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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 9:52:07 GMT -8
What would happen if the universe exploded? No matter.
They Will Harass Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime
MAGA fans attacked Christian reporter at father's funeral for 'unflattering' Trump book
Tim Alberta, an evangelical Christian journalist who got his start at the conservative National Review, thinks something has gone seriously off the rails for many of his fellow evangelicals in the age of Donald Trump.
In an excerpt of his new book published in The Atlantic, Alberta details how he was accosted by MAGA fans at his own father's funeral over a recent book he'd written containing "unflattering revelations" about former President Donald Trump that had been criticized by the late Rush Limbaugh on his radio show in 2019.
Although some of the remarks people made to Alberta were done in jest, he said that others were overtly hostile in a way that left him shaken.
"One man questioned whether I was truly a Christian," Alberta writes. "Another asked if I was still on 'the right side.' All while Dad was in a box a hundred feet away. It got to the point where I had to take a walk. Here, in our house of worship, people were taunting me about politics as I tried to mourn my father."
ALSO READ: Revealed: How South Carolina’s capital city accommodated Trump ‘patriots’
Alberta brought this incident up briefly while delivering his father's eulogy and suggested to the audience that they would have been better off listening to sermons delivered by his father, who had been a priest, instead of listening to "garbage" spewed by Rush Limbaugh.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 9:53:36 GMT -8
THe Power of a Comma
Former Vice President Mike Pence is saying that a typographical error in his book obscured a serious moment in which he admonished former President Donald Trump against his plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Specifically, the former vice president told special counsel Jack Smith's team about the errant insertion of a comma in the statement "You know, I don't have the authority to change the outcome of the election," which made it look as if Pence was simply explaining it wouldn't work, when in reality he was scolding Trump that he knew it was illegal and was doing it anyway.
That tiny distinction could make a huge difference in the legal evidence at Trump's trials for election interference, said former federal prosecutor Elie Honig on Tuesday's edition of "CNN This Morning."
"Can we get at the commas for a moment?" asked anchor Poppy Harlow. "You read it, 'You know, I don't have the authority to change the outcome of the election on January 6th' or 'You know I don't have the authority.' I mean, that is a huge difference, is it not? What would it do for the prosecution? Pence is saying it's the latter."
"Commas matter," said Honig. "Every word matters. Every piece of punctuation matters. Think how that changes the meaning of this sentence. It's writing with a comma, which means 'you know' in the conversational sense. You know, sir, I don't think I have the authority to do that. Without the comma, which Pence says the comma shouldn't be there, you know, Donald Trump, you know that I don't think I have the authority to throw out the election. So that comma may seem trivial but makes a difference in the meaning of the sentence."
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 9:54:58 GMT -8
What Happens in Antarctica Doesn't Stay in Antarctica.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday issued yet another impassioned call for ambitious climate action after a trip to Antarctica and amid preparations for the U.N. Climate Change Conference later this week.
"I have just returned from Antarctica—the sleeping giant. A giant being awoken by climate chaos. Together, Antarctica and Greenland are melting well over three times faster than they were in the early 1990s," he told reporters in New York City.
"It is profoundly shocking to stand on the ice of Antarctica and hear directly from scientists how fast the ice is disappearing," the U.N. leader said of his trip to the continent last week, pointing out that "this year, Antarctic sea ice hit an all-time low."
"Leaders must not let the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet melt away."
Scientists project that 2023 will be the hottest year in 125,000 years. Recent research has also shown that Antarctica is warming faster than widely cited models predicted, and even if humanity significantly cuts planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet faces an "unavoidable" increase in melting this century.
Guterres stressed Monday that " We live in an interconnected world. Melting sea ice means rising seas. And that directly endangers lives and livelihoods in coastal communities across the globe. Floods and saltwater intrusion imperil crops and drinking water—threatening food and water security."
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 9:56:53 GMT -8
Governor Ab-Butt Finds New Ways to Kill Texans
Texas’ immigration enforcement has led to the deaths of 74 people over 29 months in high-speed chases, including seven bystanders, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Monday.
One of those bystanders was a 7-year-old girl out with her grandmother to get ice cream.
The chases were conducted by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, but also by local county sheriffs’ officers and city police who have been enlisted to assist in the states’ multibillion-dollar Operation Lone Star, launched by Gov. Greg Abbott. Participating counties qualify for state money, in return.
Under judge's order, Georgia proposes map with two new Black-majority districts Human Rights Watch analyzed Texas DPS records from when Operation Lone Star began in March 2021 to July 2023. It found that more than two-thirds, 3,000, of the vehicle pursuits that DPS engaged in statewide occurred in the 60 counties that are partners in the program. The state has 254 counties.
The group reported that in several of those counties, vehicle chases had jumped by more than 1,000% since Operation Lone Star began, thus disproportionately affecting residents in those counties.
Texas DPS does not record deaths from vehicle pursuits under that category, but Human Rights Watch used information on pursuits documented by DPS and matched them with media reports of vehicle pursuits involving suspected smugglers of immigrants.
“Operation Lone Star puts undue pressure on law enforcement to chase cars, sometimes with very little basis, resulting in deaths of drivers, passengers, and even bystanders,” Norma Herrera, a Texas-based consultant to Human Rights Watch, stated in a news release.
The overwhelming majority of the pursuits, 81%, were initiated because of a traffic violation, with 97% of those being misdemeanors such as speeding or disobeying traffic signals. The average maximum speed in the chases was 91 mph, with one-third involving speeds of more than 100 mph.
According to Human Rights Watch, the death rate from Operation Lone Star vehicle pursuits for the 60 participating counties, is 1 per 112,000 people. A USA Today analysis of vehicle pursuits between 1979 and 2013 set the national rate at 1 per 820,000.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 9:59:01 GMT -8
There is Nothing Grassroots About This. Koch Wants to Destroy the Government.
The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is endorsing former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, affording her new support against her Republican rivals in the fight to be the alternative to Donald Trump.
The announcement was made in a memo to grassroots activists via the network’s advocacy arm Tuesday and is being backed by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign beginning this week in states that hold early primary contests and several that vote on Super Tuesday.
“When we announced our decision to engage in our first ever Republican presidential primary, we made it clear that we’d be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunction — and win. It’s clear that candidate is Nikki Haley,” Emily Seidel, senior advisor to AFP Action, said in a statement. “Nikki Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for our future. AFP Action is proud to be endorsing her and we will be doing everything we can to help make her the next President of the United States.”
While Haley stands to gain support in key primary states, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be at the losing end of the decision, as he struggles to find traction and has tried to find a spark to propel his listless campaign.
“This was not an easy decision for AFP. Governor DeSantis has been a good ally and a champion of many policy positions of AFP and the state of Florida,” a source briefed on the matter said. “But Nikki Haley also was an early ally, going back to the Tea Party movement when she ran for governor of South Carolina, and is also aligned on the issues.”
Donors to Americans for Prosperity, a piece of the political arm of the larger Koch network, had pressed the deep-pocketed group to make a decision and use their resources to boost a preferred candidate sooner rather than later, two sources familiar with the decision said. The push by donors came as the Republican primary field shrank, after former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. dropped out.
“I’m honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grassroots members all across the country,” Haley said in a statement after the announcement. “AFP Action’s members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and I’m grateful to have AFP Action by our side.”
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:00:11 GMT -8
Free at Last! Free At Last!
India’s transportation minister says all 41 construction workers who were trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for more than two weeks have been pulled out after rescuers reached them on Tuesday.
Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “completely relieved and happy” after all were rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi after an ordeal that lasted 17 days.
“I am very happy that all the 41 trapped workers have come out and their lives have been saved,” he said in a video message posted on X. Gadkari added that “this was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years.”
The workers were pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes which rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks. They will each go through an initial health checkup at a temporary medical camp set up inside the 13-meter wide tunnel.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:02:43 GMT -8
Why Do So Many People Believe They Need to Resort to Violins to Save the Country? What Can Squeaky String Instruments Do?
The recent American Values Survey from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in partnership with the Brookings Institution think tank found that one in three Republicans agree that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country” – up from 15% in 2021. (22% of Independents and 13% of Democrats agree, all numbers having increased since 2021.) The truly frightening number is that among those who believe the Big Lie, 46% believe they may resort to violence, as well as 41% of Trump fans and 41% who buy into the "Great Replacement Theory." 39% of Christian nationalists are ready to take up arms to "save the country." Those numbers represent tens of millions of Americans.
What? It's Violence? Nevermind.
Unfortunately the Danger is Real
Kinnan Abdalhamid's family feared for his safety where he grew up in the West Bank. So they sent him to the United States.
But on Saturday, the 20-year-old and two of his friends, Hisham Awartani and Tahseen Aliahmad, both also 20, were shot in Burlington, Vermont, where they had gathered for a Thanksgiving celebration.
"We always thought (the West Bank) could be more of a risk in terms of safety and sending him here would be the right decision," his uncle, Radi Tamimi, said during a news conference Monday. "We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here."
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
Authorities arrested Jason Eaton, 48, on Sunday and identified him as the suspect in the shooting of the three college students of Palestinian descent. He is being held as authorities investigate whether it was a hate crime.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:06:01 GMT -8
No Deal or No Deal
Fulton county prosecutors do not intend to offer plea deals to Donald Trump and at least two high-level co-defendants charged in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to two people familiar with the matter, preferring instead to force them to trial.
The individuals seen as ineligible include Trump, his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The previously unreported decision has not been communicated formally and could still change, for instance, if prosecutors shift strategy. But it signals who prosecutors consider their main targets, and how they want to wield the power of Georgia’s racketeering statute to their advantage.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office declined to comment.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:07:02 GMT -8
Russia Rushes into Disinformation
Since the outbreak of hostilities on October 7, Kremlin-linked Facebook accounts have ramped up their output by almost 400 percent, with the Middle East crisis now dominating posts from Russian diplomats, state-backed outlets and Putin supporters in the West.
The lies spread by Moscow's digital propagandists now include claims that Hamas terrorists are using NATO weapons to attack Israel and that British instructors trained Hamas attackers. [...]
It allows Russia to foment division in the West via targeted social media activity aimed at splitting those in support of Israel from those who back Palestine. Real-world violence, particularly against Jews, has spiked over the last seven weeks and anti-war protests by hundreds of thousands of people have sprouted up from London to Washington.
Russia's Middle East social media onslaught also pulls public attention away from its war in Ukraine, which has become bogged down after a succession of military missteps, a mutiny by Wagner mercenaries, and a long-running counteroffensive from Kyiv.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:09:21 GMT -8
Tommy Doesn't Know What Day It Is
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is coming under fire after he insulted the U.S. military on Monday evening.
“We’ve got the weakest military that we’ve had in your or my lifetime,” he told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling as he complained about diversity initiatives. “Infiltrating our military is all this wokeness.”
Critics were quick to point out that if the U.S. military has been weakened, it’s not because of “wokeness.”
It’s because of Tuberville.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:13:35 GMT -8
We are a Little Less Fuelish
The first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel departed London for New York on Tuesday as the industry seeks to prove the viability of greener air travel.
Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787 is burning a blend of 88% waste fats supplied by AirBP, and 12% Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene made from plant sugars.
Test flight VIR100, which is not carrying paying passengers, departed London Heathrow for New York JFK at 11:49 a.m. U.K. time (6:49 a.m. ET), according to Flightradar24 data. It is due to land shortly before 2 p.m. ET.
Sustainable aviation fuel — also known as SAF — is an umbrella term for non-fossil-derived fuels, including biofuels derived from plant or animal materials, municipal waste and agricultural residues.
It still produces emissions, but proponents argue the overall “lifecycle emissions” from the fuel are significantly lower than from regular petroleum-based fuel.
Other airlines have used SAF on commercial flights, although generally on shorter journeys and in up-to-50% blends with regular fuel, which was previously the regulatory limit. Tuesday’s Virgin Atlantic flight was approved by the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority earlier this month.
A group of 60 companies across the airline, transport and cargo industries pledged in 2021 to reach 10% SAF use for global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030.
An advantage of SAF is that it can be run in existing aircraft engines with no adaptions. A number of airlines have pledged to make investments into increasing use of the fuel as they seek to cut overall flying emissions, including through the use of more fuel-efficient aircraft. However, numerous challenges remain to its widespread adoption, not least supply shortages, higher costs, and concern over the sustainability of its generation.
There are relatively few SAF production plants or companies transporting it globally, with incentives for producers hampered by low margins.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:16:26 GMT -8
No Rules Leads to No WaterTensions are bubbling up at thirsty Arizona alfalfa farms as foreign firms exploit unregulated water
A blanket of bright green alfalfa spreads across western Arizona's McMullen Valley, ringed by rolling mountains and warmed by the hot desert sun. Matthew Hancock's family has used groundwater to grow forage crops here for more than six decades. They're long accustomed to caprices of Mother Nature that can spoil an entire alfalfa cutting with a downpour or generate an especially big yield with a string of blistering days. But concerns about future water supplies from the valley's ancient aquifers, which hold groundwater supplies, are bubbling up in Wenden, a town of around 700 people where the Hancock family farms. Some neighbors complain their backyard wells have dried up since the Emirati agribusiness Al Dahra began farming alfalfa here on about 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) several years ago. It is unknown how much water the Al Dahra operation uses, but Hancock estimates it needs 15,000 to 16,000 acre feet a year based on what his own alfalfa farm needs. He says he gets all the water he needs by drilling down hundreds of feet. An acre-foot of water is roughly enough to serve two to three U.S. households annually. Hancock said he and neighbors with larger farms worry more that in the future state officials could take control of the groundwater they now use for agriculture and transfer it to Phoenix and other urban areas amid the worst Western drought in centuries. “I worry about the local community farming in Arizona,” Hancock said, standing outside an open-sided barn stacked with hay bales. Concerns about the Earth’s groundwater supplies are front of mind in the lead-up to COP28, the annual United Nations climate summit opening this week in the Emirati city of Dubai. Gulf countries like the UAE are especially vulnerable to global warming, with high temperatures, arid climates, water scarcity and rising sea levels. “Water shortages have driven companies to go where the water is,” said Robert Glennon, a water policy and law expert and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. Experts say tensions are inevitable as companies in climate-challenged countries like the United Arab Emirates increasingly look to faraway places like Arizona for the water and land to grow forage for livestock and commodities such as wheat for domestic use and export. “As the impacts of climate change increase, we expect to see more droughts,” said Karim Elgendy, a climate change and sustainability specialist at Chatham House think tank in London. “This means more countries would look for alternative locations for food production.” Without groundwater pumping regulations, rural Arizona is especially attractive, said Elgendy, who focuses on the Middle East and North Africa. International corporations have also turned to Ethiopia and other parts of Africa to develop enormous farming operations criticized as “land grabbing.” Charles Koch Wants No Rules
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:19:07 GMT -8
One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Whole Bunch
On Monday, the stars aligned at Cipriani Wall Street for the first major awards show since the actors strike ended.
Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie were among the A-list honorees at the 2023 Gotham Awards, where Celine Song's wistful "Past Lives" won the top prize for best feature. But the night took a tense turn when Robert De Niro got on stage to present a tribute to "Killers of the Flower Moon," Martin Scorsese's searing historical drama about a string of murders targeting the oil-rich Osage Nation.
De Niro appeared flustered as he read his remarks from a teleprompter, which scrolled back and forth as he attempted to find his place. After a short video played, the actor insisted that part of his introduction was removed without notice.
"The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out and I didn't know about it. And I want to read it," De Niro said, pulling out his phone as the crowd looked on in surprise. "History isn't history anymore. Truth is not truth. Even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness. In Florida, young students are taught that slaves were taught skills that could be applied for their personal benefit. The entertainment industry isn't immune to this festering disease."
He went on to call out racist comments by Hollywood icon John Wayne and former President Donald Trump.
"Lying has become just another tool in the charlatan's arsenal," De Niro said. "The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office. And he's keeping up the pace in his current campaign of retribution. But with all his lies, he can't hide his soul. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows disrespect, for example, by using 'Pocahontas' as a slur," a reference to Trump's nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
De Niro earned loud cheers throughout his unfiltered speech, which finished with harsh words for the Gotham Awards as well as Apple, a producer and distributor of "Flower Moon."
"This is where I came in and I saw that they had edited all that," De Niro said. "So I'm going to say these things but to Apple and thank them and all that. Gotham, blah blah blah, Apple. But I don't really feel like thanking them at all for what they did. How dare they do that, actually."
USA TODAY has reached out to Apple and the Gotham Awards for comment.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 28, 2023 10:21:32 GMT -8
Today's Traffic Safety Tip: Don't Run Into Baby Elephants.Aherd of wild elephants in Malaysia trampled on a car traveling along a major highway after it struck a baby in their group, local authorities said Monday. The car, a white Perodua Axia, was being driven by a 48-year-old man, along with his wife and son, 23, according to a statement issued by police in Gerik, in the Malay Peninsula. The family of three were driving on a major highway from the island of Penang to the northeastern coastal state of Terengganu at around 7.35 p.m. local time on Sunday, when it crashed into the elephant calf. It had been drizzling and foggy at that time, Gerik Police added, and the car was “negotiating a left bend on the highway” when it hit the baby elephant. “The car slammed into the young elephant that was walking on the road with the herd,” said Zulkifli Mahmood, Chief Superintendent at Gerik District Police. The calf fell to the ground upon impact, he added. “Seeing this, the other (five) elephants rushed towards the car and started trampling it.” The herd then left the area after the calf “got back up,” Mahmood said. Gerik Police did not specify if the three family members had been inside the car during the incident but no deaths or serious injuries were reported in the police statement.
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Post by sagobob on Nov 28, 2023 16:36:49 GMT -8
There is Nothing Grassroots About This. Koch Wants to Destroy the Government.The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is endorsing former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, affording her new support against her Republican rivals in the fight to be the alternative to Donald Trump. The announcement was made in a memo to grassroots activists via the network’s advocacy arm Tuesday and is being backed by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign beginning this week in states that hold early primary contests and several that vote on Super Tuesday. “When we announced our decision to engage in our first ever Republican presidential primary, we made it clear that we’d be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunction — and win. It’s clear that candidate is Nikki Haley,” Emily Seidel, senior advisor to AFP Action, said in a statement. “Nikki Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for our future. AFP Action is proud to be endorsing her and we will be doing everything we can to help make her the next President of the United States.” While Haley stands to gain support in key primary states, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be at the losing end of the decision, as he struggles to find traction and has tried to find a spark to propel his listless campaign. “This was not an easy decision for AFP. Governor DeSantis has been a good ally and a champion of many policy positions of AFP and the state of Florida,” a source briefed on the matter said. “But Nikki Haley also was an early ally, going back to the Tea Party movement when she ran for governor of South Carolina, and is also aligned on the issues.” Donors to Americans for Prosperity, a piece of the political arm of the larger Koch network, had pressed the deep-pocketed group to make a decision and use their resources to boost a preferred candidate sooner rather than later, two sources familiar with the decision said. The push by donors came as the Republican primary field shrank, after former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. dropped out. “I’m honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grassroots members all across the country,” Haley said in a statement after the announcement. “AFP Action’s members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and I’m grateful to have AFP Action by our side.” "This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and I’m grateful to have AFP Action by our side.” Different actor, same tired old script.
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