China

Jan. 6 'chaos agent' John Earle Sullivan sentenced to 6 years in prison A federal judge sentenced the Utah man who filmed the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, to six years in prison Friday for instigating the mob against police. John Earle Sullivan, 29, was convicted in November of five felonies and two misdemeanor charges for obstructing the joint session of Congress, civil disorder and carrying a knife into the U.S. Capitol. Sullivan, a former Olympic speed skating hopeful who rebranded himself as an activist in 2020 under the online moniker “Jayden X,” gambled at trial that he could convince a jury he e was acting as a citizen journalist who put himself in harm’s way to document a historic moment. Sullivan said he began recording civil unrest in 2020 amid the nationwide protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. It was then he incorporated his company, Insurgence USA, in Utah. On Jan. 6, Sullivan was being followed by a photographer, Jade Sacker, who was making a documentary film about the political divisions between Sullivan and his brother, James, who is a right-wing activist. Sacker’s footage, which was played at trial during her testimony as a defense witness, shows Sullivan wearing a ballistic vest and using a bullhorn to repeatedly call out support for the crowd. At one point he can be heard yelling, “We’re about to burn this s*** down!” At another point, as a group of rioters including several members of the Proud Boys breaks through a police line, Sullivan shouts, “This is our f***ing house!” Click on the link for the full article

The Caps PP sucks. Now the Rangers have one. Ugh.

UFO caught on camera? Flight passenger captures shocking photo over LaGuardia Airport A flight passenger saw a mysterious object while flying over LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York. On Wednesday, Michelle Reyes told News Nation that she spotted a “flying cylinder” out of her plane window. “The first thing I did was email the FAA to let them know what I saw,” she said. Though she didn't get a reply, Reyes confessed that the incident was “a little nerve-wracking” for her. “Maybe it was a safety hazard, but unfortunately I haven’t heard back from them, they didn’t acknowledge my email,” Reyes continued, adding that another flyer also saw the object. “It’s a little nerve-wracking that someone else saw what I saw,” she said. Click on the link for the full story

Ukraine Decoy Missiles Spark Crimea Attack Fears Ukrainian forces are preparing to attack the Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Russia with the annexed Crimean peninsula, the Rybar Telegram channel, which has links to Russia's defense ministry, said this week. Kyiv may have used U.S.-made ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) missiles this week to detect air defense systems and radars in preparation for another attack on the Black Sea peninsula, which was annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014, the military blogger said. The missiles, which are designed to distract and confuse enemy air defenses, are capable of mimicking a number of aircraft on radar screens. The Kerch Strait Bridge serves as a key supply route for Russia's forces. Ukraine struck the 19-kilometer (12-mile) road and rail bridge in October 2022 and again in July 2023. The bridge is crucial to sustaining Moscow's military offensives in southern Ukraine, and Kyiv has vowed future strikes on the structure as it seeks to recapture the peninsula. Click on the link for the full article

Cheap Russian drones overwhelm US-made Abrams tanks, taken out of action Ukrainian forces are withdrawing US-provided Abrams M1A1 main battle tanks from the front lines after at least five have been destroyed by cheap Russian drones, according to the AP. A loud cheer went up amongst Ukraine’s support when the US announced in January 2023 it would deliver a battalion of Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The hope was that 31 US made tanks, which are far superior to the Russian T-72 tank that is in wide use by Russia’s forces, would be a game changer. The Abrams has better front armour and a more powerful gun that can penetrate the Russian tanks armour. By October 2023, all 31 tanks had been successfully delivered, as confirmed by officials. However, the evolving dynamics of warfare, particularly the proliferation of Russian surveillance and hunter-killer drones, have dramatically altered the operational landscape. It turned out that the Abrams were more vulnerable to Russian attacks than previously believed. The Russian forces avoided head-to-head clashes between tanks that they were likely to lose and instead adopted a new tactic: attacking the Abrams with swarms of drones that targeted tanks weak points: typically the point where the turret meets the body, the rear covering of the engine and the top of the tank where the armour is thinnest. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) played on these weaknesses in the early days of the war, using US-suppliedJavelin missiles that swoop upwards before reaching their target before dropping down on the roof of the Russian tanks. As Soviet designers had chosen to store all the tank’s rounds in the turret, these would then explode and cause the Russian tanks to “pop their tops” killing everyone inside. According to the US officials speaking to AP, the Russian drones have been very effective and led to the loss of five Abrams tanks on the battlefield, prompting a reassessment of their deployment. Click on the link for the full article

Russia's economy is so driven by the war in Ukraine that it cannot afford to either win or lose, economist says Russia's economy is completely dominated by its war in Ukraine, so much that Moscow cannot afford either to win or lose the war, according to one European economist. Renaud Foucart, a senior economics lecturer at Lancaster University, pointed to the dire economic situation facing Russia as the war in Ukraine wraps up its second year. Russia's GDP grew 5.5% year-over-year over the third quarter of 2023, according to data from the Russian government. But most of that growth is being fueled by the nation's monster military spending, Foucart said, with plans for the Kremlin to spend a record 36.6 trillion rubles, or $386 billion on defense this year. "Military pay, ammunition, tanks, planes, and compensation for dead and wounded soldiers, all contribute to the GDP figures. Put simply, the war against Ukraine is now the main driver of Russia's economic growth" Foucart said in an op-ed for The Conversation this week. Other areas of Russia's economy are hurting as the war drags on. Moscow is slammed with a severe labor shortage, thanks to young professionals fleeing the country or being pulled into the conflict. The nation is now short around 5 million workers, according to one estimate, which is causing wages to soar. Inflation is high at 7.4% — nearly double the 4% target of its central bank. Meanwhile, direct investment in the country has collapsed, falling around $8.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2023, per data from Russia's central bank. That all puts the Kremlin in a tough position, no matter the outcome of the war in Ukraine. Even if Russia wins, the nation can't afford to rebuild and secure Ukraine, due to the financial costs as well as the impact of remaining isolated from the rest of the global market. Click on the link for the full article

The Real Tragedy Is That Most Trump Supporters Aren’t Stupid It's time we stopped giving adult human beings the benefit of the doubt, simply because we think they're not smart enough not to be fooled by religious shysters, fake news peddlers, and political snake oil salesmen. Ignorance is not a compelling argument. We’ve all heard the theories for the past eight years: people still supporting Donald Trump are somehow victims of the partisan media and Evangelical alternate reality that they’ve been raised in and are still captives of. They’re continually surrounded by fake news and false stories, and so they aren’t bad people they just aren’t seeing what we are seeing and we need to be more understanding. This just isn’t acceptable anymore. There simply isn’t a sufficient excuse for being an adult so sheltered from facts and so truth-deprived that you can’t see Trump’s complete sociopathy and you can’t discern the existential threat he and his party are to this nation. These people aren’t being asked to dig beneath some complex, brilliantly crafted ruse perpetrated by Conservative media and religious conglomerates working in concert. If you can simply read Trump’s own social media feed and not be fully disgusted to the point of vomiting, you either aren’t a reasonable human being or you are willingly choosing to engage in wild intellectual and theological gymnastics in order to avoid a reality that makes you uncomfortable, and to intentionally avoid some really vile stuff that no one is even attempting to conceal anymore. I’m fully convinced that nearly everyone still supporting Donald Trump knows he is a reprehensible human being and guilty of high crimes against this nation—but they simply can’t admit to themselves or anyone else they made a mistake and so they are doubling down again and again. Click on the link for more

'Insurrectionist' Freedom Caucus member flails as legal fees cripple re-election: report The political future of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), a rabid supporter of Donald Trump whose involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection has led to legal fees that have drained his cash coffers, is reported to be increasingly in doubt. Perry, one of the faces of the far-right Freedom Caucus, now has a formidable opponent for his seat in a district that has undergone changes making it far less red, and Democrats are planning to outgun him with money — a scheduled $2.4 million in TV ads in the four weeks before election day. According to a report from the New York Times' Robert Draper, Perry, a notoriously poor fundraiser, is entering the "postprimary season with about $500,000 in cash on hand, less than any other House Republican facing a significant general election challenge." That comes after he has had to divert $327,000 to pay his legal fees as the Department of Justice seized his phone while investigating his part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to the Times, after the primary this week where former Republican Janelle Stelson, a popular local TV personality, won the Democratic nomination, the Cook Political Report shifted the battle from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.” Click on the link for the full article

Experts: Trump associates "in a world of hurt" — may cooperate after they're "left holding the bag" Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorney Rudy Giuliani and other associates of former President Donald Trump were indicted Wednesday in Arizona over efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat in the state. An Arizona grand jury handed down charges, including felony counts of conspiracy, fraud and forgery, against 18 total defendants, 11 of whom were fake electors, according to The New York Times. Trump, who faces criminal charges in Georgia and federal charges over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election, is also referenced as "unindicted co-conspirator 1." The 58-page indictment makes Arizona the fourth state to bring an election interference case over the Trump campaign's activities in 2020, but only the second — after Georgia — to charge more than the false electors the campaign enlisted in the states Trump lost. "I think it's a righteous indictment, but it certainly didn't need to take this long" to charge, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Salon. "Now, they're going to be really at the back of the line in terms of criminal cases." Taking three-and-a-half years from the time of the alleged misconduct to charge the case is "surprising, to say the least," he added, noting later that the case amounts to "more [of] the same" fake electors plot conduct that other jurisdictions have brought indictments over. Trump skirting charges in the case was "the most surprising" aspect, Rahmani said. "I mean, you either believe that he's part of the scheme or not. In fact, he's the one that benefits the most from the conspiracy. So why wouldn't you charge him?" Kreis hypothesized on X that Mayes may not have sought charges against the former president for a number of reasons, including it being an election year with Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee, her possibly wanting to avoid the likely "headache" of joining the pipeline of Trump's four other criminal cases, and her potentially aiming for a "cleaner prosecution" by waiting out the Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity. Legal experts also took note of the absence of Trump-aligned lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, another architect of the fake electors plot, from the list of defendants, with some speculating it suggests he may be cooperating with prosecutors. For Donald Trump, the indictment "doesn't mean a whole lot," Rahmani explained, arguing that the former president will "obviously" choose not to testify and won't "show up to this case." "In other words, co-defendants and co-conspirators may be left holding the bag," Goodman writes. "That dawning reality may create incentives for some of these individuals to cooperate with law enforcement authorities sooner than later." Click on the link for the full article

A new article with more on his hair woes: Trump’s Hair Unravels Outside of NYC Court and It’s Truly Humiliating, ‘Looks Like the Glue Is Coming Off!’ There is nothing I love more than a Donald Trump hair story! I’m not being serious, but considering all the times Trump has mocked someone for their looks, I will take every opportunity I can to do the same to him. And now we have another example of hair today, gone tomorrow! Trump’s mop was totally exposed while he was outside of court in New York City today. In a new video, posted to X/Twitter, the adjudicated rapist’s head of hair puzzled people, as they weren’t sure what was really going on — and if he’s had a hair transplant in the past or currently has hair plugs. The photo shows Trump meeting some supporters. And at that moment the wind was blowing, and lifted what hair Trump has up so we could clearly see his scalp. And it’s obvious the man is bald. He just has mastered the combover in such a way that he appears to have a full head of hair. Trump’s hair is obviously his trademark, and he truly loves it, despite the fact that it looks awful. And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen his real head and hair. Remember this video? It revealed it all: This is a man who wouldn’t go visit our war dead because he didn’t want to get his hair wet. Trump complains about showerheads and water pressure because of how they make his hair look. The man is truly a narcissist, and that’s definitely true when it comes to his hair. Ivanka Trump has previously revealed the “secret” behind Trump’s questionable do, according to Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside Trump’s White House”: “For Ivanka, it was all business — building the Trump brand, the presidential campaign, and now the White House. She treated her father with a degree of detachment, even irony, going so far as to make fun of his combover to others. She often described the mechanics behind it to friends: an absolutely clean pate — a contained island after scalp-reduction ­surgery — surrounded by a furry circle of hair around the sides and front, from which all ends are drawn up to meet in the center and then swept back and secured by a stiffening spray. The color, she would point out to comical effect, was from a product called Just for Men — the longer it was left on, the darker it got. Impatience resulted in Trump’s orange-blond hair color.” Perhaps this diagram will help: Click on the link for more

List fails without MTG.

It's already happened: Deepfake scammer walks off with $25 million in first-of-its-kind AI heist

Biden spotlights Trump's attacks on football with battleground state ad blitz As the NFL draft kicks off this week, President Joe Biden's campaign is launching a new digital ad on Thursday taking aim at former President Donald Trump's past comments disparaging football and the league, the Biden campaign told ABC News. The short, 20-second ad, on YouTube, features a montage of Trump previously attacking football, calling it "boring as hell" and saying "nobody cares about football," juxtaposed with Biden greeting and touting his relationship with football players. The ad -- the latest skirmish in the early part of Biden's general election fight against Trump, which is expected to be close -- ends with the message: "Make the right pick in November." The ad plays into the longstanding feud between the NFL and Trump, who had once owned rival United States Football League team the New Jersey Generals in the 1980s and reportedly tried to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014 but was unsuccessful after investors doubted the NFL would allow it. According to the Biden campaign, the new ad will target football fans across battleground states including in Green Bay, Wisconsin; in Detroit; in Phoenix; and in Pittsburgh. The ad will also air in Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Las Vegas. Click on the link for the full article

So is Judge Merchan ever going to rule on the Trump contempt for violating the gag order? The prosecution has already submitted another batch of violations, and if he doesn't issue a ruling before the weekend you know Trump will violate the gag order several more times over the weekend. What is he waiting for, Trump to get the trial thrown out because he's intimidated witnesses and the juror? WTF?

Interesting. I wonder how much energy and burned fuel it takes to crush concrete into 1 mm size pieces.

Trump is unindicted co-conspirator in 2020 Michigan fake electors probe, investigator testifies Former President Donald Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Michigan attorney general’s probe into the attempts to overturn the 2020 election in that state, an investigator testified Wednesday. The investigator also said the list of unindicted co-conspirators includes ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis. The revelations came at a pretrial hearing in Lansing for some of Michigan’s fake electors, who have been charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in her investigation into the attempts to subvert the 2020 election. Nessel, a Democrat, charged 16 fake Republican electors from Michigan last summer. CNN reported in December that the investigation was ongoing and appeared to be expanding. One of those charged already agreed to cooperate with Nessel’s prosecutors, in exchange for the charges being dropped. The remaining 15 defendants have all pleaded not guilty. Special agent Howard Shock, one of the lead investigators in Nessel’s probe, was asked Wednesday in court by a defense attorney for one of the fake electors to confirm whether specific people are co-conspirators. Shock answered “yes” when the lawyer asked about Trump, Meadows, Giuliani and Ellis. Trump, Giuliani, Meadows and Ellis aren’t facing charges in Michigan. They were all indicted in Georgia’s sweeping 2020 election interference case. Ellis pleaded guilty in that case last year; the others deny wrongdoing. Click on the link for the full article

No way that's 1935. Maybe 1965.

Since today is National Lingerie Day – April 25, 2024:

Chilling last words of pilot who let kids control plane before horror crash killed 75 A pilot's haunting last words have been revealed before the jet crashed killing everyone on board after the pilot let a child play with the aircraft's controls. Aeroflot Flight 593 from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia was meant to travel to Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong but an in-flight disaster saw the plane crash before it reached its destination. A total of 63 passengers and 12 flight crew members were killed in the horror incident which saw captain Andrew Viktorovich Danilov hand over the controls to a child who had been given a tour of the ****pit. Relief Captain Kudrinsky's two children had been on board the flight and were flying on their first international trip. Most of the passengers were asleep when the captain's children were left to feel like they were "flying" the plane. Kudrinsky's 15-year-old son manipulated the control stick for over 30 seconds with inputs up to 10kg, which contradicted the autopilot's input to keep the aircraft stable and straight. This then changed the flight control settings to manual without anyone in the crew realising the teen boy was in charge of the controls. Kudrinksy could be heard talking to his kids on the plane's black box. He said: "Eldar, get away. Go to the back, go to the back Eldar! You see the danger don't you? Go away, go away Eldar! Go away, go away. I tell you to go away!" As they were getting into difficulties first officer Igor Vasilyevich Piskaryov urged Kudrinsky to give 'full power' to the doomed jet. The last thing the radio heard was Kudrinsky saying: "Get out now! All is normal! Pull up gently, gently I say!" The radio then cuts out. A non-audible warning light was missed by the captain as he and the co-pilot scrambled to regain control. Though the pair regained control and recovered from the 90 degree angle dive it caused an overcorrection which led to a vertical climb. Because of this the plane stalled and dropped its altitude, spinning beneath the minimum safe height for a flight over mountainous terrain. Novokuznetsk air traffic control had been waiting for updates on the flight path but received nothing more. Click on the link for the full article