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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:31:07 GMT -8
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: 'Does this taste funny to you?'
Voting With Their 14 Million Feet
More than seven million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2015 amid an ongoing economic and political crisis, according to new UN data.
More than half of them face challenges accessing food, housing, and stable employment, the UN says.
But despite the difficulties facing them abroad, the flow of Venezuelans escaping turmoil in their homeland has not let up.
More than 80% of those who have left Venezuela are living in Latin America and the Caribbean, in countries which often already struggle to provide health and education to their own nationals.
Venezuela's population has fallen from 30.08m in 2015 to an estimated 28.25m now based on latest UN figures.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:34:46 GMT -8
Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Kamikaze DroneA new wave of deadly Russian air strikes on Ukraine has killed more than 25 people and wounded over 100, according to authorities in Kyiv, in the most extensive attacks since the early days of the war. The current strikes, which began on October 10, have targeted at least 10 regions across the country and have been carried out using Russian missiles as well as Iranian-made drones, Ukrainian authorities have said. Swarms of explosive-laden, unmanned aircraft called “kamikaze” drones targeted Kyiv on Monday, killing at least four people and targeting energy facilities. Among the victims was a young couple expecting a baby in three months, according to the mayor of Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed at least 37 drones in one day. For their part, officials in Tehran deny supplying Russia with the weapons. Unlike drones that return to base once missiles are launched, “kamikaze” or “suicide” drones are destroyed in an attack. Al Jazeera’s defence analyst Alex Gatopoulos said these munitions can hover above an area to identify a target before diving to destroy it. Like cruise missiles, they can strike targets hundreds of kilometres away, but cruise missiles are expensive, and Gatopoulos said “kamikaze” drones are a cheaper yet precise alternative. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had bought 2,400 “kamikaze” drones but its fleet is being depleted quickly. 
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:37:44 GMT -8
Where Have All the Snow Crabs Gone? Long Time Passing.
Scientists have been left perplexed after billions of crabs and crustaceans reportedly disappeared mysteriously in the Bering Sea off the US state of Alaska in the last several years.
Ben Daly, a researcher with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), told US media outlet CNN the snow crab population shrank from about 8 billion in 2018 to 1 billion in 2021.
“Snow crab is by far the most abundant of all the Bering Sea crab species that is caught commercially,” Daly said. “So the shock and awe of many billions missing from the population is worth noting – and that includes all the females and babies.”
While the reasons for the dramatic fall in the crab population are still being researched, experts fear the likely cause includes increased predation and stresses from warming water on the cold-water species.
“Environmental conditions are changing rapidly,” Daly told CBS News. “We’ve seen warm conditions in the Bering Sea the last couple of years, and we’re seeing a response in a cold-adapted species, so it’s pretty obvious this is connected. It is a canary in a coal mine for other species that need cold water.”
The sharp drop in their numbers forced the ADF&G last week announced the cancellation of the Alaska snow crab harvest for the first time ever in Alaska, the United States’ largest state.
It said that while there would be “substantial impacts” on harvesters, the department has to balance the impacts with the “need for long-term conservation and sustainability of crab stocks”.
The authority also scrapped the Bristol Bay red king crab harvest.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:43:01 GMT -8
Over the weekend, three Muslim Russians opened fire at a mobilization site, killing at least 30 soldiers. Here's a First-Hand Account.
"It all started when some of our soldiers - a Dagestani, an Azerbaijani and an Adyghe - said that 'this is not our war' and tried to write a report saying that they did not want to serve anymore.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Lapin, when he learned this through the company commander, gathered everyone and started to say that "this is a holy war." Everything happened in the morning at the parade ground, where the formation takes place, the anthem is sung.
A conflict broke out, people started pushing each other, including a few from my company. The Tajiks told Lapin that a holy war meant [only] a war between Muslims and infidels.
Lapin said that "Allah must be a coward if he does not allow you to fight for the country to which you took an oath". I personally think that's what hurt the most, the phrase that "Allah is a coward".
The phrase shocked a lot of people - those who were standing there on the parade-ground. Because we also have Muslims among our officers, both Bashkirs and Tatars.
After the formation, the Russians and Muslims continued the conflict, after which everyone dispersed and, it seems, calmed down.
And an hour and a half later, around lunch time, they sent us all to the firing ranges, and three of the Tajiks, who were on contract service, brought their automatic rifles, they had live ammunition, and shot our commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lapin, he died on the spot.
And they started shooting indiscriminately. At the range there were both contract servicemen and mobilised. I saw only the dead, of whom there were 29 people. The 30th is Lieutenant Colonel Lapin.
This does not include two of the Tajiks; counting them too, there were 32 killed. I do not know exactly how many are wounded, some of them have already been taken by helicopter to Belgorod, and some of them are in Valuyki now with me.
Here's More Soldiers Showing the "Cohesion" of their Unit
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:46:16 GMT -8
If you’re wondering what’s happening down in Kherson, join the club. Strict operational silence has put a lid on any information.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:48:38 GMT -8
He's a Ukrainian, and Ukrainians Aren't Afraid of Anything
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:50:53 GMT -8
This Guy Seems Way Too Smart to Have Voted for Previous Guy and DeathSentence
I Voted for Trump and DeSantis—and Now Regret It. Here’s How Democrats Can Appeal to Voters Like Me.
There are plenty of conservatives willing to join an alliance to put the GOP out of its misery and preserve democracy.
Here’s a plain truth: The vast majority of the adults left in the room are Democrats, and there are millions of Republicans who know this. I recognize this because I was, once, such a Republican. The Democratic Party may not always get policies right, but it works to better the lives of all Americans and not just its own voters. Most Republicans, by contrast, now make mockeries of the oaths they swear to uphold. Deep down, if you’re a sensible Republican, you know you’ve been lied to, and exploited, by your party; voting Democrat will mean you elevated your nation, and your democracy, above your party affiliation.
I don’t want to mercy-kill the Republican Party because I want one-party rule. I hate to be a party-pooper, but I think we are structurally suited to—or perhaps simply stuck with—a two-party system. But we need a healthier two-party system, and so the GOP, in its current, destructive form, has to go. But getting there will take a cooperative effort: There must now be an alliance between Americans who may disagree on policies or have ideological differences but who agree that in order to preserve a nation where we might hash out these important political debates with one another, we need to band together in defense of a stable government and a stable nation, where freedom might be expanded for all to enjoy. The GOP only wants to constrict freedoms, bring about one-party rule, and bring the whole nation under its traumatizing vision. That’s not very kind and caring of them, is it?
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:51:44 GMT -8
It Takes a Lot to Surprise Ron Brownstein
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:55:26 GMT -8
I Wonder if Even 5% of Americans Know This Happened
This week, the administration implemented sweeping export controls on China’s entire chip sector. There are three main changes:
1. A ban on the export to China of specialized chips used for AI, or equipment to make these chips
2. Restrictions on exports of high-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China
3. Making a new list of Chinese companies (the “Unverified List”) that can be quickly banned from buying various U.S. exports without a special license (moved to the “Entity List”).
Some UCLA Football Fans Want Chip Kelly Sent to China.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 8:57:21 GMT -8
Russia Is Putting More Boots on the Ground...If the Soldiers Bring Their Own Boots
A half-dozen Russian soldiers talk about being shipped to an area of intense fighting in eastern Ukraine just 11 days after their mobilization. Asked about his shooting practice, a bearded conscript says, “Once. Three magazines.”
In a town near Yekaterinburg, in central Russia, newly mobilized men march in place in their street clothes. “No machine guns, nothing, no clothes, no shoes,” says an unidentified observer. “Half of them are hungover, old, at risk — the ambulance should be on duty.”
Elsewhere, scores of relatives of freshly drafted Russian soldiers crowd outside a training center, passing items through its fence to the recruits — boots, berets, bulletproof vests, backpacks, sleeping bags, camping mats, medicine, bandages and food.
“This is not how it’s done,” a woman named Elena told the news outlet Samara Online. “We buy everything.”
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 9:00:38 GMT -8
Pity Poor MTG
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday claimed she’s a victim of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol carried out by supporters of Donald Trump attempting to overturn the election results.
Greene, a conspiracy theorist who has spoken at a white nationalist event, has sympathized with the rioters. She’s called those arrested “political prisoners,” and visited some in what she called the “patriots wing” of the District of Columbia Jail.
But on Sunday, she took offense when her Democratic challenger Marcus Flowers accused her of “participation” in the events of Jan. 6.
“You cannot accuse me of insurrection,” Greene said. “I was a victim of the Jan. 6 riot just as much as any other member of Congress. That was the third day I had on the job. I had nothing to do with what happened there that day, and I will not have you accuse me of that.”
Flowers returned to the subject later in the debate.
“You spent your time providing aid and comfort to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists,” he said, and then asked why Greene cared more for “those criminals in jail” than her own constituents.
Greene once again called herself a “victim” and began ranting about antifa and Black Lives Matter, among other things. She also accused Flowers of being part of the “defund the police” party.
Flowers fired back ― accurately ― that Greene is selling “Defund the FBI” merchandise on her website.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 9:10:14 GMT -8
Where Have All the Dollars Gone? Long Time Passing
Donald Trump’s political fundraising operation has been spending 91 cents on overhead expenses for every dollar it brings in, according to Federal Election Commission filings reported by Bloomberg.
Trump raised a fat $24 million in the third quarter — a 41% increase over the previous quarter — but spent $22 million to do so, the new figures show.
Raising the money apparently became far more difficult and expensive (or fundraisers were pocketing larger salaries) as troubles mount for Trump. The FBI confiscated several boxes of White House documents — including classified and top secret information — from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in August. In September, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a $250 million civil lawsuit alleging business fraud against Trump and his three oldest children.
Trump has used both investigations to plead for money from his supporters.
Small donations of less than $200 accounted for $9.8 million of Trump’s third-quarter haul, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. To land that money, Trump spent $7.3 million on SMS appeals and just under $7.3 million on online ads. His third-biggest expense went for renting donor lists, which cost $2.8 million, Bloomberg reported.
Trump has raised a record amount of money for a former president, reaping $387 million since losing the 2020 election.
His leadership PAC Save America had $93 million cash on hand at the end of August, according to FEC filings, and collected an additional $3.3 million from a joint fundraising committee in September, Bloomberg reported.
Trump has endorsed more than 280 candidates in various elections since leaving office, but Save America donated just $910,500 to 181 candidates through the end of August, according to Bloomberg.
You Can Bet Quite a Few Bucks Ended Up in Previous Guy's Pocket
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 9:11:41 GMT -8
Time For Jews to Be Afraid?
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan said Donald Trump’s warning to American Jews on Sunday might seem like just another wild rant from the ex-president.
But it shouldn’t be dismissed as “Donald Trump being Donald Trump” ― because the escalating antisemitic rhetoric from Trump and others on the right is part of a dangerous pattern, he said.
“These are not isolated or unconnected acts of antisemitic hate,” Hasan warned. “It’s all part of the same thing: The rising and dangerous fascism on the American right.”
Trump on Sunday complained that American evangelicals appreciate him more than Jews, while also insisting he has the “highest approval rating in the world” in Israel.
“Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — Before it is too late!” he wrote on his floundering Truth Social platform.
Hasan played a series of clips of Trump’s other antisemitic comments over the years, and noted he’s not alone in the Republican Party in this regard.
And he warned where it could lead.
“Now is not the time to stay silent or to give the GOP a pass on this issue,” he said, adding:
President Joe Biden recently called out Trump’s MAGA philosophy as a kind of “semi-fascism” he said. For me, using that “semi” is a little too generous. And look, people can argue over the exact definition of fascism. But the one thing that fascist movements across the West have always had in common is this: They go after Jewish minorities in their midst.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 17, 2022 9:14:36 GMT -8
Did You Ever Wonder What Dr. Oz's Pee Tastes Like?
Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, said “of course” he’s tasted his own urine in a newly unearthed interview from Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show.
And he offered up some very specific thoughts on the matter ― including not just the smell, but also flavor
The segment includes some basic medical information, such as noting that bright yellow urine can be a sign of excess B vitamins.
But then it takes a turn.
“Same goes for diabetics, tastes like wine ― cherry wine,” Oz said.
“How do you know how it tastes?” Kimmel asked. “Who’s tasting it?”
“You gotta do it in med school,” Oz said, although numerous doctors chimed in on social media to say that’s not been the case at any school they’ve attended.
Oz eventually asked Kimmel if he’s ever had his own urine.
“No,” the late-night host said.
“Are you kidding me?” Oz said. “Where have you been!”
“You have, really?” Kimmel asked in disbelief.
“Of course,” Oz replied:
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