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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 7:52:35 GMT -8
Albert Einstein was a genius and worthy of praise and study. His brother Frank was an absolute monster.
The Case of the Missing Tapes
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) admitted during an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday that Republicans cannot find "tapes" that allegedly are evidence of wrongdoings by the Biden family.
During an interview on Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo asked Biggs and Greene about raw unverified intelligence from the FBI. Republicans have claimed that the FBI documents are evidence of President Joe Biden's corruption.
"[FBI Director Christopher Wray] redacted the most important part of information on there, is that there was 17 audio recordings, 15 of Hunter, two of Joe Biden himself, about Joe Biden taking a $5 million bribe," Green asserted.
Bartiromo called the investigation "the biggest political scandal any of us have ever seen."
"So that's why I wanna get back to these tapes for a moment because you just said that there are 15 recordings of Hunter Biden and two of Joe Biden," the Fox News host said. "Andy Biggs, look, obviously, we need evidence. We've been talking about this for a long time. So far, the evidence has been bank records. Where are these tapes?"
"Well, we don't know," Biggs admitted. "The oligarch kept the tapes for his own protection."
While Greene did not know the locations of the alleged tapes, she claimed to have other "evidence" against the Bidens.
"I'm all for impeachment," she said. "And as far as evidence, we have evidence. We have bank records, tons of them, that show the Biden family, Hunter, all kinds of family members, even grandchildren, being paid millions and millions of dollars from all these foreign countries that we know they have no business to prove that they're producing a product or a service to be making all this money."
"Hunter Biden is a crackhead," Greene added. "His evidence that we have on him showing all of his prostitutes coming from Ukraine, coming from Russia, this shows that this man was only purely profiting by his father's powerful positions. Joe Biden absolutely should be impeached."
They Couldn't Find Holmes and Watson, but Biggs and Greene are on the Case
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 7:56:29 GMT -8
Gov Ab-Butt Sigsn a Death Sentence for Some Construction Workers
As his state faced a dangerous heat wave this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a broad new law that will nullify a wide range of local regulations, including mandated water breaks for construction workers, beginning Sept. 1, according to The Texas Tribune.
The new Republican-backed law strips the ability of local municipalities to enact certain regulations in favor of state authority, ostensibly to “provide statewide consistency.” It covers a wide range, including other worker protections, environmental protections, housing protections and more.
Critics dubbed it the “Death Star Bill.” The president of the NAACP’s Houston chapter, Bishop James Dixon, called it “a threat to civil rights and human rights,” according to local outlet KHOU11.
Among its supporters were several construction business associations.
Dallas and Austin currently require workers to be given at least 10 minutes to cool down and hydrate every four hours.
Abbott signed the legislation Tuesday. On Thursday and Friday, some areas of the state began setting new heat records, and others are expected to chart new highs as temperatures soar into triple-digits over the next several days.
Millions of people around the Houston region were issued an excessive heat warning on Friday, lasting through Sunday, with “feels like” temperatures potentially hitting 120 degrees. The National Weather Service also said that southern Texas and eastern Louisiana are at an increased risk of fires due to the heat, which will strain the state’s brittle power grid. Average temperatures in Texas have been rising for decades.
Texas is already the top state for worker deaths due to heat, according to the Texas Tribune.
The Tribune reported that heat-related deaths hit a two-decade high just last year when at least 279 people across Texas died by heat.
"Texas is the state where the most workers die from high temperatures, government data shows. At least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ unions claim this data doesn’t fully reflect the magnitude of the problem because heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause of injury."
Ab-Butt Would Like Texas to Be More Like India
At least 34 people have died in the past two days as a large swath of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh swelters under severe heat, officials said on Saturday, prompting doctors to advise residents over 60 to stay indoors during the daytime.
Only He Wants It to Be Whiter
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:00:25 GMT -8
She Lost More Than She Bargained For. She Was the Biggest Loser.
Chinese social media star dies trying to lose half her body weight; sparks calls for regulation of influencer industry
A social media influencer’s death, which occurred as she was participating in an intensive weight loss boot camp in northwestern China, has sparked calls for regulation in the influencer industry.
The 21-year-old, known online as Cuihua, was attempting to inspire her followers by showing them she could lose more than half her body weight, reports CNN. However, her shocking death has resulted in Chinese state media releasing warnings over the danger of weight loss camps, as well as renewed alarm regarding the pressure women feel to meet societal beauty standards.
Concerns are also growing over the influencer industry as a whole, with Cuihua’s death happening weeks after another incident in which a young Chinese man died following a live-stream of him binge-drinking alcohol.
Cuihua had been posting on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, to keep her followers updated on her weight-loss journey. She was reportedly attempting to encourage her followers in their own fights against obesity, said Chinese state media outlets.
Recently, she’d posted footage of herself undergoing intense exercises, announcing that she had been weighing in at 156 kilograms (344 pounds) and was attempting to burn off 100 kilograms (220 pounds).
According to China National Radio, Cuihua had attended multiple weight-loss camps in various cities, and was able to lose more than 27 kilograms (60 pounds) in the two months before her death.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:03:01 GMT -8
Don't Confuse Means With Ends
“Improved relations”, “thaws”, or “détentes”, should never be the goal of diplomacy towards adversaries – or even allies. Rather, “improved relations” should be understood as a means – one of many – to achieve concrete outcomes that advance the security and economic interests of the American people. I would also add the advancement of values – democratic, American, universal – to this list of objectives, even though some might disagree. But getting the goals versus the means right was and remains critical. [...]
First, Blinken’s goal for this trip should not be “improved relations” or a “thaw” with the People’s Republic of China. Instead, he should seek to advance very concrete U.S. national interests. The U.S. and China achieving concrete outcomes together will improve the mood music in their bilateral relations, not the other way around. On this trip, Blinken will most likely come home with few concrete outcomes – the State Department calls them “deliverables.” That’s ok.
Second, Blinken should avoid linkage. Above all else, he should not think that refraining from talking about human rights abuses will produce progress on other matters. Blinken should, in fact, practice “dual-track diplomacy”. He should talk with Chinese government officials on all issues of importance and meet separately with Chinese non-governmental actors – civil society leaders (although they are fewer and fewer in numbers these days), students, businesspeople, academics, et cetera.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:07:05 GMT -8
Who Lost the Fortnight?
Cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase, being sued by the SEC alleging violations including operating an unregistered securities exchange and mishandling customer funds
Recently tired Chicago police officer Jeffrey Kriv, facing felony perjury and forgery charges by lying about getting his vehicle stolen by an ex-girlfriend to get out of … paying 44 traffic tickets
James Ibach, a fugitive from justice after being tipped off that he was about to be arrested by Arizona authorities for possession of hundreds of images of child sexual abuse materials
Daniel Mayfield, former youth pastor of a Baptist church in South Carolina, charged with multiple counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of minors and voyeurism in recording videos of girls and women changing in the church bathroom
Chris Licht, fired as head of CNN after only one year: with sagging ratings, a lack of support from employees and the disastrous Trump town hall
Texas businessman Nate Paul, believed to be at center of alleged crimes that led to impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton, arrested by the FBI
Matthew Reilly, already forced to resign as a Cranston, Rhode Island city councilor (and head of the city GOP) when arrested for crack cocaine (passed out in his car) … now arrested on charges of multiple counts of child molestation
Virginia sheriff Justin Sigmon, arrested by the FBI on charges that he molested his 9yr old niece on a cruise boat during a family trip (that was filmed by a passenger and by the ship's cameras)
Nicola Sturgeon, former First Minister of Scotland, arrested in a financial probe of her Scottish National Party (though so far not charged with any crime)
The entire West Virginia state police, under misconduct investigation by the Dept of Homeland Security after multiple lawsuits filed from dozens of women (including minors) for serious allegations of sexual assault and cover-up
An employee at national broadcaster Radio New Zealand, suspended over editing of news-wire reports to include pro-Russian narratives, including American-backed coups and “neo-Nazi elements” in Ukraine
JPMorgan Chase, forced to pay $290-mill to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, as the bank kept him as a customer despite numerous media reports about him abusing teenage girls
Tucker Carlson, as Fox issued a cease and desist order about his video series on Twitter, claiming that - although Fox canceled his show - Carlson is under contract with the network until 2025
Josef Tesar, banned from a British Columbia school district after he harassed 9-y/o girl and her family at a track meet, (erroneously) claiming the athlete (with short hair) was trans and shouldn't be playing on the girls’ team
Judicial Watch founder (and non-lawyer) Tom Fitton, who convinced TFG to ignore the advice of his lawyers to return classified documents, now blamed by many in Trump World for having caused the Justice Department indictments
Larry Wilkins, a North Carolina evangelical pastor (and founder of a ministry to help individuals dealing with substance use problems), arrested on four counts of sex crimes against children
Cedric and Denise Lodge, who manage a morgue at Harvard Medical School, charged with selling body parts from donated cadavers and allowing buyers to come to the morgue to choose which parts they wanted
Daniel Triplett, owner of a septic tank company and former Guthrie, Oklahoma city councilor, sentenced to life after he was convicted for the murder and corpse desecration of a Black employee he fired, then buried under a septic tank
Robert Bowers, convicted on all counts of murdering eleven congregants at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018
Nicole Daedone, founder of the OneTaste organization often called an "orgasm cult", arrested on allegations she coerced and abused members in a forced labor scheme, specifically targeting individuals who previously suffered sexual trauma
Lyndell Marrs, charged with incest and statutory sodomy on a victim under 14 years old - his own granddaughter on a family vacation in Branson, Missouri
Alexander McCaskill, former Fox producer for the fired Tucker Carlson, himself fired for posting the chyron banner ‘Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested” during Trump’s indictment speech
Right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, forcing a parliamentary committee investigation of foreign interference in French politics, chaired by her own party member … which concluded (by an 11-5 vote) … that she is Putin's puppet
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:11:07 GMT -8
A Rising Tide Lifts All YachtsContrary to 40+ years and counting of “trickle down” narrative, the reality is that the gap between the 1% and everyone else (let’s say the bottom 90%) has never been wider. It’s become a chasm, and the charts below tell the story. Here is the wealth share of the bottom 90% and the Top 1%, equalized in 1989:  Here is both the share (scale at Left ) and level (scale at right) of total net worth held by the Top 1%. To put it in numbers: Their share has gone from about 23% to about 32%. In dollar terms, their share has skyrocketed from just under $5 trillion to about $45 trillion.  Spoiler Alert: There has been no trickle-down, and in fact, the opposite has occurred: The wealthy and ultra-wealthy have captured more and more of the pie, leaving less for everyone beneath them, carving out the middle class in the process.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:13:03 GMT -8
I Classify Previous Guy As a Moron. He Cannot De-Classify That
Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president’s claim.
The secret document, listed as No. 19 in the indictment charging Trump with endangering national security, can under the Atomic Energy Act only be declassified through a process that by the statute involves the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.
For that reason, the experts said, the nuclear document is unique among the 31 in the indictment because the declassification of the others is governed by executive order.
“The claim that he (Trump) could have declassified it is not relevant in the case of the nuclear weapons information because it was not classified by executive order but by law,” said Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert with the Federation of Atomic Scientists.
The special status of nuclear-related information further erodes what many legal experts say is a weak defense centered around declassification. Without providing evidence, Trump has claimed he declassified the documents before removing them from the White House.
Prosecutors likely will argue that declassification is irrelevant because Trump was charged under the Espionage Act, which predates classification and criminalizes the unauthorized retention of "national defense information," a broad term covering any secrets that could be helpful to the nation's enemies.
Document No. 19 is marked "FRD," or Formerly Restricted Data, a classification given to secret information involving the military use of nuclear weapons. The indictment described it as undated and “concerning nuclear weaponry of the United States.”
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:16:14 GMT -8
All Those QOP Abortion Laws Are Pushing People in the Other DirectionIn what was surely a case of unintended consequences, the landmark Supreme Court decision one year ago overturning Roe v. Wade is putting abortion opponents increasingly at odds with public opinion and creating political perils for candidates on their side. In a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll, one in four Americans say state efforts that have followed to impose strict limits on abortion access have made them more supportive of abortion rights. The Dobbs decision, which removed access to abortion as a constitutionally protected right, elated the anti-abortion movement but its aftermath is helping boost support for legal abortion to historic highs and reshaping the debate over what has long been the deepest political wedge issue in the nation. By almost 4-1, 23%-6%, those whose views on abortion have changed in the past year said they have become more supportive of legal abortion, not less supportive. That includes more women than men, more Democrats than Republicans, and more younger voters than seniors. The shift was pronounced among Black respondents. Almost a third, 32%, said they had become more supportive of abortion access in the past year. And independent women, one of the most critical swing groups in elections, by 28%-5% said they had become more supportive of abortion rights. The nationwide poll of 1,000 registered voters, taken by landline and cellphone June 5-9, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. By almost 2-1, 58%-30%, those surveyed opposed the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Americans ranked other issues as more important in determining their vote in next year's election. Inflation was first, followed by immigration, threats to democracy and gun control. Abortion tied with education as fifth. That said, more than three in four said abortion would be an important issue for them; 20% said it would be the single most important issue. That includes those on both sides. Support for legal abortion rises a year after Roe v. Wade overturned-Poll
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:24:08 GMT -8
Who Owns the Night?Ukraine has the advantage in the dark and is able to launch nighttime assault against Russian forces thanks to Western-provided equipment — which includes everything from night-vision goggles and scopes to drones equipped with thermal imaging. Beyond equipment, another thing that gives Ukraine an edge in nighttime operations is Russia's inability to do the same due to lack of resources or planning. An expert told Insider that, at the end of the day, Russia just can't afford to equip its forces with expensive night-vision capabilities. "The Russian military is pretty well known for lacking some of these higher-end capabilities, even before the war and even before the military was stressed and degraded," said George Barros, a geospatial intelligence team lead and Russia analyst with The Institute for the Study of War. "These pieces of equipment are quite expensive," Barros added. "Some of these individual helmet-mounted night-vision goggles retail for tens of thousands of dollars for a single unit." And it's not just these nighttime warfighting capabilities that Russian forces lack. The average soldier is poorly equipped when it comes to weapons, armor, and combat technology. Russian troops have described being sent into battle with rusted, Soviet-era weapons that jam. "It's difficult to see how the Russian Ministry of Defense could be able to afford to regularly equip its average infantry with really expensive night-vision goggles or other kinds of similar optics when they can't afford regular optics for most of these troops, let along proper body armor and proper training," Barros said. While some night-vision technology has been "proliferated throughout specialized Russian units," he told Insider, the common soldier just isn't getting anything close to the coveted scopes and goggles. And with corruption running rampant in the Russian armed forces, some groups that get access to higher-end equipment like night-vision systems likely hoard them, Barros noted. To address certain equipment and technology shortages, Russia sometimes relies on crowdfunding campaigns. Milbloggers and nationalist groups source the money from Russian civilians and put it towards important battlefield assets. In those campaigns, Barros said, he's rarely seen night-vision optics being funded. Of Course, Before We Look Down on Russia We Should Rmember This From 2004:Many Iraq-Bound GIs Buy Own ArmorSoldiers headed for Iraq are still buying their own body armor - and in many cases, their families are buying it for them - despite assurances from the military that the gear will be in hand before they're in harm's way. Body armor distributors have received steady inquiries from soldiers and families about purchasing the gear, which can cost several thousand dollars. Though the military has advised them not to rely on third-party suppliers, many soldiers say they want it before they deploy. Last October, it was reported that nearly one-quarter of American troops serving in Iraq did not have ceramic plated body armor, which can stop bullets fired from assault rifles and shrapnel.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 18, 2023 8:27:00 GMT -8
North Carolina Gets a Little Closer to Basic Humanity
In the years since President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, 39 states and Washington, D.C., had embraced Medicaid expansion, enabling tens of millions of Americans to obtain health insurance.
North Carolina was one of the holdouts—the state has missed out on “an estimated $521 million each month that could go to improving mental health and helping rural hospitals stay open,” per a press release from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office—and, as a result, rural residents are 30%-40% more likely to be uninsured, according to Kody Kinsley, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
On March 23, all that changed when the state House of Representatives voted 87-24 on a bipartisan basis, and North Carolina became the 40th state to approve Medicaid expansion. Despite strong political headwinds and conservative opposition, Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, persisted in leading state and local agencies and coalitions to advocate for expansion. Not only did the ACA create state health insurance exchanges to make private insurance affordable, but it also allows states to expand their Medicaid programs by raising the income limits to 138% of the federal poverty level. The federal government subsidizes the added costs to the states.
According to Secretary Kinsley, after Medicaid is expanded in 2023, a family of four in North Carolina could earn up to approximately $41,400 a year and remain eligible as opposed to approximately $8,900 before expansion.
“Eighty percent of the uninsured in North Carolina are working families,” says Kinsley. Some are single individuals working three jobs and don’t qualify for Medicaid but don’t make enough to afford insurance on the exchange. Now, thanks to expansion, at least 600,000 more adults in North Carolina will gain coverage through Medicaid. This is a huge win for North Carolina, with benefits that can be life-saving and life-changing.
But that epic transformation is not completely a done deal—when state lawmakers pushed it through, they added a condition that the state budget had to pass first before they can officially start the Medicaid expansion. The state budget cleared the state Senate on May 18, and negotiations are pending in the House.
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