China

On 4/4/2024 at 11:19 PM, GhostofSparta said:

Well the good news for Kyle is that with scores that low he could still easily become a cop. He just has to hope that score doesn't make him TOO smart for most police forces.

On 4/5/2024 at 10:50 AM, mistertim said:

 

Anyone who believed that a person with as little intellect and capacity for self-reflection or accountability as Rittenhouse would actually change or use a newly crafted image for anything positive is, himself, a moron.

Kyle Rittenhouse’s Mother and Sister Are Being Evicted and Kyle Is Refusing to Help Them

I don’t have to explain to most of you who Kyle Rittenhouse is. He’s the 21-year-old who shot three men, two fatally, during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020, when he was aged 17. Rittenhouse was acquitted at his trial in November 2021, and testified that he had acted in self-defense.

We all saw the videos. A minor possessed a gun of war that he shouldn’t have had, and killed two men. He’s awful. And in the years since, all he has wanted to do is become a MAGA spokesman. And mostly, he’s been allowed. There are tons of photos of him with Donald Trump, the Trump family, as well as many other top MAGA figures.

If there’s a MAGA event, he’s there. But do you know who he’s not there for? His mother Wendy and his sister Faith. At least that’s according to Faith Rittenhouse’s GoFundMe looking to raise money so they don’t get evicted. And what Faith wrote was rather heartbreaking.

She began, “I’m reaching out to you today with a heavy heart and a sense of urgency that I never thought I’d experience. Our family has been through unimaginable hardships, and now we find ourselves on the brink of losing everything. Just under 4 years ago, our lives were shattered when my brother was involved in a tragic shooting incident. The aftermath of this event uprooted our family’s stability and left us grappling with grief, trauma, and the harsh reality of starting over. We know that we are not the only family struggling to rebuild after that fateful night.”

There is a lot I could say about that paragraph but I won’t, especially the phrase “tragic shooting incident”. I guess it was tragic for the VICTIMS, but for Rittenhouse? No way.

Anyway, Faith then brought up her brother Kyle, and that he is unwilling to help his mother and sister. She wrote, “We’ve had difficulty obtaining and maintaining employment due to the fact many people still believe my mother drove Kyle or was somehow involved in his decision to go to Kenosha. We’ve struggled emotionally, mentally, and financially to piece our lives back together. With my brother’s unwillingness to provide support or contribute to our family, we’ve been left to navigate this journey on our own.“

Click on the link for the full article

1 minute ago, Cooked Crack said:

lol

Trump has seen how his endorsements have not helped people and propelled them to victory, and so to improve the success rate of his endorsements has taken to endorsing people he thinks might win.  For example, in the Nevada primary Trump endorsed Brown but did so just a few days before the primary when Brown already had a lead of around 40 points.  Thus the endorsement didn't help Brown, but only served to boost his record in endorsements.

Trump’s private demand to Johnson: Help overturn my conviction

He has been obsessed in recent weeks with harnessing the powers of Congress to fight on his own behalf and go to war against the Democrats he accuses of “weaponizing” the justice system against him.

It’s a campaign he orchestrated in the days after his May 31 conviction on 34 felony counts in New York, starting with a phone call to the man he wanted to lead it: Speaker Mike Johnson.

Trump was still angry when he made the call, according to those who have heard accounts of it from Johnson, dropping frequent F-bombs as he spoke with the soft-spoken and pious GOP leader.

“We have to overturn this,” Trump insisted.

The speaker didn’t really need to be convinced, one person familiar with the conversation said: Johnson, a former attorney himself, already believed the House had a role to play in addressing Trump’s predicament. The two have since spoken on the subject multiple times.

But sympathy can only go so far. With a slim majority and skittish swing-district members, Johnson is already finding it difficult to deliver for Trump.

House GOP leaders, for instance, spent yesterday afternoon whipping a bill written by Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) that would allow presidents charged at the state level to move those cases to federal court — effectively nullifying the power of officials like Bragg and Fani Willis, Trump’s prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia. The bill was filed in April 2023 and reported by the Judiciary Committee in last September; only now is it being readied for possible floor action.

The problem, of course, is that these proposals don’t yet have the votes to pass. One senior appropriator, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), said the idea of defunding Smith was “stupid.”

Click on the link for the full article

Giuliani bankruptcy hits breaking point as creditors seek takeover

Tensions in Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case are coming to a head, with his creditors hoping for the drastic remedy of having a third party take control of the former New York City mayor’s finances. 

Since Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection, spurred by a $148 million defamation verdict, his creditors have accused him of hiding assets and a coffee deal, spending egregiously, and failing to timely file required paperwork. 

They have now had enough. On Monday, lawyers representing Giuliani’s creditors will return to bankruptcy court in New York, hoping to convince a judge that the time has come for a trustee to step in. 

“Simply put, Mr. Giuliani and his bankruptcy case have reached an impasse,” the unsecured creditors committee wrote in their motion. 

Bankruptcy automatically froze the poll workers’ efforts to collect the massive sum. And by filing for Chapter 11 — as opposed to Chapter 7, a more common type of individual bankruptcy that would lead to liquidation — Giuliani has remained in control of his assets, for now. 

“Mr. Giuliani went into Chapter 11 because he wanted to retain control. This is the key to Mr. Giuliani’s bankruptcy,” said Daniel Gielchinsky, a partner at DGIM Law who specializes in bankruptcy law. 

That soon could change as the creditors hope to take the reins. For months, they have expressed concerns about Giuliani’s genuineness in filing for bankruptcy, casting it as a delay tactic. The election workers believe federal law prevents Giuliani from discharging their nine-figure award in bankruptcy.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane, who oversees the case, expressed frustration at a hearing last month. 

“I am disturbed about the status of this case. The question is, as it always is in bankruptcy court, where do we go from here?” Lane said. 

In a scorching 55-page motion filed days later, Giuliani’s creditors told Lane that he should take the rare step of appointing an independent trustee, arguing Giuliani has shown a preference for “theatrics over progress.” 

“His creditors do not need to accept this as their plight, and the Committee refuses to do so. Accordingly, the time has come for the immediate appointment of a chapter 11 trustee to take control of the Debtor’s assets and financial affairs, including his wholly-owned businesses,” the motion reads. 

If the judge agrees, the trustee could look to sell assets or prevent Giuliani from diverting assets to his companies, which have not filed for bankruptcy. 

Click on the link for the full article

Reminds me of those old Miller Lite ads:

Report: Trump calls Milwaukee a 'horrible city' ahead of RNC

As Milwaukee prepares to welcome the Republican National Convention in 2024, a report about Donald Trump's comments about the city has sparked mixed reactions

According to a report from Punchbowl News, former President Donald Trump said, "Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city" during a closed-door meeting with House Republicans Thursday morning.

Click on the link for the full article

Watch: Jim Jordan takes Matt Gaetz to the woodshed for derailing Trump conviction hearing

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) clashed with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) at a hearing on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Moments after the hearing got underway on Thursday, Chairman Jordan called on Gaetz to question witnesses for five minutes. However, Gaetz offered a motion to subpoena Bragg and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) objected to the motion.

"It's a little absurd because Mr. Bragg and Mr. Colangelo have already agreed to appear before the committee on July 12th," Nadler noted. "I don't know what this debate is about."

Jordan stepped in to ask Gaetz to withdraw his motion.

"Mr. Bragg and Mr. Colangelo have agreed to come on the 12th," Jordan observed. "If they don't show up on the 12th, they will be subpoenaed. I would ask the gentleman if he could withdraw the motion."

Gaetz, however, refused to withdraw the motion.

"I've made a motion to subpoena these people now, pursuant to the rules, and I want to vote on my motion, or I want someone to move to table it," the Florida Republican demanded.

After a Democrat moved to table the motion, Jordan scrambled to prevent a vote.

"It's not debatable," Gaetz insisted.

"This is crazy," someone could be heard saying.

Click on the link for the full article and video

It's too bad our government is so broken that he can't be impeached even though he should be.

Why the DOJ and IRS don't go after him for violations in income/tax reporting I don't know.

Kentucky State Police investigators believe fatal Saturday shooting on I-71 was self-defense

Kentucky State Police investigators know who pulled the trigger in a fatal shooting on Interstate 71 in Carroll County Saturday, but have no immediate plans to make an arrest. 

That's because they believe the shooting was likely a case of self-defense.

Kentucky State Police received a request to assist on a road rage incident just after 7 p.m. on June 8, according to a news release from state police. During the initial investigation, it was determined that two cars driving on I-71 got off at exit 43, KY 389. At that time, police said one of the drivers was on the phone with Carroll County dispatch, reporting that the other driver was "displaying a firearm."

As the two cars were traveling on KY 389, the incident "escalated," and shots were fired. One driver -- now identified as 63-year-old Daniel Shouse of Carrollton, Kentucky -- was hit by the gunfire and died from his wounds. 

"The second vehicle passed the first vehicle, at which time we believe the second vehicle brandished a firearm," said Kentucky State Trooper Chad Johnson. 

Investigators said Shouse had a gun, and they're treating the shooting as a case of self defense. Johnson said the man who shot Shouse remained at the scene. 

"He was on the scene when law enforcement got there," Johnson said. "Law enforcement has been able to interview him and talk to him and he's been cooperative the entire time." 

Police said both men were in their vehicles when the shots were fired. 

Click on the link for the full article

Angry gentleman throws coffee at barista — who quickly smashes back with a hammer

A gentleman in Seattle was irate on Tuesday when he heard how much his drive-thru coffee was going to cost. So instead of either paying or returning the coffee and driving away, he argued, threatened her, and then threw his coffee at the server in the window.

But the quick barista not only closed her window before getting splashed, she then whipped out a hammer and smashed it into his windshield.

"At what point are we told we're supposed to just wait for it to get worse," barista and shop owner Emma Lee told KIRO 7, explaining that the man had told her, "Nobody's going to miss you."

"Disrespect and violence are two different things. I can handle the disrespect. The violence … that's where the line is crossed."

"It's one thing to yell, it's one thing to get mad, it's one thing to even be outside of your car and try to threaten me," she added. "But to actually have the action behind it, it changed things for me where I was like, 'Oh no.'" 

Click on the link for the full article

Exclusive-Boeing investigates quality problem on undelivered 787s, sources say

Boeing is investigating a new quality problem with its 787 Dreamliner after discovering that hundreds of fasteners have been incorrectly installed on the fuselages of some undelivered jets, two people familiar with the matter said.

The latest in a series of manufacturing snags affecting the U.S. planemaker involves incorrect "torquing" or tightening in a Boeing plant of more than 900 fasteners per plane - split equally between both sides of the jet's mid-body, they said.

There is no immediate concern about flight safety but Boeing is working to understand what caused the problem and will decide how much if any rework needs to be done once its investigation is complete, the sources said, asking not to be identified.

Boeing confirmed the checks in response to a Reuters query on Thursday and said it saw limited to no impact on deliveries.

"Our 787 team is checking fasteners in the side-of-body area of some undelivered 787 Dreamliner airplanes to ensure they meet our engineering specifications. The in-service fleet can continue to safely operate," a spokesperson said.

"We are taking the time necessary to ensure all airplanes meet our delivery standards prior to delivery. We are working closely with our customers and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and keeping them updated.”

FAA said in a statement that Boeing disclosed it may have "improperly installed fuselage fasteners on some 787" jets. "The FAA is investigating and is working closely with Boeing to determine appropriate actions and to ensure an immediate fix in the production system."

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said he would hear from people on site during a previously-planned visit to a Boeing 787 plant in South Carolina on Friday.

Shares of Boeing initially fell 1.7% before paring losses to be flat.

The U.S. planemaker has been under scrutiny from regulators and customers since a January 5 incident in which a smaller 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.

Click on the link for the full article

3 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Beyond High Definition,  huh? 🤔

ISS astronauts living with drug-resistant ‘superbug’ that mutated in orbit, bombshell study reveals

A NEW out-of-this-world 'superbug' has been discovered living aboard the International Space Station.

Despite the highly controlled environment on the ISS, a bug hitched a ride to space, where scientists were able to observe the mutating pathogen over the course of two years.

Scientists now claim the newly discovered multi drug resistant super bug 'ISS Enterobacter bugandenis' is wholly different to its Earth counterpart.

The bug, known to infect the respiratory system, could pose a risk to the crew onboard.

According to a study published in the scientific journal 'Microbiome'. scientists believe the strain evolved to become more potent in the closed environment of the ISS.

Over time scientists isolated 13 strands of the bug, where they carried out a comprehensive study.

According to the report, scientists said the found merited the need for "more robust preventative measures."

The report said: “The singular nature of the stresses of the space environment, distinct from any on Earth, could be driving these genomic adaptations...

"The implications of these findings are twofold. Firstly, they shed light on microbial behaviour, adaptation, and evolution in extreme, isolated environments.

"Secondly, they underscore the need for robust preventive measures, ensuring the health and safety of astronauts by mitigating risks associated with potential pathogenic threats."

Click on the link for the full article

‘Here’s Your Food, Ni—er’: DoorDash Driver Fired After Doorbell Cam Video Shows Him Spewing Racial Slur While Delivering Black Woman’s Order

Surveillance footage from a home doorbell camera in Nashville has gone viral, showing a white DoorDash delivery driver brazenly using the N-word but was out of earshot of the customer while placing the order on the front porch.

“Here’s your food, ni—er!” the unidentified man says loudly after setting the food down just outside the front door and rummaging through the contents of the bag before backing away and snapping a photo with his cellphone to confirm the delivery.

As the man walks off, he can be heard saying, “Chow down, ni—er!”

The jaw-dropping video clip was shared to TikTok late last week by a user who goes by @ChristinaTheeDemo on the platform.

“Did he not see my Ring camera?” the woman exclaims in the caption with the 15-second video, which also called out the online delivery giant, saying “WHY the HELL is this man employed by you? Fire him IMMEDIATELY, HELLO.”

The company responded to the customer and confirmed in a statement to Atlanta Black Star that the driver is no longer working for the delivery company, adding, “There’s no place for hate on the platform.”

Click on the link for the full article

Arizona man indicted for guns sold as part of alleged plot to start race war

An Arizona man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for selling guns as part of an alleged plan to commit a mass shooting and spark a race war ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Mark Adams Prieto, 58, of Prescott, Ariz., was indicted on charges of firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm, the U.S. attorneys office in Arizona said in a release Tuesday.

Starting in January 2024, according to the U.S. attorneys office, Prieto began talking to two individuals he did not know worked for the FBI to “devise a plan to commit a mass shooting of African Americans and other minorities to incite a race war” ahead of the election.

Click on the link for the full article

Senate Democrats Launch Probe Of Foreign Payments To Jared Kushner’s Firm

Democrats are increasing their scrutiny of Jared Kushner’s business activities.

Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, for details about its investors on Wednesday, including the $2 billion it received from the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund in 2021.

“Mr. Kushner’s limited track record as an investor, including his nonexistent experience in private equity or hedge funds, raise questions regarding the investment strategy behind the seeding investments and lucrative compensation that Affinity received from the Saudi PIF and other sovereign wealth funds,” Wyden wrote.

A panel that screens investments for the Saudi sovereign wealth fund warned against investing with Kushner, given his inexperience in finance, but the full board, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, overruled the panel, The New York Times reported in 2022.

Kushner advised Trump on foreign affairs, guided his administration to embrace Saudi Arabia as an ally, and remained in close contact with the crown prince even after he was implicated in the dismembering of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The Saudi PIF’s decision to invest $2 billion in Affinity so soon after Kushner’s departure from the Trump White House raises concerns that the investment was a reward for official actions Kushner took to benefit the Saudi government, including preventing accountability for the Saudi government ordering the brutal murder of journalist and American citizen Jamal Khashoggi,” Wyden wrote.

Click on the link for the full article

DOJ memo says Garland cannot be prosecuted for contempt over Biden-Hur audio

An internal Justice Department (DOJ) memo argued Attorney General Merrick Garland would be protected from prosecution for contempt of Congress given President Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over audio tapes Republicans have sought by subpoena.

The 57-page memo from the department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), obtained by The Hill, lays out the case for Garland’s refusal to turn over the audio of Biden’s conversation with special counsel Robert Hur. The GOP already has a transcript of the interview.

The OLC, which operates as a legal adviser for the department, wrote that no administration official has been prosecuted for failing to comply with a subpoena when the president has claimed executive privilege.

“For nearly seven decades and across presidential administrations of both parties, the Executive Branch has taken the position that the criminal contempt of Congress statute … does not apply to Executive Branch officials who do not comply with a congressional subpoena based on a presidential assertion of executive privilege,” according to the memo.

Click on the link for the full article

Who are the largest Trump donors? Plus a look at the money behind Biden and RFK Jr.

Banking heir Timothy Mellon continues to be the biggest single donor in the 2024 presidential race.  

Mellon donated another $15 million to super PACs backing Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April, bringing his total contributions this election cycle to over $50 million. He is supporting both Trump and Kennedy, donating $25 million each to Make America Great Again, a pro-Trump super PAC, and American Values 2024, a pro-Kennedy super PAC. 

Trump’s campaign announced it brought in $76 million in April, outraising President Joe Biden’s $51 million, though Biden still holds a substantial cash advantage. The figures will be confirmed when the joint fundraising committees submit their quarterly filings in mid-July. 

After a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments to Stormy Daniels, his campaign said it raised a record $34.8 million in small-dollar donations. This, too, will be confirmed in the mid-July filings. 

House votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over Biden audio

The Republican-controlled House narrowly voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, a major escalation in the GOP's war against a justice system the party has portrayed as unfairly targeting Donald Trump.

The vote was 216-207, with one Republican, Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, joining all Democrats in voting no. Seven Democrats and one Republican didn't vote.

At issue was Garland's failure to hand over audio of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Joe Biden about his handling of classified documents. Republicans had demanded the audio after Hur declined to prosecute Biden, in part, because a jury might sympathize with him as an "elderly man with a poor memory."

Democrats countered that the full transcript of the Biden interview has already been released to the public, and they sounded warnings that Republicans could manipulate the audio.

Despite the successful contempt vote, it’s largely a political exercise. Biden and his administration have asserted executive privilege in refusing to hand over the audio, all but eliminating the possibility that Garland would be prosecuted for ignoring the subpoenas. It’s also unheard of for Justice Department prosecutors to go after the head of their agency over a contempt issue.

Click on the link for the full article

How can you comment on that without tagging @Dont Taze Me Bro?

Challenger Mucarsel-Powell surges in US Senate poll, closing in on Rick Scott

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is in a tighter-than-expected contest with his leading Democratic challenger, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

A Florida Atlantic University Poll released Wednesday shows Scott with support from 45% of likely voters. Mucarsel-Powell has 43%. Effectively that’s a tie, within the survey’s margin of error.

The contest between Scott and Mucarsel-Powell is much tighter — a difference of just 2 percentage points among likely voters — than it was in FAU’s last statewide poll in April.

Scott had support of 53% of likely voters in the previous poll, 17 points ahead of Mucarsel-Powell’s 36%.

“In April, a lot of people didn’t know who Mucarsel-Powell was. Her name recognition has improved considerably. With that, the support for her has improved,” said Kevin Wagner, an FAU political scientist.

“If that trend line holds it suggests that it could be a competitive race,” he said, adding that it is still early to make that assessment. “It’s still June, so we’ll see how that turns out.”

Click on the link for the full article

Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy

The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe, who cautioned that it’s also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals.

“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle.

The birth of the sacred calf comes after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations. More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim stewardship over an animal their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.

Erin Braaten of Kalispell took several photos of the calf shortly after it was born on June 4 in the Lamar Valley in the northeastern corner of the park.

Click on the link for the full article

FYI, this is not an albino.

A January 6 Rioter Is Leading an Armed National Militia From Prison

Years after being accused of swinging a baseball bat at police officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, Edward “Jake” Lang is now using encrypted messaging channels to create a nationwide network of armed militias in all 50 states.

Though he has been in prison for over 1,200 days, Lang is working with a network of election deniers and conspiracists to promote the North American Patriot and Liberty Militia, or Napalm for short. The group officially launched last week with 50 state-specific militia groups on Telegram.

Lang claims that the Telegram groups already have 20,000 members, including pastors, farmers, former military personnel, and currently serving sheriffs. However, multiple experts who reviewed the channels tell WIRED that figure was wildly overestimated, and that the real figure was closer to 2,500 members. But a group this size, they warn, is still large enough to cause a serious threat. And while unarmed members are welcome, the group is, at its core, a pro-gun organization. “We are pro open carry, pro always have it on you, rather than waiting for somebody else to be able to defend your life,” says Lang.

As the 2024 US election approaches, Lang says that Napalm will be focusing on potential “civil unrest” around the vote. “We have to make sure that we're prepared for any real-time scenarios, any eventualities,“ says Lang. “Civil unrest at any given moment, especially around an election time, is something that could come along, and so we have to plan for that contingency as well.”

Tensions around the November vote are already at an all-time high, and many Republicans refuse to say if they will peacefully accept the outcome of the November election. Over one-third of Americans now baselessly claim that President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 was illegitimate. These conspiracies have led to a resurgence in far-right activity, of which Napalm is just the latest facet: Lang, along with all other members of the group’s leadership council, ardently believes that the 2020 election was stolen from former president Donald Trump.

“We've noted considerable energy being put into resurrecting far-right paramilitary activism right now,” Devin Burghart, the executive director at the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR), tells WIRED. “The growing talk of ‘Second Amendment remedies’ to unfavorable electoral outcomes is a serious cause for concern. Militia groups like Napalm promote political violence and sow the seeds for another potential insurrection.”

In addition to the election, Lang says that Napalm will respond to everything from natural disasters to Federal overreach, political protests, and potential Chinese invasions.

Click on the link for the full article

Fulton DA’s office asks court to dismiss Fani Willis appeal

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday asked the state’s second highest court to dismiss an appeal seeking to disqualify Fani Willis from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump.

In a motion, prosecutor Donald Wakeford said the appeal should be rejected because it was “improvidently granted due to the lack of sufficient evidence.” Moreover, in his March 15 order allowing Willis to remain on the case, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee made “explicit factual findings” to support his decision and which cannot be disturbed by an appellate court unless they were flatly incorrect, Wakeford wrote.

The Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision on May 8 to hear the case all but stopped court proceedings involving Trump and the eight other defendants who joined the challenge. The court cemented that by recently staying proceedings against those nine defendants.

Click on the link for the full article