports that 57 civilians have been arrested in connection with the protests over the last few days. And the bombing has not stopped. Just this morning regime and Russian warplanes targeted two schools in Idlib province – continuing their relentless campaign against civilians safe in the knowledge that the international community will fail to meaningfully respond to ongoing war crimes.
In recent days coordinated campaigns have appeared on social media with a list of demands and calls to protest. One is the 10 August Movement which, amongst other things, calls for the establishment of a transitional government in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254 (2015), an end to sectarian division, an end to foreign occupation and external intervention, the release of all detainees and the prosecution of war criminals.
These courageous women and men across the country have shown that the regime cannot bomb, starve, torture, gas and rape the Syrian people into submission. Despite everything they have been through, and in the absence of meaningful solidarity with their struggle, the dream of a free Syria is alive. The world may choose to normalize with Assad, but Free Syrians have time and again made clear they will never accept his rule.
Cedar Key tide gauge breaks water level record with storm surge and is still rising quickly
From CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller
Cedar Key on Florida’s Gulf Coast is experiencing between 8 and 9 feet of storm surge, with waters still rising rapidly even as normal low tide is occurring.
The surge should continue to climb over the next several hours in Florida’s Big Bend region as backside winds push the water level higher and the normal tide also comes in.
Lithuania has summoned the Vatican’s top diplomat to the country after Pope Francis told Russian youths to remember they are the heirs of “the great Russian empire”, Reuters reports.
In response to the impromptu remarks Francis made on Friday in a live video address to Catholic youths gathered in St. Petersburg, the Lithuanian foreign affairs ministry invited the Apostolic Nuncio for “a talk” after the archbishop returns from holidays, a ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Vatican said on Tuesday Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism in the speech, in which he also extolled Russian emperors Peter the Great and Catherine II who expanded the Russian empire.
The territories of Lithuania and Poland were annexed into the Russian empire in the 18th century by Catherine II. The countries broke away after the first world war, after two 19th century revolts against the empire were brutally suppressed.
Francis’ intent was “to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage”, said Vatican.
Ukraine, once part of the same empire, said the comments were “deeply regrettable”. The Kremlin described them as “very gratifying”.
Hurricane Idalia has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph with higher gusts, making it a Category 2 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 9 a.m. ET update.
An automated weather station at Perry Airport recently reported a sustained wind of 62 mph with a gust of 85 mph within the past hour.
“Catastrophic storm surge (is) occurring along the coast of the Florida Big Bend and damaging winds (are) spreading inland over northern Florida,” the hurricane center said.
birgerjohanssonsays
Storm surge of 8-9 feet in a place flatter than Holland. And it is early hours.
johnson catmansays
re Lynna @396:
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner suggests that Trump may be unhappy about the speedy trial requests because they open the door for these first-movers to toss the boss under the nearest bus.
He continued, “All before the boss has a chance to toss them under that bus.”
You read that correctly. A team of scientists just tested wild boar meat from Southern Germany and found that radioactivity in the boars stemmed from nuclear weapons testing, rather than the Chernobyl power plant disaster of 1986.
The Chernobyl disaster occurred due to a power plant meltdown in Pripyat, Ukraine, which resulted in a huge amount of radiation escaping into the surrounding atmosphere. The radiation contaminated the surrounding forest, farmland, and living things from livestock to humankind. Radioactivity from the disaster spread as far west as France, and many farm animals in affected areas were born with deformations in the following years.
Enter the radioactive boars of Bavaria. Though not livestock, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) were affected by Chernobyl’s radiation, leaving scientists to conclude that the animals were contaminated by that event alone. But new research published in Environmental Science & Technology suggests that nuclear weapons testing is a contributing factor, though it’s not possible to know which nation or group is responsible…
Most of the radioactive cesium floating around Europe is cesium-137, but some of it is the long-lived isotope cesium-135. Both are produced by nuclear fission, the same process used to produce both nuclear power and nuclear weapons…
The Wagner group is expected to remain operational in Africa, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission has said.
Speaking with reporters after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Toledo, Josep Borrell said that despite the death of the group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash, he is “sure they’ll quickly find a replacement”.
“They will remain operational in Africa because it is the armed wing of Russia,” Borrell said.
“They (Wagner) will continue to serve Putin and do what they do, which is certainly not contributing to peace in the Sahel or defending rights and freedoms in the Sahel.”
Tech giants, including TikTok and Twitter, failed to effectively tackle Russian disinformation online during the first year of the war in Ukraine, according to a study published Wednesday by the European Union.
The European Union has previously warned against online manipulation and interference by Russia targeting the European internet in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The independent study for the EU comes after tougher rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA) kicked in this month for the world’s biggest online platforms.
The report focused on risks from pro-Kremlin disinformation on six platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (rebranded X), YouTube, TikTok and Telegram – and whether the companies’ actions complied with elements of the DSA, reports AFP.
Except for Telegram, all must currently comply with the DSA’s stricter rules that demand a more aggressive approach to policing content – including disinformation and hate speech – from “very large” platforms with at least 45 million monthly active users.
Tech companies signed a code of practice on disinformation before the DSA that would have “mitigated some of the Kremlin’s malign activities”, the report said.
“The evidence suggests that online platforms failed to implement these measures at a systemic level,” the study wrote.
Most major platforms signed the code last year but Twitter withdrew in June. The report also criticised the Telegram social network, but it has not signed up to the code.
The authors warned that Russian online disinformation has increased in 2023, especially after SpaceX and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter late last year.
“The reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts has grown further in the first half of 2023, driven in particular by the dismantling of Twitter’s safety standards.”
Musk unleashed a wave of sackings when he took over, firing many moderators who vetted Twitter content for disinformation and harmful messages.
He has [lied], however, that Twitter/X is “working hard” to meet the DSA rules.
StevoRsays
NASA discussing September arrival of OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample: Watch live today
By Mike Wall
The OSIRIS-REx press event begins today (Aug. 30) at 5 p.m. ET. NASA will discuss the impending arrival of the asteroid sample collected by its OSIRIS-REx probe during a press conference today (Aug. 30), and you can watch it live.
That sample — about 8.8 ounces (250 grams) of dirt and gravel snagged from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2020 — is scheduled to land in the U.S. Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range on Sept. 24.
Afghanistan’s Band-e-Amir National Park was known for having employed the country’s first-ever female park rangers. Now, women won’t even be allowed to visit, let alone work there, as the Taliban deepens its repressive rule over the country.
Afghanistan’s Minister for [Misogynistic Theocracy], Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, announced Saturday that women will no longer be able to visit the popular park, located in central Bamiyan province, one of the country’s poorest and least developed regions.
Established in 2019 by the local Afghan government in collaboration with several international agencies including USAID and the United Nations Development Programme, the park was considered a peaceful oasis with deep blue lakes surrounded by mountains.
Heather Barr, associate director of the women’s rights at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Monday that the ban shows how “the walls are closing in on women” within Afghanistan.
“Not content with depriving girls and women of education, employment, and free movement, the Taliban also want to take from them parks and sport and now even nature, as we see from this latest ban on women visiting Band-e-Amir,” she said.
“Step by step the walls are closing in on women as every home becomes a prison.”
…
In Afghanistan, “there is no such thing as women’s freedom anymore,” Mahbouba Seraj, an Afghan women’s rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, said earlier this month.
“The women in Afghanistan are being slowly erased from society, from life, from everything – their opinions, their voices, what they think, where they are,” she added.
This latest restriction comes nearly a month after women were banned from beauty salons in Afghanistan, further diminishing their freedom in what was also a harsh economic blow to families who relied on them for income.
According to a UN report released in June, women are banned from working in most sectors outside the home, and are prohibited from attending public baths, parks, and gyms. They must wear a loose-fitting black garment that covers their face, and they’re not permitted to leave home without reason, and even then not without a male guardian.
…
Restrictions imposed outside the home and economic hardship had resulted in “significant tensions” inside homes and a rise in domestic violence, and there was “notable evidence” of a “significant increase” in forced marriage of girls, the report found.
Water levels on the Steinhatchee River, in the town of Steinchatchee in Florida’s Big Bend region, near where Hurricane Idalia made landfall, rose more than 9 feet in about 2 hours on Wednesday morning. The water level reached a height more than 8 feet higher than the normal highest tides, exceeding the record set during Hurricane Hermine in 2016 by about a foot.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects this level of flooding submerges areas within 3 miles of the coast, with water up to 4 feet deep, bringing significant to catastrophic damage to Steinhatchee, Keaton Beach and adjacent areas in Taylor and Dixie Counties.
The family of Gabon’s now deposed president, Ali Bongo, has ruled the country for more than half a century. Ali Bongo came to power in 2009, following in his father’s footsteps, who ruled the country for 41 years. Monte Francis has a closer look at the Bongo family’s long history in power….
Video at the link.
Pierce R. Butlersays
@ my # 398 – I lied again.
As of 11:30 local time, less than 1″ of rain in my gauge, only minor limbfalls in yard and road. Weather maps still show our area at maximum chance of tropical storm winds, but rains going north of us. A couple of teeny power blips. County gov’t still predicting lots of rain and wind.
Probably somebody’s getting clobbered, but not those of us in the previously predicted path of Idalia.
Two election workers in Georgia who sued Rudy Giuliani over baseless claims that fuelled threats of violence against them have been awarded a default judgment following the long-running defamation case against him…
A trial will determine the amount of damages awarded, but Judge Howell’s order determines that Mr Giuliani is liable. He also is ordered to pay more than $132,000 in attorneys’ fees and other costs…
Mikhail Zadornov, Russia’s former minister of finance, attributed the ruble’s recent crash to the Kremlin’s stockpile of rupees that are stuck in India.
In an opinion piece for RBC, a local outlet, the economist called for the Russian Central Bank to intervene in the exchange rate markets, citing that the ruble’s levels would not organically reorient themselves under today’s environment.
In his view, the ruble’s current 95-per-dollar level is in part the result of Russia’s inability to convert rupees it earned via exports into its own currency, leaving the rupees stranded.
Energy trade between the countries blossomed since Russia was restricted by Western sanctions, but Moscow soon found out that the rupees used in the trade have little use in most global markets.
“We have nothing to buy in India, but we cannot return these rupees, because the rupee is an inconvertible currency,” Zadornov wrote. He estimated that Russia has sent $30 billion worth of oil-related products to India, and imported $6 billion-$7 billion worth of products…
Texas State Board of Education members are vowing to keep controversial curriculum from PragerU out of the state’s public schools after one of their colleagues went rogue.
At a press conference on Tuesday, four State Board of Education members joined together with education advocates to condemn PragerU and their board colleague Julie Pickren.
PragerU and Julie Pickren did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Last week, Pickren went rogue, partnering with PragerU — which has already been approved in Florida — to falsely announce that the right-wing group’s educational materials had been approved for use in Texas.
In the video, titled “PragerU Kids is Now in Texas!,” Pickren tells PragerU CEO Marissa Streit, “We are definitely ready to welcome PragerU into the great state of Texas.” A blurb beside the video also claims that “PragerU is an approved education vendor in the state of Texas.”
The board members said at Tuesday’s press conference that PragerU has not been approved for use in Texas public schools, and they vowed to try to keep it out of the state’s schools…
Hurricane Idalia’s worst impacts have shifted into Georgia, where the strongest winds are combining with the heaviest rain and threat of flooding.
Idalia will continue to lash Georgia until Wednesday evening, when its center will cross into South Carolina.
Idalia’s outer rainbands have already begun to affect southern South Carolina. Conditions there will continue to worsen from south to north through Wednesday.
Flood watches extend from Florida to North Carolina.
Idalia’s maximum sustained winds are now 85 mph, with higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest position update. Idalia is located about 25 miles northeast of Valdosta.
Damaging winds continue over southern Georgia. A sustained wind of 43 mph with a wind gust of 56 mph was recently reported at Moody Air Force Base in southern Georgia.
A photo posted August 25 shows that the Czech Republic’s upgraded Soviet 2K12M2 Kub-M2 air defense vehicles—nicknamed the “Three Fingers of Death”—are now active on the ground in Ukraine, supplementing a small number of Ukrainian Kubs already claimed in service.
Back on May 10, Czech president Petr Pavel stated he would transfer two Kub-M2 batteries to Ukraine, implying a total of six to eight launcher vehicles and two SURN 1S91 radar vehicles, as well as a “relatively large number” (ie. hundreds or low thousands) of 3M9 ramjet-powered anti-aircraft missiles. Now it’s clear at least some of those systems arrived…
In service since 1967, the Kub (codenamed SA-6 Gainful by NATO) is undeniably dated, with each battery only able to engage a single target at a time. But it’s mobile—able to follow behind advancing frontline troops and deploy in five minutes—and could help Ukraine fill a short-to-medium range air defense gap dealing with low-flying drones, cruise missiles, helicopters and fighter bombers from farther away than most short-range defenses can.
Moreover, the donated Kubs-M2s are a unique Czech modernization by company Retia in the mid-2000s including an overhauled body/ chassises, followed by installation of modern cabling, power supply, NATO interoperable communications systems, and air-conditioning.
The SURN vehicle’s vacuum-tube-era radars and controls systems were digitized, improving jam-resistance and identify-friend-or-foe (IFF) through signal processing, while new displays and more heavily automated control systems allow for a smaller crew with reduced workload. The upgrade also extended service life of the vehicles and missiles, improved reliability, and decreased maintenance costs through use of digital self-diagnostic tools. As discussed later in this article, the extent and proposed upgrades for Czech 2K12s leaves open the possibility of upgrading them with Western missiles…
Reginald Selkirksays
@430, ibid
However, the Czech donation of Kubs highlights the intriguing curious possibility of upgrading Ukraine’s Kubs to fire Western missiles—particularly as sourcing out-of-production Soviet missiles could pose long-term problems.
That’s because back in 2011, Czech firm Retia showed off a prototype ‘Kub-CZ’ with upgraded radar capable of firing Italian-built ASPIDE radar-guided missiles housed in boxy launch cannisters. This amounted to a genuine franken-vehicle combining Soviet, Italian, American and Czech components…
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta shot down former top Trump White House economic adviser Peter Navarro’s argument that Donald Trump asserted executive privilege over testimony Navarro was subpoenaed to give to the Jan. 6 House select committee in winter 2022.
“There was no formal invocation of executive privilege by [Trump] after personal consideration nor authorization to Mr. Navarro to invoke privilege on his behalf,” Mehta said, according to Politico reporter Kyle Cheney.
That means his trial for contempt of Congress will begin next week, with jury selection slated to start September 5.
The Jan. 6 select committee first subpoenaed Navarro in Feb. 2022 as part of its investigation into the attack on the Capitol and Trump and his allies’ actions in the days and weeks leading up to it. Navarro refused to comply with the subpoena asking him to testify and wouldn’t turn over relevant records. In response, he was charged on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.
[…] The judge noted that even if privilege was invoked, Navarro would have still had to show up and assert the privilege on a question-by-question basis, and produce a privilege log for the committee.
[…] “I still don’t know what the president said,” Mehta told Navarro’s attorney Stanley Woodward this week, referring to a Feb. 2022 call between Trump and Navarro. Navarro has repeatedly pointed to this call as proof that the former president made it clear to him that he was invoking executive privilege over Navarro’s congressional testimony. But Navarro’s lawyer told the judge earlier this month that Trump was not expected to testify on Navarro’s behalf to back up his claims.
“I don’t have any words from the former president,” Mehta said. “That’s pretty weak sauce.”
In about (checks watch) right now, thousands, maybe millions of Americans are going to be in need of home repairs and new appliances. Thank goodness President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act included funds for states to offer consumers rebates on energy upgrades in home improvement and appliances.
Whoops. Sorry, Floridians. Looks like your governor decided he didn’t like the president getting credit for making your life better, so he’s rejecting $350 million in energy efficiency grants, including funding direct rebates to consumers.
Through a veto of his legislature’s request, DeSantis turned down $5 million to set up the rebate program for consumers who buy energy efficient appliances and retrofit their homes. It also effectively blocked $341 million to fund the program because the state would need the administrative money to apply for the program, according to people familiar with Florida’s budget process. However, federal Energy Department rules allow a state to accept the second pot of money even if they don’t take the first.
The governor also rejected $3 million in IRA funds to help the state fight pollution and rebuffed the Solar for All program which would have paid to help low-income people access solar panels. DeSantis also vetoed $24 million in grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
DeSantis is, thus far, the only governor spiteful enough to turn down this essentially free federal largesse. Then again, he’s the only sitting Republican governor running for president, with the need to prove he’s a bigger asshole than the former guy.
Wonder if he’ll be too proud for FEMA and SBA money next week…
A rapper whose lyrics describe Vladimir Putin as a “die hard superhero” has taken over Domino’s Pizza in Russia after its former owner filed for bankruptcy.
Musician turned entrepreneur Timati and restaurateur Anton Pinskiy have agreed to buy Domino’s Russian business, as Western businesses face mounting pressure to sever ties with Moscow…
[…] All these calls cost a lot of money. The rate varied, but it averaged about $4 for every 15 minutes in Connecticut during Jovaan’s incarceration. They often talked four times a day, the maximum allowed. The charges added up quickly. Every Friday, when Lewis collected her paycheck, the first thing she did was deposit money in Jovaan’s phone account. Many months, she had to pick: the calls or her other bills? “You always choose your kid,” she told me, even if it meant an empty stomach or talking to her son in the dark because her power was shut off.
Over the 11 years Jovaan served time, Lewis spent tens of thousands of dollars on calls to the prison. “We don’t stop being moms or parents, no matter where your kid is,” she said. “You don’t get to pick and choose if you’re a parent or not. I don’t love my kid less in prison.” To her, the calls were nonnegotiable.
Lewis’ situation wasn’t unusual. A pre-pandemic report estimates that one-third of American families with loved ones in prison go into debt to pay for phone calls, and 87 percent of the costs are borne by women. Because incarceration rates correlate with low household income, the fees disproportionately target the poor and keep struggling families entrenched in poverty. Until Lewis met Bianca Tylek, she had never considered that things could be any different.
In May 2019, Lewis, who had been volunteering with the political advocacy group Voices of Women of Color, visited the state Capitol for its annual Hartford Day celebration. She knew just about every community advocate, activist, and lawmaker in the crowd, and was chatting with a friend when Tylek, a criminal justice reformer, spotted her “People Over Prisons” T-shirt and came over to introduce herself. Tylek told Lewis she was working on a campaign to make prison phone calls free.
[…] Tylek and a small crew of advocates, legislators, and community members would take on a multibillion-dollar company—and win. In 2021, after a lengthy campaign, Connecticut became the first state to let prisoners make free calls, saving their families some $10 million a year. “I will always be in disbelief that it passed,” Lewis said.
[…] Phone calls are among the most important services that prisons offer. On a practical level, they are needed to arrange housing and work before people reenter society. But more vitally, they provide a connection to life outside. “The three things you have in prison are calls, commissary, and visits,” Jovaan told me. The calls with his mother gave him an emotional ballast. Throughout his time in prison, she also visited him in person once or twice a week—shouldering additional costs for gas, child care, and time off—and Jovaan occasionally wrote letters. But the daily talks were the bedrock of their relationship. When there’s no money in your phone account, he told me, “you have no idea what is going on.” The world beyond the prison walls feels remote.
Studies show that incarcerated people who maintain strong social connections through calls and visits with friends and family are less likely to reoffend.
[…] Charges for prison calls differ from state to state. In 2019, the year Jovaan got out of prison, a call ranged from 14 cents per 15 minutes in Illinois to $4.80 per 15 minutes in Arkansas. During Jovaan’s time inside, Connecticut was one of the most expensive states for incarcerated people to talk on the phone: His mother paid between $3 and $5 per 15 minutes. Landline calls—a 150-year-old technology—are now practically free outside of prison, and collect calls barely exist anymore. So, why the ridiculous rates?
The main reason is that a handful of well-connected firms dominate prison telecommunications and have little incentive to compete on quality and cost. The telecom providers charge prisoners’ families directly, and then hand over a cut of their spoils to the state. Securus’ contract gave Connecticut up to 68 percent of the fees it took from people like Diane Lewis. Prison calls, in other words, are not a state service partially funded by loved ones, but rather a profit source for states and private companies. Higher state commissions contribute to higher costs for families.
As a result, phone contracts with corrections departments are immensely lucrative. In 2020, Securus, which serves approximately 3,500 correctional facilities, brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. (Records from Aventiv—a parent company that includes additional prison-tech services—show 2020 revenue exceeding $750 million.) This private administration of public services is part of a larger trend that has quietly transformed almost every facet of the carceral system over the past three decades, from prison architecture to the beds incarcerated people sleep on to the health care they receive. […]
Few organizers truly understood the role of private interests, she realized. The goal of her new nonprofit would be to strike at the prison system’s financial heart. [map of costs available at the link]
[…] Now, Lewis spends every quiet second of the day—whether lying in bed or walking down the street—thinking about how she can help make the criminal justice system just a little more tolerable. Much remains to be done, but the signs have been positive. Tylek’s rest did not last long. After the cookout, she was back at work, planning which states would come next. In January, California—often a bellwether for national trends—became the second state to abolish charges for calls from prison.
[…] Colorado and Minnesota soon followed. In early 2023, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill allowing the FCC to impose price caps on prison calls, and nearly a dozen states are now considering following Connecticut’s example and ending the fees altogether.
Lewis paused for a moment to muse on these successes, and then remarked quietly, as if to herself, “Yes, I think change is possible.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to freeze up at the podium while taking questions in Kentucky on Wednesday, the second time in recent weeks that he paused while talking to reporters.
During a gaggle in Covington, Ky., a reporter asked McConnell, 81, for his thoughts about running for reelection in 2026.
The Senate GOP leader twice asked the reporter to repeat the question, then responded “that’s a,” before freezing and looking ahead for roughly 30 seconds, according to a video posted on X by MSNBC.
At one point during the freeze-up, an aide walked up to McConnell and asked “did you hear the question, senator, running for reelection in 2026?” To which McConnell replied with a word that was inaudible.
“Alright, I’m sorry you all, we’re gonna need a minute,” the aide said.
After the roughly 30 seconds of unresponsiveness passed, McConnell said “okay,” and his aide resumed the gaggle, asking reporters to “please speak up.”
Wednesday’s episode came just over one month after McConnell, during his weekly press conference in the Capitol, froze up while fielding questions from reporters. During that incident, he stared straight ahead without saying anything for nearly 20 seconds before being escorted away from the press conference. […]
A spokesperson for McConnell said the GOP leader “felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today.”
McConnell “feels fine,” an aide said, but “as a prudential measure, the Leader will be consulting a physician prior to his next event.”
The State Department urged all U.S. citizens to leave Haiti on Wednesday, strengthening previous warnings over safety concerns in the country.
“Given the current security situation and infrastructure challenges, U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible via commercial or private transport,” the department said.
Conditions in the Caribbean country, and especially its capital Port-au-Prince, have deteriorated dramatically in recent months. The U.S. Embassy was briefly closed earlier this month among widespread gang violence and gunfire in the city’s streets. […]
Gang violence in Haiti increased by 28 percent in the first quarter of 2023, and the senior U.N. representative in Port-au-Prince told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that in 2022, “gang violence overall reached levels not seen in decades.”
The sharp increase in gang activity began following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, and it has continued to expand since then.
The violence has caused at least 165,000 Haitians to flee their homes, mostly to temporary shelters.
The U.S. has backed a United Nations plan for a multinational police force in the country, led by Kenya. That force would focus on combating gang violence, mostly in Port-au-Prince.
The United States has new intelligence that shows arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are advancing, as Moscow turns to pariah nations for weapons to fight the war in Ukraine, a White House spokesman said Wednesday.
The spokesman, John F. Kirby of the National Security Council, said that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, had recently exchanged letters and the Russian defense minister’s recent visit to Pyongyang included discussions on arms deals.
“Following these negotiations, high level discussions may continue in coming months,” Mr. Kirby told reporters, describing the talks as “actively advancing.” […]
Idalia’s maximum sustained winds are now 75 mph with higher gusts and it remains a Category 1 hurricane, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
The center of Idalia is about 100 miles west-southwest of Savannah, Georgia, and is moving to the northeast at 20 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles.
Idalia remains dangerous even as the cyclone slowly loses strength. Southern Georgia and portions of South Carolina will bear the brunt of hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rain Wednesday afternoon.
As Flood-prone Charleston, South Carolina, prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, the city has moved additional pumps and equipment into place to deal with the storm.
“The primary threat to the Charleston area remains heavy rainfall and major coastal flooding associated with King Tides,” the city said in a statement.
King Tide is a term to describe exceptionally high tides during a full or new moon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
High tide in Charleston is expected to take place at 8:24 p.m. tonight.
Charleston has just under 420,000 people, according to the US Census Bureau.
Rudolph Giuliani has requested that his election-interference trial be moved from Georgia to the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
The former New York mayor made the request from the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
“Conducting a trial behind closed doors is a travesty of justice,” he said. “This trial must be held out in the open, in a parking lot.”
“Jurors can watch the proceedings from the comfort of their cars,” he said. “And if they need a drink, they can just start up their engines and go to a liquor store. There’s one right around the corner from here. Great selection. Good guy runs it—his name is Dave or Mike or something. I’m heading over there now.”
The University of Michigan has been without full internet access for two days after staff shut the school’s connections down in response to a “significant [cyber]security concern” on the eve of the new school year.
The internet shutdown affected campus IT systems used for research and fundraising, and could delay financial aid reimbursements, the university said Monday.
Campus computers are generally cut off from the public internet, but students were finding workarounds via their cell phones. An updated statement Tuesday afternoon said staff had made progress in helping students access resources from off-campus computer networks, but that the recovery was ongoing…
A sweeping new Texas law aimed at undermining the ability of the state’s bluer urban areas to enact progressive policies is unconstitutional, a Travis County judge ruled Wednesday.
State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble halted the law — House Bill 2127, which opponents nicknamed the “Death Star” bill — just days before it was slated to take effect on Friday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended easing restrictions on marijuana, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a letter.
In the letter addressed to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) administrator Anne Milgram, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine asked for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, according to the report.
Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug.
About 40 U.S. states have legalized marijuana use in some form, but it remains completely illegal in some states and at the federal level…
Voters in a small pro-Trump county in Iowa have voted out an election auditor who repeatedly shared conspiracy theories, including about QAnon and the 2020 election. Then they replaced him with a Democrat.
Warren County voted 57.3 percent for Donald Trump in 2020, slightly higher than the overall state outcome. The county’s all-Republican board of supervisors appointed David Whipple as county auditor in June. Iowa’s county auditors oversee elections.
Whipple’s appointment quickly sparked outrage after his social media activity came to light. After the 2020 election, Whipple made multiple posts on Facebook insisting that the vote had been fraudulent, despite widespread evidence disproving that claim. He also shared conspiracy theories from QAnon and about the 9/11 attacks.
In the two weeks following Whipple’s appointment, county Democrats petitioned to force a special election. They gathered 3,400 signatures, about 1,000 more than they needed. Democratic deputy auditor Kimberly Sheets announced she would run against Whipple—so he placed her on leave.
Sheets handily defeated Whipple on Tuesday, winning 66.5 percent of the vote. Whipple walked away with just 33.4 percent.
Sheets’s victory is an unusual plot twist in Iowa, which has been moving decidedly rightward in recent election cycles. But it reflects a larger trend that was seen during the 2022 midterms. Voters rejected conspiracy theorists across the country, resulting in major local Democratic wins.
Twitter podcaster Tucker Carlson is pounding home the theory that Democrats and the D.C. establishment are plotting to kill Donald Trump, this time claiming that we’re “speeding toward assassination” because “permanent Washington” has decided they “just can’t have” Trump as president again…
Reginald @445, good news so far. I hope that bill is permanently defeated.
Reginald @448. Sheesh. Tucker Carlson has gotten worse since Fox News kicked him off the air. I wonder what he is trying to accomplish with that particular conspiracy theory.
No joke Wonkette makes, however minor, is too crazy that literally the next day it is not in danger of becoming reality. That is the America we now live in.
On Tuesday, we had an update on the trials and tribulations of Matt Schlapp of CPAC and the American Conservative Union, about whom there are more allegations that he likes to try to touch guy weeners when his Christian wife Mercy isn’t looking.
Yes, on top of the lawsuit from the former Herschel Walker staffer. Trouble over there in CPAC world!
And we mentioned in passing that ever since this began, the Schlapps, both of them, have had this bizarre predilection for blaming this all on the Daily Beast, acting as if the publication solely exists to concoct conspiracies to take them down. Unhinged? Well yeah. Hilariously self-important? LOL sure, Matt, you and Mrs. Batshit are definitely worth all that trouble. […]
Lord, it doesn’t even make sense. Especially since different news outlets are corroborating accusations with accusers and whatnot, none of who have anything to do with the Daily Beast.
And when these new accusations came out, the news came out in the Washington Post. The Daily Beast confirmed them on their own, like journalists do.
But still, when the spox for the ACU and CPAC responded to the latest story, they still blamed the Daily Beast, like people who aren’t crazy:
In a 362-word statement, ACU and CPAC spokesperson Alexandra Preate falsely claimed that The Daily Beast was “on a partisan mission” with Huffman and his lawyer to “destroy ACU/CPAC, one of the most effective and respected conservative organizations in the country, and its leader Matt Schlapp.”
[…] we referred to the Daily Beast in our article Tuesday as Big Gay Satan. Just a dumb throwaway joke.
Now here is literal actual Mercedes Schlapp today: [Tweet at the link] “The Daily Beast is Satan’s publication to persecute Christians and their families.”
LMAO no that’s Wonkette.
But seriously, grow up. We understand it might be hard for all these extremely surprising accusations to be coming out about thy Christian husband, the one whose white hair looks like it belongs on a door-to-door Bible salesman in an episode of “Dateline” about some kind of Jesus cult gone very, very wrong, but let’s not accuse nice news websites of being agents of imaginary devils under your bed.
The devil under your bed appears to be your husband.
Speaking of, here is literal actual Matt Schlapp, six minutes later, quote-tweeting his Christian wife and trying in vain to make a kneeschlapper. (We went this far into this post without a Schlapp pun, that’s a record.) [Tweet at the link] “Soon to start a weekend edition: the Saturday Satan.”
[…] Schlapp also tweeted this yesterday, which … oh my God. [Tweet at the link]
“Our Lady of Guadalupe, strike down the BEAST,” it says. And it’s got the Daily Beast logo at the bottom.
Now, we are not Catholic, but from our rudimentary research it appears the Virgin of Guadalupe is associated with lots of things, particularly as the patron saint of the Americas. She’s real big in Mexico and South America. It also appears the anti-abortion movement has adopted her as their mascot.
Nothing we found says she is the patron saint of protecting dudes who are accused of trying to yank dicks when their Christian wives aren’t looking.
Granted, we did not research a lot, and again we are not a Catholic.
Mercedes Schlapp is meanwhile asking St. Michael the Archangel to go vanquish the Daily Beast: [Tweet at the link] Our research says Michael the Archangel is patron saint of doctors, grocers, soldiers, police, and bankers. […]
Says nothing about conservative “family values” type political operatives who are being sued by a conservative male political staffer for “grabbed my junk and pummeled it at length.”
Very impressive by Ukraine last night. I don’t think the Russians are as excited going into their autumn mass strikes against civilians mode as they were a year ago.
They reportedly neutralized all 28 missiles and 15 of 16 drones.
India’s moon rover confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected several other elements near the lunar south pole as it searches for signs of frozen water nearly a week after its historic moon landing, India’s space agency said Tuesday.
The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument also detected aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the lunar surface, the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, said in a post on its website…
Civil rights attorney Matthew Strugar joins me this week to talk about a case in Washington, DC, involving the rights of animal activists protesting the sale of foie gras at two prominent restaurants in that city. Our conversation will involve the controversial use of anti-stalking laws to limit protests, as well as the successful use of DC’s anti-SLAPP law to defend the right to protest. Both of these statutes, or ones similar to them, can be found in jurisdictions all over the country, and this is, therefore, an important topic for anyone interested in the right to protest, as well as, more specifically, anyone interested in the welfare of the ducks and geese who suffer in the production of this gruesome so-called delicacy.
Matthew Strugar has been vegan since 1996 and a protest lawyer since 2004. He worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights and the PETA Foundation before starting his own firm in Los Angeles in 2016, which specializes in civil rights, prisoners’ rights, police misconduct, and protester defense while maintaining animal law as an important aspect of the practice.
Brad speaks with Dr. Robert P. Jones, President of PRRI and author of the new book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future.
Beginning with contemporary efforts to reckon with the legacy of white supremacy in America, Jones returns to the fateful year when a little-known church doctrine emerged that shaped the way five centuries of European Christians would understand the “discovered” world and the people who populated it. Along the way, he shows us the connections between Emmett Till and the Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto in the Mississippi Delta, between the lynching of three Black circus workers in Duluth and the mass execution of thirty-eight Dakota men in Mankato, and between the murder of 300 African Americans during the burning of Black Wall Street in Tulsa and the Trail of Tears.
Lisa Corrigan, author of a recent Nation article, explains what the savage cuts at West Virginia University mean for higher ed. Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online, discusses the social history of the internet.
Ron DeSantis’s property was damaged by a “catastrophic” hurricane on Wednesday as it tore through Florida and Georgia.
Hurricane Idalia’s destructive 125mph winds split a 100-year-old oak tree in half just a stone’s throw from the white-pillared entrance of the governor’s sprawling residence in Tallahassee.
Tweeting a picture of the damage, Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife, said that while she and their three children were at home at the time, “thankfully no one was injured”…
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said it’s in possession of over 5,300 emails and documents potentially containing pseudonyms that President Biden reportedly used during his vice presidency, a new lawsuit reveals.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) sued NARA on Monday demanding all Biden vice presidential records and communications related to three email accounts: [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].
According to House Republicans investigating the Biden family, those are the pseudonyms then-Vice President Biden used to communicate with his son, Hunter Biden…
The evidence that these pseudonyms belonged to Biden, or that the emails have any incriminating evidence: they didn’t have room to list that in the article.
There is a level where it is funny that they have to make up a bunch of email addresses. It is desperation, like making a big deal out of a bunch of financial complaints made about Biden, that they likely had a role in making so they could make a big indirect implied deal out of it.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said it’s in possession of over 5,300 emails and documents potentially containing pseudonyms that President Biden reportedly used during his vice presidency, a new lawsuit reveals.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) sued NARA on Monday demanding all Biden vice presidential records and communications related to three email accounts:…
According to House Republicans investigating the Biden family, those are the pseudonyms then-Vice President Biden used to communicate with his son, Hunter Biden…
They never cease confirming how slimy and dishonest they are. The lawsuit didn’t “reveal” any such thing. That claim appears to have been cooked up by some House Republicans. The SLF – a rightwing, AGW-denial front apparently funded (at least as of 2010) by the likes of Scaife and Exxon – evidently requested, in NARA’s words, “Biden Vice Presidential records pertaining to all emails from” those accounts. There’s no evidence here anywhere that those were “pseudonyms that President Biden…used during his vice presidency,” much less to communicate with his son.
The claim: “The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said it’s in possession of over 5,300 emails and documents potentially containing pseudonyms that President Biden reportedly used during his vice presidency.”
The reality: NARA said its initial search “identified approximately 5,138 email messages, 25 electronic files and 200 pages of potentially responsive records that must be processed in order to respond” to SLF’s request for “Biden Vice Presidential records pertaining to all emails from” those accounts.
And they’re filing a lawsuit claiming “continued unreasonable delays” on NARA’s part even though they only filed the FOIA request last year; also, NARA reminds them that “documents processed in response to your request may be closed in whole or part in compliance with applicable [Presidential Records Act] restrictions and FOIA exemptions,” so obviously even if NARA were to find anything responsive (once the request comes up in the queue!) it would take a long time before they get it if they get it at all. This is a propaganda exercise and trolling for information for them to gin up more lies about, probably with an assist from the Kremlin.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Aug 30, 2023 · 3:20:55 PM MDT · kos
Ukrainian drones/missiles are already doing their thing tonight. [footage showing a missile attack on a Russian target in Bryansk]
It’s looking more and more like sleepless nights for more and more Russians.
Ukraine has delivered two headline stories today, both of major significance.
First of all, it appears that Ukraine has already breached Russia’s main “Surovikin lines” near Verbove just a week or so after liberating Robotyne, which marked the breach of the first Russian defensive line in that approach. It lends support to the idea that Russia threw everything it had ahead of the line as it wasn’t as strong as advertised.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is fighting fire with fire, launching several days of drone attacks on Russian soil with a major successful multitarget assault last night.
Let’s start with Verbove, because this is big. [Tweet and map, both providing details regarding the breach of the first Russian main defensive line, known as the Surovikin line]
Different people count Russia’s defensive lines differently, and Russia’s defenses extend far beyond those lines regardless. But generally speaking, the first line was north of Robotyne, and it took Ukraine around three months to breach. Dealing with endless fields saturated with landmines, Russian tree-line emplacements, and relentless counterattacks made for a slow advance, leading to kvetching about Ukraine’s “failed” counteroffensive. [map at the link]
Yet the advance to the second defensive line—which runs south of Novoprokopivka along the ridge line of the area’s highest hills and then through Hill 166, the high-point in that region, and then through Verbove—has been lightning fast. Within days, Russia had helpfully released geolocated footage of Ukrainian forces right on the edge of that second line, which was commonly assumed to be the toughest of all. It’s replete with anti-tank ditches, dragon-teeth concrete barriers, and a network of vehicle and infantry strongpoints designed to make any attacker’s life miserable.
Yet Ukraine had one thing going for it: That area between the two lines couldn’t be mined as heavily as the approaches to the front line. Russia had to be able to move equipment, vehicles, troops, and supplies back and forth from that first line, and you better believe Ukraine was tracking those open lanes. Their fast approach to the second line was almost assuredly along those supply lines, which Ukraine has referred to by their military terminology, GLOCs, which stands for ground lines of communication.
Now, shockingly, we are getting visually confirmed reports that Ukraine’s elite 82nd Air Assault Brigade is on the outskirts of Verbove, on the other side of the Surovikin Line. [Tweet, maps and other images]
There’s no reason for Ukraine to actually assault Verbove itself. The town sits in a valley surrounded by Russian-held heights. Taking those heights is far more important, and would force any Russians inside Verbove to retreat. But here’s where this gets really interesting. [map at the link]
Breaching the line allows Ukraine to cut off Russian troops on the Surovikin Line from behind. It’s a difficult maneuver to be sure; it requires that Ukraine protect its flanks and supply along a narrow route. But those Russian lines are designed to defend from the north. We could see Ukraine quickly roll them up from that breach, to the west. With Ukrainian troops geolocated not far from Hill 166 (the second blue arrow pointing to the bottom of the salient), that would trap Russian troops inside a pincer/vice-grip maneuver. Russian forces would then be forced to either leave its tanks and other fighting vehicles inside their dug-in emplacements and flee on foot, or pull them out in the open and expose them to Ukrainian missiles and artillery. A best-case scenario is suddenly unfolding.
There is one caveat: There is no visual confirmation of heavy equipment behind the Surovikin Line, just infantry, so this could be an infiltration, not a breach. I may be getting ahead of the visual confirmation, but even infantry operating beyond the line means dramatic progress. It hints at Russian difficulties stemming from the Ukrainian advance now that they are past those deadly minefields further north.
Incidentally, there are reports of Ukrainian advances on the hills west of Robotyne. So even as Ukraine pushes down and east, it is working to flatten the salient to the west.
————————–
Last night, Ukraine sent a swarm of drones north into Russian territory in Bryansk, Kaluga, Pskov, Ryazan, and Oryol oblasts. They also hit Russian-occupied Crimea. While many of these attacks seem to have been foiled, they had at least one stunning success: the Russian airfield at Pskov. [video at the link shows aircraft burning on Pskov airfield]
According to TASS, the state-owned Russian media outlet, four Il-76 military transport aircraft were “damaged,” though observers reported at least two of the planes were on fire. At a price of $50 million each, this is a costly loss for Russia. What’s amazing is that this airport is 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, near the Estonian border. Odds are good this attack was launched from inside Russia, perhaps even with the same cardboard drones used to destroy five Russian warplanes over the weekend. Those are delivered in flat packs, making them supremely easy to smuggle into vast, mostly empty Russia.
A VDV airborne barracks near the airport, also at Pskov, was reportedly hit as well, but if so, Russia isn’t helpfully providing battle damage assessment.
Perhaps more importantly, Ukraine hit a far more valuable target: Russia’s most important semiconductor factory. [Tweet and video at the link]
Hilariously, Russia claimed the factory was hit by debris from a shot-down drone. Very nice of Russia to deflect the drone into a high-value target instead of the empty field it was originally going to hit!
It should be obvious why this target is so important. Semiconductors are a necessary component of Russian drones and cruise missiles. It makes far more sense to hit targets like these rather than highrises in Moscow. There’s no way Russia can defend them all, especially if they’re unable to stop Ukrainian saboteur teams from roaming the country, apparently unimpeded, with cardboard boxes in the trunk.
By all indications, Ukraine launched dozens of drones last night. The question is whether this is sustainable. Has Ukraine stockpiled enough drones to make this a nightly show, or is it a one-time barrage for propaganda and morale purposes, with a side of “taking out some planes and a silicon chip factory?” The latter possibility would be fine, but if Ukraine can do this regularly then ooh boy, Vladimir Putin will have a real problem on his hands.
[…] There’s no evidence here anywhere that those were “pseudonyms that President Biden…used during his vice presidency,” much less to communicate with his son. […]
Thanks for posting that! I hadn’t seen that debunking and/or clarification. Important. And, as expected. :-)
oxygen-28—an isotope of oxygen that has 12 extra neutrons packed into its nucleus. Scientists have long predicted that this isotope is unusually stable. But initial observations […] suggest that this isn’t the case: it disintegrates rapidly after creation […] physicists might need to update theories of how atomic nuclei are structured.
[…]
to better understand this strong nuclear force […] One popular way is to load lightweight nuclei, such as oxygen, with excess neutrons and see what happens. […] Physicists are daydreaming about possible next steps.
The archives Birch encountered were clean, dark, and mostly empty, with large tables upon which the archivist laid a series of fragile law books from previous centuries. Examining the delicate pages, Birch was surprised by what she found: Santa Ana prohibited the concealed carry of weapons, including guns, in 1892, while neighboring Anaheim followed suit in 1893. Orange County itself, in which both cities are located, had also prohibited concealed carry for well more than a century.
In 2022’s Bruen decision, the Supreme Court struck down bans on concealed carry and expanded upon the previous standard for determining the constitutionality of gun regulations, declaring that authorities had to find analogous gun laws that existed prior to 1900. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the court, found that before that date, concealed carry bans were not part of America’s history and traditions, and they were thus unconstitutional. Yet here, in a basement archive, Birch found evidence to the contrary, lost to history. And she had barely scratched the surface…
Reginald Selkirksays
ibid @464
These regulations covered the gamut: “Almost every city had prohibitions on concealed carry,” Karabian said. Not just license requirements, she noted, but outright bans: “One of their first acts was to make sure that people are safe, which meant not carrying concealed weapons.” Other ordinances outlawed the firing of any gun within the city. California cities also required gun owners to store gunpowder safely, and restricted the amount of it that a person could store at one time. These laws are analogous to modern-day regulations of ammunition, like requirements for safe storage and bans on high-capacity magazines—regulations that are under attack in the courts right now. (Many of the most lethal mass shootings are carried out with high-capacity magazines.)
Volunteers in other states report the same thing…
A representative sampling: In the 19th century, the concealed carry of firearms was expressly forbidden in Memphis, Tennessee; Jersey City, Hoboken, and Plainfield, New Jersey; Chicago, Illinois; New Orleans, Louisiana; Olympia and Wilbur, Washington; and Denver, Colorado. More than 50 local governments outlawed the firing of any weapon within city limits. About 30 localities restricted or outlawed the storage of gunpowder, including Santa Ana. A dozen localities limited, heavily taxed, or banned shooting ranges. (In 2017, a federal appeals court struck down a Chicago law that restricted—but did not outlaw—shooting ranges within the city, finding no “history and legal tradition” to support it.) More jurisdictions banned guns in private establishments; for instance, an 1817 ordinance in New Orleans barred citizens from carrying weapons into a “public ball-room.” (In January, a federal judge blocked a New Jersey law that banned guns in bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues, finding that it was not supported by “the nation’s historical tradition.”)
These findings are the result of about one year’s work by 20 volunteers. The numbers increase significantly when laws from early decades of the 1900s are included. In Bruen, however, Justice Thomas declared that all laws enacted after 1900 are not constitutionally relevant, because they do not “provide insight into the meaning of the Second Amendment.”…
This emails thing appears to be very stupid. This is from the NY Post:
In a four-week period in 2016,…John Flynn, who worked in the Office of the Vice President, sent Joe [wow] his official daily schedule to his private email address [Robert L. Peters] and copied Hunter.
There were 10 such emails copied to Hunter between May 18 and June 15, 2016.
In one email from Flynn to Joe, a.k.a. Robert Peters, on May 26, 2016, and copied to Hunter, the schedule includes “8.45am prep for 9am phonecall with Pres Poroshenko.”
A few things to note: First, this dishonest hit piece (to which I won’t link) was published in July of 2021. It’s what the recent articles cite as “confirmation” of Biden using “aliases” to hide communications with his son(s). In the more than two years since, despite the entire rightwing propaganda network digging away, they’ve produced no evidence of any wrongdoing on Biden’s part. It might be (I have no idea) that these sorts of addresses are used for some communications with people outside government. But, crucially, the communications are archived by NARA. It would be a pretty stupid system to use to hide emails!
Second, they’re just talking about an attachment sent by an aide with his daily schedule, which wasn’t a secret in any event (here’s the readout of the call). The fact that it’s an attachment with his schedule suggests it was something related to, I don’t know, scheduling.
Third, the committee probably received this (again, back in 2021!) because they requested communications that involved Hunter Biden and Ukraine, which suggests that this sorry thing is the best they could dredge up to try to spin some narrative of skullduggery. And since this handful of nothing was all those search terms produced, any other records potentially responsive to the FOIA request are highly unlikely to be relevant, and they know it. This is why Comer is never able to provide any evidence to back up allegations of corruption and they have to rely on rightwing media to spin and lie.
Fourth, there is the context of Trump’s and his family’s and lackeys’ overt hostility to transparency and documented venality and criminality.
Supporters of Harrison Floyd, one of two Black defendants in the Georgia election interference case, have raised more than a quarter of a million dollars to help pay for his legal expenses after he wasn’t granted a bond agreement and had to spend nearly a week in jail.
Floyd finally received that bond deal on Tuesday after being the only person out of 19 defendants in the case who didn’t initially receive one upon arrest.
After his release, Floyd thanked Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for a “negro wake-up call” and announced that he is “exploring running for a congressional seat.”
“She reminded me that our country and the state of Georgia will not be able to be a righteous nation if we stand on pillars of corruption, racism, lying and cheating,” Floyd said Wednesday. “And when we are governed by men and women who are concerned about things in the world rather than serving the citizens they’re sworn to protect, we end up going into more and deeper darkness. So the only thing we can do is follow God and lead by example.” …
Try to overturn an election, and then play the victim.
And why are so many losers running for office? Is that viewed as a GoFundMe alternative?
The SEC is investigating EV maker Tesla (TSLA) for allegedly funding CEO Elon Musk’s secret glass house, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo Finance Tech Editor Dan Howley explains the claims made against Musk and what the SEC probe is looking for.
Unlike Twitter, Tesla is a publicly traded corporation, and therefore must meed additional scrutiny.
In a sworn deposition from this past April, former President Donald Trump told New York officials that he was too busy “saving millions of lives” as president to run his company, let alone commit business fraud, a transcript released Wednesday revealed.
“So you were too busy for the company?” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James, asked early in the seven-hour deposition, referring to the years since 2015 when Trump first ran for president.
“In a way, yeah,” Trump responded.
“Yeah, I think you can say it. It’s another way of saying it. I was very busy. I was — I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives,” Trump added.
“I think you would have nuclear holocaust if I didn’t deal with North Korea. I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected,” Trump said of his four years in office.
“And I think you might have a nuclear war now if you want to know the truth,” he continued.
Trump made these assertions while distancing himself from the state attorney general’s claims that over the past decade, his New York-based real estate company, the Trump Organization, routinely misstated the value of its assets to save money on bank loans, insurance, and taxes…
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian liveblog. From there:
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has hit out at critics of Kyiv’s tactics in its counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion, saying they were spitting in the faces of Ukrainian soldiers and should “shut up”.
Kuleba told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Toledo, Spain:
Criticising the slow pace of (the) counter-offensive equals … spitting into the face of (the) Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometre of Ukrainian soil after another.
The New York Times last week quoted western officials as saying that the offensive had made limited progress because Ukraine had too many troops in the wrong places.
“I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves,” Kuleba said, standing alongside Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares….
Ukrainian troops have achieved some new “successes” in the south and east as they try to [!] advance their counteroffensive against Russian forces, the deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Thursday.
Kyiv’s forces have been making slow progress against Russian minefields and trenches which have blocked a Ukrainian push in the south intended to reach the Sea of Azov and split Russian forces, the Associated Press reports.
“There have been some successes, in particular in the direction of Novodanylivka-Novoprokopivka,” Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app, referring to two southeastern villages in the Zaporizhzhia region. Novoprokopivka lies further south of the strategic settlement of Robotyne, which Ukraine said on Monday it had liberated.
Maliar also said Kyiv’s forces were pressing on with their offensive operations south of the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May.
Heavy fighting continues in the villages of Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka and Andriivka, Maliar said, and added that “active” fighting was also under way on the Lyman front in the east, where Russian troops had attempted to advance near the villages of Novoyehorivka and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region.
…Although Italy’s far-right government is one of Ukraine’s staunchest European supporters, Russian propaganda and disinformation permeates Italian media – something researchers attribute to politics and historical anti-Atlanticism – with openly pro-Russian guests invited on the country’s most popular talkshows. A survey released by Ipsos in April revealed that almost 50% of Italians prefer not to take sides in the conflict.
Matteo Pugliese, an Italian security and terrorism researcher at the University of Barcelona has tracked the procession of Russian government officials, ideologues and media personalities hosted by Italian TV networks since the Russian invasion. They include the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and his spokesperson, Maria Zakharova; the ultranationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin; Olga Belova, a journalist at Russia 24, an outlet that denied the Bucha massacre; and Yulia Vityazeva, a journalist at NewsFront (based in Russia-occupied Crimea and operated by the FSB), who, in a Telegram post, wished a bomb would strike the Eurovision song contest in Turin after Ukraine’s victory.
…
Pugliese noted the most Russian propagandists, 12, were hosted by Rete4, a channel from Mediaset, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, an old friend of Putin who, a few months before he died, claimed that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, “provoked” Russia’s invasion. Berlusconi, who served as PM three times, nurtured close relations with the Russian president, praising his leadership and helping to forge energy deals that some blame for Italy’s current dependence on Russian gas.
“In Italy, rightwing parties especially have maintained good relations with Putin,” Scavo said. “Not only Berlusconi, but even current deputy PM Matteo Salvini, who used to wear a T-shirt featuring Putin’s face.”
Italy’s parliamentary committee for security, Copasir, last year launched an investigation amid widespread concern about Kremlin-linked Russian commentators appearing on Italian news channels, as several Ukrainian journalists refused to accept invitations to Italian TV shows.
In some cases the guests on Italian TV are not Russian propagandists, but Italian commentators who seem to view the war as the result of western provocation. One regularly invited to La7 and Rai, is Alessandro Orsini, professor of the sociology of terrorism and political violence at Luiss university in Rome. Orsini has publicly said that Zelenskiy is as much a “war criminal” as Putin and has become so popular that his discussions in Italian theatres sell out….
…
The majority of them are rightwing extremists attracted by Russian ultra-nationalism, but their ranks also count men [?] belonging to the extreme left….
…Welcome…to the world of rugged wellness podcasts and newsletters, fronted by bearded men with large shoulders and Orson Welles scowls, or bearded men with large shoulders and frank open faces, or just bearded men. The prevalence of facial hair in this space is striking and also, I suspect, linked to a desire among providers to indicate maleness straight out the gate. No aromatherapy candles or vaginal eggs here! Just men, offering muscular insights backed by science – science, not vibes! – and a range of behavioural and therapeutic suggestions that have absolutely nothing in common with weedy self-help but, did I mention it, are rooted in science?
Specifically: “neuroscience”, which has for a while now had a magic bullet effect on those parts of the publishing spectrum previously dismissed as insubstantial and dippy. A chief practitioner in this world, and host of the phenomenally successful podcast the Huberman Lab, is Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and tenured professor at Stanford, whose tips and techniques are, according to his website, designed to “optimize performance in high stress environments, enhance neural plasticity, mitigate stress, and optimize sleep”. Huberman, who is bearded and has very large shoulders, or, as GQ described him earlier this year, is “extremely jacked”, offers a programme for self improvement that has more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube. His podcast episodes can run to several hours at a time, like state broadcasts by Fidel Castro. And he partners with Momentous (tag line: “Live Momentous” – it’s a feature of these products that, wherever else their disruptions fall short, they absolutely nail the disruption of basic grammar) to offer a line of nutritional supplements.
To give an example: for $185 (£145), you can avail yourself, Goop-style, of the Huberman Lab sleep bundle – a magnesium supplement, among other things – which has selected the “best ingredients backed by science”, to help you sleep better. Or, for $145, how about the Huberman Lab Focus and Cognition Bundle (which, like fish oil, contains omega-3), to “optimize mental performance”? These are not, let’s be clear, mostly repackaged vitamins you could buy for a fraction of the cost at the chemist, but lifestyle enhancers that come from an actual Lab run by a real life neuroscientist, hellbent on optimising your experience as a human. (By the way, ladies, you can get in on this too via a set of protocols put out by Momentous under the brilliant tagline “Human Performance for Women”.)
So successful has the branding around Huberman and his ideas been that, along with the 4 million Instagram followers, it has spawned the TikTok meme “Huberman husband”, in which women catalogue the various Huberman-based obsessions of the men in their lives. These largely revolve around the application of Huberman techniques for various things – breathing, eating, sleeping – the word “technique” being very important in this space; attach it to anything at all and it promises to instantly repackage the bleeding obvious into a set of life-changing principles and hacks….
birgerjohanssonsays
When looking for music appropriate for Trump getting indicted and Musk having to put up with scrutiny, I came across “Today is a good day” by Swedish artist Anna Ternheim.
This is the outrage economy, where everything the Republican Party does requires two parts screaming, one part sneer. But the outrage economy doesn’t just run on Jewish space lasers and subterranean tunnels where gourmands tap out the code for the latest child-flavored pizza. It also demands smaller, more bite-sized slivers of outrage. Outrage amuse-gueule, as it were.
Those can come in the form of the occasional tan suit or a bottle of the wrong kind of hoity-toity mustard. There’s even the never-ending smorgasbord of turpitude that is Hunter Biden’s laptop.
But the best of these follow a simple formula: Liberals are trying to take something away from you. That something can be the fancy gas stove that Fox watchers didn’t own and didn’t know they wanted until it became the subject of a frothing shout-fest from their favorite pundits. Or, as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas now insists, it can be something even more sacred—the right to drink too much beer.
In a Newsmax segment so mechanically scripted and played out that it might be a parody of local used-car ads, Cruz insists that this time those darn liberals are coming for our good American beer. [video at the link]
The pacing of the Cruz segment is so stiff that it’s easy to believe they practiced this bit only, say, a dozen or so times. Cruz stands in front of a group of old guys whose form of outrage seems to be extreme boredom. Once the Newsmax anchor gives him his cue, Cruz goes into his spiel about Biden this, Biden that. Gas stoves. Why does Biden have Czars! And those dastardly liberals are trying to apply new safety and efficiency standards to ceiling fans.
Cruz doesn’t even mention that these new ceiling fan rules were published in 2018. Because how does that help the case against Biden? Anyway, that was probably the deep state.
Finally, it’s time for Cruz to reach for his stunt beer and deliver his killer “kiss my ass” closing line. Because he definitely is not some rich Harvard Law School graduate following a script. Nope, he’s just a regular guy expressing his regular gut anger. Everybody drink!
The source of the latest manufactured mini-outrage was a Fox News segment earlier this week in which a pundit asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if President Joe Biden was trying to limit how many beers Americans drink.
When Jean-Pierre was understandably confused and refused to provide the statement they wanted, Fox’s Peter Doocy did it for her. According to Doocy, Dr. George Koob, the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, had said the U.S. might follow Canada’s lead and recommend no more than two beers a week. Jean-Pierre opted out of a response.
Doocy’s claim was apparently a paraphrase of a statement in right-wing British tabloid Daily Mail, where an article said that Koob was watching the results of revised health recommendations in Canada with interest and hoped that people might see the benefits of reducing alcohol consumption if there turned out to be health benefits. Which isn’t exactly a shocking statement from the guy whose job it is to consider the health risks generated by alcohol abuse.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing. That’s all there is to Biden’s “alcohol czar” (also not a real thing) coming for American beers.
Still, don’t be surprised if this shows up as a reason to impeach Biden. Sure, it’s completely fake, but it’s better than any of the other reasons given by Republicans.
Besides, Fox News spends so much time talking about the Second Amendment that they should have no problem persuading their audience that unlimited brewskis is the subject of the Third Amendment. The Fourth? The right to drink as many beers as you want while shooting as many guns as you want, of course. And if you don’t like it, kiss my Cruz.
While some in the media — Charlie Sykes for one — think we should be sensitive about Senator Mitch McConnell’s health issue, I am one of his constituents who McConnell has tried to harm with his attempts to kill Obamacare (I have been on Medicaid expansion under the ACA). Therefore, I feel no fucking need to be sensitive about McConnell’s health.
What everyone is thinking is, “What happens if McConnell dies before 2026?” McConnell already planned on this by getting the Republican supermajority in the Kentucky legislature to pass a law that takes away the governor’s power to select a U.S. Senator when there was a vacancy. Instead, the Kentucky Republican Party gets to pick who fills that vacancy. However, if McConnell does drop dead before 2026, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear will probably file a legal challenge on this vacancy law as being unconstitutional — violation of the 17th Amendment.
I will make one stipulation to this question: I do not think that McConnell will die before 2026. My Dad told me an old country saying about a despicable person we both knew. My Dad told me, “She’s too mean to die.” And I have no inside knowledge with regards to McConnell’s health, but I am betting he will linger on. McConnell’s life force is tied to his ambition of POWER, and McConnell is licking his chops at becoming Senate Majority Leader after 2024.
[…] As I stated earlier, McConnell got the Republican legislature to pass a law to change how the state of Kentucky fills U.S. Senate vacancies.
[…] Under the amended law, the governor now may only choose from three names recommended by the executive committee of the outgoing senator’s state party, and must make that selection within 21 days of receiving the list from the party.
With both of Kentucky’s senators currently being Republican, the choosing of those three nominees would be up to the executive committee of the Republican Party of Kentucky, which is made up of 54 members.
[…] The article goes on to outline how Kentucky is now an outlier when it comes to filling a Senate seat vacancy. Most of the states have that power reside with the governor, which Kentucky used to have. But McConnell knew that he is an old geezer, and he wanted to keep his seat in Republican hands. This would have been no problem if there was a Republican governor, but horrors of horrors, we have a Democratic governor. So filling Senate vacancies had to be placed in the hands of the Kentucky Republican Party.
Not even the clowns in the legislature. Instead, the power resides with an unelected group of Republicans. They get to put forward three names for the current governor to select from, and you can bet each of those three will be Trump fanatics or other lunatics like Jim Comer or Thomas Massie.
[…] SB 228 violates Section 152 of Kentucky’s constitution, which states a governor “shall” fill appointments or vacancies in the state at large. The governor wrote that “no conditions, qualifications, or limits are placed on that appointment power” in that section of the constitution.
It’s obvious on its face that the law is unconstitutional, but it is in force until it is taken to court and struck down.
[…] if there is no mechanism to get an old person with failing health to resign from the U.S. Senate, why should McConnell do it? Besides, McConnell holds a lot of purse strings. He sold his soul a long time ago to his wealthy corporate donors, and they have repaid him many times over with hoards of campaign case. This means that McConnell has cash to spread around to other Republican senators when election time rolls around. It’s one way McConnell keeps power, and unless someone can cut off McConnell’s cash spigot, there is no way he can or will leave voluntarily before 2026. […]
Good news, everyone: We’re a hellhole. The Canadian government released updated travel advisories, warning its citizens who plan to travel to the U.S. that “Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws.” This advisory is followed by a link to a government page that advises its LGBTQ+ citizens of the dangers and reduced rights they may face abroad.
The revised advisory joins other warnings that Canada gives to its citizens traveling to the United States: “Incidences of mass shootings occur, resulting most often in casualties,” and “Terrorist attacks could occur at any time.”
The Canadian government’s new warning does not name the states that pose the most risk, and according to The Washington Post’s story about the change, a spokesman for the government department responsible for the change similarly appeared to dodge when he “pointed to legislation passed this year in certain U.S. states ‘banning drag shows and restricting the transgender community from access to gender affirming care and from participation in sporting events,’ among other restrictions.”
So mostly Florida, then. […]
This probably won’t help the Florida tourism industry, which is beginning to see the damage from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ singular focus on demonizing anything that Nazis ever wrote pamphlets condemning. But it’s also not clear if a Canadian who’s managed to miss news of the anti-trans fever in the United States still has the rigor to check government travel advisories. So it’s less knowable whether the new advisory will cause more avoidance of Republican-dominated states than we’re currently seeing.
Gov. Brian Kemp is telling several far-right Georgia lawmakers to lay off the calls to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Georgia Sen. Colton Moore has led a charge via a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp requesting a special legislative session to impeach Willis after a grand jury handed up an indictment against former President Trump and 18 of his allies in the state and beyond alleging a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election here in Georgia.
During a news conference Thursday, Kemp said despite his personal feelings about the investigation, he does not have the authority to call a special session. …
“The governor said not only does he believe calling a special session to remove Willis from the investigation would be unfeasible, but he also said it would likely be unconstitutional.
This is fantastic news. The despicable ploy by far-right GOP Georgia lawmakers to fire DA Fani Willis was likely TFG’s only hope of staying out of jail. […]
Three cheers for Governor Kemp, who is otherwise quite terrible. But this is a critical single item in his cheer column. […]
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
[…] And the governor on Thursday also dismissed talk of backing efforts to reprimand Willis, either through legislative hearings that seek to slash state funding to her office or a newly empowered panel that can sanction wayward prosecutors or remove them from office.
[…] This really is important news. Kemp crushed all of it.
So, there’s a company called Hold Fast that sells apparel and other items blatantly equating patriotism with Christianity, saying on its website:
“Hold Fast apparel, hats, and drinkware are for freedom loving Americans who want to see Biblical values preserved and are taking a stand and letting their voices be heard.”
That’s just fine. A private company has the free speech rights to be as Christian nationalistic as it wants to be.
What is NOT just fine is a for store that sells these Hold Fast and other Christian and Christian nationalistic items to be operating — and highly visibly operating — in a U.S. Army PX. But that is what we now have with the Faith2Soar store and kiosk in the PX mini-mall at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in North Carolina. The store, owned by Josh Creson, a graduate of both Liberty University and Regent University, two schools known for their Christian nationalism, flaunts, among other things, Christian t-shirts hung on the kiosk and outside the store, essentially having the same effect in visibility and size as big Jesus posters being plastered on the walls of the PX, which is absolutely not permitted in a government facility.
[…] And, of course, no Christian store at the installation that’s home to the 82nd Airborne Division would be complete without selling the book Jesus was an Airborne Ranger! […]
Photos and more details at the link, including a response from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Excerpt:
[…] It represents the heinously unAmerican, unconstitutional epitome of unlawful, “in-your-face”, fundamentalist Christian nationalism, triumphalism, exceptionalism, domination, bullying, and supremacy. Indeed, General, can you EVEN imagine what would have happened had that “store” in YOUR PX not been proselytizing the fundamentalist Christian faith but, instead, had been promoting other faith and non-faith traditions such as Satanism, Islam, Judaism or Atheism/Agnosticism??!! Why, sir, there would have most assuredly been an unrestrained bloody outrage BEYOND measure to be sure, eh?! […]
Trump posted 31 video rants on Truth Social yesterday. 31!
Trump calls on GOP prosecutors around the country to start locking up Democrats to avenge him: “You ought to watch, frankly it’s an eye for an eye, fight fire with fire. Republicans, I hope you’re watching.” […]
The revised advisory joins other warnings that Canada gives to its citizens traveling to the United States: …“Terrorist attacks could occur at any time.”
The federal government will shut down Oct. 1 unless lawmakers either extend current spending or fund programs through next year.
[…] The Biden administration coupled its call to action with a new request that Congress address funding for a series of cash-starved programs — including, for example, an additional $1.4 billion to prevent a potential disruption in nutritional aid for low-income families.
For the second time this year, the United States finds itself barreling toward a crisis: Unless Congress acts, the government will run out of money on Sept. 30, triggering a shutdown that jeopardizes countless federal programs on which millions of Americans rely.
Democrats and Republicans for months have tried to advance a series of appropriations bills that would fund the government through the 2024 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. But the two parties remain vastly opposed on the specifics, with House Republicans seeking spending cuts so deep that Biden and his Democratic allies refuse to entertain them.
The GOP demands mark a sharp break with the deal that party leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), worked out with the president this spring to raise the nation’s debt limit — an agreement that was supposed to prevent another stalemate over spending this fall. Now, the Biden administration is explicitly asking Congress to adopt what is known as a continuing resolution, preserving most spending at its existing levels as negotiations proceed.
Even with such a stopgap, though, OMB said some federal accounts would need spending increases. That includes the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, known as WIC, which provides monthly aid to roughly 6.6 million poor families. With food prices still high and program participation on the rise, its existing, roughly $5.69 billion budget is not sufficient to provide benefits at their current level through next fiscal year […]
Without an additional $1.4 billion, the program — funded by the federal government, and managed by the states — may be forced in the coming year to “implement waiting lists, causing women and children to lose vital nutrition assistance and increasing child poverty and hunger,” the official said. Its participants could also see benefit cuts without more spending, since the new money would help sustain a pandemic-era boost to the amount that families receive to purchase fruits and vegetables.
The new White House call for funding stands in stark contrast with the plan put forward by House Republicans, who instead seek to roll back that expansion — which could reduce the amount some WIC recipients receive for fruits and vegetables to about $11 per month. The GOP proposal underfunds the nutrition aid program by about $800 million […]
the Biden administration also reiterated its earlier call for Congress to approve another $20.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine, including funds for military and humanitarian support. And OMB urged lawmakers to approve $12 billion in disaster relief and other domestic funds, especially as Idalia lashes Florida just weeks after the catastrophic Hawaiian wildfires on Maui.
[…] “I want to stress that while immediate-needs funding will ensure we can continue to respond to disasters, it is not a permanent solution,” Criswell told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “Congress must work with us on the supplemental request that the administration has made on behalf of FEMA.”
In an unwelcomed assertion of state power, the Texas Education Agency has implemented a “New Education System” in the Houston Independent School District, replacing elected school board members, pushing out the superintendent to install a new one, and among other changes, eliminating some school libraries and repurposing the space for things like discipling students with behavior problems. Antonia Hylton, correspondent for NBC News, reports.
Antonia Hylton, NBC News correspondent and co-host of the Southlake podcast, talks with Ali Velshi about the anxiety and concerns of Houston parents whose elected representatives were stripped from the local school administration, leaving parents to feel like they’ve lost their voice in the management of their children’s education.
These state takeovers of schools, curricula, cities, election offices, etc., are outrageous and I think violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment (and also constitute “badges of slavery” that should be banned under the terms of the Thirteenth Amendment).
Black Atlantic at Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam museum explores how Britain’s role in slavery can be seen through its fine art. Rather than giving simple answers, reflection is its aim…
The letter doesn’t refer to any single device, but experts say the petition covers Scientology’s “E-Meter,” a “religious artifact” and electronic that is core to Scientology…
In a Newsmax segment so mechanically scripted and played out that it might be a parody of local used-car ads, Cruz insists that this time those darn liberals are coming for our good American beer.
From a 2018 article (Texas Tribune link) re a drug that’s much safer than alcohol:
Cruz, for his part, has long maintained marijuana legalization should be left up to the states, though he personally opposes it. He reiterated that position while speaking with reporters Tuesday in San Antonio.
“I don’t support drug legalization,” Cruz said. “I think drug legalization ends up harming people. I think it particularly hurts young people. It traps them in addiction.”
On marijuana, Cruz added: “I’ve always said that should be a question for the states. I think different states can resolve it differently. So in Texas — if we were voting on it in Texas — I would vote against legalizing it. But I think it’s the prerogative of Texans to make that decision, and I think another state like Colorado can make a very different decision.”
Multiple air defense missile systems deployed by Russia on two disputed islands off northern Japan in 2020 have been moved off the isles, raising the possibility that Moscow is repurposing weapons from its Far East for use in the war against Ukraine.
Oklahoma Democrats are demanding that Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters be subjected to an impeachment probe due to fallout from his hate- and disinformation-filled social media posts. In a statement, they called on the Republican speaker of the House to investigate possible charges against Walters, and said, ”The safety of Oklahoma’s students and families depends on changes to the current situation.”
Walters recently retweeted a selectively cropped TikTok video posted by the hatemonger and conwoman behind a social media account called Libs of TikTok. The video showed a Union Public School District librarian Kirby Mackenzie with an overlay reading, “POV: teachers in your state are dropping like flies but you are still just not quite finished pushing your woke agenda at the public school.” Walters retweeted the post, adding: “The liberal media denies the issue. Even some Republicans hide from it. Woke ideology is real and I am here to stop it.”
That led to bomb threats on six consecutive days.
Of course, Libs of TikTok had cropped the original video to exclude the caption, which provided crucial context. The excluded text read, “My radical agenda is teaching kids to love books and be kind hbu?? I think I’m going to make one of these every year until i die or end my teaching era.” Mackenzie also included an emoji showing two hands making the shape of a heart.
Libs of TikTok’s account is operated by Chaya Raichik. There were good reasons Raichik’s account was suspended multiple times by what was then called Twitter, but it has found a new life being amplified on the X platform by billionaire Elon Musk. While Raichik’s bread and butter is spreading hate and endangering the lives of the LGBTQ+ community by harassing and doxxing educators she doesn’t agree with, she isn’t just homophobic: She’s bigoted across the board. Her recent work characterizing a get-together for families of color at an Oakland elementary school as some kind of attack on white people led to bomb threats at that school, as well.
The chances that the Republican supermajority in Oklahoma opens up an impeachment probe into Walter for helping provoke bomb threats against 16,000 Oklahoma children are nil. Republican House Speaker Charles McCall told NBC News, “Impeachment is not something that should be taken lightly, and the call by a group of House Democrats seems to be more of a ready, fire, aim approach.”
Before Walters sicced the world’s most grotesque social media account on Oklahoma’s children, he was openly posting about his intentions to defy Supreme Court decisions separating church and state in order to fund private religious schools. He recently embarrassed himself by trying to talk about Oklahoma history while pretending that race had nothing to do with the Tulsa Race Massacre.
He has spent his political career as a theocratic culture warrior. Unsurprisingly, he has been saving his biggest attacks for the predominantly Black Tulsa Public Schools system by threatening to take away its accreditation. Tulsa Public Schools is the largest school district in the state.
Here’s a video posted by davidhth showing Tulsa Public Schools Board President Stacey Woolley’s public statement about the matter. [Tweet at the link: Ryan Walters accusing teachers of a woke agenda is stirring hatred. Today, there was a third bomb threat after Walters retweeted a TikTok video made by a Tulsa librarian as a joke. Here TPS board president Stacey Woolley pleads with him to stop. A lawmaker wants him impeached. [video at the link]]
And the posts that gave domestic terrorists a target for their anger [Tweets and images at the link]
This should be considered a companion piece of Kos’ Ukraine Update on a potential breach of the Surovikin Line west of the village of Verbove. [See comment 462]
The Surovikin Line is the second of four major defense lines constructed by Russia to protect the T0408 Highway that connects Ukrainian-held territory around Orikhiv to the rail/road hub that is Tokmak. [map at the link]
Verbove sits behind the Surovikin Line, the second and arguably most formidable defensive line constructed by the Russian army. The second and fourth defense lines have the full range of Russian defensive structures, including anti-tank ditches, mines, pre-fabricated pillboxes, and miles upon miles of trenches.
The first and third lines (and lesser and smaller unnumbered lines) may have trenches and minefields, but not the full panoply of Russian defensive structures; there is a fair amount of subjectivity as to what might be considered “a line of defense.” Different observers consider Russia to have between two and seven lines of defense. [map at the link]
However you count them, the defensive line Ukraine is currently facing is widely considered to be the main defense line for two reasons.
First, it is one of two Russian defense lines that is fully and maximally built out with dragons teeth, anti-armor ditches, bunkers, and trenches. Emil Kastehlemi and the Black Bird Group have provided extensive analysis of the formidable nature of this defense line. […] [See https://twitter.com/emilkastehelmi/status/1695879661014626744 ]
The Black Bird Group identified a section of the Surovikin Line that looks to have been neglected and left incomplete. It’s located from the area around what I’ve called “Hill 166” east of Novoprokopivka, then heading east to the edge of Verbove. [map at the link]
This area is important. The ridge between Novoprokopivka and Verbove isn’t just militarily crucial high ground—it is the last high ground between Ukrainian forces and Tokmak. It will be all downhill from there. [map at the link]
Having captured Robotyne, Ukraine had two options for a way forward: Continue to drive down the T0408 highway to Tokmak, or try to flank the Russian position at Novoprokopika. [map at the link]
Two things appeared to make a frontal assault down the highway unattractive.
First, there was an intervening smaller defense line between Robotyne and Novoprokopivka that made Russia’s defenses down the highway essentially two layers deep instead of just one. Flanking Novoprokopivka from the east is easier said than done as the Russians control the dominant heights to the south, and a Ukrainian flanking force would be subjected to enfilade fire on its own flanks.
Kastehelmi and the Black Bird Group assessed that the Russian defenses south of Robotyne were aligned to defend both against attacks from the north and from the east. These fortifications were described as “formidable,” featuring covered firing positions, bunkers, vehicle shelters, and more.
Second, the Russian forces chose to concentrate twice as many of their available forces around Novoprokopika, Ilchekove, and Solodka Balka as were distributed across Hill 166 and Verbove. The 76th Guards Air Assault Division was known to have been transferred from the Kreminna area to Tokmak, and there is speculation the arriving units were intended to bolster Russia’s defenses at Hill 166 and Verbove on Russia’s right flank. Three additional regiments of Russia’s 76th GAAD would have largely closed the difference in force allocation between their left and right wings at the Surovikin Line.
Ukraine responded by positioning its two more tired brigades that had been leading the attack towards Robotyne to the west: the 47th Mechanized and 65th Mechanized Brigades. The 47th Mechanized is one of Ukraine’s most powerful brigades, equipped with Bradley Fighting Vehicles and supported by Leopard 2 tanks of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade. The 65th Mechanized Brigade fought alongside the 47th since mid-June and had consistently been part of Ukraine’s efforts to push past the Russian minefields and extensive defenses north of Robotyne.
These two brigades had amply demonstrated their brutal effectiveness in liberating Robotyne, but after nearly 11 weeks of continuous and repeated assaults, it appears the Ukrainian general staff may be giving them a slight breather. As such, the main Ukrainian attack unfolded to the east, led by the 82nd Air Assault and 46th Airmobile Brigades.
The 82nd Air Assault has been called “ridiculously powerful” and is sometimes referred to as the Ukrainian military’s finest unit. Equipped with British Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks, German Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and American Stryker IFVs, it is one of the heaviest-equipped brigades in the Ukrainian military. Including NCOs and tank crews handpicked from Ukraine’s 25th and 80th Airborne Brigades, the 82nd represents the cream of the crop of Ukraine’s best soldiers.
The 46th Airmobile Brigade is a comparatively lighter brigade, but it is nonetheless equipped with British Wolfhound, a 17-ton heavily armored Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected 6×6 vehicle designed for front-line tactical support and combat. These are paired with heavily upgraded T-80BV Tanks, among the best Soviet-era tanks in Ukrainian service. A gas-turbine powered variant of the T-80 tank, the T-80BV, is operated exclusively by Ukraine’s Air Assault forces and boasts incredible mobility, albeit at a 33% reduction in fuel efficiency compared to diesel versions of the T-80.
The 82nd and 46th Brigades are both fresh, with their veteran soldiers having been held out of combat for months. (The 82nd is, on paper, newly formed and includes numerous new NATO trained volunteers.) They are being committed to combat for the first time during the counteroffensive.
First, a geolocation of a Ukrainian units under attack by the Russian Bobr Drone Group on Aug. 25 indicated that Ukraine had advanced considerably to the east of Novoprokopivka. The thrust appeared to climb up a ridge directly towards the fortified heights on Hill 166. A second geolocation, also through an attack by the Bobr Drone Group, confirmed the Ukrainian advance to this area, this time on Aug. 29. This placed elements of Ukrainian forces just 1,000-1,500 meters from Hill 166. [map at the link]
However, Ukraine began heavily shelling the area immediately east of Hill 166, northwest of Verbove.
For the past several days, Ukraine has been reportedly shelling those Russian trenches west and southwest of Verbove intensely, including with 155 mm Cluster Munition artillery shells. [image at the link]
Photos from recent days showed multiple Russian positions on fire. [Tweet and photo at the link]
NASA satellite FIRMS data (ordinarily used to track forest fires) show intense fires and possible explosions northwest of Verbove. […] [Image at the link]
And it’s in this area that Ukrainian scouts were spotted approximately 2 km behind the Surovikin Line […] [map at the link]
Reconnaissance drone footage spotted a small group of Ukrainian infantry geolocated to this location. [map at the link]
Before concluding that Ukraine has successfully breach Russian defenses northwest of Verbove, there are a few facts that need to be kept in mind:
– There’s no evidence thus far that Ukrainian armored vehicles have passed the Surovikin Line.
– It’s possible that this was a Ukrainian infantry infiltration team conducting reconnaissance.
– By all indications, the Russians still control the heights north and south of Verbove.
While the presence of Ukrainian infantry beyond the Surovikin Line may represent a breach of the line, it may also represent a temporary gap opening up in the Russian defenses that a small group of Ukrainian infantry slipped through to conduct deep recon of the rear Russian defensive position.
This in itself would represent a significant weakening of Russian forward positions on the Surovikin Line, and be a very good sign that Ukrainian attacks on the line are opening up gaps in their defenses.
In the best-case scenario, Ukraine has opened up a 1 to 2 km-wide breach in the Russian defensive lines and occupied the low ground trenchworks northwest of Verbove. Ukrainian engineers are clearing a broader and more secure route for Ukrainian armor and supply trucks, and Ukrainian Challenger 2s, Strykers, and Marders are streaming through the gap to prepare to flank Hill 166. But again, we haven’t seen evidence of that just yet.
If a breach has been achieved, it would appear the attack is being led by elements of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade. The attack towards Hill 166 might have been an attack intended to “fix” the units in that location, to prevent them from shifting eastward to assist a breach of defenses around Verbove.
Furthermore, Ukraine would have been aiming to breach the Surovikin Line at the weakest possible point: the only part of the defensive line that crosses a gully in this area. On many levels, it makes a lot of sense that Ukraine would choose to attempt to breach the Surovikin Line at this location, in this sequence of offensive actions. [map at the link]
Even if the Ukrainian infantry unit turns out to be an infiltration mission and not representative of a breached defense line, no matter how you interpret this situation, it’s hard to consider this anything but incredibly good news for Ukraine’s Tokmak offensive.
Euromaidan Press’ latest report from Ukraine notes that local Ukrainian commanders of the 47th and 82nd Brigades claim that they have breached a 6 km-wide stretch of the first line of Russian trenches, but do not appear to have pierced the second (final) line of defenses. This claim is not visually confirmed. [map at the link]
if Ukraine can punch through the defenses northwest of Verbove, the Ukrainian forces will have a golden opportunity to flank the primary Russian positions around Hill 166 and roll up the Surovikin Line from the east to the west. [map at the link]
And remember, once Ukraine forces Russia to retreat from the Surovikin Line and Hill 166, it’s downhill all the way to Tokmak. [map at the link]
AMBRIDGE, Pa. (AP) — A man is in custody on assault charges after a witness told police he pointed a shotgun at two women and attempted to enter a predominantly Black church in a small steel town just outside Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey Harris, 38, was being held in Beaver County jail on $975,000 bail Thursday, awaiting a preliminary hearing next week. He is charged with aggravated assault and a handful of other counts…
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who’s recently been exposed for accepting wildly unethical gifts and payments (including full tuition for his grand-nephew) from far-right billionaire and Nazi artifact collector Harlan Crow, just managed to blame abortion for the private plane rides from Crow he tried to keep a secret from everyone. Ha ha!
On Thursday, Thomas finally “disclosed” (LOL) several trips paid for by Crow last year and explained that he’d only accepted the private plane travel because of “the increased security risk” he supposedly incurred after the Supreme Court’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade leaked a month early. One of the flights he disclosed was for an American Enterprise Institute speaking event in Dallas, Texas, shortly after the leak in May 2022…
Iran has accused Israel of trying to sabotage its ballistic missile programme through faulty foreign parts that could explode, damaging or destroying the weapons before they could be used.
The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment on Thursday’s allegation, though it comes amid a yearslong effort by both Israel and the United States to target Iran. A report aired on Iranian state television also said that the parts could be used in Iran’s extensive arsenal of drones, which have grown in prominence amid their use by Russia in its war on Ukraine…
Russian Deputy Culture Minister Andrey Malyshev has rejected a proposal to release the films Barbie and Oppenheimer in Russian theaters, explaining that they don’t serve the purpose of preserving “traditional Russian values.”
Earlier, State Duma Deputy Speaker Vladislav Davankov sent a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in which he suggested showing the American blockbusters in Russia without permission from the copyright holders.
“We believe that the films that you have proposed for viewing for citizens of our country — Barbie and Oppenheimer — do not align with the goals and objectives set by the head of state to maintain and strengthen the traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” Malyshev said in his response.
He added that Russian theaters are currently “full of high-quality domestic premieres” like the new Cheburashka movie and Witness, a propaganda film about the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian film industry, he said, is seeing the “positive aspect of reducing the number of films from Hollywood studios.”
Ukraine says it will pay people who report corruption and bribery 10% of the cash that gets recovered
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/should-be-fun-2
Link
Latest Biden scandal: He petted a dog
Photo: US President Joe Biden greets a rescue dog wearing protective boots as he meets with first responders during an operational briefing on response and recovery efforts following wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii
Re: Lynna @ #499
“Ken Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Texas state Senate will include evidence that he used a fake Uber account to hide visits to his mistress”
If that’s the case, maybe they should reconsider their decision barring his wife (state Sen. Angela Paxton) from voting in his trial.
For the convenience of readers, here are a few links back to the previous group of 500 comments on The Infinite Thread:
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2023/07/11/infinite-thread-xxviii/comment-page-4/#comment-2192007
Indiana’s near-total abortion ban set to take effect as state Supreme Court denies rehearing
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2023/07/11/infinite-thread-xxviii/comment-page-4/#comment-2192016
Grim and horrifying news – this is far more than just a tree [Concerning a birthing tree in western Victoria that is sacred to the Djab Wurrrung people. The tree was poisoned.]
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2023/07/11/infinite-thread-xxviii/comment-page-4/#comment-2191990
Ukraine update
tomh @2, heh. Good point.
In other news: Man who fatally shot woman for having a Pride flag is a far-right religious zealot and son of a cop
https://twitter.com/jeffgoodell/status/1693746193782673455
Reference tweet from Bill Karins and heat map are available at the link.
https://twitter.com/nplareau/status/1693690228882780275
Alarming graph is available at the link.
https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1693781475261661618
Prof. Eliot Jacobson posted a heat map showing most of Europe and parts of northern Africa for August 21, 2023.
AZ Gov Loser Kari Lake Insulting Her Way To Another Flawless Loss In Senate Race.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/az-gov-loser-kari-lake-insulting
We don’t care much for Mitch McConnell, either, but … damn.
Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in Texas
Followup to comment 4.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/big-surprise-creep-who-killed-lauri
Link
Followup to comment 11.
Will anyone hold Trump accountable for attacking the justice system?
Why?
Donald Trump is absolutely definitely not thinking about fleeing to Moscow to live with ‘Vladimir’
Yes, that part is real.
Official statement of Donald Trump for president, 2024 [satire]:
[/satire]
More satire:
‘Reject prejudice of any kind’: Latter-day Saint missionary handbook gets an update
Musk Plans to Kill Link Headlines on Twitter
Scientists Want To Fix Tooth Decay With Stem Cells
Moscow sewer: All eight members of tour party confirmed dead in floods
‘Historic’: Ecuador voters reject oil drilling in Amazon protected area
Flipped: “Trump employee 4” changes lawyer and testimony in the documents case
More at the link.
Followup to comment 19.
https://kyivindependent.com/military-intelligence-russia-sinking-ferries-in-attempt-to-protect-crimean-bridge/
Previously, when I’ve brought up the issue of knocking out the Kerch Bridge as a way to cut Russian logistics, people have pointed to the ferries as a Russian solution. However, if the turn the ferries into block ships, there goes their fall back transportation link. What sort of idiot makes that kind of plan?
Ukraine Update: Ukraine is throwing nearly everything it has at Tokmak
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1694008181024788509
Rachel Maddow:
Link
USA Today:
NBC News:
Washington Post:
Newsmax Scumbag Greg Kelly Pretty Sure Death Threats To Trump Judges Just ‘Life In The Fast Lane’
https://www.wonkette.com/p/newsmax-scumbag-greg-kelly-pretty
Special counsel looking at perjury by Trump aides.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/22/politics/special-counsel-trump-documents-investigation/index.html
In short, supplementary evidence.
Reginald Selkirk@18,
Ecuador had already been pre-emptively punished by ratings agency Fitch, which downgraded it to CCC on the mere possibility of its people voting to protect the environment. Capitalism will destroy everything that makes life worth living.
Pre-Repug debate signal boast here :
https://proxy.freethought.online/oceanoxia/2023/08/22/some-more-news-about-the-weirdos-who-want-to-be-the-next-trump/
For this video via Abe Drayton’s Oceanoxa blog.
Chandrayaan 3 landing on our Moon near its south pole now -link here via cross post :
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2023/08/23/despair-for-humanity/comment-page-1/#comment-2192138
See also live BBC news :
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-asia-india-66576580
Wikipage : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-3
Plus : https://www.space.com/chandrayaan-3-indian-moon-mission-rover
Its done it! Chandrayaan 3 ghas touched down near our moions southpole. Go ISRO! Great work!
Moons’.. argh. Typos. My fingers are stuffed..
Hookworms successfully prevent type 2 diabetes in human trial
Texas Lawmakers Omit the Word ‘Abortion’ From Legislation to Get Gov. Greg Abbott to Sign
Top Russian general missing since Wagner mutiny ‘fired’ as head of aerospace forces
‘Chinese activist Kwon Pyong’ fled to South Korea on jet ski
Netherlands to supply Ukraine with a thousand chargers for remote demining
The science behind seeing ghosts
Wisconsin Republicans ask newly elected liberal justice to not hear redistricting case
NB
The first complete sequencing of the human Y chromosome has been achieved.
Finally!
60-70 years after prototypes of “tailsitter” aircraft. Thank you, MIT.
“Planning algoritm enables high-performance flight for tailsitter aircraft”.
How ’bout that Ukrainian counter-offensive?
This is an “oh for fuck’s sake” moment:
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Lee peddle new COVID conspiracy theories
The details that make Trump’s rhetoric about Biden’s family so brazen
Business jet crash in Russia kills 10, officials say. Wagner chief was on passenger list
Re: Lynna, OM @ #48…
There are claims that the jet was shot down by Russian air defenses.
Followup to comment 48.
Posted by readers of the article:
Interesting, and probably correct analysis:
Link
@48,49,50 Prigozhin plane crash
Alleged footage of the crash
9 people were on board. Apparently the entire leadership of the Wagner group has been decapitated by Putin.
“Could be devastating”: Indicted ex-GOP chair “explicitly” throws Trump under the bus in new filing
More details regarding the alleged crash of Prigozhin’s plane:
Link
St. Louis proposal would ban ‘military-grade’ weapons, prohibit guns for ‘insurrectionists’
Whoa, Fox News host Jessica Tarlov is reporting truth (sometimes) and defending President Biden (sometimes).
https://www.wonkette.com/p/jessica-tarlov-shuts-her-fox-news
Followup to comment 57.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Bused Migrants To LA During Tropical Storm
https://www.wonkette.com/p/i-texas-gov-greg-abbott-bused-migrants
New York Times: Giuliani Surrenders at Jail in Georgia Election Case
Mr. Giuliani served as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and advanced false claims that the election was stolen. His bond was set at $150,000.
LOL – Noel on Tafkat:
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. They don’t really have anything on Prigozhin beyond what everyone else has at the moment.
Followup to comments 57 and 58.
Conservative pundits falsely claim Biden slept during Maui fire memorial
Using low-quality video that distorts how Biden appears, pundits made the false claim go viral on social media.
WTF? Does she mean skeletons?
He lost his first wife and a child in a car accident and in 2015 lost another (adult) child to cancer.
Biden Floods Fox News with Abortion Rights Ads Before First Republican Debate
I don’t understand all of the handwringing about Biden’s age (which, as Molly Jong-Fast pointed out this morning, is just a tired rehash of the “Hillary’s at death’s door” nonsense of 2016; she was doing an interview with Rachel Maddow when Trump’s most recent indictment was announced, so not apparently long dead). We have a vice president.
Man Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Neighbor’s Front Porch in Georgia
NBC News reported:
Commentary:
Link
McCarthy is doubling down on impeachment talk he started last month in order to please the far-rightwing whackos in his caucus. He could have found a way to walk that back, but he didn’t.
From Youtube.
‘MAGA Christians think Jesus is “weak” says guy who led them there’
Yes, they were supposed to be easily controlled sheep, now they have a taste for blood and have morphed into something uglier than the shepherds intended.
The old greeks even had a myth about not being able to put things back in the box.
Biden On His Expectations For The GOP Debate: ‘I Have None’
He delivered the line while laughing, and also said that he plans to watch as much of it as he can, per the White House pool.
Link
I expect the debate to be simultaneously boring and a showcase for duplicity. I may choose to watch only MSNBC’s post-debate coverage.
Followup to comment 62.
Link
Judge halts “religious-liberty training” order as Southwest argues it’s unconstitutional
Followup to comment 55.
Washington Post link
Meet Kenny, the decoy seal Quebec researchers are using to attract sharks
@48 … 72
I have been considering how much time to allow before assuming the Prigozhin was indeed among the dead. Maybe 24 hours?
Congratulations!
Barbara Eden, the genie in “I Dream Of Jeanie” turns 92 today.
She is relevant för skepticism; When ‘Family Guy’ demonstrated the difference between evolution and biblical literalism they had Jeanie turn up and do “boiiinng” every time something got created the first six days.
Ohio attorney general rejects language for amendment aimed at reforming troubled political mapmaking
Longevity gene from naked mole rats extends lifespan of mice
https://phys.org/news/2023-08-longevity-gene-naked-mole-rats.html
Lessons in longevity from naked mole rats and bowhead whales
https://phys.org/news/2023-08-lessons-longevity-naked-mole-rats.html
AP News
South Carolina’s new all-male highest court reverses course on abortion, upholding strict 6-week ban
BY JAMES POLLARD / August 23, 2023
Blood rain (Nope, 2022)
https://youtu.be/KjdWIOgG2Lo
or
https://youtu.be/KjdWlOgG2Lo
Scarier than the X File .
Ukraine Update: Prigozhin conspiracies run wild, as Ukraine finally focuses on a single front
More Ukraine updates coming soon.
ABC news with updates on the Prigozhin crash / assassination :
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/live-updates-reports-yevgeny-prigozhin-involved-in-plane-crash/102768956
Dóh!
&
Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/henry-olonga-social-media-warning-over-death-statement/102769428
Good! About time and hopefully more will follow :
Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/william-crowther-statue-to-be-removed-from-display/102737854
Followup to comment 81.
More Ukraine updates:
Link. Scroll down to view updates.
Mark Sumner, Laura clawson and others cover the Republican debate:
Link.
That is more than enough of that … for me at least. There are more details at the link.
At least this coverage is more fun to read:
https://www.wonkette.com/p/live-republican-debate-or-criminal
Way too many words that will trigger PZ’s filters, so you’ll have to go to the source to read it.
Okay, here is one excerpt from the link in comment 87:
India becomes fourth nation (after USSR, USA, China) to land on Moon.
“India’s Chandrayaan-3 makes historic landing on the lunar south pole – ABC News”
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102768378
Australia: Former ultra-ortodox Jewish principal sentenced to 15 years for child sexual abuse.
My understanding is that the plane was outbound from Moscow, not inbound. That says to me that there is no way Putin could have been mistaken about whether Prigozhin was on board.
Fact-Checking the First Republican Debate
Federal judge delivers blow to Trump co-defendants in Georgia election case
The Right Has Already Turned on Their Appalachian Folk Hero
Liberty University Students Are Challenging Its Anti-Dancing Policy
Meh. If they don’t like overbearing puritanism, maybe they picked the wrong college.
Re: #93
That article is a little misleading in that the judge didn’t deny the removal of their cases to federal court, but denied their attempt to postpone their surrender and arrest in Fulton County as an attempt to move the case to federal court is litigated. He’ll rule on the removal after the federal court hearing on August 28.
“I literally am furious”: MTG and Don Jr. rage after Fox News “blocked” them from debate spin room
Kudos for the proper usage of “literally”. I didn’t think she had it in her.
Otherwise, demanding representation after a debate in which you did not participate is pretty stupid.
Norway rebuilding reindeer fence along border with Russia to stop costly hooves’ crossings
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog.
Tafkat links:
Dmitri:
Tendar:
Noel:
From Lynna’s link @ #87:
Ron DeSantis eyes a possible U.S. military offensive in Mexico
The Republican Party has come a long way since “self-deportation”: Ron DeSantis is eyeing a military offensive against our allied neighbor to the south.
Followup to comment 101:
Washington Post link
The problem wasn’t just that Republican candidates were wrong about climate change during the debate. They also pointed to a party moving backwards.
CNN – “Ukraine says it landed troops on the shores of Russian-occupied Crimea”:
This looks very cool – “Underwater Museum at Cape Tarkhankut”:
BRICS announces ‘historic’ admission of six new members
They’re going to need a bigger acronym.
SC @100, that was one of the best sections of Wonkette’s coverage. :-)
The audience was full of bloodthirsty wannabe insurgents. You could feel their presence, especially when they booed Chris Christy.
Josh Marshall:
North Korea says its spy satellite launch has failed, again
Link
I agree with that conclusion.
Location of lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could finally be found using new technique, scientists say
Sounds like rather a long shot.
Caribbean Matters: Activist Mãe Bernadete Pacífico has been assassinated in Brazil
Followup to comment 111:
https://time.com/5915902/brazil-racism-quilombos/
Scientists strengthen concrete by 30 percent with used coffee grounds
Link
Has a Chinese Submarine Crashed in the Taiwan Strait? What We Know
Willis asks for Oct. 23 trial start date
Charlie Gile and Megan Lebowitz
Link
Followup to comments 55, 61, 72, 74, 81, 82 and 114.
Link
Much of Donald Trump’s latest interview with Tucker Carlson was weird, but it was the focus on possible political violence that stood out for a reason.
Note that Tucker Carlson actually pushed Trump on the question of civil unrest or violence. He wanted Trump to acknowledge the possibility … and he wanted Trump to NOT condemn violence.
House Judiciary chair sends letter to Willis demanding information on her Trump investigation
Nobody won the first Republican debate, but it did show the party doesn’t need Trump
Followup to comment 118.
US intelligence assessment determines intentionally caused explosion killed Wagner chief
Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows surrenders at Fulton County jail
US Postal Service to unveil stamp honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Photo at the link.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/tucker-pretty-scared-theyre-gonna
Donald Trump Fires Lawyer Who Repped Gucci Mane, Hires Gunna’s Attorney
roll-eyes
And the winner is… a champion debate coach grades the performances
These exercises are pointless. Formal debates have judges and clear rules of argumentation. Political debates in the USA play to the audience, not the judges, and frequently ignore the actual questions asked.
Altered evidence list indicates Marion police kept illegal copy of evidence from Kansas newspaper
Worries over seafood safety mount as Japan releases Fukushima water into the Pacific
HHS awards $1.4 billion to drive development of new Covid-19 vaccines and therapies
As for monoclonals becoming obsolete as the virus evolves: this will continue to be the case. And since there are multiple variants circulating today, this approach looks to be less promising as time passes.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: GOP Debate Showed How Not to Pick a President
Rightwing activist Leonard Leo under investigation in Washington DC
Dmitri on Tafkat:
Video (not violent) at the link. Wow, this kid looks young, even for 19.
Fox TV license renewal may be in jeopardy as FCC invites public response
Reginald @130, that’s good news.
In other news:
Link
Posted by readers of the article:
NBC News:
NBC News:
Link
New York Times:
WRAL News:
Link
Sigh:
Re: Lynna, OM @ #140…
Sigh, indeed. He’s running for a secular office, but wants to impose his religious beliefs on everyone, including those that do not adhere to his religion. Pretty good example of why I put candidates that express strong religious beliefs in their statements at the bottom of the list of those to vote for. The rest have to be pretty bad before I’ll vote for a candidate that’s all about their religion.
Trump turns himself in for arrest in Atlanta
This article doesn’t have the mugshot.
The Guardian has a Trump-arrest liveblog. From there:
(Arizona) Supreme Court rejects request to order recount of 2022 election
Russian Media Monitor (YT link; I had to speed it up a bit because of all the dramatic pauses and sighing) – “Propagandist blames US, Ukraine and NATO for Prigozhin’s crash”
Peak cynicism.
“Putin is known to always keep his word!”
“More than that, Putin is all about the laws!”
The segment in which he responds to audience members makes an even better contrast with the podcast @ #333 in the previous chapter. I can’t imagine the psychological effects of living in this toxic political climate day after day.
Donald Trump’s new mugshot just came out, and boy is he giving us a look
Mugshot photo at the link. I’m sure Trump practiced that look in the mirror for days.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1694854654834643104
“Apropos of nothing, I think today’s a great day to give to my campaign.” Joe Biden. LOL
Re: Lynna, OM @ #146…
Apparently, Trump used a bail bond company, so he only actually paid $20K. (And, so far as I know, no matter what happens, he can’t get that back.) He also put out a fund raising appeal from the airport before departing, so it’s a good bet he’s trying to get his supporters to cover what he spent to get a bond.
Ukraine Update: The US can’t ‘pivot to China’ without defeating Russia first
More Ukraine updates coming soon.
SC @ 143, is it me or did Trump’s word salad make even less sense than usual? The Deep State arrested him in a county jail, isn’t deep state usually national, aka federal level? Violent jail, which he likely never even saw a cell of before throwing bail?
Oh well, regardless, I’m sure that it’ll go in to pay for someone’s new cat house or something equally corrupt.
At the Fulton County jail, Trump’s height was listed at 6-foot-3 and his weight at 215. The person being arrested provides their height and weight. There’s no scale.
As the Washington Post put is: “But based on some of his co-defendants, the numbers may not be accurate.”
215 pounds is nearly 30 pounds lighter than his disclosed weight at the time of his last official White House physical.
From the Washington Post:
My guess for Trump’s weight is about 275 pounds.
All the mug shots: NBC News link
whheydt @147, you’re correct. Trump used a local bail bondsman, to whom he (or his gullible cult followers) paid 10% of the $200,000 bond = $20,000. I’d be willing to bet that Trump used other people’s money.
Followup to comment 148.
More Ukraine updates:
Link for comment 153. Scroll down to view updates.
Cartoon: Window seat
Rachel Maddow:
Link
The Head of Black Voices For Trump Has NO BOND, So He Is Stuck In Fulton County Jail.
Link
Trump’s motorcade was preceded by a LOT of Georgia motorcycle cops riding in formation. They were followed by a lot of black SUVs.
Lynna, OM@156,
The contrast with the UK is worth noting:
Here, there’s not even a pretence that Charles Windsor is “just a citizen”. A criminal case in the UK with a Mr. Smith as defendant would be given the title “Rex vs Smith”. We can’t very well have a “Rex vs Rex”, can we? It’s clear that Trump is attempting to reverse one of the actual democratic gains of the American Revolution.
I spontaneously LoL’d when I saw it. But he obviously loves it – even posted it on Musk’s pinboard.
Neither has a sense of loyalty to the other, they are allies only so long as they both see it as being in their own interest to be allies.
@ 161, ah, but isn’t that actually true in general as well?
Well, it seems that rape is now federally legal. DOJ decided to not charge instructor at academy ship with rape charges after the instructor turned in credentials.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/business/edgar-sison-assault-credential-invs/index.html
When is murder going to be legalized too? Looks like civilization is coming to a close.
CNN has a decidedly odd take on Trump’s mugshot and what it tells us about Trump.
What it told me is, he’s a surly toddler.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/politics/trump-mug-shot-analysis/index.html
388 remain unaccounted for on Maui, 155 now confirmed dead.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/us/maui-wildfires-unaccounted-for-list/index.html
At least that’s not as bad as the earlier report of between 800 – 1000, as apparently, the FBI’s assistance removed duplicates on multiple lists. Some, ruled off the list apparently via cell phone usage data.
Which suggests that cellular service has been at least moderately restored.
And that provisions of the Patriot Act are still in usage with cellular data being collected and monitored. Let the debate on that continue.
Twin Cities, Kroger and Signature Select frozen veggies limited recall for listeria.
https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/twin-city-foods-inc-recalls-frozen-super-sweet-corn-and-mixed-vegetables-because-possible-health
Thankfully, no human cases currently.
Updated COVID vaccines to become available mid-September.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/health/covid-vaccine-release/index.html
Tropical rainforests could get too hot for photosynthesis and die if climate crisis continues, scientists warn
Yup – the SS-flashes on Dmitry Utkin’s neck are there to symbolise how much he hates Nazism.
wzrd1@164,
Yes, I LoL’d when I saw that ludicrous image. CNN’s Stephen Collinson says “It’s impossible to know what Trump is feeling.” Well, maybe. But it’s easy to see what he’s thinking: “This is my defiant face, and it’s going to make me a lot of money”. The article’s pathetic suggestion that maybe he shouldn’t have been “mugshat” (I like that past participle!) because everyone knows what he looks like and he’ll exploit it, egregiously misses the point: he should at all stages of the legal process be treated exactly like any other defendant.
Judge tears apart Republican lawsuit alleging bias in Gmail spam filter
source
Posted while he was surrendering.
West Virginia can restrict abortion pill sales, judge rules, despite FDA approval that it’s safe
Estonia’s pro-Ukrainian PM faces pressure to quit over husband’s indirect Russian business links
‘Stop the Steal’ organiser makes her own Fulton County mugshot in bizarre act of solidarity with Trump
(Amy Kremer)
Greene, Trump supporters create fake mugshots in solidarity
It’s the latest thing in MAGA world.
Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee is selling $34 t-shirts featuring his mug shot.
Steve Benen summarized a Politico article:
I attribute some of the audience interest to curiosity and not really to support for the candidates.
Vivek Ramaswamy said at this week’s debate that the U.S. Constitution was responsible for us winning the American Revolution. Ramaswamy is the same guy that recommended young voters past a civics test before they’re permitted to cast ballots.
At Wednesday’s debate, DeSantis twice boasted that he served in Iraq “alongside U.S. Navy SEALs.” One of his former Republican congressional colleagues, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger, wrote via social media soon after, “Ron DeSantis was a [member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps]. Nothing against JAGS, but quit trying to make people believe you were a navy seal.”
Steve Benen covered that particular bit of misinformation that DeSantis was promoting.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco-police-union-mission-district-bakery-policy/3303558/
Perhaps they should change the policy to one of refusing service to anyone who carrying a firearm. Since military personnel don’t usually run around carrying guns, off their bases in the US, I doubt they’ve been refusing service to them.
For the third time in three months, Donald Trump has parted ways with a member of his legal defense team. It’s part of a multifaceted problem.
Followup to comment 176: “Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee is selling $34 t-shirts featuring his mug shot.”
A detail too delicious to leave out: Moments after surrendering at the Fulton County jail, Trump decided to include this slogan on that T-shirt: “NEVER SURRENDER,” the $34 T-shirt reads below a copy of the mugshot.
As Laura Clawson put it: “He was a man showing up when and where he was told to face serious criminal charges.”
Update2: Who owns Mar-a-Lago now? Eric denies sold on 8/4/23
Yeah, we don’t know. Is Trump just getting a massive loan from Junior? Is Trump just attempting to hide assets? Is is all just “asinine” as Eric claims?
NATO-member Norway to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming third country to do so
Interesting developments in Ukraine. Near the town Robotyne there are reports about Ukrainan progress but so far there are not independent confirmations. If the Ukrainan forces punch through the defensive line in the area sh☆t will get real for the Russians.
Washington Post Link
Message from Trump’s campaign:
More bad news for Trump: Poll shows independents think he’s a criminal
Re: Lynna, OM @ #186…
Hmmm… If the mugshot is in the public domain (the picture having been taken by a government agency), they may have quite a bit of trouble attempting to enforce rights to it. I don’t know about Georgia, but in California, he might have better luck, as there are state laws granting people rights to their own images (passed to benefit actors in Hollywood).
@Lynna #177
Has anyone asked him if he also supports a civics test before running for office?
Lynna… @ # 103: “Let us be honest as Republicans … the climate change agenda is a hoax,” Ramaswamy said…
I like the way he put that. Or, he could’ve said, “Let’s be dry as water … let’s be cold as the sun … let’s be compassionate as conservatives …”
LykeX @ 189, perhaps we should also have a poll test? Maybe even a poll tax?
Two methods used to disenfranchise voters during Jim Crow.
@ 190, Pierce, I believe you also read Nineteen Eighty-Four. I did, it was required in school, back during the ice age. Gave each of our kids their own copy and instilled a voracious appetite for reading.
Florida lawyer files legal challenge to disqualify Trump from 2024 presidential race
Ohio Republicans Sneak in Sinister Change to Abortion Ballot Language
New York man sentenced to 3 months in prison for threats to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Hurricane center watching system headed for Gulf of Mexico; Florida leaders preparing
re Lynna @186:
They continued: “Only WE are allowed to scam our donors.”
Nicaraguan government bans Jesuit order and says all its property will be confiscated
Kremlin calls accusations it killed Wagner boss Prigozhin an ‘absolute lie’
smirk
Will a tropical system form in the Gulf? John Morales looks at what to expect
Who GAF what John Morales thinks?
Scientific journal retracts article that claimed no evidence of climate crisis
The media insistence on propping Fox News back up again is getting so, so tedious
Of course, the internet is full of memes related to Trump being arrested in Georgia, and to his super-villain mugshot. One of my favorites is a photo of the plane where the Trump name is replaced by P01135809. Looks good.
Link
Several memes are shown at the link.
Under cover of night, 5 more Trump co-conspirators booked at Georgia jail
All of the new mugshots are available at the link.
Link
https://www.wonkette.com/p/wisconsin-republicans-sure-do-love
Vivek Ramaswamy Sued By Former Employees Claiming His Company Pressured Them Into Violating Securities Laws
Articles on the homepage of mediamatters.org:
Trumpists demand political prosecutions and even civil war as Trump is booked in Georgia
Fox News legal analyst says Donald Trump has “immunity” to “unravel and uncover fraudulent votes”
Laura Ingraham tells viewers Trump arrest is proof government officials are trying to “take them out”
On Newsmax, Sarah Palin calls for civil war
Bodies and flight recorders recovered at Wagner boss Prigozhin’s jet crash site
What a blow! Kleenex pulling out of Canadian consumer market
Wonder how the Russian propaganda is getting injected into the West?
‘ Russian intelligence is operating a systematic program to launder pro-Kremlin propaganda through private relationships between Russian operatives and unwitting US and western targets, according to newly declassified US intelligence.
US intelligence agencies believe that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is attempting to influence public policy and public opinion in the West by directing Russian civilians to build relationships with influential US and Western individuals and then disseminate narratives that support Kremlin objectives, obscuring the FSB’s role through layers of ostensibly independent actors.
“These influence operations are designed to be deliberately small scale, the overall goal being US [and] Western persons presenting these ideas, seemingly organic,” a US official authorized to discuss the material told CNN. “The co-optee influence operations are built primarily on personal relationships … they build trust with them and then they can leverage that to covertly push the FSB’s agenda.” ‘
More at the URL.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/politics/us-intel-russia-propaganda/index.html
The Y chromosome has finally been fully sequenced.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/world/y-chromosome-fully-sequenced-scn/index.html
I still say that there are way too many moving parts, it’ll never work right.
Ukraine Update: With new momentum, Ukraine pushes south and east of Robotyne
Chemistry PHD student in Florida charged for injecting chemical agent under upstairs neighbor’s door
India’s Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agree on efforts to de-escalate border tensions
Tendar on Tafkat:
HIMARS changed the game in Ukraine, but a former US artillery officer says what they need now is a firepower boost with M26 cluster rockets
Some Guardian links:
“‘He’s an insider’: Ramaswamy’s deep ties to rightwing kingpins revealed”:
“‘Hi, Mom. I love you’: US man kidnapped as child in Pinochet’s Chile reunited with family”:
“Texas judge blocks ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors”:
“Orcas accused of attacking boats may be ‘following fad’, scientists say”:
“William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery”:
Bronny James health update: LeBron James’ diagnosed with congenital heart defect, full recovery expected
How shocking – nothing to do with vaccines. (For the ignorant “congenital” means present at birth).
France 24 – “Assad faces anger in the streets as protests sweep southern Syria”:
Meduza – “Finland arrests Russian ultra-nationalist wanted in Ukraine for war crimes”:
The rival to the Panama Canal that was never built
Alabama wants to be the 1st state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe only nitrogen
‘We can do it too’: Meet Blackswan, the K-pop group with no Korean members
Reginald Selkirk @ # 97: Kudos for the proper usage of “literally”. I didn’t think she had it in her.
Most likely, MTG uses “literally” as just another synonym for “very”. We shouldn’t take her use of words too literally.
[Even as a hypothetical, please do not invoke such violent fantasies to make your point.–pzm]
In some stories, I honestly think that I don’t drink enough.
In some, wishing I had a 100% xenon atmosphere.
Interesting auto-editing. I now see no difference between far right and you.
Pity.
I’ll now refrain from discouraging violence.
Hrm, gotta change ISP’s, as early response was much different from initial response.
Noted.
And due to penetration to even traffic, I hold little hope for this civilization.
Classic old Colbert show intro with Musk, Kanye and Trump as balloons not quite a minute long.
Lucy Hamilton has a great essay here :
Source : https://johnmenadue.com/federal-liberals-continue-to-back-victorian-ultra-conservative-deeming-despite-expulsion/
Plus this one as well on the importing of Trumpist style culture war hate mongering into Oz :
Source : https://johnmenadue.com/the-insurgency/
Promising but wish more protection for old growth forests was already in place :
Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-26/nsw-timber-industry-awaits-answers-on-native-forests-koala-park/102775084
Source : https://www.space.com/nasa-new-horizons-budget-uncertainty
I remain with a standing joke.
I have a gun and can’t find a damned grease fitting to fix it to.
Lest one despair.
Never found the missing grease points, did learn of advancements, some missing the targets.
Guess, one misses the target, give up and call Apollo 1 the final,
Or realize, despite fuckups. we’ve advanced and now have a struggle phase, again.
Or go far left or right and go with nuke everything.
Personally, I’ll prefer traction. I’m just in a shit mood and spasms from hell.
Hence, let God sort them out, I’m out of time. :P
Insert dirty joke here.
Or better, proper grease points on specific vehicles.
Women have their own lubrication points, for partners to, due to interference, rediscover.
I’ve 17 more sillies to deliver, someone kindly provide a target for silly.
Oh, for the record, I have a gun and know how to grease my car is, well, deficient, as improved engineering made such incredible number of grease points redundant, laughably so.
A mutual joke being, “lifetime lubrication”, the laugh being, by the time it fails, it’s gone through several old timer lifetimes.
Still good for lubing soles, when offending. ;)
I may be a dummy, but Dad didn’t raise no fool. :P:p:P:p
No, hoping to provide context.
Rather than being an outside context problem.
At least 7 hurt in Boston at a parade shooting.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/us/boston-shooting-dorchester/index.html
Why can’t we have nice things anymore?
For when it’s inspection day, line up your turds for inspection.
Really.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/health/poop-color-meaning-green-red-black-wellness/index.html
Trivia, why is poop brown? Broken down heme, which is excreted in bile, both helping break down food during digestion and getting rid of that worn out iron protein, heme.
One thing missed in the story, red can also come from foods, as well as blood. Or liver failure, when the heme doesn’t break down.
At the shelter, a man panicked when he saw red stools and outed his resumption quite humorously, all due to red stools from the beets he overconsumed the day previously.
And I’ve had to consider black and wonder, is that melena or… No, that’s right, I had spinach the previous day and I really do love my spinach. The iron in spinach not being exceptionally bioavailable, well, most passes through and chemistry does the rest to make it resemble melena – aka blood in stool from high up in the digestive tract.
Also missed, fats floating as an oil slick in the toilet and floating stools, both of which are due to undigested fats.
Yep, as old Sarge once said, “Shit means somethin’!”.
‘ “Do you want us to be in civil war? Because that’s what’s going to happen,” former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax.
It’s far from a mainstream view, and Trump’s multiple arrests have so far yielded little in the way of mass protest. But there is clearly a new openness on the right to using the language of war in terms of “taking the country back.” ‘
I’ve always said, “If you feel froggy, leap”. Frogger eventually gets flattened.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/politics/trump-political-mess-what-matters/index.html
And remember, once the iron’s hot, it’s time to solder.
Sorry, got that on what passes for my mind, as I’ve a fan sitting apart, awaiting soldering in a new thermal fuse and currently only waiting for me to find a damned can of oil that isn’t WD40 (remember 3 in one oil and similar, that seems to be an endangered species these days).
Fan motors are notorious for failing due to overheating and blowing the dollar thermal fuse. The lubricant evaporates and absorbs dust, causing lubricant failure and causes the motor to overheat. Lubricating occasionally, typically annually will prevent the problem.
Got a nice carpet shampooer too, it simply needs a belt and replacement nozzle.
It’s one of my hobbies, rehabilitating appliances that otherwise would go to a landfill. It all started learning how to fix vacuum tube radios, later transistor radios and over time, learning how the circuits worked, theory to practice.
After all, it’s all fairly simple physics.
Spain’s football federation has threatened to take legal action against one of the country’s star players, Jennifer Hermoso, accusing her of lying about being kissed by federation president Luis Rubiales.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/sport/spain-football-federation-legal-action-jennifer-hermoso-spt-intl/index.html
I freely invite Spain’s football federation to kiss me uninvited – straight on both of my ass cheeks. Preferably, in Macy’s window during the New Year’s Day parade.
How is it that in 61+ years of life, I’ve never found myself kissing anyone uninvited?
Dear God in heaven, the British Museum doesn’t even keep inventory of their artifacts!
Now, trying to scramble to reacquire some 2000 missing items.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/british-museum-recovery-intl/index.html
Sounds like there are about to be a large number of upper and middle management positions opening up there.
Wzrd1 @ 210
We have plenty of willing mouthpieces in Swedish social media that parrot Russian talking points.
They are often strongly associated with SD, our right-wing populist party.
Donna Yates (archaeologist criminologist who studies smuggling)
Some thoughts on the British Museum theft:
More British Museum theft thinking:
Link
One of the most telling aspects of this mini movement is this: ‘benefit the young men in the movement through the provision of tradwives.” So, which rich men are also backing this nonsense?
Wait a minute here, are you trying to tell us that medical schools don’t comprehensively cover US history, the veritable central star of the universe? However will they become capable of performing brain surgery without comprehensively covering US history?!
As for the YouTube educational method, it is great if your goal is learning about chemtrails and flying saucers. Again, not exceptionally good for much else and I’d not want an elected leader that’s thus miseducated, nor would I permit someone whose knowledge was exclusively garnered from YouTube.
But then, I can trust such a group to consider the only tool in existence being a hammer. It’s always entertaining, if a bit loud, when one watches them try to cut a board with it.
Bob Barker of “The Price is Right” fame has died at the age of 99.
JFC!
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/us/florida-flagler-county-schools-black-assembly/index.html
The principal and a teacher at a Flagler County, Florida, elementary school are on paid administrative leave after an assembly was held only for fourth and fifth-grade Black students, who were collectively told to improve their school performance, according to the school district – regardless of how each student was doing individually.
Where did the educators learn that trick from, Whatsamatta U?
Apparently, Yale is a phenomenally dangerous place, more dangerous than most war zones. At least, that’s what Yale’s police union is telling first year students on arrival.
The flyers, titled “Welcome to Yale: A survival guide for first-year students of Yale University,” were distributed by the Yale Police Benevolent Association, a union representing Yale police officers, and featured a cloaked skull.
The flyers claimed New Haven’s crime and violence rates were “shockingly high” and “getting worse,” according to the Yale Police Benevolent Association’s pamphlet.
The flyers also stated rates of murders, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts had gone up this year.
“Nevertheless, some Yalies do manage to survive New Haven and even retain their personal property,” the flyers stated, followed by advice for students including staying off the streets after 8 p.m. and avoiding public transportation.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/us/yale-police-union-crime-flier/index.html
After all, what better way to imbue trust in the student body than to outright lie to them on their very first day.
Of greater importance, if the union is lying outright, can we trust the officers who belong to that union’s sworn testimony?
As a juror multiple times over, I’d be forced to take such testimony with a grain of salt the size of Gibraltar.
Followup to comment 242.
Posted by readers of the article:
Why failure is your child’s best tool.
Or, Why you should advise your child, not incessantly shield them from making mistakes.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/health/setbacks-failure-child-learning-tool-wellness/index.html
Our eldest once made an observation, “Dad, you give excellent advice. You make questionable decisions at times, but you give excellent advice”. I simply asked her, “Why do you think that I’m able to give such advice, save that I learn from my mistakes?”.
Mistakes don’t define someone, what defines them best is what they do in response to their mistakes.
The three words that have gotten me out of trouble the most are, “I fucked up”. Trying to cover it up only compounds one’s problems, admitting, adjusting and correcting fixes things up far more effectively and easily.
New safety equipment needed in American high school football games. Kevlar vests and helmets.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/us/oklahoma-high-school-football-game-shooting/index.html
One dead, four injured at high school football game shooting. A total of 9 cops were present, five hired for security, two on duty stopped by and two off duty, one officer discharged their firearm. The deceased was 16 years old, two pistols were recovered from the scene.
Ukraine Update: If Bakhmut was a Ukrainian trap, it may have served its purpose
More Ukraine updates coming soon.
It took the Marine Corps to get Fox News to pull a fake story
I feel professionally obligated to correct this. The protein is globin. The heme is a small molecule called tetrapyrrole which encircles the iron atom. Most of the recycling action happens in the spleen; the iron gets reused and the tetrapyrrole gets broken down to bilirubin and other “bile salts.”
Oh no, QAnon doofuses are updating their cult beliefs based on Trump’s mug shot.
Link
“Truly Mind-Boggling” Breakthrough: Graphene Surprise Could Help Generate Hydrogen Cheaply and Sustainably
Followup to comment 250.
More Ukraine updates:
Silicon Valley elites revealed as buyers of $800m of land to build utopian city
No mention of whether the development will be named Galt’s Gulch.
@ 252, thanks for the coverage. I thought I had Goobered it down a bit excessively.
Technically, stercobilin is the breakdown product from bilirubin that makes poop brown, otherwise it’d look like clay.
Heme itself can get downright nasty if broken down incorrectly or converted, something utilized by many anti-malarial drugs to poison the parasite. That whole process being conducted by one of the more toxic substances our bodies require – oxygen, all from changing iron’s state.
“Johnson says Wisconsin fake electors should not face charges for ‘political activity’”
Rick Hasen / August 26, 2023
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Followup to comment 251.
Link
Unfortunately, there’s another mass shooting in the news today.
Jacksonville shooting: 3 killed in hate-motivated attack that targeted Black people
The shooter in the racially motivated attack at a Dollar General left three messages that included his “disgusting ideology of hate,” Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
wzrd1 @225, while discussing other issues, you subjected all of the readers of this thread to your fantasies of what you would consider appropriate (or perhaps alternative) violence.
I am referring to the following phrases and sentences:
You provide some context for this outpouring of graphic and detailed violence. For example, you wrote, “In person, most of us are all nice, the rest get ostracized. I don’t, as I prefer being a nice guy, but well know the monster that was raised and loathe it. And value it, as other would-be monsters fear it.” And, for example: “And it’s an honest emotional context. I will always value peace over conflict beyond verbal.”
However, there is no context that would be an adequate excuse for you posting the violent text. I have asked you to refrain from posting such stuff on this thread. And yet, you continue to do so. I am going to bring this matter to PZ’s attention.
As far as I am concerned, you can discuss the issues you wish to discuss, including your past experiences with difficult circumstances, without subjecting all of us to additional violent fantasies about torturing or killing human beings.
If other readers wish to weigh in, including to say that I am over reacting, please feel free to do so.
Update: wzrd1 @225, as you can see, PZ chose to delete the content you had posted earlier
Followup to wzrd1 @249.
16-year-old dies after shooting at Oklahoma high school football game
Gunshots were fired on the visitor’s side of the stadium at Choctaw High School during the third quarter of their game against Del City High School on Friday. At least four other people sustained injuries as a result of the incident, according to police.
Lynna and all, my apologies. I was decidedly out of sorts at the time. I will be addressing the issue with my physician, as I’ve had feedback personally as well. Some weird inflammatory issue that causes a moderate fever and mental status changes on soft tissue injury.
Thanks for removing the objectionable content. I can barely recall posting something at the time.
Probably going to end up on steroids for a while again. :/
wzrd1 @263, thank you. Wishing you well.
Ramaswamy suggests he would want Musk as advisor if he wins election
60th March on Washington event merges Black America’s current concerns with history
Saturday’s event was smaller than the historic 1963 gathering, but marchers and speakers vowed to continue battling racism and inequities to fulfill Martin Luther King’s dream.
More at the link, including photos.
Link
More at the link.
Might not come to anything much but we could have a good comet visible to the unaided human eye breifly here :
Source : https://www.space.com/new-comet-nishimura-visible-naked-eye
Emphasis on the may here with comets famously unpredictable and prone to fizzling but – hopefully maybe this one will live up to or even exceed expectations – just don’t bet on it and wait and see if you can..
Prigozhin confirmed dead after genetic tests
Atheist: ‘Why Do You Think the Bible is Better Than Other Holy Books?’ Here’s What He Really Wants to Know
Step 1: Change the question to one you want to answer
The creation as described in Genesis did not happen. Noah’s flood did not happen. The captivity in Egypt and subsequent 40 year exodus in the desert did not happen. Does this person even understand what ‘falsified’ means?
“Far too good to be mere legend” – WTF?
Jesus’ story can be verified as true? You are welcome to try. In fact, why don’t you start by proving that Jesus even existed?
Good news. According to this NYT op-ed by Nicholas Kristof, religion at least in the form of going to church/synagogue/mosque is dying a slow death in the US of A: America Is Losing Religious Faith. If the decline continues, by the mid-2030s “believers” will be less than half the population instead of over 60% of the population currently.
Atoms Aren’t Empty
Flash forward to 2023, where Mario Barbatti is a theoretical chemist and physicist researching light and molecule interactions. He’s also a professor of chemistry at Aix Marseille University in France. Writing this week for Aeon, Barbatti argues that “there are no empty spaces within the atom.
“The empty atom picture is likely the most repeated mistake in popular science.”
On FauxNews:
America is ‘quickly’ becoming a Communist country: Xi Van Fleet
Ukraine unveils suicide submarine to take out Russia’s warships
Car Thief Calls Police On Himself
Vivek Ramaswamy doubles down on comparing US Rep. Ayanna Pressley to ‘modern grand wizard’ of the KKK
Russian agents disguised as Latvian border guards trying to recruit Ukrainians refugees
Ukraine Update: Both Russia and Ukraine may be rushing troops southward in the coming weeks
Bellingcat and Scripps News: Russia’s Ghost Ships and the Evolution of a Grain Smuggling Operation
More at the link.
See also this YouTube video, a 17-minute video produced by Bellingcat: “Russia’s Ghost Fleet: Uncovering the Covert Grain Trade from Occupied Ukraine”
This video is also available at the main link, scroll down to view it.
Followup to comment 279.
Posted by readers of the article:
Do you think British politics is dysfunctional?
Republican congressman: “hold my beer!”
https://youtu.be/n_9fInQZmOU
or
https://youtu.be/n_9flnQZmOU
Re @ 281 it is the lower link.
The “Freedom caucus” is making terrorist demands. Do what we want or we blow up everything.
Re: birgerjohansson @ #282…
Yeah… It’s more like a case of, “Hold my bomb!”
Reginald Selkirk@272,
Your link contains the following:
This is blithering nonsense, suggesting there is some magical property of human observation that turns waves into particles.
Well, that he did is the consensus of relevant experts. Claiming proof would be too strong – as is the case for all but a small number of individuals from that time (I’d limit it to those whose existence is directly evidenced by actual objects from the time, such as monuments, tombstones or coins with their names attached, or the Vindolanda letters – and for the majority of these, we know very little about them), but it’s by far the simplest and most coherent explanation of the evidence we have.
@284: I agree, I don’t like that language, which is more explicit later:
Even some physicists have made the mistake you mention, descending into mystical woo.
I would suggest measure or interact with instead. Physicist John Wheeler preferred the term register.
@285: Don’t get me started.
A centuries-old bean is making a comeback in the form of vegan ice cream
Legumes FTW!
@195
Tropical Storm Idalia expected to hit Florida as hurricane
The National Hurricane Center predictions for Idalia are interesting.
TROPICAL STORM IDALIA
Crossing Florida is expected to deplete the hurricanes’s winds, but it may strengthen and reform again in the Atlantic, possibly even threatening Bermuda.
Democratic nominee Shuwaski Young to withdraw from Mississippi Secretary of State race
https://twitter.com/intermarium24/status/1695538159449170325
Video at the link. No English subtitles.
@292
Making them sing their contracts is just cruel. Are they provided with accompaniment?
Lynna… @ # 292 – Loath as I am to accept anything cited from Twitter, the story of Cubans getting treated like trafficked domestic workers seems like something that really ought to resonate at many levels.
I wonder how the “tankie” leftists will handle such cognitive dissonance…
Re: Pierce R. Butler @ #294….
They will probably blame it on the US, and specifically US embargoes on Cuba. (No, that doesn’t actually make sense, but for True Believers, it doesn’t have to.)
This is not really up to date … it’s from May 27, 2023.
Cuban immigrants join Moscow’s fighting forces in Ukraine after Putin signs bill granting citizenship
This article focuses more on Cubans living in Russia.
Cornered in Ukraine and isolated by the West, the Kremlin returns to Cuba
This article is dated June 3, 2023.
Good news for your elderly relatives
And maybe PZ, in 15-20 years.
“Wegovy may be valuable new option for heart failure patients”
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-wegovy-valuable-option-heart-failure.html
Must- have for students in the future!
“Lesser-known brain cells [astrocytes] may be key to staying awake without cost to cognition, health.”
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-lesser-known-brain-cells-key-staying.html
-And no more amphetamine for truck drivers.
WNC woman worked with antigovernment website founder to issue fake arrest writs; convicted
Fox News apologizes to Gold Star family after facing backlash over false story
Trump is spreading a “roomer” about DeSantis on social media.
Still no goddamn spell check, but maybe his fans never notice anything.
I’ve studied more than 5,000 near death experiences. My research has convinced me without a doubt that there’s life after death.
Hey mister super skeptical dipstick: their consciousness does not separate from their body, rather they have a sensation of their consciousness leaving their body. This is the sort of lack of rigor you are not even aware you are suffering from.
Ohio Ballot Board adopts controversial language for proposed abortion amendment
The Statehouse News Bureau | By Jo Ingles
Putin’s ‘opponents’ in 2024 election have one task – make him look younger
Poland’s Railways Halted by a Simple Radio Hack
Judge Sets Trial Date In Trump Jan. 6 Case: March 4, 2024
Followup to comment 307.
A highlight from the hearing in front of Judge Chutkan today:
Trump’s lawyer, Lauro, confessed that he did nothing so far to prepare: “Lauro: There’s no obligations for a defense to begin preparing simply because a grand jury is investigating.”
Foxconn founder Terry Gou to run for Taiwan’s presidency
Pope Blasts American Catholics for Putting Political Ideology Above Faith
Hurricane Franklin gains strength, takes aim at Bermuda -US NHC
Franklin is too far east to be a threat to the mainland USA.
Lynna, OM @ 308
Doesn’t Trump have a 100 page report with “irrefutable evidence” ready to go. I think it was in response to the Georgia case, but should cover the federal case too.
Re: larpar @ #312…
He claimed that he did, but it hasn’t been released in any form. I’d be dubious about the claims.
whheydt @ 313
He didn’t release it because he was saving it for court.
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/1194559233/trump-cancels-press-conference-on-election-fraud-claims-citing-attorneys-advice
We’ll see it as soon as we see his health care plan. : )
larper @312, yeah, right. That was Trump’s ridiculous boast earlier. He walked that back by claiming that his lawyers advised him to present the evidence in court instead of at a press conference. The Inveterate liar was so foolish that his lawyers managed to talk him out of the public display of foolishness.
I wonder if Trump thinks “100 pages” is a lot … especially when compared to the evidence Jack Smith has amassed. Maybe it is a 100-page excerpt from the goobledygook that Sidney Powell and Rudi Giuliani prepared.
Speaking of liars claiming to have evidence they don’t have: Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have any incriminating evidence against Joe Biden. The Republican speaker is moving forward with an impeachment inquiry anyway.
Josh Marshall:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-rise-of-the-global-oligarchs
Link
Not a “lone wolf.” The guy was connected to an extensive online network.
Followup to comment 317:
Link
“The unprecedented high temperatures this summer have been devastating to the nation’s elderly population and have also altered Japan’s culture in unexpected ways.”
New Yorker link
Excerpts from a longer article which includes seasonal kilo, the building blocks of haiku… and how appreciation of those is diminished by climate change.
Correction to comment 319. Not “kilo,” but “Kigo.” Victim of autocorrect in the last sentence of the comment.
‘Joe the Plumber,’ Political Activist and Media Sensation, Dead at 49
@100
Turns Out Ron DeSantis’ Tale About a Fetus in a Pan Was Actually a Coat-Hanger Abortion
Competitors get down and dirty at Britain’s bog snorkeling championships
Noel on Tafkat:
https://www.wonkette.com/p/does-america-hate-hungary-and-russia
Guardian:
“How 19th-century pineapple plantations turned Maui into a tinderbox”:
“Dramatic climate action needed to curtail ‘crazy’ extreme weather”:
More re #219 – “Syrian protests enter second week with calls for Assad to go”:
A few podcast episodes (Stitcher is shutting down I think tomorrow, but this should be enough information to find them elsewhere):
Tech Won’t Save Us – highly recommended – “AI Criticism Has a Decades-Long History w/ Ben Tarnoff”:
Why Is This Happening – “‘The Heat Will Kill You First’ with Jeff Goodell”:
NBN – “Julian Jackson, France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain“:
Yes! It is time for my weekly fix of Noah, Heath and Eli.
“Skepticrat 207 Dunning-Prager Edition”
https://youtu.be/tXSCnJFSK9k
I watched a few movies recently and appreciated all of them in different ways:
Rojo (2018), directed by Benjamín Naishtat (looking forward to his new film with María Alche, Puan, coming out next month)
The Collini Case (2019), directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner
Chevalier (2022), directed by Stephen Williams
I’d recommend any of them, but my taste in movies is pretty idiosyncratic so make of that what you will.
Anyway, here’s Meshell Ndegeocello, “ASR.”
Reginald Selkirk @ #288 and Lynna @ #319, thank you for those links!
If we are talking films, I want to mention the coal power propaganda film made by Prager U that will now be an official educational film in Florida schools.
The horror…the horror..
See link @ 328 for details.
Ukrainian military destroy unique Russian radar station worth $200 million in Kherson Oblast
Sweden charges man arrested last year in predawn raid with spying for Russia
Foxconn Selling Two Empty Wisconsin Buildings After Failed Promises to Bring Jobs to the State
NBC Boston – “Eyeing possible impacts of Idalia and Franklin as powerful storms swirl in the tropics”:
https://twitter.com/Lyla_lilas/status/1696019348140302479
That is a really small child.
Commentary:
Link. The video is also available at that link, scroll down.
No, I don’t know what happened to the child, but that little tyke was way too small to be left alone.
Oh no.
NBC News:
Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Inquirer – “Journalism fails miserably at explaining what is really happening to America”: “…These are the stakes: dueling visions for America — not Democratic or Republican, with parades and red, white, and blue balloons, but brutal fascism or flawed democracy….”
Ukraine Update: As the ‘ Surovikin Line’ starts to crumble, the general who made it is still missing
More Ukraine updates coming soon.
Followup to comment 339.
More Ukraine updates:
Lynna, OM @ 340
A consistent pattern is that everything in Russia is worse than it seems, especially in the corrupt military.
I will not at all be surprised if the rear defensive lines turn out to be crap, thrown up in a hurry by brass who just need to tell their bosses “It is done” without regard to wether it will hold up to being tested by Ukrainan attacks.
The whole post-Soviet culture makes me optimistic.
This explains a lot about the gap between North and South.
-The distinct culture of the American South was a carryover from the regions of the British Isles the migrants came from (mainly peripheral regions not as integrated in the more dynamic changes of the economy).
This made the culture of the antebellum South curiously adverse to what we consider enterprise, while the yankees mostly came from parts of England that had undergone a greater transition in the face of a changing economy.
“Why were Southern Whites so bad at business?”
https://youtu.be/jvUwnLXxais
Think I heard something on the radio the other day that factcheker RMIT has found up to / over /exactly (?) fifty lies coming from the ‘No”side on Australia’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum the date of which willapparently be announced tomorrow. I couldn’t find a full list but via RMIT :
Source : https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/crosscheck/common-confusions-about-voice-to-parliament
Also 6 minute long segment onthe Voice facts vs noside lies here via 7.30 Report an Aussie ABC news show.
Whilst in today’s news on this :
Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-29/ken-wyatt-urges-former-liberal-colleagues-to-support-the-voice/102789738
Australia’s regressive leftovers led by the rotten Gestpotato (an overpaid racist as ex-cop) are getting more and more left over and unappetising every day..
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
Noel on Tafkat:
Timothy Snyder on Tafkat:
Media Watch on the UFO / UAP foolery and Aussie credulous reporting on it here :
https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/ufos/102785078
(Click on the transcript button for, well, that.)
Excerpt (Ugly word that one huh? Maybe I should say “extract” instead? Same meaning?) :
Dealing with the same story PZ covered here : https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2023/07/28/non-human-biologicsok-show-me/
From the same episode of Media Watch a segment on debunkinmg a Climate Science denying paper :
Plus from the transcript – again, click button to get that :
&
Source : https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/climate/102785074
Vatican defends pope’s praise of ‘great’ Russian empire after fury in Ukraine
Chandrayaan 3 has already produced some interesting data on the lunar regolith and just how cold it is :
https://www.space.com/chandrayaan-3-moon-temperature-lunar-south-pole-first-time
Plus avoided an ominous crater too.
Typhoon Saola to bring heavy rain and strong winds to southern Taiwan on its way to China’s coast
How scientists engineered a see-through squid with its brain in plain view
Well, that has not so far turned out to be the case with Russian preparations for and resistance to the Ukrainian counteroffensive. There were many predictions that Russian defensive works would be useless, Russian troops would flee or surrender en masse, the Ukrainian advance would be as fast as that in the north-east last year, and so on. I’d be delighted if you turn out to be right about the further defensive lines, but I see no reason to expect it.
An interesting take on maturing night vision tech from In Range.
Sionyx Opsin
“The future of night vision”
https://youtu.be/0IkyXZOLedo
or
https://youtu.be/0lkyXZOLedo
127-year-old water main gives way under NYC’s Times Square, flooding streets, subways
Ukraine claims it damaged prized Russian jets using ‘cardboard’ drones from Australia in a daring raid
Night vision – what’s next
New Night Vision Tech Lets AI See in Pitch Darkness Like It’s Broad Daylight
Eminem Just Told Vivek Ramaswamy to Stop Trying to Rap His Songs
Saudi retired teacher sentenced to death for criticising ruling family on social media
Graduate student charged with murder in killing of University of North Carolina faculty member
Here are the first 10 Medicare drugs the government will negotiate lower prices for
While I’ve got the chance…
Hurricane Idalia’s track now aims straight for where I live: the center of the storm will, they say, hit here a few hours before dawn on Wednesday. I live maybe ten miles from the line where they say Idalia will slow down enough to degrade to a mere tropical storm, but they still predict ~60 mph (96 kmh) winds for some exciting hours.
But we’ll certainly lose power well before that, probably before sundown. While taking a break from various prep work, I just want to send y’all a wave. It might take a week or more before anybody in this neighborhood goes online again, depending on how one somewhat remote cell tower holds up, but we’ve all been through this before and know the moves. So far just showers and a dramatic but brief thunderstorm last night, cloudy but dry (in a very humid way) now.
Will look forward to scanning this thread to catch up on my what-happened? fix – thanks again to Lynna & all for keeping it up!
Steve Scalise diagnosed with ‘very treatable’ blood cancer
A village in Maine is again delaying a plan to build the world’s tallest flagpole
Pierce R. Butler @359, best of luck weathering the storm!
In other news, an update on one political storm: Mark Meadows did not help himself on the witness stand
Posted by readers of the article:
Remembering The Black People Who Died In Jacksonville, Not The Nazi Who Killed Them
https://www.wonkette.com/p/remembering-the-black-people-who
Photos of the victims are available at the link.
On a private call with Christian millionaires, home-schooling pioneer Michael Farris pushed for a strategy aimed at siphoning billions of tax dollars from public schools.
Washington Post link
More at the link.
And if he was serving the cause of the Trump campaign (political activity) rather than the office of the president (official duties), then he runs square into the Hatch Act.
The Hatch Act Bars Meadows’ Removal Bid
Russian Railways’ warehouses on fire in centre of Moscow
FBI announces it has dismantled global network of hacked computers used in major fraud scheme
America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow
New York Times link
Overuse is draining and damaging aquifers nationwide, a New York Times data investigation revealed.
More at the link.
Francis Suarez has ended his presidential campaign. He is the first GOP candidate to drop out.
Far-Right House GOPers Toss Targeting Trump Prosecutors Into Shutdown Threat Mix
The California State Bar’s devastating report on John Eastman contains bad news for Trump as well
More at the link.
Some links from Tafkat:
Noel:
Dmitri:
Tendar:
Source and video at the link.
Tendar:
I’ve only watched the first episode of Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland (a BBC series available in the US this week), but so far it’s very good.
Here’s the Guardian review.
Here’s an interview with the director.
Stay safe, Pierce!
The conservative meltdown on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court just got worse
Lynna’s take: Sheesh. Two white conservative women serving on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are really showing their ignorance, along with an out-sized sense of privilege. They are ranting, and doing so publicly.
SC @372, thanks for posting this comment from Dmitri: “Nearly 3 months of the most intense and brutal Russian propaganda, thousands of photos from hundreds of angles, and just 5 of 71 Leopards provided to Ukraine were destroyed, with no crew losses.”
It’s good to take a step back and see the full picture. That also turns out to be a good way to counter Russian propaganda.
Florida looked for ‘opposing viewpoints’ on slavery
https://twitter.com/Rhondizzle3/status/1670854738563461120
Photos at the link.
More here, at Political Flare.
Video and more details are available at the link.
Sigh.
Link
@379:
Should we give him partial credit for recognizing that it was an invasion, not an altruistic de-nazification?
Meta says it has disrupted a massive disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement
Helicopter belonging to FSB crashes in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, killing all onboard
Rachel Maddow last night (YT link) – “Report on Trump’s private remarks reveals true stakes of 2024 election”:
DKos/AP – “Conservatives are on a mission to dismantle the US government and replace it with Trump’s vision”:
There is no place for No Labels this presidential cycle
I personally think that people who don’t reply to polls, people who don’t pay that much attention to how elections actually work … those people might vote for a third party candidate just for the hell of it. And they might just accidentally put Trump back in the White House. No Labels is more dangerous than Marko Moulitsas would like to think.
One of the ‘woke’ Florida prosecutors DeSantis removed is speaking out, and her story is chilling
I’ve seen several reports of drones, explosions, and groundings of aircraft in Russia in the past couple of hours.
This is the general theme (Tafkat link).
CNN liveblogs:
“Live Updates: Hurricane Idalia, still strengthening, is bearing down on Florida.”
“Live Updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Election fraud: it’s real
Alabama lawmaker arrested on voter fraud charge
Ukraine war: ‘Drone attack’ hits airport in northwest Russia city of Pskov
Dmitri on Tafkat:
Videos at the link.
Re: SC (Salty Current) @ #391…
There is at least one claim floating around that a Tu-22 supersonic bomber was also at least damaged at Pskov.
Hmmm…. All this make me wonder if someone might consider filking something from Rimski-Korsakov’s 1872 opera “The Maid of Pskov”…
The Referenndum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Oz will be the 14th October 2023. ABC news has this live coverage here :
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-30/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-date-announcement-live/102786994
Ukraine Update: The future is disposable as Ukraine showcases a world of cheap and plentiful drones
Hmmm. In the recent past, Republicans in Tennessee have claimed that they changed some rules in order to preserve civil discourse in the state’s House chamber. Doesn’t seem to have worked.
Chaos on Tennessee House floor as speaker shoves Black lawmaker
Willis asks to fast-track all 19 RICO defendants in Trump’s Georgia trial
How Vivek Ramaswamy made his fortune is as corrupt at you would expect
Video produced by Driven Progressive is available at the link. The video provides a lot more details concerning the scam that Ramaswamy ran.
Posted by readers of the article:
@ my # 359 – I lied.
Per the Nat’l Hurricane Ctr at the time, the edge of Idalia would have marched across this county by now (a bit after midnight), with more rain than wind until maybe 5 am; it would drop from ‘cane to mere Tropical Storm right along Interstate 75. So far: dry/humid; some thunder; the lights haven’t even flickered; the air hardly moves. High-level clouds glow from the combination of moonlight and streetlights; doubtless all the night critters are aprowl.
Per the NHC maps, we’re near the center of the wind path – and on the eastern edge of the rain path, projected to drench Tallahassee and a strip across Georgia & both Carolinas all the way to the coast. The local amount-of-rain chart shows a textbook saddle formation overnight from what had been a straight 100% line, but only a minor drop of expected inchage [?].
The local windage forecast has dropped and moved back several hours, while analyses still say Idalia continues to gain lots of heat and water as it sweeps slowly across the record-warm Gulf. IANAMeteorologist, but I suspect that means the rain component of this fork will cause most of the damage this time.*
IOW, local experience completely contradicts NHC/NWS (so far), nor do I recall ‘canes here splitting wind/rain to significant degree. The forecast now calls for about half as much rain as it had earlier today, with more steady winds and later, longer, slightly weaker gusts before dawn. The (entirely well inland) County has ordered mandatory evacuation of mobile/manufactured housing and opened three shelters, one specifically for the ill and their caregivers (cots available only for the former); no idea what’s happening there or on the roads. I doubt many of the supposed-to-be evacuees have obeyed that order.
So, I still expect to go incommunicado for a while sometime tomorrow (this) morning, with abundant entertainment with shovels, chainsaws, or other implements as needed ensuing come daylight &/or a calm(er) interlude. Howsomeverotherwise, nothing at all has gone according to recent local forecasts (all too accurate, mostly, in our last few TSs), and (so far) that worries me more than Idalia per se.
*It appears certain that a penis touched an anus somewhere along that route, provoking all due smitage from the Almighty. :-O Why don’t the “real” meteorologists ever mention this?
Yikes!
Source : https://www.space.com/noirlab-gemini-north-south-telescopes-hacked-cybersecurity
Only temporary sure but science gets booked a long time in advance and telescope time esp on such large and valuable scopes is very precious and rare. I wonder what has been lost here?
@ Lynna #396
In an otherwise informative article, I see the same mistake repeated over and over. These two quotes are from the article.
“That would make it harder to prosecute the central RICO charge, and to use the mandatory sentence associated with it as leverage”
“the RICO indictment that guarantees time in jail.”
This is simply not true. The RICO charge in Georgia law is O.C.G.A.§ 16-14-4, which is spelled out in the idictment, and it does NOT guarantee time in jail.
Criminal penalties for violation of Code Section 16-14-4
Sorry to make a big deal of it, but it’s irritating to see such a simple mistake repeated over and over. And it is kind of a big deal whether prison is mandatory.
Lynna, OM @ 397
Holy ☆□%@ !
WWII.
Have you heard of Elisabeth Shilling?
https://youtu.be/-InZ5B8EmNg
Or possibly
https://youtu.be/-lnZ5B8EmNg
My mistake, the woman engineer that made the Spitfire engine competitive is named Beatrice Shilling.
Ukraine war map update 29 /Aug / 2023
https://youtu.be/bQHpbIjxeVA
or possibly
https://youtu.be/bQHpbljxeVA
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian Ukraine liveblog. From there:
From Youtube
“Russia in pain Russia in pain
The invasion losses were all in vain
The cannon fodder keep facing death
The Czarfuhrer boss couldn’t care less
They fight to boost czarfuhrer’s powers
In Ukraine they turn into flowers
The Ruble’s drop is hurried
Murdered Wagnerites get buried
CNN liveblog – “Live Updates: Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida”:
France 24 liveblog – “Live blog: Gabonese military officers say President Bongo is under house arrest”:
Hacking the hackers:
A Brazilian phone spyware was hacked and victims’ devices ‘deleted’ from server
Eastman Dares Critics to Find Damaging Emails. They’re Already Public.
Ammon Bundy: God Told Me to Go to My Arraignment
Countervortex – “Syria: revolution reborn”:
The post is drawn from one at Leila’s Blog, to which he links. It’s notably her first post since September 2022.
“Revolution Reborn”:
CNN liveblog:
Guardian liveblog:
CNN liveblog:
Storm surge of 8-9 feet in a place flatter than Holland. And it is early hours.
re Lynna @396:
He continued, “All before the boss has a chance to toss them under that bus.”
Nuclear Weapons Partly Responsible for Radioactive Wild Boars, Researchers Say
Guardian liveblog:
Source : https://www.space.com/nasa-osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-return-preview
Mission wikipage : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-REx Touches Asteroid Bennu video – 1 min long here showing when the sample that’s hopefully landing in a few weeks time was collected.
Saturn at opposition and brighter and better than usual and near Earth’s Moon in the sky right now too FWIW.
CNN – “Afghan women once worked in this popular national park. Now they’re not even allowed to visit”:
CNN liveblog:
France 24 – “Gabon coup: The end of the Bongo political dynasty?”:
Video at the link.
@ my # 398 – I lied again.
As of 11:30 local time, less than 1″ of rain in my gauge, only minor limbfalls in yard and road. Weather maps still show our area at maximum chance of tropical storm winds, but rains going north of us. A couple of teeny power blips. County gov’t still predicting lots of rain and wind.
Probably somebody’s getting clobbered, but not those of us in the previously predicted path of Idalia.
Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani awarded default judgment in defamation case
Former Kremlin official blames the ruble’s crash on Russia’s stockpile of rupees that’s stranded in India
Texas education board members vow to keep PragerU out of public schools after one state official went rogue
Supermoon could team up with Hurricane Idalia to raise tides higher just as the storm makes landfall
CNN liveblog:
The Three Fingers of Death Have Arrived in Ukraine
@430, ibid
Judge: Navarro Failed To Prove Trump Invoked Executive Privilege Over His Jan. 6 Testimony
A Russian police lieutenant colonel was killed by a drone while mowing his lawn on his day off, local reports say
Just How Tiny and Hateful a Man is Ron DeSantis?
Pro-Putin rapper takes over Domino’s Pizza in Russia
It’s a scam. Companies are charging exorbitant fees for prison phone calls.
Mother Jones link
More at the link.
McConnell freezes for 2nd time while taking questions
Video at the link.
Link
Russia and North Korea in ‘Actively Advancing’ Talks on Weapons, U.S. Says
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/08/30/world/russia-ukraine-news
CNN liveblog:
Caption for a New Yorker cartoon: “The defense intends to prove that our client is still President by reason of insanity.”
Satire written by Andy Borowitz:
New Yorker link
University of Michigan shuts down school’s internet connections following ‘significant’ cybersecurity incident
‘Unbelievable!’ Manatee spotted eating grass after Idalia floods Florida lawn
Judge blocks new Texas law that would erode cities’ power to enact local rules
HHS calls to move marijuana to lower-risk US drug category
Trump County in Iowa Ousts Conspiracy Theorist, Elects Democrat Instead
Tucker Carlson: ‘Obviously’ We’re ‘Speeding Toward Assassination’ of Trump
Reginald @445, good news so far. I hope that bill is permanently defeated.
Reginald @448. Sheesh. Tucker Carlson has gotten worse since Fox News kicked him off the air. I wonder what he is trying to accomplish with that particular conspiracy theory.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/oh-no-the-daily-beast-and-its-lover
Dmitri on Tafkat:
They reportedly neutralized all 28 missiles and 15 of 16 drones.
Noel on Tafkat:
Noel on Tafkat:
‘Downtown Cedar Key is underwater’ – resident who stayed for Hurricane Idalia
India’s moon rover confirms sulfur and detects several other elements near the lunar south pole
A few podcast episodes:
Our Hen House – “Animal Law Podcast #99: The Case of the Prohibited Protest”:
SWAJ – “The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy with Robert P. Jones”:
Jacobin Radio – “Behind the News: A Social History of the Internet w/ Taylor Lorenz”:
Ron DeSantis’s home hit by Hurricane Idalia
God’s aim is improving.
FauxNews:
National Archives says it has 5,000 emails potentially linked to alleged Biden pseudonyms: Lawsuit
The evidence that these pseudonyms belonged to Biden, or that the emails have any incriminating evidence: they didn’t have room to list that in the article.
There is a level where it is funny that they have to make up a bunch of email addresses. It is desperation, like making a big deal out of a bunch of financial complaints made about Biden, that they likely had a role in making so they could make a big indirect implied deal out of it.
Faux:
They never cease confirming how slimy and dishonest they are. The lawsuit didn’t “reveal” any such thing. That claim appears to have been cooked up by some House Republicans. The SLF – a rightwing, AGW-denial front apparently funded (at least as of 2010) by the likes of Scaife and Exxon – evidently requested, in NARA’s words, “Biden Vice Presidential records pertaining to all emails from” those accounts. There’s no evidence here anywhere that those were “pseudonyms that President Biden…used during his vice presidency,” much less to communicate with his son.
The claim: “The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said it’s in possession of over 5,300 emails and documents potentially containing pseudonyms that President Biden reportedly used during his vice presidency.”
The reality: NARA said its initial search “identified approximately 5,138 email messages, 25 electronic files and 200 pages of potentially responsive records that must be processed in order to respond” to SLF’s request for “Biden Vice Presidential records pertaining to all emails from” those accounts.
And they’re filing a lawsuit claiming “continued unreasonable delays” on NARA’s part even though they only filed the FOIA request last year; also, NARA reminds them that “documents processed in response to your request may be closed in whole or part in compliance with applicable [Presidential Records Act] restrictions and FOIA exemptions,” so obviously even if NARA were to find anything responsive (once the request comes up in the queue!) it would take a long time before they get it if they get it at all. This is a propaganda exercise and trolling for information for them to gin up more lies about, probably with an assist from the Kremlin.
Ukraine Update: Ukraine breaches Russia’s main defensive line while it barrages Russia with drones
SC @458:
Thanks for posting that! I hadn’t seen that debunking and/or clarification. Important. And, as expected. :-)
Nature – Rare oxygen isotope detected at last—and it defies expectations
Dog autism? 37% of US dog owners buy into anti-vaccine nonsense
Trump inflated his net worth by $2.2 billion, New York AG says in filing
The Volunteer Moms Poring Over Archives to Prove Clarence Thomas Wrong
ibid @464
This emails thing appears to be very stupid. This is from the NY Post:
A few things to note: First, this dishonest hit piece (to which I won’t link) was published in July of 2021. It’s what the recent articles cite as “confirmation” of Biden using “aliases” to hide communications with his son(s). In the more than two years since, despite the entire rightwing propaganda network digging away, they’ve produced no evidence of any wrongdoing on Biden’s part. It might be (I have no idea) that these sorts of addresses are used for some communications with people outside government. But, crucially, the communications are archived by NARA. It would be a pretty stupid system to use to hide emails!
Second, they’re just talking about an attachment sent by an aide with his daily schedule, which wasn’t a secret in any event (here’s the readout of the call). The fact that it’s an attachment with his schedule suggests it was something related to, I don’t know, scheduling.
Third, the committee probably received this (again, back in 2021!) because they requested communications that involved Hunter Biden and Ukraine, which suggests that this sorry thing is the best they could dredge up to try to spin some narrative of skullduggery. And since this handful of nothing was all those search terms produced, any other records potentially responsive to the FOIA request are highly unlikely to be relevant, and they know it. This is why Comer is never able to provide any evidence to back up allegations of corruption and they have to rely on rightwing media to spin and lie.
Fourth, there is the context of Trump’s and his family’s and lackeys’ overt hostility to transparency and documented venality and criminality.
Black Alleged Donald Trump Co-Conspirator Announces He’ll Run for Congress; Supporters Donate Nearly $300K After He Spends Days In Jail Awaiting Bond Agreement In Georgia Case
Try to overturn an election, and then play the victim.
And why are so many losers running for office? Is that viewed as a GoFundMe alternative?
Tesla investigated for reportedly funding Musk’s glass house
Unlike Twitter, Tesla is a publicly traded corporation, and therefore must meed additional scrutiny.
Trump told NY officials he was too busy saving the world ‘from nuclear holocaust’ to commit business fraud
Where else is Musk going to throw stones from?
A little more obvious and Musk could try to pretend it was performance art to draw attention to abusive people.
Here’s a link to today’s Guardian liveblog. From there:
Also in the Guardian – “‘A success for Kremlin propaganda’: how pro-Putin views permeate Italian media”:
Emma Brockes in the Guardian – “Men, want to optimise yourselves with science? Then you need the help of neuroscience bro Andrew Huberman”:
When looking for music appropriate for Trump getting indicted and Musk having to put up with scrutiny, I came across “Today is a good day” by Swedish artist Anna Ternheim.
The song is about breakup, but as many followers of Trump, Musk and other toxic people may discover, breakups can be a good thing.
https://youtu.be/IBaLGWRzeHE
or
https://youtu.be/lBaLGWRzeHE
Ted Cruz denounces America’s totally real two-beer rule
Followup to comment 440.
So What If Mitch McConnell Drops Dead? Republicans’ Vacancy Rigging May Be Unconstitutional.
Link
Georgia Gov. Kemp Rejects Commission to Remove Fani Willis
Christian nationalist store opens in Army PX — hundreds of soldiers, mostly Christians, want it gone
Photos and more details at the link, including a response from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Excerpt:
Trump posted 31 video rants on Truth Social yesterday. 31!
Examples are available at the link.
LOL.
White House asks Congress to pass short-term spending deal, boost food aid.
Washington Post link
The federal government will shut down Oct. 1 unless lawmakers either extend current spending or fund programs through next year.
World Gravy Wrestling Championship held in Rossendale
Republican politician arrested for voter fraud in Alabama
https://youtu.be/OJRKzFqBLu0
Update to #376 – I’ve now watched the rest of Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland. Outstanding.
Some other history/memory/justice links:
From Alex Wagner’s show last night (guest-hosted by Ali Velshi) (YT link) – “Houston school libraries turned into ‘discipline centers’ in ‘hostile takeover’ by state”:
Part 2 – “State hijacking of Houston schools leaves parents anxious for answers”:
These state takeovers of schools, curricula, cities, election offices, etc., are outrageous and I think violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment (and also constitute “badges of slavery” that should be banned under the terms of the Thirteenth Amendment).
Guardian – “‘It stops you cold’: the 272 enslaved people sold to fund Georgetown”:
Guardian – “‘Who gets remembered and why?’: the exhibition asking uneasy questions about the Atlantic slave trade”:
Kyiv Independent podcast – “This Week in Ukraine Ep. 19 – Ukraine’s struggle to dump Soviet legacy”:
Scientologists Ask Federal Government To Restrict Right To Repair
Quoted in Lynna’s #478:
From a 2018 article (Texas Tribune link) re a drug that’s much safer than alcohol:
@479
I was wondering how long it would take before we were asked to feel sorry for that miserable excuse for a human being.
Noel on Tafkat:
Source link at the link.
Oklahoma schools official amplifies Libs of TikTok, bomb threats ensue
Ukraine Update: Ukraine may be about to flank Hill 166
Brain fog after Covid linked to blood clots – study
Mitch McConnell: The 3 Republicans who are likeliest to succeed him
Shotgun-wielding man reported outside a Black church in Pennsylvania arrested, police say
Clarence Thomas Really Just Blamed Abortion for His Undisclosed Private Jet Travel
Iran says Israeli sabotage plot against ballistic missile programme foiled
Meduza – “Culture Ministry official says Barbie and Oppenheimer movies do not promote Russia’s ‘traditional spiritual and moral values'”: