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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:31:39 GMT -8
I’ve started telling everyone about the benefits of eating dried grapes. It’s all about raisin awareness.
The Turd Doesn't Drop Far From the Asshole
Saturday night, 29-year-old Daria Dugina got into her Toyota Land Cruiser somewhere in the outskirts of Moscow. Seconds later, all that remained was burning rubber and steel, the result of a bomb planted underneath her seat. Some reports claimed that security cameras pointing at the site of the bombing had all been disabled for two weeks. Even if some of those details were wrong or exaggerated, it was clearly a professional hit job.
Dugina was the daughter of Alexander Dugin—a ultra-nationalist nut who has written a series of books demanding Russia reassert historical territorial control from Finland and the “Slavic” European nations (as far west as Greece), all the way to Mongolia and northern China, and down to the Indian Ocean. His daughter was following in her father’s footsteps. In fact, she had just had an appearance on state TV on Thursday:
Western media news reports dubbed Alexander Dugin “Putin’s brain,” painting him part Rasputin, part Karl Rove. CNN called him Putin’s “spiritual guide.” The New York Times referred to Daria as “daughter of a Putin ally.”
Meanwhile, modern-day Kremlinologists—scholars and journalists studying and covering contemporary Russian politics—scoffed at the characterization.
No, Ukraine wasn’t involved. Russia’s propagandists immediately pointed their fingers at Ukraine, happy to gin up outrage and support for further escalation in Russia’s brutal, murderous invasion. Yet none of that makes sense. If Ukraine had that kind of murderous capacity, there are better targets than a young wannabe fascist. For example, Russian command and control—generals and other top military leaders. There’s no tactical or strategic gain in assassinating Dugina, and for good measure, Ukraine firmly denied any involvement—a stark departure from the wink-wink “denials” of attacks on infrastructure on Russian soil.
However, Russia Blames Ukraine.
The brazen killing of the daughter of a prominent Russian ultranationalist over the weekend has sparked a host of theories about who might be responsible — and fears that it might lead to an escalation in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Those fears were fueled Monday when Russia’s FSB security agency said it had swiftly solved the case and blamed Ukraine’s secret services for the murder of Daria Dugina with a car bomb outside Moscow, according to state media.
It offered no direct evidence for the claim.
Maybe Now They Will Escalate to Killing Civilians, Attacking a Nuclear Plant, Or Other Atrocities and War Crimes.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:34:21 GMT -8
They Are Looking for a Lot of Bad Men. Uncle Vlad Wants You!
The town of Volosovo, near St Petersburg, is booming. Not the economy - it's the loudspeakers.
Like many towns in Russia, Volosovo has them installed on tall poles that line the main street. Traditionally they are used for playing patriotic music during national holidays. Now, though, they have a different purpose.
"Two volunteer artillery battalions are being formed. We invite men from 18 to 60 years old to join," the speakers blare out.
It's a message that's being repeated up and down this vast country. On social media, on TV and on billboards, men are being urged to sign short-term contracts with the military to fight in Ukraine.
In the face of significant losses in the conflict, the authorities have launched a recruitment drive for the Russian army.
Russia does not give numbers, but Western officials say between 70,000 and 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since it launched its invasion six months ago.
In order to attract fresh recruits, the authorities are offering volunteers huge sums of money, plots of land and even premium places for their children in Russian schools.
Recruiters have even been visiting Russian prisons to sign up inmates, promising them freedom and money.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:36:59 GMT -8
You Gotta Have Heart
The embalmed heart of Brazil's first emperor, Dom Pedro I, has arrived in the capital Brasilia to mark 200 years of independence from Portugal.
The heart, which lies preserved in a flask filled with formaldehyde, was flown on board a military plane from Portugal.
It will be received with military honours before going on public display at the foreign ministry.
The heart will be returned to Portugal after Brazil's independence day.
Portuguese officials gave the go-ahead for the preserved organ to be moved from the city of Porto for the celebrations of Brazil's bicentenary.
Dom Pedro is Not Related to Dom Perignon
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:41:24 GMT -8
These Are Not Nudes They Should UseWomen are facing threats and blackmail from a mob of anonymous strangers after their personal details, intimate photos and videos were shared on the social media platform Reddit. "£5 for her nudes, DM me." "I've got some of her vids looking to trade." "What are we gonna do to her?" I felt sick as I scrolled through the images and comments online. There were thousands of photographs. A seemingly endless stream of naked or partially dressed women. Underneath, men were posting vicious commentary about the women, including rape threats. Much of what I saw was too explicit to share here. It was a marketplace. Hundreds of anonymous profiles were dedicated to sharing, trading and selling explicit images - and it all appeared to be without the permission of the women pictured. Inside the secret world of trading nudes
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:43:07 GMT -8
We Are Being Outdone By Our British Cousins
British consumer price inflation is set to peak at 18 percent in early 2023 – nine times the Bank of England’s target, according to an economist at US bank Citi, raising his forecast once again in the light of the latest jump in energy prices.
Consumer price inflation was last above 18 percent in 1976.
In July, UK inflation jumped to 10.1 percent, its highest since February 1982, according to official figures.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:45:50 GMT -8
The Bach of Chalk
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:49:14 GMT -8
Mark Kelly Was Already a Solid Favorite in Arizona. There are a Lot of Retirees There
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:50:17 GMT -8
Any Chance American Lawyers Join Them?
Criminal barristers in England and Wales have voted in favour of an all-out strike next month in a row with the UK government over jobs and pay.
I Guess Previous Guy Won't Be Hiring Any Barristers.
Donald Trump is reportedly having a difficult time finding lawyers to represent him in part because they want to be paid, New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman sniped Sunday.
“You are seeing many fewer lawyers who are willing to go out and speak for him and/or hitch their wagon [to him] and maybe not get paid — which is a big thing,” Haberman told host Abby Phillip on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”
Trump has a reputation for ignoring or litigating bills for various services.
He reportedly failed to pay Rudy Giuliani despite his years of work on Trump’s behalf.
Giuliani associate Maria Ryan reportedly pleaded in a letter intended for Trump to pay hi
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:52:16 GMT -8
Qatar Hosts the World Cup of Screwing Workers
Qatar recently arrested at least 60 foreign workers who protested going months without pay and deported some of them, an advocacy group said, just three months before Doha hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The move comes as Qatar faces intense international scrutiny over its labor practices ahead of the tournament. Like other Gulf Arab nations, Qatar heavily relies on foreign labor. The workers’ protest a week ago — and Qatar’s reaction to it — could further fuel the concern.
The head of a labor consultancy investigating the incident said the detentions cast new doubt on Qatar’s pledges to improve the treatment of workers. “Is this really the reality coming out?” asked Mustafa Qadri, executive director of the group, Equidem Research.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday night, Qatar’s government acknowledged that “a number of protesters were detained for breaching public safety laws.” It declined to offer any information about the arrests or any deportations.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:54:07 GMT -8
21% of Americans Are Awake
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:57:39 GMT -8
The Loire River Riverbed
The Democrats Have Made the Biggest Investment in Dealing With Climate Change in US History, But It is Likely Too Little, Too Late.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 7:59:49 GMT -8
They Got Rolled
ANOTHER SIDE EFFECT OF THE FOCUS ON MAR-A-LAGO — Some Republicans are warning that the recent focus on the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search allowed Democrats’ massive reconciliation bill to go largely unanswered in the public sphere, Meridith McGraw and Caitlin Oprysko report this morning . The bill passed so quickly, in the end, that conservatives had little opportunity to build grassroots opposition and outrage like they did for the Affordable Care Act and other big legislation. “Whereas conservative activism has, in past cycles, been driven by opposition to Democratic-authored policies or actions … the modern version has been fed by culture-war issues and, more often than not, Trump himself.”
CESAR YBARRA of FreedomWorks: “We got rolled.”
However, the Public May Not Realize All the Good Stuff in the Bill
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 8:08:02 GMT -8
"I Was Only A Murderer for the One Second It Took to Pull the Trigger."
Extremist Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) snapped at a local reporter that he was only involved in Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 plot to overturn the presidential election with fake electors for a “couple of seconds.”
Johnson, trailing in the polls against Democratic rival state Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, suddenly appears to be backpedaling as fast as he can from his former slavish devotion to Trump and false claims of a rigged presidential election.
Johnson was asked Friday by journalist Matt Smith from Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN if he would testify about the fake electors plot before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Johnson has acknowledged he was asked to pass an envelope with a slate of fake electors to then-Vice President Mike Pence, but claimed he had absolutely no idea what was going on.
“I had virtually no involvement,” the testy senator responded. “Literally, my involvement lasted seconds, OK?”
Any hint of wrongdoing in the fake elector plot is a “grotesque distortion,” he added.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 8:11:38 GMT -8
What Would the Former Tax-Cheat-In-Chief Say?
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) was pulled up short Sunday with his griping about additional Internal Revenue Service agents when NBC’s Chuck Todd told him: “Just stop cheating on your taxes, Congressman.”
Republicans are trying to make a negative talking point of the Inflation Reduction Act’s $80 billion increase in IRS funding and 87,000 more agents over 10 years. But it seems to infuriate few, other than tax cheats.
“I just don’t get it,” Todd said on “Meet the Press,” referring to Republicans in a snit about the plans to crack down on tax scofflaws.
“A lot of Republicans have talked about dealing with waste, fraud and abuse. The current head of the IRS, who was a Trump appointee, said he didn’t have enough people, that the biggest problem we have is that people don’t pay their taxes that they’re supposed to pay,” Todd pointed out.
“If you’re upset about more IRS agents, just stop cheating on your taxes, Congressman,” Todd snapped, adding that he didn’t necessarily mean Barr in particular, but possibly other complaining lawmakers.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 22, 2022 8:14:48 GMT -8
Will the Votes Follow the Money?
The committee tasked with electing more Democrats to the Senate is reporting a $10 million haul in July, outpacing its Republican counterpart for the fourth month in a row, according to numbers first released to NBC News.
With less than three months until the November elections, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee appears to be in a more formidable financial position, with $54.1 million cash on hand, well more than double the $23 million left in the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s account.
The NRSC reported about $8 million in fundraising in July.
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