Weds - Possible Wire Fraud? It IS Wire Fraud!!

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Today's Worst Joke in the World

Man assaults neighbor with milk and cheese.  How dairy!
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees

They Built a Team of Injured People

Twenty-five people have been treated for burns in northern Switzerland after they walked across hot coals as part of a team-building exercise.

Thirteen of them were taken to hospital and treated for more severe injuries after the incident on Tuesday evening.

A large emergency response, including 10 ambulances, arrived at the private event at around 18:00 (16:00 GMT).

The group walked over a bed of coals that was several metres long and felt pain shortly after, police said.

It is not yet clear if there was an issue with the set-up of the coals or with how the group walked across them.

If You Can't Trust Chocolate, What Can You Trust?

A haul of counterfeit chocolate bars has been seized in raids on American candy shops on Oxford Street.

The "Wonka Bars" were confiscated on Tuesday by trading standards staff, who took merchandise worth about £100,000, according to Westminster Council.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) warned: "If you have bought these knock-off bars, do not eat them."

The council has been targeting US-themed sweet shops amid claims nearly £8m of business rates are owed.

It says it has netted about £475,000 of counterfeit and illegal goods in the past six months.

Tina Potter, from the FSA, said some of the counterfeit bars had been found to contain allergens that were not listed on the label, posing a major health risk to anyone with a food allergy.

She said: "There is no way of knowing what ingredients are in these bars or what food hygiene practices are being followed by the people making or repackaging them."

Is There a Pot of Gay at the End of the Rainbow?

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have been seizing rainbow-coloured toys and children's clothing, which they claim encourage homosexuality, state TV says.

An Al-Ekhbariya report showed commerce ministry officials removing a range of items from shops in the capital Riyadh.

They included hair clips, pop-its, t-shirts, hats and pencil cases.

One official said the items "contradict the Islamic faith and public morals, and promote homosexual colours targeting the younger generation".

The commerce ministry tweeted separately that its teams were confiscating "products that contain symbols and signs calling for deviation and contradicting common sense".

Shops found to be selling them would face legal penalties, it added.

Possible?  Possible?  It's Wire Fraud!  It's Obviously Wire Fraud!

From The Guardian:

Trump’s raising of $250m for fund that ‘did not exist’ suggests possible fraud

The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack appeared to make the case at its second hearing that Donald Trump and his campaign engaged in potential fundraising fraud, raising $250m for a Trump “election defense fund” that did not actually exist.



James Gets It



The Worst Judicial Ruling in the World.  Giving a Rapist Sole Custody of a 16-Year-Old Girl, and It Gets Worse.

It's one of the most egregious cases victims' advocates tell the WBRZ Investigative Unit they have ever seen, after a judge awarded full custody to a woman's abuser and forced her to pay child support.

This story dates back decades and involves a woman who was raped at the age of 16 by a man almost twice her age.

Crysta Abelseth knows all too well about overcoming adversity. The now 32-year old is a mother of a teenager that WBRZ has made an editorial decision not to identify because she's a minor. Abelseth's daughter is the child of a rape…

Court records in the Tangipahoa Parish courthouse show Barnes admitted he's the biological father of the child. This year, he was granted custody of that child even though a criminal complaint was filed in 2015. Mysteriously those records are under seal, hidden from public view.

Things took a dramatic turn this year when a judge granted Barnes full custody. It happened after Barnes alleged Abelseth gave her daughter a cell phone. Abelseth said she was also ordered to pay Barnes child support.

"She's been forced to pay her perpetrator," Triche said. "Forced to pay her rapist child support and legal fees and give up custody of the child that's a product of the rape. It makes no sense."

The WBRZ Investigative Unit discussed this case with the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LFASA). Their lawyers said not only is this egregious, but they've never seen a case like it.

"It seems pretty straight forward that not only did a crime take place, but as a result of the crime, this person should not have custody of the child," Attorney Sean Cassidy with LFASA said.

Abelseth said for years she's tried to go about this the right way through the courts. But having her daughter taken away weeks ago over allegations she gave her a cell phone left her with a lack of confidence that she'll ever get a fair shake with justice impossible to find for the past 16 years.

"He's well connected," Abelseth said. "He's threatened me multiple times, saying he has connections in the justice system, so I better be careful and he can take her away anytime he wants to. I didn't believe him until it happened."

The Traitor Mastriano




The Rise of Herschel Lie-walker








And the Grift Goes On

Turning Point Action, a conservative pro-Trump organization, paid Kimberly Guilfoyle $60,000 to introduce her fiancé, Donald Trump Jr., in a speech lasting less than three minutes at the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse in Washington on January 6, 2021, according to multiple people familiar with the payment.

The payment to Guilfoyle was disclosed Monday by Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, who told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot at the US Capitol has evidence that former President Donald Trump’s family members personally benefited from money raised based on Trump’s false election claims.

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy

I am disgusted and outraged at the out right lie by Jason Miller and Bill Steppien. I was upset that they were not prepared for the massive cheating (as well as other lawyers around the President) I REFUSED all alcohol that evening. My favorite drink..Diet Pepsi

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@rudygiuliani) June 14, 2022


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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees

Hearings Have Consequences

Respondents to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll taken June 10-12 were asked “Do you believe each of the following is a crime?”

The results for each choice were overwhelming:

“Elected officials misleading Americans about the outcome of an election” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 69 percent of all respondents
“Elected officials attempting to overturn the results of an American election” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 69 percent of all respondents
“Elected officials claiming that presidential elections are fraudulent without evidence” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 55 percent of all respondents

Even among Republican voters, there were convincing majorities on two of those questions:

“Elected officials misleading Americans about the outcome of an election” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 59 percent of Republican voters
“Elected officials attempting to overturn the results of an American election” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 54 percent of Republican voters

And when asked “do you believe that the Department of Justice should bring legal action against the following?”, the results were almost identical:

“Elected officials who have misled Americans about the outcome of an election” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 63 percent of all respondents
“Elected officials who have attempted to overturn the results of an American election” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 67 percent of all respondents
“Elected officials who have claimed that presidential elections are fraudulent without evidence” — “Yes, definitely” or “Yes, probably” — 55 percent of all respondents
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Invasions Have Consequences

Day 112

Fighting

Ukraine’s forces are finding it more difficult to hold off Russian troops in the key eastern city of Severodonetsk, as Moscow’s army continues to pound the city with artillery, the governor of Luhansk said. He added that Russian troops control about 80 percent of Severodonetsk.

Russia urged Ukrainian fighters sheltering in the Severodonetsk Azot chemical plant to surrender.

The Russian army claimed it will establish a humanitarian corridor to evacuate hundreds of civilians from the plant on Wednesday.

Russian-backed separatists in Luhansk said Ukrainian forces have “taken hostage” up to 1,200 civilians in Severodonetsk’s Azot chemical plant, Russian state-owned news agency TASS said.

The governor Luhansk said about 500 civilians remain at the Azot plant, including 40 children.

Russia’s reliance on heavy artillery caused “extensive collateral damage” throughout Severodonetsk, the UK’s defence ministry said.

Ukrainian forces are suffering painful losses in fighting Russian troops in Severodonetsk and the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The route between Ukraine’s Donbas region and the Russian-annexed territory of Crimea via the occupied regions of Mariupol, Melitopol and Kherson is now open for civilian vehicles, TASS reported.

Diplomacy

Zelenskyy urged the West to send more modern anti-missile systems.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is set to lead a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday with defence ministers from NATO and other countries to discuss weapon deliveries to Ukraine.

Poland’s prime minister criticised NATO’s support for Ukraine, which has time and again called for more and heavier weapons.

Nicaragua’s Congress renewed a decade-long decree allowing Russian forces to enter Nicaragua between July 1 and December 31 to patrol in Pacific waters with the Nicaraguan Army, a decision the US criticised.

Moscow banned dozens of British journalists, media representatives, and defence figures from entering the country, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Russia would be ready to consider a UK appeal over the fate of two Britons sentenced to death for fighting for Ukraine, the Kremlin said. Moroccans have been calling for the release of a Moroccan-Ukrainian who was also sentenced to death, while the government remains silent.

Pope Francis made new remarks on the war in Ukraine, praising “brave” Ukrainians for fighting for survival but also suggesting the situation was “perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented”.

The human cost of the war

Nearly two-thirds of children in Ukraine have been uprooted during the war, a UN official said, calling the war a “child rights crisis”.

The Europe and Central Asia director for UNICEF said 277 children in Ukraine have been killed and 456 injured, the number of damaged schools is likely in the thousands, and only about 25 percent of schools in Ukraine are operational.

Ukraine said 313 children have been killed and 579 injured amid the war.

Economy

European countries imported 40 percent more coal from South Africa’s main export hub in the first five months of this year than over the whole of 2021, as a way to secure alternatives to Russian coal, Reuters news agency reported.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused some rich countries of having made a dangerous dash for fossil fuels in response to the war in Ukraine, warning the new investments being made in coal, oil and gas are “delusional”, given their impact on climate change.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will create a global wheat shortage for at least three seasons by keeping much of the Ukrainian crop from markets, pushing prices to record levels, Kyiv’s agriculture minister said.

Few of the global financial elite will attend Russia’s annual economic forum in St Petersburg, with the country isolated by sanctions over its war in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech at the “Russian Davos” on Friday, focusing on the international economic situation.

Who is Babushka Z?

An elderly Ukrainian woman brandishing a red Soviet flag has become the unlikely face of Kremlin propaganda after a video of her encounter with Ukrainian soldiers went viral. The BBC tracked down "Babushka Z" to try to establish the truth behind the incident.

"I don't think they should glorify me. I am just a peasant woman. I don't understand why I've become a celebrity."

The woman who has become known as Babushka Z - "grandmother" in Russian, the Z referring to the symbol often painted on armoured vehicles - is gobsmacked when the BBC shows her photos of her newfound fame. "I've never seen any of it," she says.

The video shows her walking towards two Ukrainian soldiers holding a red Soviet flag.

The soldiers say they have arrived to help and offer her a bag of food. Then they take the flag off her, throw it on the ground and stamp on it. So the woman, feeling insulted, gives the food back to them. "My parents died for that flag in World War Two," she says, indignantly.





For the Kremlin, this was gold. Russian propaganda is rarely able to centre on individuals, and they saw this woman as a rare example of a Ukrainian who regretted the collapse of the Soviet Union and considered the Russians to be liberators.

Most Ukrainians - even in Russian-speaking regions - have not welcomed the invasion, so her brandishing of the Soviet flag was used as proof that its actions have support among local people.

And it doesn't hurt that the iconography of that flag and the Babushka resonates for every Russian who is familiar with the WWII postcard of "Mother Russia".

The Kremlin propaganda machine got to work. Within days, her image - a throwback to a stereotypical peasant woman of the Soviet era in her orthodox headscarf, felt boots and thick skirt - started to appear everywhere, from Moscow and Siberia to Sakhalin Island in the far east.


She has now been immortalised in murals, placards, postcards, sculptures and bumper stickers. Songs and poems have been dedicated to her. Russian officials even unveiled a statue of her in Mariupol, the Ukrainian city that has been bombed to the ground.

Until recently, no one knew the true identity of Babushka Z. In fact, nobody was sure if she was even alive.

But she is a very real person. Her name is Anna Ivanovna and we tracked her down to Velyka Danylivka, a village near Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine where she lives with her husband, dogs, cats and rabbits.

The lively 69-year-old looks surprised when we show her pictures of the statue made in her image. "Do I really look so old?", she asks. "It's like a stranger is staring at me!"

But her story is very different from the image that the Russian media has been painting. She does not support the war.

"How can I support my people dying? My grandchildren and great-grandchildren were forced to go to Poland. We live in fear and terror."

So why did Anna greet soldiers with a Soviet flag? She says she has been misunderstood. She claims she confused the two Ukrainian soldiers offering her food with Russian soldiers.

"I was just happy that Russians would come and not fight with us. I was happy that we would unite again."

While Anna talked, the constant roar of artillery and fighting could be heard nearby. She didn't flinch once - she has become used to it.

"If I could speak to Vladimir Putin I would say, you've made a mistake. Us Ukrainian workers, what have we ever done to deserve this? We are the ones who are suffering the most."

How's Russia's Economy Doing?

17.1% Annual inflation in May

8-9% Retail trade set to fall this year

83.5% Car sales fall in May 2022

7.8% Official forecast of fall in Russian GDP in 2022

30% Unofficial forecast of GDP collapse by IIF

A deep recession lies ahead. In 2022 the Russian economy is expected to shrink by up to 10%.

Russian consumers are yet to feel the full effects. Supermarket shelves in Moscow are still pretty full, though some imported items are no longer available.

But it's in Moscow's malls where the change is most obvious. Once bustling shopping centres are much quieter now: fewer customers, less choice. In protest at the invasion of Ukraine, many foreign brands have suspended operations in Russia or pulled out completely. Lots of shops are shuttered.

Japan May Not Be in the North Atlantic, But ...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he will attend this month’s NATO summit in Madrid, becoming the country’s first leader to join a top meeting of the transatlantic group.

The announcement on Wednesday comes ahead of a June 28-30 gathering of the military alliance that is seen as a crunch moment for its 30 members, four months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden and Finland, which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations to the summit, and South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol will also be the first leader from his country to attend.

Japan, a key United States ally and not a NATO member, has delivered defensive supplies to Ukraine and imposed tough sanctions on Russia in tandem with the other Group of Seven (G7) countries.

“As the only Asian country in the G7, Japan’s diplomatic capabilities are being tested,” Kishida told reporters.

His attendance at the NATO summit will be “the first time for a Japanese prime minister”, he said, adding that he intends to highlight the link between security concerns in Europe and Asia.

Kishida has already pledged significant strengthening of Japan’s military capability and budget.
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Today's Most Useless Statistics in the World

Automakers reported nearly 400 crashes of vehicles with partially automated driver-assist systems, including 273 involving Teslas, according to statistics released by U.S. safety regulators on Wednesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautioned against using the numbers to compare automakers, saying it didn’t weight them by the number of vehicles from each manufacturer that use the systems, or how many miles those vehicles traveled.

If You Cannot Compare Them To Crashes by Human Drivers, You Know NOTHING.  They Might be Safer Than Human Drivers.
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How Immune Are You?

A newly developed blood test that measures a specific immune response in the body could help doctors gauge how much protection a person has against Covid-19, according to a new study.

The test, which focuses on the part of the immune system that confers long-term protection by prompting the body to "remember" the virus, could help make sense of the complex tangle of Covid immunity that now exists from person to person.

The test can, for instance, measure immunity regardless of whether someone has developed a level of protection from one or more natural infections or from vaccinations and booster shots. Others, who may have much lower levels of protection because they are immunocompromised, could also use the test to assess their vulnerability and see how they responded to the vaccines, said Ernesto Guccione, an associate professor of oncological sciences and pharmacological sciences at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai.
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Is This the Tip of the Coming Iceberg?

Anticipating home sales cooling nationwide and rising interest rates, two renowned real estate firms laid off hundreds of workers Tuesday.

Property technology companies Redfin and Compass announced the layoffs that total more than 900 staffers in separate announcements.

In a blog post, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said his company is laying off about 470 employees, about 6% of its workforce after the demand in May came in 17% below expectations.

Meanwhile, Compass confirmed to USA TODAY in an email the firm is letting go of about 450 people, equating to 10% of its staff.
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