Tues - They Cured Every Cancer Patient. Real Handmaid's Tale

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Today's Worst Joke in the World

Turning vegan would be a big missed steak.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees

The Coup Was Supposed to Be Secret

A staffer for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign instructed Republicans planning to cast electoral college votes for Trump in Georgia despite Joe Biden’s victory to operate in “complete secrecy,” an email obtained by The Washington Post shows.

“I must ask for your complete discretion in this process,” wrote Robert Sinners, the campaign’s election operations director for Georgia, the day before the 16 Republicans gathered at the Georgia Capitol to sign certificates declaring themselves duly elected. “Your duties are imperative to ensure the end result — a win in Georgia for President Trump — but will be hampered unless we have complete secrecy and discretion.”

The Handmaid's Tale 

Legal claims shed light on founder of faith group tied to Amy Coney Barrett

Some highlights (or lowlights):  

Amy Coney Barrett lived with Dorothy and Kevin Ranaghan in their nine-bedroom South Bend, Indiana… later married her husband, Jesse Barrett, who also appears to have lived in the Ranaghan household

Humphrey also wrote in her statement: “When I was part of the People of Praise I was in full life submission to Kevin Ranaghan... For example, we were ‘in common’ financially, which meant that I had to hand over my paycheck to Kevin Ranaghan and he would decide on how that paycheck would be used. Kevin Ranaghan controlled my dating relationships, deciding who and when I should date.”

Cynthia Carnick stated in the documents that she had witnessed Dorothy Ranaghan tie the arms and legs of two of the Ranaghans’ daughters – who were three and five at the time the incidents were allegedly witnessed – to their crib with a necktie. She also said that the Ranaghans allegedly practiced “sexual displays” in front of their children and other adults, such as Dorothy Ranaghan lying with her clothes on and “rocking” on top of Kevin Ranaghan in their TV room.

Kevin Ranaghan sometimes showered with two of his daughters, who were 10 or 11 at the time.

Barrett served as a “handmaid”, a female adviser to other female members.

Fox Crawls Back Into Their Den


Fox and Friends



He Thinks Being Arrested is Supposed to Be Fun - Which Article of the Constitution Says You Cannot Be Arrested at the Airport?

Peter Navarro, a top former White House adviser to Donald Trump, was up in arms Monday that he wasn’t given special treatment when he was arrested by the FBI last week for defying a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack.

During an appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the former trade adviser claimed he was poorly treated during his brief time in custody on Friday.

“People do not want to sit in solitary confinement in leg irons ― denied food, denied water, denied an attorney,” Navarro said. “This is what we live in.”

Navarro appeared in court Friday afternoon before being released. He plans to represent himself, as a matter of principle, and because: “I do not want to spend several hundred thousand dollars on lawyers.”

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Navarro claimed the Justice Department had an “utter disregard of the Constitution and the law” and that authorities could have knocked on his door at home and asked him to go to court instead of arresting him while he was about to board a plane.


How Is Paid Leave Different From a Paid Vacation?  Ans: It Doesn't Count Against Your Vacation Days.

Three police officers in Arizona are on administrative leave amid an investigation into their response after a man jumped into a lake and drowned last month despite repeatedly pleading for help, newly released footage and records show.

According to a transcript of the footage provided by the city, Sean Bickings, 34, told police in Tempe, Arizona, he was drowning and begged officers for help. Authorities said Bickings, whom city officials described as an "unsheltered" member of the Tempe community, apparently jumped into the lake in an attempt to evade police after officials did a background check and found three outstanding warrants.

Body camera footage and a video transcript were released to The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, by Tempe officials on Monday. Police released an edited, incomplete video of the May 28 incident because it contained "sensitive material," the video states.

An original statement from the Tempe Police Department said officers responded to reports of a verbal domestic confrontation on May 28 around 5 a.m. involving a man and a woman. The released body camera footage shows officers speaking separately to Bickings and to a woman who identified herself as Bickings' wife.

The woman reportedly told officers that they had engaged in a discussion but that Bickings had not been physically violent. Footage later showed Bickings going over a fence and walking into the lake as he tells police: "I am going for a swim. I am free to, right?"

According to Tempe officials, Bickings began begging for help after he swam 90 to 120 feet into the lake, indicating he was in distress.

"I'm going to drown. I'm going to drown," Bickings told police. An officer responded, "No, you're not," according to the transcript.

The transcript adds that police told Bickings to swim and hold onto a pylon. One officer reportedly told Bickings: “I am not jumping in after you.”

The original police statement said that officers "immediately" started rescue efforts and that Bickings "was uncooperative."

Biden Cites Misleading Statistics.  50 Million Kids, 324,882 Police Officers, 2 Million Active-Duty Military. 

“Over the last two decades, more school-aged children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military combined.”

— President Biden, in a speech on gun violence, June 2
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees

It's About Time!  The EU Leads the Way

Apple and other smartphone makers will be required to support USB-C as part of a single charging standard for mobile devices across the European Union by as early as the fall of 2024 under a new law announced Tuesday by EU officials.

The legislation is aimed at reducing e-waste and eliminating “cable clutter,” said Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Vice President. Under the legislation, according to a release, “mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers that are rechargeable via a wired cable will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of their manufacture.”

The coming rules will apply to new small and medium-sized electronics sold in the EU.

Chargers that support fast charging will also be required to adopt the same charging speeds. The measure does not affect wireless charging technologies, and consumers would have to be able to buy a device without a bundled charger if they choose.

Every Single Patient?  Wow!!

On June 5, the New England Journal of Medicine reported a Phase 2 rectal cancer trial in which each and every patient (14 of them) recovered one hundred percent. No more detectable cancer. No follow-up chemo was necessary. No surgical removal of rectum. No colostomy bags. No disfigurement. No clinically significant complications. Cancer was simply gone for everybody. 

Author Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr., of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said he knew of no other study in which a treatment completely obliterated a cancer in every patient. “I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer.”

Dr. Alan P. Venook, a colorectal cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved with the study, said he also thought this was a first.

A complete remission in every single patient is “unheard of,” he said.

PD-1 Blockade in Mismatch Repair–Deficient, Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

Could This Help Turn Florida Blue?

“A group of Latinos, including several prominent Democrats, have signed an agreement to buy 18 radio stations in 10 cities in a $60 million cash deal,” including Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Houston, NBC News reports. Among the stations that have been purchased is Miami’s Radio Mambí, described by WLRM as an “ultraconservative” outlet popular among the Cuban community.

“As Latinos drive population growth in the United States, they continue to navigate the ocean of information on what is happening in the world and their place in it,” Stephanie Valencia said in a statement reported by Forbes. “With minority media on the decline, now is the time to be investing in more resources to create content for Latinos by Latinos. Through the unique combination of creative content and new and existing media platforms to serve our community, we can embrace cultural pride and collectively empower Latinos.”

Valencia, cofounder of polling firm Equis Labs, will head the Latino Media Network (LMN) alongside Jess Morales Rocketto, who is political director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The two raised tens of millions of dollars for the effort, and tapped investors and advisors including actor and activist Eva Longoria, Emmy-winning journalist María Elena Salinas, and Latina magazine founder Christy Haubegger.
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Invasions Have Consequences

Day 104

Fighting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for more weapons to arrive faster, saying things could become very difficult for Ukraine if Russian forces break through the front lines in Donbas.

Zelenskyy says his country’s forces are not giving up positions in Severodonetsk, the main Donbas city not in Russian hands, where street fighting is raging. He did, however, admit that Russian forces had a numerical advantage in the battle.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Russian forces likely controlled most of Severodonetsk as of Monday.

On Monday morning, Russian forces shelled the town of Zolote, destroying 13 houses, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said.

Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Monday that Russian forces were also advancing towards Sloviansk, about 85km (53 miles) to the west of Severodonetsk.

Reports of heavy shelling near the city of Izyum suggest Russia is preparing for a renewed effort on the northern axis, as its progress made through May on the southern Popasna axis has stalled over the last week, Britain’s defence ministry said.

Diplomacy

Russia’s ambassador to the United States accused Washington of harassing Russian journalists in the US, state news agency RIA reported.

The US accused Russia of trying to “intimidate” American correspondents in Moscow who were summoned by the Russian foreign ministry and threatened with reprisals because of US sanctions.

Zelenskyy thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for sending long-range missiles to Ukraine.

No change in the US embassy posture in Kyiv, the state department said, after Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian capital for the first time in more than a month. The US embassy had resumed its operations last month.

US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said Washington and Moscow “must preserve the ability to speak to each other”, urging Russia not to close the US embassy, Russian state media reported.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was forced to cancel a visit to Serbia on Monday after Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro prevented his plane from passing through their airspace, officials said.

The human cost of the war

More than 14 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes since the Russian invasion on February 24.

Ukraine said 263 children have been killed as a result of the invasion and conflict, while more than 467 have been injured.

The “unprecedented” displacement of millions of Ukrainians is “turning into a human trafficking crisis”, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence Pramila Patten said.

Russia has been urged to stop sexual violence allegedly carried out by its military forces and armed proxies in Ukraine, allegations that Moscow denounced as “lies” at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

About 60 percent of Ukrainians need psychological help as a result of the war, Ukraine’s first lady said, adding that Kyiv was working on establishing a national support system.

Sanctions

Russia has imposed sanctions on 61 US officials, including US treasury secretary Janet Yellen and energy secretary Jennifer Granholm, in retaliation for “constantly expanding US sanctions”, the foreign ministry said.

US authorities are pushing to seize two luxury jets linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich after a federal magistrate judge signed a warrant approving the move.

Japan will freeze the assets of two more Russian banks and one more Belarusian bank as part of additional sanctions for Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Japan’s foreign ministry said.

Economy

Zelenskyy said up to 75 million tonnes of grain could be stuck in Ukraine by this autumn, and that Kyiv wanted anti-ship weapons that could secure safe passage for its exports.

European Council President Charles Michel accused Russia of using food supplies as “a stealth missile against developing countries” and blamed the Kremlin for a looming global food crisis, prompting Moscow’s UN ambassador to walk out of a Security Council meeting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are “credible reports” that Russia is “pilfering” Ukraine’s grain exports to sell for profit.

It's No Longer in Fiji's Waters

The United States won a legal battle on Tuesday to seize a Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji and wasted no time in taking command of the $325 million vessel and sailing it away from the South Pacific nation.

The court ruling represented a significant victory for the U.S. as it encounters obstacles in its attempts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs around the world. While those efforts are welcomed by many who oppose the war in Ukraine, some actions have tested the limits of American jurisdiction abroad.

In Fiji, the nation’s Supreme Court lifted a stay order which had prevented the U.S. from seizing the superyacht Amadea.

Severodonetsk

At this point, trying to say anything about Severodonetsk beyond “fighting continues” is pointless. We know this much about the sequence of events: Ukraine quickly fell back as Russian forces first entered the city, allowing them to capture as much as 80-90% of the area; Ukrainian forces then surged forward, in concert with artillery firing from across the river in Lysychansk, and quickly retook about half the city; by Sunday, it was Russia that was down to less than a third of the city, but Russia responded by pushing more troops into the city and more artillery into the outskirts; since then the battle has surged back and forth through the city streets, with neither side able to fully gain the upper hand. Russia doesn’t control as much as it did at its peak. Neither does Ukraine. The losses for both sides are both sickening and mind-boggling. On Saturday, Russia may have suffered its highest level of losses for any single day of the invasion, but it’s possible that the same could be said about Ukraine.

Based on the most reliable reports available on Tuesday morning, Ukraine has suffered a serious setback in its efforts to recapture and hold the city. Ukrainian troops still control the western industrial areas of the city and are fighting in the east. Russia essentially holds the north and parts of the city center, except that Russian attempts to advance are still being obliterated by the artillery on the opposing bluff. The most accurate thing to say at the moment is that no one controls Severodonetsk.


Hail Caesars!

From France:  “According to the commander of this unit, its six Caesars have allowed the elimination of at least 80 pieces of Russian artillery. These young Ukrainian cannon teams were trained in the middle of the war, in France, a month ago”.

They started training a month ago. If this is even close to the case, and Ukraine has not been inclined to overstate its successes, we are watching the pivot of the war right now.  France appears to have committed to 18 Caesars.

The CAESAR (CAmion Équipé d'un Système d'ARtillerie; French: Truck equipped with an artillery system)[2] is a French self-propelled 52-calibre gun-howitzer firing NATO-standard 155 mm artillery shells, installed on a 6x6 or 8x8 truck chassis.



Part of the Butcher's Bill


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Why Are There So Many Russians in Donbas?

During the 1930's, the Soviets intentionally stole the food from Ukraine, leading to mass starvation.  The starvation was worst in eastern Ukraine.  With the population decimated, they Soviets brought in Russians to take over the vacant Ukrainian farms. 
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Watching Fake New Spread - Local Edition

A neighbor posted on NextDoor that the water company was encouraging people to call up and report on their neighbors who were violating the one-day-a-week watering policy.  This set off a chain of over 100 outraged replies as people compared this to informants in Nazi Germany and saw creeping communism.  Others worried that a neighbor with a grudge might make a false report to get back at their neighbor.

The whole thing is nonsense.  Since the first of the year, the water company installed new meters which allow them to monitor our water use in real time.  (They are connected to the Internet.)  They aren't going to rely on tips to find those violating the rules.  Their computers will know when it happens.

I pointed this out on the message board, but soon after this the whole thread was deleted.  Good for NextDoor.
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Lettuce Feed You Cabbage - Pay For It With Greens 

Fast food giant KFC has been forced to put cabbage in its burgers and wraps in Australia as the country is struggling with a shortage of lettuce.

The firm told customers it is using a mixture of lettuce and cabbage after floods destroyed lettuce crops.

It comes as shoppers in Australia have been hit with soaring prices for some fresh fruits and vegetables.

Social media users have posted photos of lettuces costing over A$10 ($7.18; £5.72), three times the usual price.

On its website KFC Australia said: "Due to the recent floods in NSW [New South Wales] and QLD [Queensland] we're currently experiencing a lettuce shortage. So, we're using a lettuce and cabbage blend on all products containing lettuce until further notice."

"If that's not your bag, simply click 'Customise' on your chosen product and remove Lettuce from the Recipe," it added, signing off with a smiley face emoji.
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Regulating the King's New Clothes

The most comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation to date is being introduced Tuesday by a bipartisan pair of senators looking to establish a clear federal regulatory structure for digital assets.

Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. — authors of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act — say their goal is to make consumers more comfortable with a growing industry that is still foreign to many Americans.

“One of the problems is that nothing is properly defined,” Lummis, a fervent cryptocurrency supporter on Capitol Hill who owns bitcoin, said in an interview. “Our bill seeks to change that so more people become comfortable and can benefit from cryptocurrency.” (How do people benefit from cryptocurrency?)

Key provisions in the legislation would, for the first time, define the blockchain and digital asset industries and designate the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the regulatory agency with spot market jurisdiction over all fungible digital assets that are not securities.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have clashed in recent years over which agency should regulate cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

The legislation would spell out definitions for digital assets, virtual currencies, payment stablecoins and so-called smart contracts, in addition to detailing new tax implications for cryptocurrency users.
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How Hard Would It Be To Make a Device for People of Color?  How About One That Adjusts for Skin Color?

Black and Latino patients experienced significant delays in obtaining life-saving Covid-19 treatments due to a popular medical device that inaccurately reads darker skin tones, according to a study released last week in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The report shows that pulse oximeters, a device that clips onto a person’s fingertips and reads oxygen levels, is more likely to produce inaccurate results in Black, Latino and Asian Americans than in white patients. The device can make patients of color appear healthier than they actually are, researchers said.

“Not only less accurate, but in particular, more optimistic,” Tianshi David Wu, a co-lead author of the study and assistant professor of pulmonary medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, told NBC News. “In this study we found that minority patients appeared healthier than they really were based on this bias in pulse oximetry.”

The report indicated that the inaccuracies make it increasingly difficult for patients of color to get appropriate Covid-19 care and can lead to worse outcomes. The devices detect a person’s oxygen levels by the way light is absorbed by skin. According to previous studies, darker skin, and even dark nail polish, can throw off the reading.
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