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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:32:20 GMT -8
My wife just found out I replaced our bed with a trampoline. She hit the roof.
This Election is a Realy Turkey ... and Really Important
Counting is under way in Turkey with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan facing a tough challenge after 20 years in power
Six opposition parties have combined forces, picking opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as their unity candidate
This vote comes against the background of soaring inflation and the aftermath of devastating earthquakes
If either man can secure half the presidential vote, they will be crowned winner - failing that, the race will go to a run-off
Ultra-nationalist Sinan Ogan is also on the ballot, but Kilicdaroglu's former centre-left party colleague, Muharrem Ince, pulled out with days go to
Candidates for a 600-seat parliament are also being selected
Pre-election polls gave a slight lead to Kilicdaroglu, 74, the joint candidate of a six-party opposition alliance who leads the centre-left, pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP.
Eight is Enough
Voters in Turkey have cast their votes on a ballot paper featuring 26 political parties in total.
Freedom is on the Ballot
Erdogan has been in power for 20 years, during which time he has increasingly relied on repression — Turkey ranks among the countries with the greatest numbers of imprisoned politicians, journalists, activists, and other civic actors — and autocratic control over state organs to ensure that elections are highly unfair, even though voters remain free to cast ballots that matter. He uses an autocratic playbook that includes abusing states of emergency to expand his executive power, capturing regulatory bodies to ensure party control over public airwaves, enacting draconian new laws to monitor and regulate speech on the internet, steering public expenditures into the hands of cronies who pour it back into his reelection campaigns, and manipulating polling locations to make voting more difficult and intimidating in heavily-opposition areas. As an example of the latter, in the Kurdish southeast, voters have been forced to pass through security checkpoints where soldiers brandishing machine guns are instructed to check voter IDs, looking for anyone wanted for arrest.
The result has been that each successive Turkish election since 2011 has been more unfairthan the last, and the country is now on the brink of descending into fully unfree authoritarianism. Whether or not the election this Sunday is free at all, if Erdogan wins, it is likely to be the last free Turkish election of his lifetime. He would probably continue the trend of the past dozen years by doubling down on his dictatorial direction. He may dispense with free elections, on the theory that they have taken him as far as possible — he once likened democracy to a train, a vehicle to reach a destination and then disembark. And if Erdogan wins despite his unpopularity – he currently is weighed down by his abysmaleconomic policies and failures related to the February earthquake — and despite an uncharacteristically unified opposition, a critical mass of Turks would stop regarding elections as free and meaningful.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:36:30 GMT -8
I Hope There is a Special Place in Hell for Those Who Enbale Pedophiles
Last year, while campaigning for the top prosecutor’s job in the rural district that surrounds this close-knit river town, native daughter Jana Bradford cited a tough-on-crime record that she said had brought the worst offenders to justice and comfort to their victims.
“The most important thing that I’m able to do is relate to our victims,” Bradford, a part-time deputy prosecutor in Pike County for more than two decades, told a crowd at a Rotary club meeting. “The child who has been molested by her parents, I’ve held her hand before she testified.”
But time and again, Bradford used her clout and legal skills behind the scenes to assist her pedophile uncle, according to a paper trail of letters and other legal records.
Over the years, she helped her uncle Barry Walker try to get a pardon from the governor for his first felony sexual abuse conviction in another Arkansas county, vigorously disputed a girl’s abuse allegations when he faced more possible charges and tried to get his name removed from Arkansas’ sex offender registry, records show.
Bradford’s efforts to assist Walker have surfaced in recent months as part of a swirling scandal in the wake of what some legal observers describe as one of the worst pedophilia cases in Arkansas history.
Last June 9, just 16 days after she won election as chief prosecutor in a four-county judicial district, investigators from the state and county, responding to new allegations from three girls, seized a cache of more than 400 homemade videos and thousands of photos and downloaded images of child pornography from Walker’s residence and arrested him.
The videos dated back a quarter century and captured Walker committing hundreds of acts of rape and other sex crimes on dozens of pre-pubescent girls, ages 2 to 14 — including a 4-year-old girl whose claims Bradford had vigorously disputed to a neighboring prosecutor years earlier.
Four months later, Walker, 59, who ran a successful construction business, pleaded guilty to more than 100 felony counts in two counties related to raping or molesting 31 children, some repeatedly. He received 39 life sentences totaling 1,710 years in prison with no chance for parole.
Since his conviction in October, investigators have shifted their focus to Walker’s closest relatives and associates, amid allegations that they enabled Walker to keep preying on little girls for years.
Another of Walker’s nieces and his former longtime girlfriend each have been charged with felony counts of permitting child sex abuse, while Walker’s brother faces a misdemeanor charge of failure to report child sex abuse, court records show.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:39:45 GMT -8
There Are White, Black, and Brown, Addicts, But ...
The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, used insurance claims data from 2016 to 2019 to analyze over 23,000 Medicare beneficiaries who were eligible for the safety-net program due to a disability.
The analysis highlights a dual crisis in American addiction medicine: Few people with opioid addiction can access the highly effective drugs used to treat the condition, and those who receive the medications are disproportionately white.
Opioid overdose rates among Black people have also skyrocketed in recent years, and in 2020 surpassed the per capita death rate among white people for the first time in over two decades.
Beyond receiving buprenorphine at a higher rate, white patients were also far more likely than Black patients to live near a provider of the medication and to remain in treatment months after first being prescribed it, according to the study. The paper’s authors cited “racial segregation of health care, discrepant incarceration rates, disproportionate enrollment in Medicaid, and increases in fentanyl use in urban areas, which tend to have larger Black and Hispanic populations” as among the factors contributing to the racial disparity in access to addiction care.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:43:36 GMT -8
Doocy's Doozey
Fox New’s Steve Doocy just called out the Republican Chairman of the Oversight Committee, James Comer, for spreading a narrative that Joe Biden is corrupt when there is absolutely no evidence that he did anything illegal.
This is my very point. Anyone can try and fabricate accusations against another person by taking facts and twisting them around to fit a desired narrative. So far, this is all that Republicans in Congress have been able to do.Just like the Trump family made billions of dollars while in or out of office, the Biden family also has a right to make millions.
You don’t have to like it, but there is nothing illegal about making money overseas. You may argue that the fact that they made money from foreign governments is evidence of corruption, but that would simply be an assumption without facts to back it up.
We all have a right to know the facts, but to call Joe Biden corrupt just because his family made money like other Presidents’ families did overseas, that’s unfair.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:44:29 GMT -8
Who Won the Week?
The FDA, for finally loosening restrictions on gay and bisexual blood donors
Ukraine's mighty military, for spanking Russia so badly (most recently in Bakhmut) that all Putin could muster for his big Victory Day parade was a single tank
The wheels of justice, as E. Jean Carroll wins a $5 million unanimous-jury judgment against the 45th president of the United States for sexual assault and defamation
The Pulitzer Prize winners, singled out for A+ coverage ranging from the situation in Ukraine, to racism and corruption in American politics and life after Roe v. Wade
The legacy of the late Gen. Richard Cavazos, as the first Latino 4-star general's name now graces the Texas Army base formerly named after Confederate traitor John Hood
The long arm of the law, as federal prosecutors file criminal charges against MAGA Rep. George Santos for money laundering, theft, and (of course) making false statements
President Biden's judicial nominees, as Sen. Feinstein's return switches the judiciary committee's approvals back to "full speed ahead"
The integrity of Joe Biden, as the MAGA-led House Oversight Committee admits in writing that it could find no proof of any wrongdoing by the sitting president
Buddy Holly, the petit basset griffon Vendéen who won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, a first for the breed
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:45:38 GMT -8
What Did Jon Stewart Learn?
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:47:06 GMT -8
Crisis? What Crisis?
U.S. border patrol agents have seen a 50% drop in the number of migrants crossing the border since the pandemic-era immigration policy known as Title 42 expired at midnight on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday.
"Over the past two days, the United States Border Patrol has experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week before Title 42 ended at midnight on Thursday," Mayorkas said.
There is a Problem for those Seeking Asylum, But Not For America
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:48:44 GMT -8
Urkraine Still Needs Fighter Jets
Russia’s air force may have just suffered one of its worst days since the Ukraine war began. Unconfirmed reports say that four of its aircraft were shot down within Russian territory, in what would mark a significant coup for Ukraine.
There are conflicting accounts about how many planes and helicopters may have been brought down inside the Russian region of Bryansk, but one Russian media outlet says that at least two combat aircraft – an Su-34 and an Su-35 – and two Mi-8 helicopters crashed.
Ukraine has not confirmed its air defenses were involved in the reported downing of the Russian aircraft on Saturday, but says the aircraft “ran into some trouble.”
Bryansk is on the border with Ukraine and has seen previous attacks blamed on Kyiv.
Multiple crashes within Russian territory at the same time would be unprecedented. Some analysts believe Ukrainian air defenses may have been pushed forward as the Russian air force uses more “glide munitions” that can fire at targets from distance.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:50:44 GMT -8
The World is In Hot Water
Buckle up. The world’s most influential natural weather feature is shifting gears.
An El Niño is building along the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean. And, there’s above-normal chances it will be a strong El Niño, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week. That could have dramatic impacts in the United States and around the globe later this year and into next year.
Climate scientists are especially concerned about the potential for hotter temperatures. Given things already are warmer than normal, they say a strong El Niño could send global average temperatures soaring to a record high.
El Niño is a natural climate pattern. It's counterpart La Niña ended over the winter, after three years of disastrous weather.
The most recent ocean temperature in the El Niño region, the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, was just .1 degrees Celsius away from the threshold needed to declare an El Niño, Nat Johnson, with NOAA’S Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, wrote in a blog post published Thursday.
However, while the ocean appears ready, Johnson said the tropical atmosphere remains in more neutral territory in the atmospheric indexes the scientists watch. But the signs are getting stronger, giving scientists growing confidence in an El Niño declaration by July, Johnson said. Chances for a strong El Niño are about 55%.
April set heat records worldwide
The ocean was already warm even as the El Niño began to brew. NOAA’s April summary reflects the warming temperatures:
-Global average ocean temperatures set a record high for the month of April at 1.55 degrees Fahrenheit above the long-term average.
-It was just .02 degrees shy of the record-warm ocean temperatures set in January 2016 during a strong El Niño.
-The Southern Hemisphere experienced its warmest month on record.
-The global average temperature was the fourth-warmest April in NOAA’s 174-year record, 1.8 degrees above the 20th century average of 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
-April was the 530th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:52:49 GMT -8
Mocha Strikes
An extremely severe cyclonic storm made landfall in western Myanmar midafternoon Sunday local time, bringing dangerous storm surge, thrashing winds and heavy rains to areas of that country and Bangladesh where some of the world’s most vulnerable communities live. Landslides and floods are expected to worsen the impact of the storm — one of the strongest to strike the Bay of Bengal in recent years.
Authorities and international organizations had prepared for days for Cyclone Mocha’s arrival. The storm hit near Sittwe in northern Myanmar early Sunday afternoon local time, with around 155-mph sustained winds, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. This is a high-end Category 4 equivalent; Category 5 begins at 157 mph.
Cities and towns on the northern coast of Myanmar and southeastern coast of Bangladesh were experiencing heavy to extremely heavy downpours and winds of up to 100 mph Sunday afternoon, according to India’s Meteorological Department. Unverified social media videos showed devastating wind gusts ripping tin roofs off homes and toppling a communication tower.
Significant storm surge has flooded large parts of the city, as seen on video posted to social media. The storm surge in the hardest-hit spots was thought to be near or over 5 meters (16 feet) deep. It was accompanied by building-toppling and foliage-stripping winds near the coast.
Some Good News
Vulnerable settlements in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, where more than one million Rohingya refugees live, were left relatively unscathed by the storm that is now gradually weakening.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:55:50 GMT -8
Guns Don't Kill People. Backpacks Do
Recently, Flint Community Schools, in Michigan, announced a ban on backpacks. Less than two weeks later, Grand Rapids Public Schools announced their ban on backpacks. You know, like book bags or knapsacks. Why? Gun safety, of course.
The Detroit Free Press reports that a gun was discovered in a third-grader’s backpack on Wednesday, and the superintendent of the Grand Rapids Public School system jumped into action and banned school bags. Superintendent Leadriane Roby is quoted on the school system’s website saying “This is just one step in an ongoing conversation about how we can best protect our children in our rapidly-changing world.”
The past few days, and weeks, and months, have seen the same gun violence on school campuses around the country. And while most of the violence has nothing to do with students walking into school with bags filled with weapons, the silly desperation of this move seems to be to give parents the illusion that the school is doing something to fix the problems their state legislators should be tackling.
The district's executive director of public safety and school security, Larry Johnson, told ABC News that a student realized their 8-year-old fellow classmate might have a gun in their book bag and told a teacher. The teacher investigated and the firearm was discovered—loaded.
In Florida, They Responded to Gun Violence by Banning More Books.
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 7:57:47 GMT -8
So If You are a Florida State Fan, a Doctor Who Went to FLorida Can Let You Die?
On May 11, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law, The Protections of Medical Conscience Act. Which among other things, allows all medical providers, doctors, nurses, techs, labs, EMT’s, pilots, drivers, and anyone else, the right to refuse care to persons based on their deeply held personal and/or religious convictions. It also allows insurers the right to refuse to pay for services based on these same personal criteria.
They are allowed to let you die if they don’t agree with how you live your life. Whether you’re LGBTQIA+, a Democrat, a fan of the wrong music, have a tattoo, and countless other random characteristics that may run afoul of someone’s religious or personal preferences. None of these things are protected anymore. This seems within a hair’s breadth of executing any who choose not to conform.
Will Republican Doctors Refuse Care to Democrats?
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Post by mhbruin on May 14, 2023 8:01:00 GMT -8
Oklahoma is Worried About What Exactly Bert and Ernies's Relationship Is.
Last month, the Oklahoma House and Senate sent Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt what might seem the most innocuous bill imaginable—a bill to support the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. However, despite the fact that the bill passed with the support of the Republican supermajority in both the state House and Senate, Stitt vetoed the bill.
His reason for doing so was exactly what you might expect in a time when “Sleeping Beauty” is getting pulled from library shelves for being “pornographic.” As CNN reports, the Oklahoma governor claimed that the state’s own educational television network “doesn't line up with Oklahoma values.” Stitt had some specific programs in mind when he made this claim. Among the content that he feels is far too racy for the children of Oklahoma is Sesame Street, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Mister Rogers.
“I don’t think Oklahomans want to use their tax dollars to indoctrinate kids,” said Stitt. “And some of the stuff that they’re showing, it just overly sexualizes our kids.”
In particular, what offended Stitt about all of these programs was LGBTQ-inclusive programming. By which, Stitt doesn’t mean that anyone on these programs is having sex, talking about sex, or conducting a Gay Pride parade. What he means is that there are characters on these programs who are shown in situations that suggest they may be gay.
To be absolutely clear: Stitt is vetoing the bill because educational television admits gay people exist.
It’s not clear which characters offended Stitt’s very discerning gaze. Was it Bert and Ernie? Is Daniel Tiger under suspicion? In any case, because the state uses a single station that is broadcast to each of the state’s 77 counties, vetoing funding for the state’s single PBS station means that every single child in Oklahoma is about to lose their one source of free educational television.
Writing in an editorial—notably in The Christian Post—Stitt cited a single incident of (what else?) a drag queen reading a children’s book on a program called Let’s Learn in 2021. He was also offended by the 2019 same sex wedding of a rat and a … I’m going to say hamster? … on the program Arthur. He also cites a same sex wedding on the math instructional program Odd Squad—a wedding that exists entirely in the form of the main characters running past two women who are both wearing wedding gowns and urging these two nameless characters to get out of the place (because of a math-related supervillain, which is really the central plot the episode). Still, that episode got a scathing write up in The Christian Post for this scene which “does not feature a same-sex kiss” but does feature the women “holding hands.”
These are the specific scenes that Stitt cites when claiming that educational television is “sexualizing” children. None of this is about sex. No one on PBS Kids has sex. No one on PBS Kids even talks about sex. Not even about birds, bees, or big red dog sex. There is no sex.
Did Kermit and Miss Piggy Ever Have Sex? How Do a Frog and a Pig Do It?
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