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LKLK (0)
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| 03-19-22 01:28am - 916 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Cops are under a lot of pressure. They have to capture or kill slime ball crooks and other people who might be doing wrong. That is why they need strong women to back them up. Read the story of a cop who was betrayed by his wife. Can he believe in human sanctity and goodness ever again? ---- ---- In The Know by Yahoo Cop dad comes home early to surprise wife, breaks down when he discovers her ‘betrayal: ‘I would never do this to her’ Cassie Morris Thu, March 17, 2022, 12:42 PM A dad broke down when he discovered his wife had committed the ultimate betrayal, and the footage has people cracking up around the world. Cop and TikToker @officer_baker gained nearly 750,000 views, 161,000 likes and 5,400 comments when he uploaded the emotional video to his account. However, much like the mom who got an alarming call from her daughter’s school saying she was leaving with a “strange man” every day, Officer Baker’s viral video has a hilarious twist ending that TikTokers didn’t see coming. According to Baker, it all began when he came home early to surprise his wife. That’s when he discovered her deep and unforgivable betrayal. “I’ve never been more angry. … I’m hurt, I’m sad,” the dad said to the camera, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I want y’all to see what she did to me. … I would never do this to her. … I feel betrayed!” The grieving husband, still in his uniform, continued, “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t trust her now. … I can’t trust her.” Knowing his viewers would be on pins and needles at this point, eager to know what his wife had done to hurt him so deeply, Baker finally revealed the cruel offense. His wife, the mother of his child and partner in life, had eaten the very last Krispy Kreme glazed donut. “She didn’t save me a bite, nothin’. She didn’t care about me, bro,” the officer cried. TikTokers were shocked by the wife’s baked goods betrayal. “Man, you don’t need her. Keep your head up, G,” one user wrote in the comments. “I can’t believe she did that,” another wrote. “Damn bro, I know how that is. Keep your head up king,” commented another user. “I’m sorry man. You’ll get through this,” said another. “I’m sorry she did this to you. Stay strong,” one user wrote. “Leave her!!!” cried another. “Man I thought you were being serious. You had me rolling. This is hilarious,” another user commented, laugh-crying emojis in tow. Hopefully, for the sake of their child, Baker and his wife will manage to work through this challenging time together, and find a way to reestablish trust in their relationship. | |
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| 03-18-22 03:58pm - 916 days | #5 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
ARTICLE CONTINUES: Fake empire Gogol’s ability to subtly mock imperial ignorance of his homeland has not been lost on Ukrainians. One of the most joyfully subversive films made in Soviet Ukraine was The Lost Letter (1972), a loose adaptation of Gogol’s story of the same name, with a screenplay by the dissident Ivan Drach. Two Cossacks make the perilous journey from Ukraine to St Petersburg in order to deliver a message from the Hetman (Cossack leader) to the empress. When they finally gain an audience, Catherine laughs at their naivety in going to such lengths to deliver what turns out to be a trifling note. At this moment of miscommunication and mockery, one of the Cossacks slaps Potemkin, upon which the heroes realise that the rulers are not in fact real, but mere paintings on the palace wall. When they leave in disgust, slamming the door behind them, the entire building shakes like a stage set. The empire itself is a flimsy illusion, a Potemkin village. This last scene did not go down well with the Moscow censor. Much as the USSR positioned itself as anti-imperialist, its view of Ukraine differed little from Catherine’s: The Lost Letter was banned in 1973 for its disrespectful portrayal of the Russian empress. Two years later, Vladimir Putin embarked on his career in the KGB. Uilleam Blacker is Associate Professor in the Comparative Culture of Russia and Eastern Europe at UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies. | |
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| 03-18-22 03:57pm - 916 days | #4 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Russia owns the Ukraine. If Ukraine doesn't want Russia to rule Ukraine, Ukarine citizens can commit suicide. Because the only good Ukrainian is a dead Ukrainian. ------- ------- Ukrainian Tales Since it became its first imperial possession in the 18th century, Russia has denied Ukraine’s national existence, while seeing it as an exotic threat. Uilleam Blacker | Published in History Today Volume 72 Issue 4 April 2022 ben JonesBen Jones In January 1787 Catherine the Great travelled south from St Petersburg to survey some new imperial possessions. Crimea had been taken from the Ottoman Empire, the partitions of Poland were underway and the last vestiges of Cossack autonomy in the Ukrainian steppes had been eliminated. The journey was a grand event, lasting six months and covering 6,000 kilometres accompanied by thousands of soldiers and sailors. The trip was elaborately stage-managed by Prince Grigory Potemkin, Catherine’s lover and the Governor General of the new territories. Catherine was treated to a private guard consisting of exotically attired Crimean Tatars; she encountered a parade of local Greek women dressed as Amazons (Herodotus had placed these mythical female warriors in the Black Sea steppes); Potemkin also surprised his empress with a spectacular firework display that spelled her name. All this effort gave rise to the myth of the ‘Potemkin village’: the prince, the story goes, ordered the construction of fake villages, nothing more than freshly painted façades, for the empress to view as she passed. These were dismantled and reconstructed further along the route, while herds of cattle were driven from place to place. Meanwhile, the peasantry lived in misery in the barren steppes. The Potemkin village story is almost certainly a rumour spread by the prince’s enemies. Yet it nevertheless speaks to a deep Russian anxiety about its peripheries. Whether with the Finns, the Poles or the Chechens, Russia has always struggled with its subjugated peoples. Catherine, a self-styled Enlightenment ruler, saw it as her duty to understand those peoples – hence her journey. The knowledge she acquired, however, did not lead to mutual appreciation. She realised that the Ukrainian Cossacks in the steppes and the Tatars in Crimea were unreliable, so the Cossacks were dispersed and thousands of Crimean Tatars forced into exile. This, alongside deportations of Armenians and Greeks, led to catastrophic population decline in Crimea. Novorossia Potemkin had encouraged Catherine to annex Crimea precisely in order to emulate European powers that, he said, had ‘distributed among themselves Asia, Africa and America’. Like the Orientalist fantasies of the French or British Empires, Potemkin’s spectacles ignored cultural nuance and turned native peoples into exotic entertainments in order to hide the violence of colonisation. The image of Crimea as Russia’s own Orient would become a durable feature of Russian culture in the 19th century, as seen in popular literary works such as Pushkin’s lurid tale of love and vengeance in the harem, ‘The Fountain of Bakhchisaray’. The conquest of Crimea was not only a foray into Asia: it also had a more ‘native’ significance. It was in 988 in the town of Chersonesus, then part of the Byzantine Empire, that the medieval ruler of Kyivan Rus, Volodymyr the Great, was baptised. From Kyiv, the faith spread north to the territories that later became Russia. Reconnecting with this Christian heritage helped join the dots between Russia’s rising imperial greatness and what it saw as its great Christian mission. It is no wonder, then, that the current Russian state, with its neo-imperialist ambitions and Orthodox nationalism, is so fixated on the same territories that Catherine toured in 1787. In 2014, when Russia invaded Donbas and annexed Crimea, it even revived the name ‘Novorossia’, or New Russia, a term invented under Catherine for the newly annexed steppes. At the same time, Putin unveiled plans for a giant statue of his namesake Prince Volodymyr (Vladimir in Russian) in central Moscow. In July 2021 Putin published a lengthy essay, ‘On the Historical Unity of the Russians and Ukrainians’, in which he aired multiple grievances against Ukrainians, while simultaneously denying their existence as a separate nation. He reached the contradictory conclusion that ‘genuine sovereignty for Ukraine is only possible in partnership with Russia’. Just as Catherine did in the 18th century, Putin proposes to bring order to what he views as an unruly borderland. Ungrateful heirs Ukrainians have long been aware of Russian imperial mythmaking. Nostalgia for the 17th and 18th centuries, when Ukraine’s Cossacks enjoyed significant autonomy and its peasants felt protected by them, developed soon after Russia’s expansion southwards. With Ukrainian historiography obstructed by tsarist censorship, the job of preserving the past fell to writers like Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet. Born a serf in 1814, he felt the reality of Russia’s ‘enlightened’ rule, which had drastically worsened the conditions of the peasants in the decades before his birth. Shevchenko, despite his poverty, was able to gain a basic education and displayed a flair for drawing. His owner cultivated him as his personal artist and allowed him to enter the St Petersburg art world. Through the efforts of his well-connected friends, Shevchenko was able to buy his freedom. While he trained as an artist, Shevchenko began to write poetry inspired by folk legends about Ukraine’s past. His narrators were ancient bards haunting the lonely grave mounds of the Cossacks who, in centuries past, had resisted colonisation from all sides: Russia, Poland, the Ottomans. He scolds Ukraine’s elites, the ungrateful heirs to the Cossacks, who are busy making careers in the imperial capital, while the peasants languish in chains. ‘History’, Shevchenko warns, ‘is the epos of a free nation’, which Ukrainians must read in order to understand ‘who we are … and by whom and why we are enslaved.’ Ben JonesBen Jones Shevchenko’s world view was not narrowly nationalistic, however. One of his most famous poems, ‘The Caucasus’, satirises the imperial view of the Muslims of the north Caucuses, another object of Russian expansion, as barbarians in need of Christian instruction. The poem is a damning indictment of a state that purports to bring enlightenment, but in which ‘from the Fin to the Moldovan/each is silent in his own tongue’. Secular martyr The manuscripts of Shevchenko’s unpublished political poems fell into the hands of the secret police and he was arrested in 1847, sentenced to ten years of military service in exile and banned from writing or painting. This fate and his anti-imperial message turned him into a secular martyr in Ukraine, where his image and his words are still regularly encountered. One of the slogans of the Maidan protests in 2013-14, which opposed the government’s sudden decision to abandon an agreement with the EU in favour of closer links with Russia, was a line from ‘The Caucasus’: ‘Fight and you will prevail.’ Shevchenko’s calls to protect history from imperial distortion were not unique, but part of a broader cultural movement. Before Shevchenko, however, this was a cautious, apolitical project pursued by linguists, folklorists and historians. Many were members of the gentry who dabbled in literature, like Vasyl Hohol-Ianovskyi, who wrote quaint Ukrainian-language comedies for a provincial theatre in central Ukraine. Vasyl was an unremarkable writer, but his love of Ukrainian culture had a profound influence on his son, Mykola, known to the world as Nikolai Gogol. Cossacks in Petersburg While Gogol grew up participating in his father’s Ukrainian dramatic projects, as soon as he was old enough he moved to St Petersburg to forge a literary career in Russian – the only viable language for an ambitious writer at the time. When his first works were badly received, he did what writers are often advised to do and wrote about what he knew: Ukraine. He composed a letter to his mother asking for details of traditional Ukrainian culture and used these to produce two volumes of colourful, hilarious tales of Ukrainian village life. He also read widely in Ukrainian history (even applying to become a professor of Ukrainian history in Kyiv). His stories are full of subtle references to the golden age of the Cossacks. Unlike Shevchenko, Gogol never openly expressed anti-imperial views. He was generally conservative in his outlook and the idea that his works might be seen as subversive caused him great anxiety. Yet his Ukrainian tales contain some deeply ambiguous dramatisations of the imperial encounter that took place in 1787. In his story ‘Christmas Eve’ a village blacksmith travels to St Petersburg in order to find a pair of boots fit for the empress as a gift for his fiancée. He accompanies a group of Cossacks to an audience with Catherine and Potemkin: the prince, the empress tells them, has promised to ‘familiarise her with her people’. She then proceeds to ask them a series of absurd questions about their habits and traditions, making clear she has not the foggiest notion of ‘her people’. The Cossacks reply politely, but quickly move on to their own priorities: expressing their dissatisfaction with the brutal dispersion of the Cossack army, which Catherine ordered and Potemkin had executed. Just as the grievances are aired, however, the blacksmith asks for the boots: his naive request charms the tsarina and the tension is diffused. | |
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| 03-18-22 02:02pm - 916 days | #3 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald J. Trump will visit Russia, and stand should-to-shoulder with his bestest buddy Vlad Putin. Together, they will cheer on Russian soldiers who are invading Ukraine. "My fellow Russians", Trump will say, "we are brothers in blood. Never forget, that we must struggle to bring freedom to oppressed peoples wherever they live." And Putin will hug Trump and give him kisses, while awarding Trump the Russian medal of honor. ----- ----- Putin vows Russia will prevail in Ukraine but glitch hinders TV Reuters March 18, 2022, 8:25 AM Scroll back up to restore default view. LONDON (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine before a packed soccer stadium on Friday but coverage of his speech on state television was unexpectedly interrupted by what the Kremlin said was a technical problem with a server. Speaking on a stage at the centre of Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, Putin promised to tens of thousands of people waving Russian flags and chanting "Russia, Russia, Russia" that all of the Kremlin's aims would be achieved. "We know what we need to do, how to do it and at what cost. And we will absolutely accomplish all of our plans," Putin, 69, told the rally from a stage decked out with slogans such as "For a world without Nazism" and "For our president". Dressed in a turtleneck and coat, Putin said the soldiers fighting in what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine had illustrated the unity of Russia. "Shoulder to shoulder, they help each other, support each other and when needed they shield each other from bullets with their bodies like brothers. Such unity we have not had for a long time," Putin said. As he was talking, state television briefly cut away from his speech and showed earlier pre-recorded footage of patriotic songs, but he later appeared back on state television. RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying a technical fault on a server was the reason state television had suddenly cut away from Putin. Putin says the operation in Ukraine was necessary because the United States was using the country to threaten Russia and Russia had to defend against the "genocide" of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine. Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and that Putin's claims of genocide are nonsense. The West says claims it wants to rip Russia apart are fiction. Before Putin spoke, Russia's stirring national anthem, with the words "Russia is our sacred state" boomed out across the stands of the stadium used in the 2018 Soccer World Cup along with more modern pop hits such as "Made in the U.S.S.R.". Pan-Slavist poetry by Fyodor Tyutchev, whose verses warned Russians that they would always be considered slaves of the Enlightenment by Europeans, was read out. Putin quoted Russia's brilliant 18th century naval commander, Fyodor Ushakov. "He once said that these thunderstorms will go to the glory of Russia," Putin said. "That is the way it was then, that is the way it is now and it will always be that way. Thank you." (Reporting by Reuters) | |
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| 03-17-22 02:28am - 917 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump is sending signals: he won't run with Mike Pence in 2024. So the way is open for a new running mate for Donald Trump. Can Trump pick Ivanka? She would make a lovely running mate for the fightenest president. She would gather votes from women, and Donald would gather votes from men. They would make the greatest power couple in the world. And they could make nice with Vlad Putin, and stop the war, giving Ukaraine to Russia without a struggle. Remember, Donald Trump is a friend to strong dictators throughout the world. ----- ----- Trump signals he won't run with Pence in 2024 Yahoo News Christopher Wilson March 16, 2022, 9:33 AM Former President Donald Trump all but ruled out choosing his former vice president, Mike Pence, as a running mate were he to run again in 2024. “I don’t think the people would accept it,” Trump told the Washington Examiner in an interview published Wednesday. Trump pointed to Pence’s refusal to go along with his request to overturn the 2020 election, which Trump lost but continues to insist he won. Trump argues that Pence could have stopped the certification of then-President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on Jan. 6, 2021. Pence and legal experts say Trump’s interpretation of constitutional law is incorrect. Some members of Trump’s base have also apparently soured on Pence. When Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6, some of them chanted “Hang Mike Pence” as they searched for the vice president, who was escorted to safety by the Secret Service. Mike Pence and Donald Trump. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence in Westfield, Ind., on July 12, 2016. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images) “Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end,” Trump told the Examiner. “We had a very good relationship. I haven’t spoken to him in a long time.” The selection of the religiously conservative Pence in the summer of 2016 was seen as a move by Trump to shore up support among evangelicals. At the time, Pence was serving as governor of Indiana following a decade-plus serving in the House of Representatives. To begin their final year in office, Trump appointed Pence as his administration’s lead on the coronavirus in February 2020. Since leaving office, Pence has occasionally taken shots at Trump. Earlier this month, speaking at a convention of top Republican donors, Pence said, “There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin.” Pence did not mention Trump by name, but the former president has showered praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin for years, including in the run-up to the autocrat’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Pence’s maneuvering — including a visit to the Polish-Ukrainian border to help refugees and traveling to Israel with a top GOP donor — has led to speculation that he may be considering a presidential bid of his own in two years. Early polling for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has found that Trump still has majority support, with Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a statistical tie for a distant second. In an interview with Fox Business last week, Pence did not rule out a run. “I’m confident the Republican Party will nominate a candidate who will be the next president of the United States of America, and at the right time, my family and I will reflect and consider how we might participate in that process,” Pence said. | |
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| 03-16-22 03:59am - 918 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Sanctions-savaged Russia teeters on brink of historic default Reuters Marc Jones March 16, 2022, 2:36 AM LONDON (Reuters) - The economic cost of Russia's assault on Ukraine was fully exposed on Wednesday as Vladimir Putin's sanctions-ravaged government teetered on the brink of its first international debt default since the Bolshevik revolution. Moscow was due to pay $117 million in interest on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds it had sold back in 2013. But the limits it now faces making payments, and talk from the Kremlin that it might pay in roubles - triggering a default anyway - meant even veteran investors were left guessing at what might happen. One described it as the most closely watched government debt payment since Greece's default at the height of the euro zone crisis. Others said an emergency 'grace period' that allows Russia another 30 days to make the payment could drag the saga out. "The thing about defaults is that they are never clear cut and this is no exception," said Pictet emerging market portfolio manager Guido Chamorro. "There is a grace period, so we are not really going to know whether this is a default or not until April 15," he said referring to the situation if no coupon payment is made. "Anything could happen in the grace period." It had nearly $650 billion of currency reserves A Russian government debt default was unthinkable until what Putin called a "special military operation" in Ukraine began in late February. It had nearly $650 billion of currency reserves, coveted investment-grade credit ratings with S&P Global, Moody's and Fitch, and was raking in hundreds of millions of dollars a day selling its oil and gas at soaring prices. Then the tanks rolled and the United States, Europe and their Western allies fired back with unprecedented sanctions, which froze two-thirds of Russia's reserves that it turned out were held overseas. "I think the market now expects Russia not to make the (bond) payments," the head of emerging market debt at Aegon Asset Management Jeff Grills, adding the conflict was one of the few emerging market events capable of really unsettling global markets. That is because Russia's role as one of the world's top commodity producers has sent prices and global inflation skywards. At the same time it has left Russia a virtual pariah state, crippled by sanctions and watching hundreds of the world's largest firms now quit the country after deciding their presence there is no longer feasible. DEFAULT SCENARIOS As for Russia's battered government bonds, most are now changing hands at just 10%-20% of their face value. The two payments on Wednesday are the first of several, with another $615 million due over the rest of March, and the first 'principal' - final full payment of a bond - on April 4 worth $2 billion alone. Experienced investors see three potential scenarios for how Wednesday's crucial deadline plays out. The first is that Moscow pays in full and in dollars, meaning default worries go away for the time being. Big Russian energy providers Gazprom and Rosneft have both made payments on international bonds over the last 10 days so there is still a sliver of hope it could be done if Moscow feels it is in its interests. The second possibility is that Moscow doesn't pay, starting the 30-day grace period countdown clock until default. A third option where Russia pays but in roubles is also possible, although the legal terms of the bonds would mean that is still tantamount to a default. The 30-day grace rule would still apply. "Maybe we will know today (if they pay) but maybe we won't," said Pictet's Chamorro. His firm doesn't hold the bonds, but does hold other Russian bond - and when a country defaults on one of its bonds it tends to mean all its bonds 'cross default'. "In situations like these it's safest to expect the unexpected. You can't really rule anything out". | |
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| 03-15-22 12:24pm - 919 days | #10 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Republicans standing behind the common man. Fight inflation. Lower energy bills. Vote for Trump, the fightenest President we've ever had. He will give out millions to the ordinary billionaires. Not one cent for poverty. They don't need money. Only the rich know how to use money wisely. ------- ------- McConnell calls on White House to replace Fed nominee Raskin Reuters March 15, 2022, 1:43 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called on the White House on Tuesday to replace Sarah Bloom Raskin with a different nominee to become the Federal Reserve's top bank regulator. "President Biden's selection wildly – wildly – missed the mark. It's past time the White House admit their mistake and send us somebody suitable," McConnell said in a floor speech, noting that Raskin now faces bipartisan opposition. Her nomination, already stalled by Republican opposition in the evenly split Senate, was dealt a heavy blow on Monday after she lost the backing of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. The White House is seeking Republican support to compensate for the loss of Manchin's vote. But two leading Senate Republican moderates, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have signaled their opposition in a sign that Republican support may not be forthcoming. Manchin and Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns that Raskin would further a green energy policy at the Fed and distract the central bank from its customary focus on monetary policy at a time of high inflation. "Ms Raskin would have been a vice chair who sought to raise gas prices, raise home heating costs, and undermine the very institution of the Federal Reserve in the process. It's not surprising there's bipartisan Senate opposition," McConnell said. (Reporting by David Morgan and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci) | |
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| 03-15-22 04:13am - 919 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Jussie Smollett, an innocent black man who was found guilty of lying to cops and telling untrue stories, is now in jail. Some people are angry with Smollett, and writing bad things about him. So Smollett's lawyers want Smollett out of jail: "Any custodial setting poses a safety and health danger" to his life. People are not normally put into jail for safety and health reasons. But Smollett claims he is innocent. Therefore, many people argue that he's been punished enough by being found guilty. Jussie's family argues that "Jussie is strong and would never hurt himself." But being in jail is hurtful to his image. And he deserves better. Let my people go, the Lord said. Should we let Jussie Smollett go, because he wanted some extra publicity for his career? ------ ------ Jussie Smollett's lawyers file emergency motion to stay his sentence, as his sibling receives 'threatening phone calls' Yahoo Celebrity Raechal Shewfelt March 14, 2022, 3:26 PM Three months after Jussie Smollett was convicted of lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime and four days after beginning his 150-day sentence at Cook County Jail in Illinois, the actor's legal team has filed an emergency motion in his case. They're asking the court to either stay his sentence or grant him bond. In the document, filed March 11 and obtained by Yahoo Entertainment, Smollett's attorneys argue that "vicious threats" against him on social media indicate the violence that he "may experience during incarceration." However, they say that, if Smollett is put into what equates to solitary confinement, that could cause "extraordinary damage" to his mental health: "Any custodial setting poses a safety and health danger" to his life. Jussie Smollett appears for his sentencing on March 10 at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. (Photo: Brian Cassella/Pool/Chicago Tribune) Jussie Smollett appears for his sentencing on March 10 at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. (Photo: Brian Cassella/Pool/Chicago Tribune) The Cook's County Sheriff's Office previously clarified that Smollett was being held in "protective custody status," which means that he has his own cell which is monitored by cameras inside and by an officer stationed outside. "As with all detained persons, Mr. Smollett is entitled to have substantial time out of his cell in the common areas on the tier where he is housed, where he is able to use the telephone, watch television, and interact with staff," a spokesperson said. "During such times out of cell, other detainees will not be present in the common areas. These protocols are routinely used for individuals ordered into protective custody who may potentially be at risk of harm due to the nature of their charges, their profession, or their noteworthy status." The motion also cites a medical doctor's opinion that Smollett has a compromised immune system and is at "serious health risk" if he contracts COVID-19 behind bars. Meanwhile, his family has alleged that he is being improperly held in the "psych ward" at the facility. They reiterated Monday in the update from Smollett's legal team that "Jussie is strong and would never hurt himself." They also disclosed that Jussie gave the phone number of an emergency contact, one of his siblings, when he began his incarceration Thursday, and that the owner of that number had received "threatening, harassing, racist and homophobic" calls in the days since. Jussie Smollett, pictured in December 2018, was convicted in February of lying to police. (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) Jussie Smollett, pictured in December 2018, was convicted in February of lying to police. (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) Prosecutors have five days to respond to the Smollett team. The former Empire actor was sentenced last week to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, a $120,000 payment in restitution to Chicago plus an additional $25,000 fine, after having been convicted on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports of a hate crime. In January 2019, Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed that two men had attacked him while he was walking home in Chicago at 2 a.m. He said they had yelled racist and homophobic slurs as they put a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him. Brothers Abimbola ("Bola") and Olabinjo ("Ola") Osundairo later told police that Smollett had paid them to $3,500 to fake the incident. Smollett has maintained his innocence, including when he left the courtroom after his sentencing. | |
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| 03-14-22 03:01am - 920 days | #9 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Republicans are the go-to-guys if you want the real truth. That's why they put Donald Trump in the White House. Just ask the GOP senator who's on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said any war between Russia and NATO would end quickly. And Senator Linsay Graham, another Republican, says "Putin knows that no one wins a nuclear exchange. If he ordered a strike on the United States, a general would shoot him in the head." ----- ----- GOP senator says a war between NATO and Russia 'would end pretty quickly' Grayson Quay, Weekend editor Sun, March 13, 2022, 11:34 AM Jim Risch Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) dismissed concerns about the conflict in Ukraine escalating into a full-scale war between Russia and NATO during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. "How do you stop [Russian President] Vladimir Putin without starting World War III" host Bret Baier asked Risch, who is the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "There's no doubt that you always have to keep in mind that you don't want to escalate to direct confrontation with Russia, [but] I wouldn't call it 'World War III,'" Risch said. "I think it'd end pretty quickly, because with the conventional forces that he's had there, we haven't seen this kind of ineptness in a long, long time," he continued. Despite large advantages in manpower and weaponry, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not progressed as quickly or as smoothly as many experts predicted. Sébastien Roblin wrote at The Week that Russia's performance in the war so far has "gravely degraded Russia's military position in Europe — and above all its ability to compel with threats of force that fall under the nuclear threshold." Putin has not shied away from making such threats. In his speech announcing the invasion of Ukraine, Putin threatened any country that attempted to intervene with "consequences … such as you have never seen in your entire history," which most observers interpreted as a reference to Russia's 6,000-warhead nuclear arsenal. But not everyone takes Putin's nuclear threats seriously. "Putin knows that no one wins a nuclear exchange. If he ordered a strike on the United States, a general would shoot him in the head," Sen. Lindsay Graham said during an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures. Graham has previously called for a Russian assassin to kill Putin. | |
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| 03-14-22 12:31am - 921 days | #8 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald Trump, man of many talents, is a true genius. He follows the news religiously. After reading about events in Saudi Arabia, he has decided to bring in Saudi Arabian diplomats when Trump regains the White House. They will advise Trump on the best way to execute disloyal members of the Republican and Democratic parties who refuse to follow Donald's rule of law. ------ ------ Saudi Arabia Puts 81 Men to Death in Largest Mass Execution in Its Modern History Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on Saturday in what was the kingdom’s largest mass execution in its modern history. The number is astounding when you consider that Saudi Arabia executed 67 people in all of 2021 and 27 in 2020. The number is even higher than the 63 people Saudi Arabia executed in January 1980 after convicting them of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca a year earlier. It was far from clear why Saudi Arabia chose Saturday to execute so many people, including 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis, and one Syrian. The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the men executed included people who were “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children.” It also said some of those killed had pledged “allegiance to foreign terrorist organizations,” including ISIS and al-Qaida. “The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead,” the Saudi Press Agency said. The number of executions being carried out in Saudi Arabia had declined during the pandemic. But these latest executions took place at a time when Saudi Arabia may be feeling as if it has a lot of leverage on the world stage as energy prices surge as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons is reportedly planning a trip to Saudi Arabia next week to discuss oil prices. “The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead,” the Saudi Press Agency said. Several international rights groups criticized the executions. “There are prisoners of conscience on Saudi death row, and others arrested as children or charged with non-violent crimes. We fear for every one of them following this brutal display of impunity,” Reprieve, a London-based group, said in a statement. Saudi Arabia is fifth in a list compiled by Amnesty International of the countries with the highest execution rates in the world in 2020 after China, Iran, Egypt, an Iraq. | |
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| 03-13-22 04:42pm - 921 days | #7 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
How Rich Is Former President Donald Trump? Former President Donald Trump isn’t shy about his business acumen or his vast riches — but how wealthy is he currently? Since leaving office, former President Donald Trump lost $600 million, according to Forbes. Those losses left him $400 million short of making the Forbes 400 list of America’s richest people for the first time in 25 years. Trump’s current net worth valuation from the publication stands at $2.5 billion, as of September 2021. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which estimated Trump’s net worth to be approximately $2.33 billion in March, says his net worth dropped by approximately $700 million in his last year of presidency. In his first year in office, Trump’s wealth plummeted to $3.1 billion and then declined to $2.5 billion in 2020. He lost an additional $700 million following the Capitol Hill riots and his impeachments after several organizations stopped doing business with Trump or any of his properties. The 2020 dip in Trump’s overall net worth was largely due to the coronavirus and the impact it has had on industries in which he holds his biggest assets. Values for office buildings and hotels have plummeted. His properties in Washington, D.C. and Chicago appear to be underwater, while Doral, his golf resort in Miami, has lost 80% of its value in a year, Forbes reported. Additionally, the Capitol Hill riots resulted in Trump’s golf course losing the right to host the PGA championship tour in 2022, which will undoubtedly lead to lost marketing opportunities and reduced profits for the course. In the days following the riots, Shopify closed Trump’s online stores. What’s more, at least $590 million in loans will come due in the next four years, Bloomberg reports, which could further impact the billionaire’s bottom line. Still, Trump retains some valuable assets, including garages in New York City, the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and three nearby homes. However, as the economy faces recovery with widespread distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and travel picks up the pace, Trump’s resort properties may begin to recover. But an article in Forbes points out that if Trump had worked the stock market properly, selling his portfolio upon taking the presidency, paying capital gains tax, and investing in S&P 500 mutual funds, he might be doing better right now. In 2020, in spite of his financial losses, Trump made number 1,001 on the Forbes billionaires list. April 2021 saw him knocked down to 1,299 on the list while other billionaires enjoyed gains from a bullish market. A businessman and former reality television star, Trump’s path to wealth was very different than that of your typical politician. Donald Trump’s Net Worth When he was sworn into his presidency, Donald Trump was the oldest person to be sworn in — he was 70 years, 220 days old on Jan. 20, 2017. (That title now belongs to President Joe Biden, who was 78 when he was sworn in). Trump beat out a number of contenders to become the Republican nominee for the 2016 presidential election. He went on to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. His term ended on Jan. 20, when Biden began his term as the 46th president. Trump was born into a wealthy family and inherited about $40 million from his late father, real estate developer Fred Trump. In 1971, Donald Trump became head of what would later be known as The Trump Organization. Trump’s earnings and title have since helped him develop more than 500 companies. The business mogul has his stake in luxury golf courses, skyscrapers, television shows, casinos, books, merchandise and more. These endeavors have helped him reach the estimated $2.4 billion that he’s worth today. Donald Trump’s Businesses The only thing bigger than Trump’s personality is his business acumen. He landed a deal with Hyatt, the city of New York and the unprofitable Commodore Hotel beside the Grand Central Station, earning the right to renovate and rebrand the ailing hotel into the Grand Hyatt. In 1980, that hotel became an instant success, making Trump one of the best-known real estate developers in the area. In 1984, Trump completed construction on the 68-story Trump Tower, which serves as headquarters for The Trump Organization to this day. The building includes a 60-foot waterfall and, on opening day, had five levels of retail stores and restaurants. Trump has owned a slew of successful businesses and properties, among them Trump Place, a luxury residential community spanning 92 acres. The Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago has a hotel, condos and numerous restaurants and shops. The success of Wollman Rink, a Central Park staple, is arguably credited to Trump. However, following the storming of the U.S. Capitol, New York City announced that it was severing its business ties with Trump. On Jan. 13, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would be terminating three contracts with The Trump Organization that would cease its operations of a carousel in Manhattan’s Central Park, skating rinks and a golf course in the Bronx, Reuters reported. Donald Trump’s Failed Businesses Donald Trump has major business wins to his name, but he also has some big losses. In 1988, Trump spent $365 million on a fleet of Boeing 727s, as well as landing facilities in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. He also bought the rights to paint his name on a plane. His attempt to build a luxury flying experience under the Trump Shuttle name failed, however, and the company was decommissioned. In 1990, the banks that backed Trump’s investments provided him with a $65 million bailout in new loans and credit. Trump’s famous Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, went bankrupt in 1991, and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts went bankrupt in 2004. In 2009, the same company — now called Trump Entertainment Resorts — filed for bankruptcy again. One of Trump’s highest-profile business failures is Trump University. The unaccredited online college was launched in 2005 and closed down in 2010. Three Trump University lawsuits plagued his first presidential campaign, alleging that Trump University was a scam that cost students tens of thousands of dollars. Trump settled the lawsuits for $25 million, though he did not admit any wrongdoing. Donald Trump’s Wife and Family Donald Trump has been married three times. He was with his first wife, Ivana, from 1977 to 1992. The couple had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. The three eldest Trump children — along with Ivanka’s husband, real estate investor and developer Jared Kushner — were highly involved in their father’s presidency. Trump married Marla Maples in December 1993, two months after Maples gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany. The couple divorced in 1999. Trump has been married to his current wife and former first lady, Melania Trump, who has an estimated net worth of $50 million, since 2005. Melania is the mother of Trump’s youngest son, Barron. Donald Trump’s Lifestyle Donald Trump sometimes lives in a three-floor penthouse in Trump Tower with his wife, Melania, and son Barron. The luxuries the family enjoys at Trump Tower include an indoor fountain and a door encrusted with diamonds and gold, Business Insider reported. Among Trump’s other notable properties is Mar-a-Lago, where he spent 25 of his first 100 days in office. He moved back to the estate after his term as president ended, CNN reported. The luxury club is worth $180 million, according to Forbes, and sits on 17 acres of valuable South Florida land. Trump bought the estate — which boasts 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and three bomb shelters — for the bargain price of $10 million in 1985. Before having access to Air Force One, Trump shuttled between campaign stops in his $100 million Boeing 757 adorned with gold seatbelts. His fleet of luxury vehicles includes a Rolls Royce, an electric blue 1997 Lamborghini Diablo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. By Dawn Allcot March 3, 2022 | |
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| 03-13-22 04:24pm - 921 days | #6 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Putin is growing increasingly frustrated with the Ukraine war. Putin says the only reason Russia invaded Ukraine was to keep the peace. Now Putin is sending missiles into Ukraine, trying to bring Ukraine down to its knees. But Putin has a secret weapon: Donald Trump and the Republican party will join forces with Putin, and make Ukraine sorry for fighting. Lives are sacred, and Ukraine is putting its people at risk of dying and injury. Trump, a military genius, and the Republican party, are secret allies of Putin, and they will force not only Ukraine, but the evil Nato alliance, to bow down to the forces of Right, Honor, and True Blue America. ------ ------ Putin is 'lashing out,' U.S. adviser says of Western Ukraine missile strike Yahoo News Colin Campbell March 13, 2022, 9:39 AM Russian President Vladimir Putin, "frustrated" by Ukraine's surprisingly stiff resistance, is increasingly escalating the scope of the war, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday. Earlier in the day, Russia fired waves of missiles at a Ukrainian military base in Lyiv, which is near the Polish border and far from the frontlines of the war. "This does not come as a surprise to the American intelligence and national security community," Sullivan said on CNN's "State of the Union.” "What it shows is that Vladimir Putin is frustrated by the fact that his forces are not making the kind of progress that he thought that they would make against major cities including Kyiv, that he is expanding the number of targets, that he is lashing out, and that he is trying to cause damage in every part of the country," Sullivan continued. More than 30 Russian missiles killed at least 35 people and injured 134 in a strike at the Lviv military base, according to Ukrainian authorities. The base, a former NATO training center that had once hosted U.S. military instructors, had become a link for receiving Western military support to boost the country’s defense against the Russian invasion. The New York Times reported that "up to 1,000 foreign fighters were training at the base," according to a Ukrainian official. (The U.S. said no American forces were there on Sunday.) Lviv, in Ukraine's west, has been a relatively peaceful outpost in the war, unlike the capital Kyiv and Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the east. It is a central hub for refugees fleeing west into Poland, as well as for supplies and weapons flowing east toward the heart of the conflict. A stretcher carrying a wounded person is loaded into an ambulance by two emergency workers. A wounded person being carried to a hospital after a series of Russian missiles in Lviv, Ukraine. (Abdullah Tevge/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) The Sunday missile strike comes as Russia's invasion drags into its third week, failing to take key cities, despite facing a much smaller Ukrainian military, though boosted by shipments of Western military equipment. Russia recently said that those military convoys are "legitimate targets" for its forces. "This is the third, now, military facility or airfield that the Russians have struck in Western Ukraine in just the last couple of days. So clearly, at least from an airstrike perspective, they're broadening their target sets," Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on ABC’s “This Week.” Sullivan also said Sunday that Russia would enter a broader war with NATO if it attacked any part of Poland, which is under 50 miles from Lviv and a member of the Western military alliance. "The president has been clear repeatedly that the United States will work with our allies to defend every inch of NATO territory, and that means every inch," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "And if there is a military attack on NATO territory, it would cause the invocation of Article Five, and we would bring the full force of the NATO alliance to bear in responding to it." | |
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| 03-12-22 02:35pm - 922 days | #5 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump needs to go to Ukraine. He can tell the Russians which people are the Nazis that must be shot, and which are unarmed civilians that might be allowed to run away, without killing them. Trump is a Nazi expert. Trump's former wife Ivana, said her husband owned a copy of “My New Order” – a printed collection of the Nazi leader’s speeches. So Trump can be a humanitarian, eligible for the Nobel Peach Prize, if he will donate his time to saving the lives of Ukraine people who are fleeing from Russian soldiers. ----- ----- NBC News Ukrainian family shot at checkpoint while trying to flee Richard Engel and Marc Smith and Henry Austin Sat, March 12, 2022, 1:30 AM KYIV, Ukraine — Tetyana Vlasenko was bleeding from 12 bullet wounds to her legs when she begged a Russian military officer nearby for help. His soldiers had opened fire on her family’s car, yet the officer was apologetic as the soldiers gave them first aid. While she lay there seriously hurt, she recalls him saying, “I’m sorry for doing this but we have an order to shoot everything that is moving, and you cannot imagine how many cars like this we have full of Nazis who are trying to bomb us,” Tetyana, 42, told NBC News on Wednesday from her bed in Kyiv City Hospital 17. Her husband, Roman, 50, and their daughter, Katherina, 16, were also hit in their legs. The officer’s comments echoed President Vladimir Putin’s accusations of Nazi elements within Ukraine, his stated reason for invading Russia’s western neighbor. Experts have slammed the allegations as slanderous and false. Tetyana, a former shop worker, said the Russian soldiers she encountered “truly believe that everyone around is a Nazi.” She added that the soldiers “were all terrified,” and she had spoken calmly with them prior to the shooting. Tetyana, Igor, Roman and Katherina Vlasenko, pictured a few years ago. (Courtesy Roman Vlasenko) Tetyana, Igor, Roman and Katherina Vlasenko, pictured a few years ago. (Courtesy Roman Vlasenko) After their house in the village of Vorzel was hit by a Russian strike on March 2, she said, they stayed with neighbors before deciding to leave the community just outside of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. The family had already fled from Kremlin rule in Crimea after Russian forces annexed the peninsula in 2014, her husband said. After driving up to the checkpoint at the end of their street, Roman, a former business consultant, said he asked the soldiers whether they could keep moving. “They asked him what his nationality was and why he spoke Russian so well,” Tetyana said. “They were surprised that we spoke Russian amongst each other. My husband said, ‘We have a free country here, everyone speaks whichever language they like,’” she added. “And I said, ‘Your brains are full of Putin propaganda crap. There are no Nazis here.’” They were waved through but got less than 40 feet before their car was fired on, Tetyana said. She added that she was “naive” when she “saw the bullets tearing through the glass and metal into the car.” “I started to show them documents and saying there were kids,” she said. Roman Vlasenko in front of his family home in Vorzel after it was bombed. (Courtesy Roman Vlasenko) Roman Vlasenko in front of his family home in Vorzel after it was bombed. (Courtesy Roman Vlasenko) She briefly heard Katherina screaming in pain. “I remember the bullet coming through my knee and my bone,” the teenager said. “After this I lost consciousness.” Roman “started to shout that they killed our daughter because she lost consciousness,” Tetyana recalled. Their 8-year-old son, Igor, was the only one who escaped unscathed, because Katherina had covered him, Roman said. Roman added that he called one of his neighbors, who shouted at the soldiers when he saw what had happened, before helping to transfer them to the hospital where they are recovering. “I don’t know how we survived,” Roman said, sitting in a wheelchair at the foot of his daughter’s bed with his head in his hands. “I feel huge, huge guilt for what happened because I made this decision to risk the whole of my family. I will have to live with this for the whole of my life.” | |
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| 03-12-22 11:32am - 922 days | #4 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
This is why Trump needs to regain the White House: there's too much un-authorized violence in the United States. If Trump was still running things, he would be on the streets every day, telling people they can't go around shooting people without a good reason. Remember, when there was a school shooting, Trump said, if he had been there, he would have rushed into the school, even if he didn't have a gun. With his bare hands, if needed, he would have put down the shooter. That is why we need Trump in the White House. Of course, some people remember that Donald avoided the draft by getting exemptions: the last exemption was for bone spurs, but thankfully, Donald grew out of that dis-ability by leading a healthy life. Go, Donald, we love you to pieces!!! ----- ----- Saginaw and Bay City News Man shot on his porch in Saginaw County Updated: Mar. 12, 2022, 12:35 p.m. | Published: Mar. 12, 2022, 12:35 p.m. Saginaw County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicles A 55-year-old man who was approached on his porch by two men is in stable condition after being shot during an altercation on Friday in Saginaw County. (MLive file photo) By Dylan Goetz | dgoetz@mlive.com SAGINAW COUNTY, MI -- A 55-year-old man who was approached on his porch by two men is in stable condition after being shot during an altercation on Friday in Spaulding Township. The incident, which is under investigation by the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office, took place around 3:15 p.m. on March 11. The victim, who was the resident of the home where the altercation took place, suffered a gunshot wound to his leg and was transported to a local hospital, sheriff’s officials said in a news release. The two men who approached the man’s home were wearing all black, police said. If anyone has information about this incident, they can contact the sheriff’s office at 989-790-5404. | |
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| 03-12-22 10:15am - 922 days | #3 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald Trump has been building a secret army of ninjas, who will descend upon Washington DC, assassinate Joe Biden, and put Trump back where he belongs: in the White House. Also, after regaining the White House, Trump's supporters will sponsor a resolution naming Trump President For Life of the United States Of Trumpland. And making first daughter Ivanka Trump the official designated heir of her glorious father, Donald Trump the First. Ivanka Trump gave a press conference, where she announced she was proud of the honor of being her father's first daughter. "It's a honor to be the first daughter of such a proud and glorious man. Long may he rule!!!" the first daughter shouted, to the cheers of her admiring audience. ----- ----- Russia's bioweapon conspiracy theory finds support in US Associated Press DAVID KLEPPER and ANGELO FICHERA March 12, 2022, 6:08 AM Russia's baseless claims about secret American biological warfare labs in Ukraine are taking root in the U.S. too, uniting COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon adherents and some supporters of ex-President Donald Trump. Despite rebuttals from independent scientists, Ukrainian leaders and officials at the White House and Pentagon, the online popularity of the claims suggests some Americans are willing to trust Kremlin propaganda over the U.S. media and government. Like any effective conspiracy theory, the Russian claim relies on some truths: Ukraine does maintain a network of biological labs dedicated to research into pathogens, and those labs have received funding and research support from the U.S. But the labs are owned and operated by Ukraine, and the work is not secret. It's part of an initiative called the Biological Threat Reduction Program that aims to reduce the likelihood of deadly outbreaks, whether natural or manmade. The U.S. efforts date back to work in the 1990s to dismantle the former Soviet Union’s program for weapons of mass destruction. “The labs are not secret,” said Filippa Lentzos, a senior lecturer in science and international security at King’s College London, in an email to the Associated Press. “They are not being used in relation to bioweapons. This is all disinformation.” That hasn't stopped the claim from being embraced by some on the far-right, by Fox News hosts, and by groups that push debunked claims that COVID-19 is a bioweapon created by the U.S. The day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an early version appeared on Twitter — in a thread espousing the idea that Russia's offensive was targeting “US biolabs in Ukraine” — and was soon amplified by the conspiracy theory website Infowars. It has spread across mainstream and lower-profile social platforms, including Telegram and Gab, that are popular with far-right Americans, COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and adherents of QAnon, the baseless hoax that Satan-worshipping pedophiles secretly shape world events. Many of the accounts posting the claim are citing Russian propaganda outlets as sources. When Kremlin officials repeated the conspiracy theory on Thursday, saying the U.S. was developing bioweapons that target specific ethnicities, it took a few minutes for their quotes to show up on American social media. Several Telegram users who cited the comments said they trusted Russian propaganda over independent American journalists, or their own democratically elected officials. “Can’t believe anything our government says!” one poster wrote. Others cited the claim while parroting Russia's talking points about the invasion. “It’s not a “war,” it’s a much needed cleansing,” wrote a member of a Telegram group called “Patriot Voices” that is popular with supporters of Trump. “Ukraine has a ton of US govt funded BioWeapons Labs that created deathly pathogens and viruses.” Television pundits and high-profile political figures have helped spread the claim even further. Fox News host Tucker Carlson devoted segments on his shows on Wednesday and Thursday to promoting the conspiracy theory. On Wednesday, Donald Trump Jr. said conspiracy theories around the labs were proven to be a “fact” in a tweet to his 7.3 million followers. Both Carlson and Trump misrepresented congressional testimony from a State Department official saying the U.S. was working with Ukraine to secure material in the biological labs, suggesting that indicated the labs were being used for illegitimate purposes. It’s not surprising that a biological research center would contain potentially hazardous material, however. The World Health Organization said Thursday that it has asked Ukraine to destroy any samples that could pose a threat if released, either intentionally or accidentally. While the disinformation poses a threat on its own, the White House warned this week that the Kremlin's latest conspiracy theory could be a prelude to a chemical or biological attack that Russia would blame on the U.S. or Ukraine. “Frankly, this influence campaign is completely consistent with longstanding Russian efforts to accuse the United States of sponsoring bioweapons work in the former Soviet Union,” U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Thursday during testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “So this is a classic move by the Russians.” The conspiracy theory has also been picked up by Chinese state media, and was further amplified this week by China's Foreign Ministry, which repeated Russia's claim and called for an investigation. Milton Leitenberg, an arms control expert and senior research associate at the Center for International & Security Studies at the University of Maryland, noted that Russia has a long history of such disinformation. In the 1980s, Russian intelligence spread the conspiracy theory that the U.S. created HIV in a lab. Leitenberg said numerous Russian scientists had visited a similar public health lab in the republic of Georgia, but that Russia continued to spread false claims about that facility. “There’s nothing they don’t know about what’s taking place there, and they know that nothing of what they claim is true,” Leitenberg said. “The important thing is that they know that, unquestionably.” While gaining traction in the U.S., the claims about bioweapons are likely intended for a domestic Russian audience, as a way to increase support for the invasion, according to Andy Carvin, senior fellow and managing editor at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which is tracking Russian disinformation. Carvin noted the Kremlin has also spread hoaxes about Ukrainian efforts to obtain nuclear weaponry. “It’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle to hammer home these narratives, particularly to domestic audiences,” Carvin said. ___ Klepper reported from Providence, R.I. Fichera reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press reporter Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report from Washington. | |
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| 03-11-22 07:51pm - 923 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Are Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson puppets for Russia's Vlad Putin? Do bears shit in the woods? Was Dracula really a fiend who had a thirst for blood? Enquiring minds want to know: How much is Putin paying Trump and Carlson to spread Russian lies in the United States? ------ ------ ABC News's Jonathan Karl accuses Tucker Carlson of 'plagiarism of Vladimir Putin' Yahoo TV Stephen Proctor March 11, 2022, 1:36 AM ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl appeared Thursday on Deadline: White House, where he joined the growing chorus of people claiming Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson is parroting Russian propaganda. Carlson has been accused of doing so multiple times in the past, this time coming the day after Carlson pushed the false Russian narrative that the U.S. military has secret bioweapons labs in Ukraine. Carlson opened his show Wednesday night propagating that exact message. “He was giving credence to what the Russians are now saying, a really classic propaganda claim that the United States is manufacturing, or has been manufacturing chemical, biological weapons in Ukraine,” Karl said. “And Tucker Carlson used the segment to echo that claim, saying that he was at first skeptical about it, but now he’s convinced that there’s credence to it.” Just an hour after Carlson’s segment aired, Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin appeared on Hannity where she contradicted what Carlson had said about the biolabs, stating the fact that they are neither secret, nor do they produce bioweapons. On Thursday, Karl posted a tweet highlighting other pieces of Russian propaganda that Carlson has pushed. “He says as just an aside that the United States encouraged Russia to invade Ukraine,” Karl said. “In what universe is that true? Only if you’re sitting in Moscow and watching Russian television because it’s exactly, again, what Vladimir Putin is saying.” Karl went on to accuse Carlson of flat-out plagiarizing Putin. “What is sort of inexplicable here is that what is being said is almost a plagiarism of Vladimir Putin,” Karl said. “It’s almost word for word what Vladimir Putin has been saying, not just now, but again, for several years, and what he has said in making the argument to justify what’s happening in Ukraine.” And Karl wondered if Russia’s excuse for its deadly bombing of a Ukrainian maternity ward might be the next piece of Russian propaganda that Carlson pushes. “Today, Russian propaganda is saying that that maternity ward that was bombed was somehow a military facility,” Karl said. “I mean, is that gonna be echoed next? It is inexplicable. I can’t explain it.” | |
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| 03-11-22 04:22pm - 923 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Says it's better to let Russia take over Ukraine. Let bygones be bygones. If Ukraine can't stand on it own two feet, let Russia take it over. And why waste American money on a losing cause? Give the money to the 1%, who will use it wisely. The poor and unwashed would only use money for drugs and prostitition. And maybe booze and pornography. Make America great Again. Vote for Trump. ----- ----- Why some American leftists are critical of U.S. assistance to Ukraine Yahoo News Ben Adler March 11, 2022, 10:50 AM The phenomenon of Republicans who admire Russian President Vladimir Putin is well known — especially since its most voluble proponent is former President Donald Trump. But on the left, there also exists a smaller movement that holds the United States and its NATO allies as at least somewhat responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin, an authoritarian nationalist who has enacted laws targeting LGBTQ people and jailed liberal dissidents, has never been lionized on the left. Still, a cadre of far-left activists and pundits argue that the U.S. risked provoking confrontation with Russia by expanding NATO to its borders, and some are opposed to giving military aid to Ukraine or imposing economic sanctions on Russia. “Everyone I know is united in condemning this war, and none of us like Putin,” Branko Marcetic, a staff writer at the Marxist journal Jacobin, told Yahoo News. But, he said, that doesn’t mean the U.S. should arm Ukraine. A Ukrainian serviceman holds an American-made antitank guided missile during a training exercise. “The idea of sending weapons to Ukraine — I think there’s a defensible argument for it,” Marcetic said. “The problem is, there was a similarly defensible argument for arming the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s when they were fighting a Soviet invasion.” The mujahideen were militias that fell into civil war with one another after the Soviets withdrew. The Taliban grew out of that war, later giving safe harbor to al-Qaida. Similarly, Marcetic warns, U.S. weapons could wind up in the hands of Ukrainian neo-Nazi militias such as the Azov Battalion, a part of the Ukrainian National Guard. Putin, who said at the onset of the war that Russia’s aim was “the de-Nazification of Ukraine,” has used the existence of groups like the Azov Battalion to justify his invasion. “Because Putin has used that pretext, and because it’s such a big element of Kremlin propaganda at the moment, that in the West there’s a whole idea of ‘there’s no Nazi problem in Ukraine’ ... which is just not true,” Marcetic said. As Marcetic and others on the left see it, any action that escalates tensions with Russia or intensifies the conflict militarily could lead to disastrous unintended consequences. “The solution to this conflict is not going to be military,” Marcetic said. “It’s going to have to be some kind of negotiated settlement.” “I’m against funding a proxy war that will lead to more bloodshed and — if the corporate media calling for a no-fly zone has its way — possibly nuclear war,” Katie Halper, a left-wing commentator and talk show host, told Yahoo News. “Putin’s invasion was unjust, illegal and immoral,” she added. “But that doesn’t make arming Ukraine to fight a protracted miserable proxy war, with no winners but the war industry, the right thing to do.” Shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, Halper and her co-host Aaron Maté produced an episode of their podcast, “Useful Idiots,” entitled “How the US Caused the Ukraine Crisis.” (Halper’s previous co-host Matt Taibbi, a columnist on Substack who used to work for Rolling Stone, is also a contrarian on Russia, having mocked the notion that Russia might invade right up until it did.) On Wednesday, on the website the Grayzone, far-left journalist Max Blumenthal, who has been deeply critical of U.S. and Israeli policies, conducted a friendly interview with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a conservative with libertarian leanings who voted against a congressional resolution stating U.S. support for Ukraine. The next day, Blumenthal pressed Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a progressive Democrat, on why Americans should support sanctions on Russia if it raises gasoline prices. “After campaigning on a peace platform, Ro Khanna sounds like a Bush-era neocon, spouting American exceptionalist bromides about freedom not being free,” Blumenthal concluded on Twitter. In a recent editorial, the Nation magazine, a left-liberal tribune, while decrying the invasion, called for diplomacy instead of “a rush to arms” or sanctions that it warned “will hurt not only Russia — oligarchs and ordinary citizens alike — but also Europe, the US, and the global economy’s bystanders.” A number of other progressive journalists have raised some similar concerns. Jeremy Scahill of the Intercept warned that arming Ukraine could prolong the war. Scahill also noted that the United States has previously invaded and occupied Iraq without provocation. Some on the far left, such as former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, have been arguing for years that NATO expansion into Eastern Europe and U.S. support for pro-Western forces in Ukraine were provocations to Russia. Concerns that NATO’s post-Cold War expansion into Eastern Europe could lead to a confrontation with Moscow are by no means limited to the left. As Ukraine fights for survival, there are some democratic socialists who come to some similar conclusions as their unlikely allies on the right about how the U.S. should, or should not, respond to the war in Ukraine. Rep. Ilhan Omar, for example, worries that replacing Russian oil with oil from Saudi Arabia will empower the Middle Eastern kingdom, which has a deplorable record on human rights and is prosecuting a brutal war in Yemen. Omar, along with fellow left-leaning Democratic Rep. Cori Bush, was one of two House Democrats who voted Wednesday against banning Russian oil imports; they were joined in their opposition by 15 right-wing Republicans. “If our issue is that we don’t want to buy oil from a powerful country that is conducting a devastating war on its weaker neighbor, I just don’t see Saudi Arabia hardly being a principled solution,” Omar said in a radio interview on “Democracy Now” on Tuesday. Omar has been clear that she opposes Russia’s invasion and supports U.S. aid to Ukraine. So her reasoning is quite different from that of Republicans like Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who in a speech over the weekend called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug” presiding over a government that “is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil.” (After a video of Cawthorn’s remarks was picked up by news outlets, the freshman congressman tweeted that Putin’s invasion was “disgusting.”) Rescue members search for victims among rubble in Yemen. Rescue workers search for victims among the rubble after jets of a Saudi-led coalition targeted a prison on Jan. 22 in Saadah, Yemen. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images) In fact, all of the members of Congress who belong to the Democratic Socialists of America, including Bush and Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, have broadly backed the Biden administration’s alliance with Ukraine. But the organization to which they belong has other ideas. In its Feb. 26 statement on the war, the DSA criticized Russia’s invasion but also came out against any effort to arm Ukraine or sanction Russia. It also called for the end of U.S. involvement in NATO. “This crisis requires an immediate international antiwar response demanding de-escalation, international cooperation, and opposition to unilateral coercive measures, militarization, and other forms of economic and military brinkmanship that will only exacerbate the human toll of this conflict,” the group’s National Political Committee wrote. “DSA reaffirms our call for the US to withdraw from NATO and to end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict.” The DSA’s statement was controversial among its own members. “They felt they had to criticize the United States for imperialism, for provoking the Russians,” Peter Dreier, a professor of politics at Occidental College and a founding member of the DSA, told Yahoo News. Dreier called the statement “tone-deaf about the moment we’re in as a country — and about the role of progressives and the left working in politics.” The DSA North Star Steering Committee, which urges the group to take a more politically pragmatic approach, issued a statement endorsing economic sanctions. “It is precisely because we oppose outside military intervention that we have an obligation to advocate for other means to compel a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine,” the committee stated. Rep. Jamaal Bowman speaks into a microphone outside the U.S. Capitol. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, outside the U.S. Capitol, calls for action on the Build Back Better Act before the State of the Union address on March 1. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images). Bowman also took a very different tack than the DSA. “I vigorously condemn Russian imperialism,” Bowman said in a statement on the day Russia invaded its neighbor. “I am committed to supporting the Biden administration in holding Putin and his oligarchs accountable. ... I support NATO and will continue to do so during this crisis.” Bowman is nonetheless contending with a primary challenger who is demanding that he explicitly renounce the DSA’s position. | |
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| 03-11-22 07:45am - 923 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Holiday special discounts, which are offered throughout the year, can save a lot of money. Porn sites offer holiday specials for all kinds of holidays. That's what I would do: wait for a holiday, and see how much you can save from a regular membership price. And the PU (TPB, Rabbits Reviews) discounts also help. Right now some sites are offering St. Patrick's discounts. But for a while now, a lot of sites have started charging extra for downloads. A lot extra. That's what porn sites are doing to make more money. It sucks. | |
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| 03-11-22 12:06am - 924 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail for staging hate crime Yahoo Celebrity Suzy Byrne,Taryn Ryder March 10, 2022, 5:05 PM Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation for staging a hate crime against himself. The actor — who received support from some Hollywood friends but failed to sway an obviously displeased judge — faced a maximum sentence of three years in state prison. The ruling was handed down to the erstwhile Empire star, 39, by Judge James B. Linn at Chicago's George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Thursday. The judge did not hold back when sentencing the actor, whom he called "profoundly arrogant," "selfish" and a "narcissistic," at the end of a wild hearing that took almost six hours. The marathon session ended with an outburst from Smollett, who maintained his innocence throughout, before he was taken immediately to jail. "I am not suicidal," Smollett yelled in the courtroom. "I am not suicidal. I am innocent and I am not suicidal. If I did this then it means I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years, and the fears of the LGBT community. Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this and I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself and you must all know that. I respect you, your honor. I respect your decision. ... I am not suicidal." Actor Jussie Smollett appears at his sentencing hearing Thursday, March 10, 2022 at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. Smollett is back in court to learn if a judge will order him locked up for his conviction of lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that he orchestrated or allow him to remain free. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool) Jussie Smollett appears at his sentencing for faking a hate crime on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. (Photo: Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool) Smollett will serve a total of five months in the Cook County Jail, not prison, which is typical for shorter sentences. He was also sentenced to 30 months' felony probation, ordered to pay $120,106 of restitution to the city of Chicago and pay $25,000 fine. "I know that there his nothing that I will do here today that will come close to the damage you have done to your own life," the judge told Smollett. "You destroyed your life as you knew it." Linn emphasized the jury got Smollett's verdict right. In December, the entertainer was convicted for repeatedly reporting to police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime. Prosecutors say Smollett staged the January 2019 incident to garner sympathy and help his acting career. "Frankly, I do not believe you did it for the money," the judge said, noting Smollett was making around $2 million a year. "The only thing I can find is that you really craved the attention." The judge scolded Smollett for preying on a country "that was slowly trying to heal past injustices and current injustices." "You wanted to make yourself more famous, and for a while it worked," the judge continued, calling out Smollett for throwing a "national pity party for yourself." Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, applauded the five-month jail sentence, saying in a statement, "The criminal conviction of Jussie Smollett by a jury of his peers and today’s sentencing should send a clear message to everyone in the city of Chicago that false claims and allegations will not be tolerated." Smollett faced up to three years in prison for each of the five felony counts of disorderly conduct — for making false reports in the days following the incident — for which he was convicted and a $25,000 fine. He was acquitted on a sixth count — of lying to an investigator weeks after the incident. Although Smollett did not address the court ahead of sentencing on the advice of his attorney, his grandmother was one of many emotional witnesses who spoke on his behalf, calling him a "justice warrior." "Jussie is loved and respected by all who know him," she said, asking the judge not to send her grandson to prison. "If you do, send me along with him." Smollett was not expected to serve time behind bars. Legal experts pointed to the fact that he does not have any prior felony convictions, and his conviction here is for a low-level, nonviolent crime. Also, no one was injured by his crime. Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and actress Alfre Woodard were among those to write letters to the judge asking for leniency. However, the judge pointed to "ample factors" that made prison time reasonable, including Smollett's "premeditation" for the crime, the pain he caused "real victims of hate crimes," the damage to the city of Chicago and Smollett's "performance on the witness stand" in December as he said the actor committed "perjury." Before Smollett's sentence was handed down, his attorneys tried to persuade the judge to overturn the conviction or retry the case, citing 13 different errors in the handling of the case. They argued Smollett should have had immunity after the original charges were initially dropped. They also said that a special prosecutor never should have been appointed in this case. They also took issue with the selection of the special prosecutor. Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed he was the victim of a hate crime when two men wearing ski masks poured bleach on him, put a noose around his neck and yelled racist and homophobic slurs on a freezing Chicago night. He claimed he had been walking home, on Jan. 29, 2019 at about 2 a.m., after getting food at a Subway. The police investigation led to two brothers, Abimbola ("Bola") and Olabinjo ("Ola") Osundairo, who were acquaintances of the actor. They testified at the December trial that Smollett paid them $3,500 in part to stage the attack. Actor Jussie Smollett, one-time star of the TV drama Jussie Smollett arriving for his sentencing hearing on March 10, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski) Smollett testified that he did not recognize them the night of the attack — and didn't know why they attacked him. He said the $3,500 was paid to Bola for personal training services. The actor also claimed he and Bola had a sexual relationship with his attorney implying homophobia could have been a motive for the attack. (Bola denied a relationship.) The defense also alleged the brothers tried to get Smollett to pay them $1 million to not cooperate with prosecutors. Smollett was initially indicted in March 2019 on 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct. However, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office abruptly dropped all charges weeks later, keeping his $10,000 bond and saying community service he had completed was enough. A special prosecutor was appointed to look into it in August 2019 leading to new charges against Smollett, who was written off Empire, and ultimately the conviction. Separately, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against Smollett in 2019 after he refused to pay back the $130,106.15 for the police investigation. Smollett filed a countersuit. The city of Chicago vowed to pursue the lawsuit after Smollett's conviction. Smollett's defense attorneys have said they intend to fight the verdict in appellate court. | |
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| 03-10-22 09:16am - 924 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
John Eastman, a lawyer, advised Trump on how he could remain President of the US, even if people voted for Joe Biden. Eastman told Trump that Mike Pence, the Vice President, had the authority to reject electoral votes or delay their counting, so Republican-led state legislatures could cast their votes for Trump even though more voters cast their ballots for Joe Biden. Most people don't know that lawyers are geniuses: they can make pipe dreams come true. Unfortunately, after Trump lost the election, John Eastman retired. The nation has lost one of its guiding lights. ------- ------- Judge rules against Trump lawyer John Eastman in dispute with Jan. 6 investigators LA Times March 9, 2022, 4:00 PM A federal judge on Wednesday handed an incremental victory to the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection in a case involving California attorney John Eastman. Eastman, who advised former President Trump on efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, has been fighting to prevent the committee from seeing more than 100 emails involving him. The judge ruled against Eastman for now, saying the court would review the documents to determine which can be turned over to the panel. Eastman has emerged as a central figure in the committee's investigation into Trump's efforts to subvert the election results. He wrote two legal memos arguing that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to unilaterally reject electoral votes or delay their counting, which could have opened the door for Republican-led state legislatures to cast their votes for Trump even though more voters cast their ballots for Joe Biden. The advice was disregarded by Pence and roundly denounced by legal experts when it became public last year. The congressional committee subpoenaed emails sent or received by Eastman from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2021. Eastman sued to block release of the documents, which are housed on the server of Chapman University in Orange, which was Eastman's employer at the time. He argued that they're protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege and related legal rules. The judge rejected that blanket claim. "After reading the emails, the Court will determine for each document whether any privilege existed, whether that privilege was waived, and whether any exceptions apply," wrote U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is based in Santa Ana. "Ultimately, the Court will issue a written decision including its full analysis and its final determination of which, if any, documents must be disclosed to the Select Committee." The committee had argued for the court review of 111 disputed emails in a hearing on Tuesday, which also offered more insight into the panel's theory of potential criminal charges against Trump, which was first revealed last week in a court filing pertaining to Eastman's lawsuit. In that filing, the committee alleged that the emails it was seeking from Eastman could show that Trump broke multiple laws by seeking to block the certification of Biden's win despite knowing that his claims of fraud were unfounded. The committee said attorney-client privilege between Eastman and Trump would not apply to evidence demonstrating crime or fraud. Charles Burnham, an attorney for Eastman, acknowledged in the hearing it was likely the judge would review the documents and tamped down expectations the emails would reveal blatant wrongdoing. "There’s not going to be an email where anyone involved in the campaign effort says, 'We’ve got to have some ruffians rush the Capitol if the vice president doesn’t make the decision we want.' It's not going to be there," Burnham said. "There's not going to be an email that says, 'We all know the election had no fraud or illegality, but we've got to come up with something.'” Douglas Letter, counsel for the House select committee, said while they didn't expect the emails would show such flagrant violations, there was already information that points to fraud or criminal intent. He cited an email to Pence's counsel, Greg Jacob, in which Eastman said Trump had been advised there was nothing supporting his allegations of electoral fraud, but "once [Trump] gets something in his head, it's hard to get him to change course." "That's pretty strong evidence ... that Trump was ignoring all of the very clear evidence because he wanted something different," Letter said. "He wanted the vice president to do something that was plainly against the Constitution. Carter, in his order, did not address the committee's allegations of criminal or fraudulent activity. He said the panel raised sufficient questions about whether Eastman's emails would be shielded under attorney-client privilege or as work product made in anticipation of a lawsuit. While the ruling advances the committee's efforts, Carter noted that "reading the emails does not mean that the Court will ultimately require disclosure." The order did not specify when it will determine which emails should be turned over to congressional investigators. The hearing also involved an attorney for Chapman University, where Eastman served as law professor and onetime dean of the law school. An uproar over Eastman's involvement with Trump, including his appearance at a pro-Trump rally immediately preceding the insurrection at the Capitol, prompted the professor to retire abruptly one week after Jan. 6. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. | |
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| 03-10-22 02:27am - 924 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
This is a short interview with Chloe Cherry, who is starring in a non-porn role on an HBO TV series. She's finished her porn career, but she's doing well as an actress. Wishing her the best. -------- -------- 'Euphoria' breakout star Chloe Cherry says she 'lost a lot of female friends' after doing porn David Artavia Wed, March 9, 2022, 12:25 PM Chloe Cherry has gained a growing number of fans since her breakout role in HBO’s Euphoria. In a candid interview on the podcast Call Her Daddy, the actress opened up about her years working as an adult film star, how she overcame a serious eating disorder and how all of it has impacted her relationship with friends, family and herself. “I was a pornstar for many years. I worked very hard in that industry,” said Cherry, who’s starred in over 200 adult films and has over 125 million views on PornHub. Though now Cherry admits she's “done” with the industry, she said she doesn’t regret being part of it. However, her work took a toll on her personal relationships. “The only thing that sucks about working in porn is the way that people will treat you outside of the industry,” she explained. “Just the way that, suddenly, my friends that I was friends with in high school didn’t want to be friends anymore because they thought I was going to f*** their boyfriend. It’s like, I don’t want anything to do with your boyfriend.” “These weird ideas that people get about you I think that’s the only bad thing about it,” she added of being in the porn industry. “People thought just because you were this way on camera that you are actually going to be [that person].” “I lost a lot of female friends because they thought I couldn’t be around them,” she added. “Or their boyfriend would say no you can’t hang out with her, and they actually would listen to them, which I thought was the craziest part.” That level of judgment, Cherry explained, also extended to her family — including her mother, who said “probably the most hurtful words” to her about the topic. “My mom said to me that sex work is the lowest thing a person can do,” she remembered. “And that’s like the one thing I’ll share [publicly] that I disagree with so deeply. And I don’t know if there are other people out there that agree with that but I think trying to put down your own family is lower." | |
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| 03-09-22 12:10pm - 925 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
I understand that sex work can be a complex issue. But I think John Oliver was trying to be helpful, when he seemed to argue that sex work should not be a criminal activity. However, some people feel it should still be a criminal activity, or else pimps "will profit big while those who are exploited suffer." I'm not a lawyer, but if you have sex with someone, and there is money exchanged, both the buyer and the seller can be charged with criminal activity. ------ ------ Ashley Judd calls out John Oliver for insensitive comments about sex work: 'Listen to survivors' Yahoo Entertainment David Artavia March 8, 2022, 8:40 AM Following John Oliver's on-air comments last week about sex work, the Last Week Tonight host earned a growing number of critics — including, recently, from actress Ashley Judd. The comedian's troubles began during a segment last month in which he addressed the issue of sex work and how it’s interpreted in local, state and federal laws in the United States. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 11: Ashley Judd speaks onstage at the 10th Anniversary Women In The World Summit - Day 2 at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images) Ashley Judd, pictured in 2019, is once again using her platform to speak out on issues affecting sex workers. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images) “Everything about the way we regulate sex work in this country is confusing and counterproductive,” he said, adding that it’s either “demonizing, patronizing or just plain wrong.” At one point, Oliver featured an interview with a former sex worker, now lawyer, who said that at one point in his life he’d worked at Subway, after which Oliver used the opportunity to make what some view as an off-color joke. “The main difference between sex work and working at Subway is at least in sex work you actually know what the customer is eating,” he said before adding, “And yet, some people feel highly uncomfortable with the very idea that sex is labor and therefore should be treated as such.” However, Oliver’s approach to making light of sex workers and human trafficking by comparing them to Subway workers didn’t sit well for others, especially former and current sex workers themselves: Then on Tuesday, Judd re-shared a video made by World Without Exploitation, an organization whose goal is to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation across the globe. “John Oliver compared prostitution to making sandwiches at Subway,” the caption read alongside a video featuring sex work survivors reading an open letter to the host. “Survivors listened to John Oliver. Now it’s time for John Oliver to #ListenToSurvivors," it concluded. In the video, the participants spoke from the heart while providing additional context on the issue that they argue was missed by Oliver. “Dear John Oliver,” the participants began in the video. “We love your show and we love how you always stand up for the people over the powerful, but as survivors of the sex trade we’re here to tell you this time you got it wrong.” “We get it,” they continued. “As a privileged wealthy straight white guy, you’re not at the best vantage point to understand an industry based on misogyny, racism and economic equality. So here are a few things you missed: Sex buyers are overwhelmingly white guys buying mostly poor Black and brown women and girls, LGBTQI-plus folks and young people. White guys with money buying people of color for their own use.” They also explained that the sex trade disproportionately represents people of color and other minority groups. “In places where Black women and girls make up 6 percent of the population, they can represent over 50 percent of those prostituted,” they acknowledged. “In some spots, Indigenous communities only make up 1 percent of the population but can make up to 70 percent of those sold.” “We completely agree we should not be criminalizing those bought and old in the sex trade,” the video participants point out. “When you talk about decriminalizing the sex trade, what you’re really talking about is whether or not buyers, brothel owners and pimps should be able to operate legally. That’s precisely why pimps support full decriminalization: They will profit big while those who are exploited suffer. So I guess you could say everything you said in your show is spoken like a true John.” “As far as comparing being sold in the sex trade as having a job in Subway making sandwiches, I wonder if the Subway employees have to deal with occupational hazards such as rape and sodomy. Hilarious, right John?” they added. “You reduced our exploitation to a bunch of jokes.” “When you speak, people listen,” they concluded. “You can’t afford to get this wrong. So next time, listen and investigate all sides before you speak. Listen to survivors. Not just the guys who look like you or to those in the sex trade with the privilege to enter and exit anytime they want. You cannot erase those with lived experience. The question is simple: Who do you stand with?” Judd, who last year nearly lost her leg in a harrowing accident, has always been vocal about issues pertaining to women’s rights and protections for sex workers and rape victims — even though at times it hasn’t been embraced by some activists. NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 28: Tarana Burke (L) and Ashley Judd speak onstage at #MeToo founder Tarana Burke and Ashley Judd speak onstage at Time's Up during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. (Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival) Last November, the actress vowed that Time's Up, a nonprofit focused on fighting sexual abuse in Hollywood and beyond, will return stronger after a "major reset." “We still need Time’s Up, and that’s why we’re going down to the studs, taking a look at the mistakes we made, learning from our errors and being completely transparent and accountable in the same way that we demand other organizations be transparent and accountable,” she told Variety. In terms of what went wrong with the organization, the actress explained, “As a board, we didn’t have some guardrails in place that were important, and that was a governing lapse on our part, which we regret.” “That’s a mistake we will not make in the future," she added. "There were some communication lapses, and we didn’t have a strong middle management core, so that was a structural challenge. Even though we were super clear about our singleness of purpose for a fair and equitable workplace, there were some people who seemed not to be entirely clear about our mission.” “It is a process, and it’s tough in the culture in which we live to rebuild trust,” she said. “Hopefully by releasing the report and keeping our word about transparency, that’s an initial step. And we ask for the suspension of disbelief. We’re going to get it right. We’re going to take the time it takes, and we understand the urgency for Time’s Up to exist.” | |
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| 03-09-22 07:40am - 925 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler arrested after being mistaken for bank robber Police were called after Coogler handed staff a note saying he wanted to withdraw money from his own account discreetly Wed 9 Mar 2022 10.02 EST Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was mistaken for a bank robber and arrested after trying to withdraw money from his bank account. Coogler confirmed the incident, which happened in January, to Variety after TMZ first reported it. According to a police report obtained by TMZ, Coogler, who is currently filming the Black Panther sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in Atlanta, Georgia, entered a bank in the city and handed the cashier a note reading: “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.” The transaction triggered an alarm, according to the report, and bank staff called the police. Coogler and two other people with him were arrested, and later released. Coogler told Variety: “This situation should never have happened … However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.” Prior to global blockbuster Black Panther, which was released in 2018, Coogler directed Rocky spin-off Creed in 2015, starring Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, and his 2013 directorial debut Fruitvale Station, about a real-life police killing that also featured Jordan in the lead role. | |
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| 03-09-22 07:08am - 925 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Kelly Clarkson Settles Divorce, Will Pay Brandon Blackstock Over $1.3M Plus Monthly Spousal Support People Olivia Jakiel March 8, 2022, 4:47 PM Kelly Clarkson's divorce from Brandon Blackstock has been finalized. The singer, 39, will pay her ex a massive one-time payment of just over $1.3 million, as well as a monthly child support payment of $45,601 for their two children, River Rose, 7, and Remington Alexander, 5, which started Feb. 1, per court documents obtained by The Blast. Additionally, the couple agreed on having joint custody of their kids, although River and Remington will live at Clarkson's Los Angeles residence. A representative for Clarkson has not commented while a rep for Blackstock did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Another stipulation of the agreement is that both kids will be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, as they will be traveling out of state to see their father at the former couple's Montana ranch, where he'll be living for the time being. Although Clarkson will get both of their Montana properties, Blackstock, 45, will pay the "Since U Been Gone" singer $2,000 a month while he stays there until June. In addition to the one-time payment, the American Idol winner will also have to pay her ex $115,000 in spousal support per month until Jan. 31, 2024. The amount for spousal support is lower than the previous amount Clarkson was ordered to pay Blackstock in July last year, which was $150,000 per month, in addition to the $45,601 per month for child support. The court docs also state that the singer will get the family pets, multiple cars including a Ford Bronco, a Ford F-250, and a Porsche Cayenne, as well as a flight simulator. In turn, Blackstock will get the former couple's "farm cattle, livestock, stock dogs, and horses," multiple vehicles including a Ford F-350, a Ford F-250, an ATV, and several CAT snowmobiles. He will also walk away with a golf simulator and a couple of Patek Philippe watches. Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after seven years of marriage, PEOPLE confirmed. In July last year, Clarkson requested to be declared legally divorced in documents obtained by PEOPLE. Clarkson reasoned that she and Blackstock "both deserve the opportunity to build a new life." Clarkson was declared legally single in August, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE. The same month — after an L.A. County judge ordered her to pay Blackstock nearly $200,000 a month in spousal and child support — a source told PEOPLE she's "more than fine." "She is doing great and facing forward," a source told PEOPLE at the time. "She's enjoying the fact that she has the kids for the vast majority of the time and is enjoying time spent with them." | |
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| 03-08-22 05:30pm - 926 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
I thought that Dune, the 1984 movie by David Lynch was enjoyable. The movie bombed, and David Lynch was dissatisfied with the movie that was released. The studio had taken control of the movie and edited it down to a shorter length, trying to make it more commercial. But this article says the Lynch movie was terrible. I think that's a personal opinion, and does not reflect the value of the 1984 movie. Also, I didn't think the 2021 Dune was that great. Even though it had 10 Oscar nominations, the movie left you hanging. The 2021 Dune only covered half the Dune novel. The ending was like a cliff-hanger for a serial, where you're saying to yourself, "Where's the rest of the movie?" ------ ------ Variety Mar 8, 2022 12:50pm PT ‘Dune: Part 2’ Casts Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Florence Pugh may soon be touching down in Arrakis. The Oscar-nominated star of “Little Women” and “Black Widow” is in negotiations to join the cast of “Dune: Part 2,” Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.’ follow-up to the critically acclaimed, commercially successful (for a pandemic) “Dune.” If the deal closes, Pugh will play Princess Irulan Corrino, a royal who becomes romantically entangled with Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. It’s a critical role, one with the potential to grow if “Dune” stretches deeper into novelist Frank Herbert’s literary canon. Production on the sequel is expected to start this summer, and the film is slated to hit theaters on Oct. 20, 2023. It brings back much of the ensemble from the first film, including Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya and Javier Bardem. Denis Villeneuve, credited with making a book thought to be un-adaptable into something cinematic and comprehensible, returns as director. For a sign of how terribly these things can go, look no further than David Lynch’s justly excoriated 1984 version of the same source material. “Dune” grossed nearly $400 million globally and snagged 10 Oscar nominations, including nods for best picture and best adapted screenplay. Villeneuve was snubbed in the best director category, an omission that produced some blowback. Pugh recently reprised her role as Yelena Romanoff on the Disney Plus series “Hawkeye.” She will soon be seen acting opposite Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” and will also appear in Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” and Sebastián Lelio’s “The Wonder.” Pugh is repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment and Curtis Brown. | |
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| 03-08-22 04:18pm - 926 days | #25 | |
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LKLK (0)
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The GOP is the one true party that will defend America from traitors. Vote GOP, and vote for Trump: he will put Putin in his place. ----- ----- HuffPost Michigan GOP Candidate Tells Daughters 'If Rape Is Inevitable, Lie Back And Enjoy It' Sebastian Murdock Tue, March 8, 2022, 11:07 AM A GOP candidate running for Michigan’s House of Representatives said during a Facebook Live broadcast that he tells his daughters to “lie back and enjoy” rape if it’s “inevitable.” Robert “RJ” Regan, who won the GOP special primary in the state’s 74th district last week, was discussing how to decertify the 2020 presidential election during a Facebook Live broadcast for the Republican group Rescue Michigan Coalition on Sunday when he made the comment. “Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,’” Regan said roughly 10 minutes into the broadcast. “That’s not how we roll, that’s not how we won this election.” “That was a shameful comment,” attendee Amber Harris said in response. Host Adam de Angeli then joked that the show might not stream “for much longer after what Robert said.” De Angeli also defended Regan later on the same broadcast, telling a commenter that Regan was describing what “you should not do.” Regan did not respond to multiple requests for comment from HuffPost. Regan, who won his primary by just 81 votes, lost that same race in 2020 after a viral tweet from his own daughter told people not to vote for her dad, Fox 17 noted. “If you’re in michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone,” Stephanie Regan tweeted at the time. During Sunday’s Facebook Live event, Regan also defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces are currently invading Ukraine. “Putin said, ‘I have to protect my country, I have to protect my children, and I can’t count on the United States,’” Regan said. “So what he did was took some proactive action, he went into Ukraine, knocked out the bio labs, knocked out the missile sites, so he can protect his people,” the candidate added, likely referring to a QAnon conspiracy theory about bioweapons. That’s not what Putin did. Instead, he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where Russian forces have bombed civilians and have been attempting to capture the country’s capital city, Kyiv. Republican Tori Sachs of the Michigan Freedom Fund condemned Regan in a statement to Fox 17. “RJ Regan’s disgusting and dehumanizing comments on the horror of sexual assault along with his support of murderous dictator Vladimir Putin are despicable and completely disqualify him from holding public office,” Sachs said. “I teach my four young daughters to stand up for themselves, to know their worth, and to fight back and speak out against creeps like Regan. RJ Regan doesn’t belong anywhere near the state Capitol, and that is why we endorsed and supported his opponent.” Regan will now face Carol Glanville, a Democrat, in the special election for the seat on May 3. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. | |
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| 03-08-22 10:06am - 926 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
John Landis is still alive. That makes it more important for Jamie Lee Curtis to sue him for forcing Curtis to strip in front of the cameras. Women must stand up for their rights, in this new age of Women's empowerment. And she can also sue James Cameron, who's got money. He filmed Curtis doing a striptease. The things women are forced to do in films. Don't their parents teach them better? And if their parents are at fault, can they sue not only their directors, but their parents as well? And the United States of America, for allowing this enslavement of women to continue, in the land of the free? -------- -------- Jamie Lee Curtis Felt ‘Embarrassed’ by ‘Trading Places’ Nude Scene: ‘Did I Like It? No’ Variety Zack Sharf March 7, 2022, 3:33 PM Jamie Lee Curtis recently told People magazine that she felt “embarrassed” going nude for “Trading Places” when she was 21 years old. Curtis starred as a call girl in the John Landis-directed 1983 comedy opposite Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. Curtis appears topless in the film. “I was 21 years old and the part required Ophelia to take off her dress,” Curtis said. “Did I like doing it? No. Did I feel embarrassed that I was doing it? Yes. Did I look OK? Yeah. Did I know what I was doing? Yeah. Did I like it? No. Was I doing it because it was the job? Yes.” Curtis added, “I wouldn’t do it today, it’s the last thing in the world I would do now. I also am married for 37 years, I wasn’t married then. I’m a mother of children. Absolutely not.” Following Curtis’ breakout scream queen roles in “Halloween” and “Prom Night,” the comedy blockbuster “Trading Places” served as a larger breakthrough for her career. The actor’s topless scenes garnered significant attention at the time of the film’s release. It’s hardly the only risqué moment of Curtis’ film career. Her striptease in James Cameron’s 1994 action comedy “True Lies” also generated buzz. Curtis told People last year about what it was like watching the scene with her father, Tony Curtis. “Thousands of people — and you know, it gets really quiet during that sequence, because it’s a little sexy,” Curtis said. “Then when [Helen] falls and then gets back up, oh my God. The place, it was a huge … because you’re anxious. Then the laugh, and it’s all [director James Cameron]. To his great credit, it’s all him. He knew, it’s a comedy. It’s a comedy.” Curtis recently announced she had wrapped production on “Halloween Ends,” the third installment in David Gordon Green’s recent “Halloween” trilogy. The film is expected to mark the end of Curtis’ tenure playing Laurie Strode. The movie is set for release on Oct. 14 from Universal. | |
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| 03-08-22 09:24am - 926 days | #24 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump praises 5-year-old student for standing up to its right to freedom. Says he personally taught the student all it knows about self-defense fighting. The 5-year-old, who police are investigating for a possible medal of honor, will be inducted into the Hall Of Fame of Freedom Fighters For American Independence, once Trump regains the White House. This story must be true, because once Trump left the presidency, he moved to Florida, where he teaches the residents the power of Trump-based thinking. And the school where the incident occurred, states that "As always, the health, safety and well being of our students and staff continues to be my highest priority." So they are standing firmly behind both the teacher and the student in this time of crisis. ------- ------- Florida teacher beaten and hospitalized after attack by 5-year-old student, police say NBC Universal David K. Li March 7, 2022, 1:42 PM A south Florida teacher was taken to the hospital last week after she was attacked by a 5-year-old student, leaving her "dazed" and "unresponsive," officials said Monday. The unidentified instructor was found by first responders “sitting on the ground against the wall" and "appearing to be in a faint state" at Pines Lakes Elementary School, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, according to a heavily redacted Pembroke Pines Police Department incident report. The victim was "clearly weak and dazed," able to "blink and breathe regularly but at no point was able to vocally respond or show signs of a response," the report said. The troubling incident started when a 5-year-old boy had to be removed from class for “throwing things around” and “flipping the chairs,” police said. The youngster was taken to an empty “cool down” room, where the attack on the teacher allegedly took place, police said. The teacher was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and has since been released, officials said. While the young suspect is still being investigated for possible "aggravated assault with hands, fist and feet," it's unlikely he'll be criminally prosecuted, a police spokesman told NBC News on Monday. Prosecutors would be hard pressed to show that this 5-year-old had the ability distinguish right from wrong, the police representative said. The victim, in her late 30s or early 40s, is about 5-foot-4 with a slender frame, Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco told NBC News on Monday. She suffered a concussion and other injuries after the "enraged" special education student, between 50 and 60 pounds, unleashed on the teacher, according to the union chief. The instructor had been leading an "exceptional student education" class with a "group of children with some type of special needs or special disability, with all kinds of different diagnoses," according to Fusco. "The way he pounced on her and the way she fell backwards and smacked her head, it was a severe concussion," Fusco said. "She's got some other bodily injuries from him jumping on her, attacking her, kicking, punching, biting that's going to lead to surgery." Broward County Public Schools officials referred all questions to police. The district, though, did share a message that Principal Susan Sasse sent to parents and staff, acknowledging there had been "an incident that occurred in school" which required "a staff member to be transported to a local medical facility" on Wednesday. "At all times during the incident, our campus was secured," Sasse reported. "As always, the health, safety and well being of our students and staff continues to be my highest priority." The school has nearly 800 students, who range in age from pre-kindergarten through the fifth grade. | |
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| 03-07-22 12:29am - 928 days | #23 | |
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Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Special news report: Trump and Putin have been in secret talks to send US soldiers to the Ukraine to put down civil unrest. This would lead to American casualties, but would reduce the number of Russian lives that would be lost. Since Putin is Donald J. Trump's secret boss, the American forces would have to wear special combat uniforms so observers would be confused about their loyalty. But the Putin-Trump alliance has been designed for world domination. Sieg Heil, to the new world order!!! | |
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| 03-06-22 10:28pm - 928 days | #22 | |
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NEWS ARTICLE CONTINUES: Russian investigators and journalists who tried to investigate the bombings often ended up dead. Among them was Anna Politkovskaya, a fearless critic of Putin who worked for Novaya Gazeta, one of the last remaining left-leaning outlets in Moscow today. She aggressively covered the Second Chechen War; in 2006, Politkovskaya was assassinated in her apartment building’s elevator. “The murder that killed free media in Russia,” the Guardian would much later reflect of Politkovskaya’s death, which came on Putin’s 54th birthday. A toy and a notebook lie among crumbled bricks and other debris. A toy and a notebook lie among the debris by the apartment block in 6A Lobanovsky Avenue, which was hit with a missile, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images) Two years later, the FSB agent turned defector Alexander Litvinenko was assassinated in London, where agents slipped a radioactive poison into his tea. He had worked with Politkovskaya on trying to investigate the Moscow apartment bombings, which he believed were carried out by the FSB. Still, suspicions festered that something was amiss, even as Putin’s power grew. “They say it was the Chechens who did this, but that is a lie. It was Putin's people. Everyone knows that. No one wants to talk about it, but everyone knows that," a Muscovite who lost family in one of the apartment bombings told GQ in 2009 for an article that the magazine’s American publisher, Condé Nast, was too afraid to run in Russia. The irony is that by 2009, nobody in Russia — or the West — could have had any illusions about who Putin was. Mere weeks after the bombings, it was revealed that Putin had spurned the help of Western nations after the nuclear submarine Kursk, rocked by an explosion but with 23 sailors still apparently alive, had sunk to the floor of the Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle. Putin, meanwhile, vacationed at a seaside resort on the Black Sea. All 118 people on board were eventually found dead. When he later met with the sailors’ widows, he was discomfited by their grief, allegedly complaining that they were local prostitutes hired by opponents to rattle him. Vladimir Putin points from a table with two microphones and white cup in front of a blue backdrop. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual press conference at the end of last year in Moscow, Russia. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images) Meanwhile, the Second Chechen War was turning out to be even more brutal than the first. Torture was common, in particular at a Russian prison camp called Chernokozovo. “The torture described is so systematic it cannot be the work of a rogue unit acting on its own,” a Guardian investigation concluded in the fall of 2000, just over a year after Putin had launched the offensive. And yet when George W. Bush met Putin in 2001, he came away profoundly impressed. “I looked the man in the eye,” Bush said after their summit in Slovenia. “I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country." If that seems like a cringeworthy assessment, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s bungled attempt at a “reset” in 2009 didn’t fare much better. The year before, Putin had invaded Georgia. In 2014, he launched his first invasion of Ukraine, annexing Crimea and setting the stage for his all-out attack this year. Neither country was in NATO, leaving the United States as a bystander to Putin’s aggression. “Every American president has gotten Putin wrong,” says Satter, who in 2014 earned the distinction of being the first Western journalist since the end of the Cold War to have been expelled from Russia. “Some have gotten him outrageously wrong." Four pictures showing Vladimir Putin shaking hands with U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. This combination of pictures shows Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands with U.S. Presidents (from top left) Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. (Stephen Jaffe, Jim Watson, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhaul Klimentyev/Ria Novosti/AFP via Getty Images) Satter says that while Donald Trump slathered Putin in fawning rhetoric, his foreign policy toward Russia was “better than people realize,” perhaps because his perceived affinity for the Kremlin strongman led Congress and the foreign policy establishment to compensate with a countervailing toughness toward Moscow. Biden came into office clear-eyed about how fraught the postwar peace had become. He met with Putin in June; they were to meet again last month in hopes of staving off war, but then Putin turned a standoff on the Ukrainian border into outright war. Now it is uncertain when, exactly, they will speak. Now the ruined apartment buildings are in Kyiv and Kharkiv, not Moscow, and there is no doubt about Putin’s role in the carnage. “Aside from the brave, innocent victims in Ukraine,” says former CIA officer Sipher, “it is the Russian people who will pay the price for Putin’s delusions.” | |
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| 03-06-22 10:28pm - 928 days | #21 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump and Putin will meet to discuss a strategy to re-take the White House. If Trump is successful in becoming US President, he will form a strategic alliance with Russia, where the world will bow in awe to the magnificence of Donald J. Trump, First Dictator of the Untied States of Trumperland. ---- ---- 'Capable of anything': How the '99 apartment bombings explain Putin's rise and regime Yahoo News Alexander Nazaryan March 6, 2022, 9:50 AM WASHINGTON — The first apartment building to come down was in Buynaksk, a Russian garrison town on the border with the breakaway republic of Chechnya, where Islamic insurgents had fought the Kremlin to a standstill in a brutal, two-year war. They were thought to be responsible for the Buynaksk bomb, which had been placed inside a car and ripped through a building housing Russian border guards on Sept. 4, 1999. Sixty-four people died. Five days later, a bomb was detonated in the basement of an apartment building in the working-class Moscow district of Pechatniki, killing 106. “It’s like hell underneath,” a first responder would say of looking for survivors in the rubble. Four days after that, in another Moscow neighborhood, a car bomb took 119 lives. A final bomb went off in Volgodonsk, a southern city. There, 17 died. In all, more than 300 people died in the apartment bombings, a tragedy that many believe changed the course of Russia, putting it on a trajectory toward authoritarianism and aggression, both of which have been in the spotlight of the world stage as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now enters its second week. Vladimir Putin, against a beige wall, holds his hand out, gesturing with his fingers pointing upward. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with local veterans of the 1999 operation in Dagestan. (Alexei Nikolsky\TASS via Getty Images) At the time of the bombings, the country’s new prime minister was a former intelligence agent who had been utterly unknown to most Russians. The prime minister vowed to find the Chechen insurgents he said had doubtlessly committed the bombings, which sowed terror across the land. The Kremlin would not rest until the perpetrators were brought to justice. “We’ll wipe them out in the s***house,” the tough new prime minister vowed. His name was Vladimir Putin. The apartment bombings of the fall of 1999 would cement Putin’s grip on a country that had grown increasingly aimless and chaotic under President Boris Yeltsin, who was frequently drunk at public events. But to some, questions about whether Russia’s own security services were involved in the apartment bombings constitute the “original sin,” whose stain Putin has never bothered to erase. There is “no serious doubt that Putin came to power as the result of an act of terror against his own people,” says David Satter, who has investigated the apartment bombings perhaps more thoroughly than any other Western journalist. “Someone capable of such a crime is capable of anything,” Satter told Yahoo News in a telephone conversation from Paris. “And the proper attitude towards him is deterrence, not partnership.” Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin smile while seated at a small round table on which rest flowers, papers and pens. Then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin, right, meets with then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the presidential residence in1999. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) In the wake of the horrifying bombings, Russia rallied around Putin. Using the bombings as a pretext, Putin launched a second Chechen war, which would turn out to be longer and more brutal than the first. In an op-ed published in the New York Times the following fall titled “Why We Must Act,” Putin asked American readers to envision a terrorist attack in Washington or New York: “hundreds perish in explosions at the Watergate, or at an apartment complex on Manhattan's West Side.” He described the decision to send troops back to Chechnya as one he’d made “reluctantly.” Yeltsin stepped down on Dec. 31, 1999, appointing Putin as his successor. The new president, enjoying goodwill stemming from the new Chechen campaign, moved up an election to be held in June to March, giving the liberal opposition little time to prepare. It didn’t seem to matter, though, in either Russia or the West. Putin was seen as a savior — one with some discomfitingly authoritarian tendencies but, on the whole, oriented toward the twin beacons of democracy and capitalism. Two decades later, Putin’s critics are calling him a “war criminal” for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which has been a sovereign nation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukrainians claim to have slain thousands of Russian soldiers, and international observers have confirmed hundreds of civilian deaths — with the civilian total likely to be far higher, given the missiles and artillery that have rained down on Ukrainian cities. Yet it remains unclear why Putin decided to wage what so far has been a costly and disastrous war. Putin has always denied any involvement in or knowledge of the apartment bombings, but two decades have only deepened suspicions about his involvement, as evidence of his disregard for either human life or the rule of law has mounted. Rescuers work on the ruins of a leveled Moscow apartment building. Rescuers work on the ruins of a Moscow apartment building leveled by a huge explosion, Sept. 13, 1999. (Alexcander Memenov/AFP via Getty Images) “Centuries of Russian and Soviet leaders treated their subjects as chattel, expendable on behalf of State power,” says John Sipher, who worked as a clandestine Central Intelligence Agency officer in Moscow during the 1980s. “They thought even less of the lives of outsiders in lesser nations. Butchery and terror was an expected part of keeping themselves in power. It is as consistent as it is ugly.” At the time of the bombings, Russia was a much more open society than it is today — it would take years for Putin to shut down independent media outlets and stifle political dissent. Journalists were thus able to quickly seize on all available public evidence to question the official narrative about the bombings. From the start, the notion of Chechen involvement seemed dubious. There would, much later, be terrorist attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but only after years of callous Russian occupation. In 1999, the conflict was still relatively confined. Russian forces had already been amassing on Chechnya’s doorstep, making them an easy target for a potential attack. But terrorists were alleged to have driven almost 2 thousand miles, past military checkpoints, in cars presumably loaded with explosives. Both of the Moscow apartment buildings were on the city’s outskirts, far from the resplendent symbols of power, status and wealth huddling around the Kremlin. A TV screen shows a destroyed apartment building. A TV grab taken Sept. 16, 1999, from the Russian television channel NTV shows a destroyed apartment building in the Russian southern city of Volgodonsk following a bomb explosion. (STF/AFP via Getty Images) Then there was speaker of the Duma (Russian parliament) Gennadiy Seleznyov’s announcement about a bomb exploding in Volgodonsk. Such a bomb would explode — three days after he relayed news of that blast. Attempts to question Seleznyov proved fruitless. The most damning evidence of Russian involvement, however, came from Ryazan, an ancient city steeped in Russian history not far from Moscow. On the evening Sept. 22, residents in an apartment building there saw a suspicious Lada sedan on the street below, its license plate crudely altered with a piece of paper. Responding officers of the local police found a bomb in the basement. It had been made with hexogen, a military-grade explosive (known in the West as RDX) that was only available, according to Satter, at one heavily guarded factory in the Ural Mountains, to which Chechen insurgents could not have gained access. These details were largely lost in the breathless reporting about a foiled terror attack. The following night, Putin announced an aerial assault of Grozny, the Chechen capital, in what would prove the first salvo of the second Chechen War. “Until we win,” he said. “And we will win.” Only it soon became clear that Chechens had nothing to do with the foiled Ryazan bombing. Three officers of the FSB — the post-Soviet version of the KGB — were arrested for the bombing, leading FSB chief and Putin ally Nikolai Patrushev to fumble for an excuse. “It was not an explosion somebody foiled; it was a security training exercise,” he claimed. “The sacks contained only sugar, there were no explosives inside.” A view from inside of a heavily damaged building, with someone wearing all black standing amid the debris. A view of damaged building following a shelling in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images) If so, nobody had told Ryazan’s own FSB office. “This announcement came as a surprise to us,” officials there said in the kind of sharp dissent from the Kremlin line that would soon become taboo in Russia. There was never an official investigation into the bombings, and Russian society as a whole moved on. Putin, though, remained the same cold-blooded authoritarian some thought had emerged on those September mornings when families sifted through the rubble, looking for loved ones. “If it can ever be determined beyond a shadow of a doubt that Putin and Patrushev orchestrated these bombings as a pretext to launch the Second Chechen War — and also launch Putin’s national political career — then the entire edifice of this regime rests atop a pile of Russian corpses,” says Michael Weiss, a longtime Russia observer who told Yahoo News that he is certain, like the journalist Satter, that Putin was behind the apartment bombings. | |
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| 03-06-22 08:04am - 928 days | #20 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
The real reason Russia invaded the Ukraine. Ukraine was making nuclear dirty bombs. So Russia had to invade, to keep the world safe for democracy. And Donald J. Trump, our glorious President for Life of Trumperland, has tears in his eyes as he is finally able to speak the truth: Putin is a Friend Of The United States, who stands with the US population to defend us from criminals throughout the world. Hail Trump. Hail Putin. Down with Biden, a scummy Democrat from Hell, who uses condoms to hide his sins. ---- ---- Russia, without evidence, says Ukraine making nuclear "dirty bomb" Reuters March 6, 2022, 5:10 AM (Reuters) - Russian media cited an unnamed source on Sunday as saying that Ukraine was close to building a plutonium-based "dirty bomb" nuclear weapon, although the source cited no evidence. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, with the aim to "demilitarise" and "denazify" its pro-Western neighbour and prevent Kyiv from joining NATO. The West, dismissing that rationale as a pretext, has responded with harsh sanctions on Moscow and heavy military and other aid to Kyiv. The TASS, RIA and Interfax news agencies quoted "a representative of a competent body" in Russia on Sunday as saying Ukraine was developing nuclear weapons at the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant that was shut down in 2000. Ukraine's government has said it had no plans to rejoin the nuclear club, having given up its nuclear arms in 1994 following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Shortly before the invasion, Putin said in a grievance-filled speech that Ukraine was using Soviet know-how to create its own nuclear weapons, and that this was tantamount to preparation for an attack on Russia. He cited no evidence for his claim. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by William Mallard) | |
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| 03-06-22 07:57am - 928 days | #19 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald J. Trump is the man to watch. He will lead America back to greatness again. Once we get rid of the scumbag from Hell, Joe Biden, the commie-loving Democrat who stole the White House away from patriotic Republicans. Donald Trump is tough. He knows how to kick ass. When Trump speaks, cowards tremble in fear, that Trump's eyes will fall on them and reveal their cowardly acts. That's why Biden and his cronies are hiding behind the US Constitution, weaklings who can't stand on their own two feet. Vote for Trump. Vote for a White Man, who will make you proud to be White. And strong. And free. ----- ----- INSIDER Trump told GOP donors that North Korea's Kim Jong Un had ability to make his advisers 'cower,' jokingly saying he also wants his staff to 'act like that' Trump told GOP donors that North Korea's Kim Jong Un had ability to make his advisers 'cower,' jokingly saying he also wants his staff to 'act like that' Joshua Zitser Sun, March 6, 2022, 5:45 AM Former President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Former President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong UnGetty Images Trump was speaking at an RNC donor retreat in New Orleans, per The Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey. Trump said that Kim Jong Un's advisers "cower" and 'sit at attention" when he talks, according to a recording. The former president joked that he wants his people to "act like that" too. Former President Donald Trump spoke glowingly about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un at an RNC retreat in New Orleans, Louisiana, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey. Dawsey, in a tweet, said Trump told donors that Kim's advisers were "sitting at attention" when he talked and "cowered" when he spoke to them. Trump added that one general "stood up so fast," per Dawsey's tweet. "I want my people to act like that," Trump joked, according to Dawsey. The former president also referred to Kim as "seriously tough" and "absolutely the leader of that country," per the tweet. During the speech to top Republican donors, Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt said Trump once again teased a 2024 presidential bid and described Rep. Adam Schiff as a "watermelon head." He also pushed back on Vice President Mike Pence's implication that he is an "apologist" for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the past two weeks, Trump has praised Putin, who ordered a deadly invasion of Ukraine, as "smart" and initially described his strategy in Ukraine as "wonderful" and "genius." According to Isenstadt, Trump told donors, "Somebody called me a Putin apologist the other day...There's no one who's ever been tougher on Russia than me." Insider reached out to Trump's team for comment on Sunday morning but did not immediately receive a response. | |
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| 03-05-22 06:50pm - 929 days | #18 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Two GOP senators share photos of Zelenskyy during call after lawmakers asked not to by Ukraine. The GOP knows better than anyone how to conduct security. If someone riots in Washington DC, the GOP senators are calm, cool, and collected, and they state, afterwards, that it was only a peaceful demonstration by people who are exercising their rights to be heard. Especially if the riot was preceded by a speech by President Trump saying Joe Biden stole the election from Trump, and the rioters are not rioting, but simply demonstrating. So if the GOP senators want to ignore Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's desire to not share photos of the video call, the GOP senators have the right to decide whether to honor Zelenskyy's pleas. Especially since Zelenskyy can't even vote in the US. Go, GOP, the fightenest party in the US, where US lawmakers of the GOP can legally carry handguns, unless the dirty Democrats say they can't. ----- ----- Two GOP senators share photos of Zelenskyy during call after lawmakers asked not to by Ukraine NBC Universal Haley Talbot and Julie Tsirkin and Nicole Acevedo and Leigh Ann Caldwell and Kelly O'Donnell and Frank Thorp V March 5, 2022, 11:20 AM Two Republican senators are facing criticism after tweeting photos of a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even though participating lawmakers were told to not share pictures on social media while it was in progress. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Steve Daines of Montana posted pictures of Zelenskyy on their Twitter accounts during the Zoom meeting Saturday morning, writing that they were on a call with him. Democratic Reps. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Jason Crow of Colorado criticized the senators on Twitter. Phillips noted that the "Ukrainian ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the Zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy." "Appalling and reckless ignorance by two U.S. Senators," Phillips wrote. "The lack of discipline in Congress is truly astounding," Crow wrote. "If an embattled wartime leader asks you to keep quiet about a meeting, you better keep quiet about the meeting. I’m not saying a damn thing. Lives are at stake." Members were explicitly asked not to tweet or post pictures of the call while it was in progress, multiple aides told NBC News. The embassy coordinated this with the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as well as the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said a Democratic leadership aide. In separate statements, representatives for Rubio and Daines defended the senators' decision to share the photos, calling those who make an issue out of their tweets "partisan." "There were over 160 members of Congress on a widely reported Zoom call. There was no identifying information of any kind," said a spokesperson for Rubio. A spokesperson for Daines said his tweet, which was posted about 23 minutes after the meeting started, was "shared well into the call ... before it was requested not to" and contained "no identifying information." "We should be focusing on what’s important here and that’s supporting Ukraine," added Daines' spokesperson. Zelenskyy addressed more than 280 senators, House members and staff during the virtual meeting, which, according to an office that helped organize the call, lasted just under an hour and concluded at around 10:25 a.m. ET. Earlier on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had warned that any move to create a no-fly zone above Ukraine would be viewed as “participation” in the conflict. During the call, Zelenskyy asked if a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace could be imposed on Russian-made aircraft, multiple people on the call told NBC News. Schumer told Zelenskyy that Congress will get the $10 billion in economic, humanitarian and security assistance to the Ukrainian people "quickly,” according to two people with knowledge of the call. Zelenskyy spoke on the call first, followed by Schumer and McConnell, then Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the co-chairs of the Senate Ukraine caucus, said two people with knowledge of the call. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., asked about the possibility of a ban on Russian oil imports, and Zelenskyy stressed the importance of energy sanctions, according to two people on the call. The Ukrainian leader also spoke to lawmakers about imposing sanctions to stop Russia from using Visa and Mastercard, said three people on the call. Earlier this week, Visa and Mastercard blocked some Russian financial institutions from their networks but not all. Several lawmakers in both parties also shared pictures and details of the call on social media after it concluded, including Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. Himes tweeted that Zelenskyy "is standing strong, but pleaded for more help. Planes, oil embargo, continued military aid," adding that, "We were asked to not post during the zoom. This was posted well afterwards." “President Zelenskyy made a desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine. These planes are very much needed. And I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer," Schumer said in a statement. | |
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| 03-05-22 02:02am - 929 days | #17 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Read the advertorial printed below for a fresh way to keep your pet happy and contented. Highly recommended by Donald J. Trump, the fightenest president the US has ever had. Donald Trump is also the only US president ever with no political or military experience. That's why he was able to bring a fresh perspective to US politics and foreign policy. ------ ------ Advertorial Flappy Fish Friend This Brand New Toy Improves Your Pets’ Health & Happiness... You Won't Believe How Genius It Is Find out why thousands of pet owners are rushing to get this intelligent new toy for their cats and dogs! If you're a pet owner, then you know just how much your dog or cat craves your love and attention. It's easy to give them that when you're at home. But how can you make sure your pet feels loved and cared for when you're away for hours at a time? Don't you hate the thought of them feeling alone and abandoned? FlappyFish is a US-based startup that's created a solution for you to keep your pet engaged and happy all day long, even when you're not at home! Honestly, it's quite genius... What Exactly Is it? The project started with a small group of passionate pet owners. They dreaded leaving their pets alone all day bored, lonely, and suffering from separation anxiety. Most toys available on the market were boring for pets, or got destroyed within minutes. And none of the toys offered the same excitable, happy-go-lucky play their pets craved from being together. So they made something different. Flappy Fish Friend is an automated play toy that engages your pet in exciting, active play, just like you're there with them! And because it's 100% non-toxic and tear resistant, your pet can chew it up all day long without concern. But the Flappy Fish Friend is a lot more than just an automatic toy. It's a smart gadget that taps into your dog's natural hunting instincts, and keeps them healthy, active and never bored. So, Why Are Pet Owners So Obsessed With It? Every loving pet owner wants the best for their most valuable family member. But did you know that boredom and inactivity are some of the primary causes of destructive tendencies, depression and anxiety in pets? Flappy Fish Friend helps alleviate all of these symptoms. It gives your pup an easy way to stay active and healthy, even when you aren't there. With Flappy Fish Friend you're not getting just another toy. You get the peace of mind that your best friend is happy, engaged, and fulfilled in your absence. How Does It Work? The Flappy Fish Friend requires no human input. It's totally hands free! It uses intelligent motion sensors that activate the toy as soon as your pet touches it. Its smart programming chip will alternate between moving like a real fish - speeding up the more your pet plays with it and slows down when it detects no motion. But that's not all! The Flappy Fish Friend integrated awareness detector will keep the toy flopping around for as long as your dog interacts with it. Once your friend is tired, the toy switches off and patiently waits for your pet to play again. What Else Do | Get With My FlappyFish? The Flappy Fish Friend is already lightyears better than any other pet toy. But the Flappy Fish Friend team has gone above and beyond in packing it full of extra features for your pet: • Waterproof and Saliva Proof - The Flappy Fish Friend is easy to clean up and wont get damaged from your pets’ saliva or rolling through water • USB-Rechargeable - Easy charging from any device with a standard • USB port Long-Lasting Battery - Just 1-hour of charging will give your doggo 8 hours of fun (while you're at work!) • Automatic Action - The Flappy Fish Friend doesn't need any help from people. can use it alone all day • Built To Last - Made from durable and tear-resistant elastic materials that won't rip, even with strong dog breeds • 100% Non-Toxic - The elastic is completely safe to bite. No dangerous chemicals Cat Friendly - Not just for your dogs - Your cat will love chasing the Flappy Fish Friend, too! With the Flappy Fish Friend, you can give your pet a friend that will keep them healthy, entertained and active while you're away. You can always come home to a happy pup that is ready for your love and care. These Fur Buddies Below Give Flappy Fish Friend 2 Paws Up! How Much Does It Cost? ‘What is your pet's happiness and health worth to you? If you're like most loving pet owners, there isn't a price tag out there that you wouldn't pay. And chances are, you've already paid at least $500 over the years on cheap, junky toys that get torn up after the first use. ‘Well, I've got good news for you. Flappy Fish Friend usually only costs $49.99. That's already an amazing deal, right? We thought so, too, Which is why we were floored to hear that the company is offering a ‘one-time only deep discount of 50% OFF just for our readers! Now you can get the Flappy Fish Friend for only $24.99. That's an incredibly small price to pay to have your best friend feeling happy, healthy, and loved all day long. How Can It Be So Affordable? As a startup, Flappy Fish Friend is able to cut costs where no big brand could possibly do. They save money on expensive imports of materials, manual labor. and massive office bills. Flappy Fish Friend is also sold exclusively online, so that they don't have to give a cut to a big retailer. All of this allows them to pass on these savings to every loving pet owner out there, like you! Is It A Good Time to Buy Now or Wait? You could wait, but the product is already catching on like crazy. Big social media channels are posting reviews and stock is quickly running out. This is the perfect moment to get your pet the perfect companion, While stock will most definitely get replenished, the Flappy Fish Friend will likely never get discounted this deep again Buyer's Warning! Please make sure you buy the Flappy Fish Friend directly from the website we've linked below. This is the only way to guarantee that you are getting the real high-tech product and not some cheap knock off. We have already seen stories of people getting a regular tennis ball for the same price. Don't fall for similar traps. Get the Flappy Fish Friend from their official website here Update - Shortly after this article was posted, one of the biggest pet-care social media influencers posted a review. As a result, hundreds of customers have made use of the limited time promo. So hurry up before this 50% OFF discount is gone and you have to wait for a new batch to be produced and need to pay full price. Check Discounts & Availability Sponsored By Flappy Fish Friend COPYRIGHT THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT AND NOT AN ACTUAL NEWS ARTICLE, BLOG, OR CONSUMER PROTECTION UPDATE MARKETING DISCLOSURE: | |
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| 03-05-22 01:52am - 929 days | #16 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald Trump is a genius. Says Putin is a very smart man for invading Ukraine. But Trump is also able to say that Putin's invading Ukraine is "horrific" and a "very sad thing for the world." That's why we need Trump as president. Only Trump will be able to deal with Putin, to keep Putin from invading the United States with nuclear missiles and other weapons of destruction. We can't depend on Joe Biden. Vote for Trump. ----- ----- Trump's praise of Putin, 'America First' view tested by war Associated Press JILL COLVIN March 4, 2022, 10:11 PM WASHINGTON (AP) — From the earliest days of his first presidential campaign, Donald Trump aggressively challenged the pillars of Republican foreign policy that defined the party since World War II. He mocked John McCain's capture during the Vietnam War, validated autocrats with his platitudes, questioned longtime military and security alliances and embraced an isolationist worldview. And to the horror of many GOP leaders at the time, it worked, resonating with voters who believed, in part, that a bipartisan establishment in Washington had brokered trade deals that hurt American workers and recklessly stumbled into so-called “forever wars.” But Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine is posing a serious test for Trump and his “America First” doctrine at a moment when he is eyeing another presidential run and using this year's midterm elections to keep bending the GOP to his will. He's largely alone in his sustained praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin as “smart,” an assessment he reiterated last week during speeches to donors and conservative activists. His often deferential vice president, Mike Pence, split with him on the issue late Friday. The multinational partnerships that Trump repeatedly undermined, meanwhile, have allowed the West to quickly band together to hobble Russia's economy with coordinated sanctions. The NATO alliance, which Trump once dismissed as “obsolete,” is flexing its strength as a foil to Russia's aggression. Perhaps most fundamentally, the war is a fresh reminder, observers say, that the U.S. can't simply ignore the world's problems, even if that's sometimes a politically appealing way to connect with voters facing their own daily struggles. “This is a brutal wake-up call to both parties that not only are we not going to be able to do less in the world," said Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former diplomat. “We are going to have to do more.” While he argued that large elements of both parties have demonstrated a desire to turn inward, the current situation poses a “special problem" for Republicans and the "America firsters” who have previously tried to paint Russia has a benign actor. “The entire thrust of America First, I would argue, was misguided in a world where what happens anywhere can and will affect us," he said. It's unclear whether the Western unity that has taken hold against Russia can be sustained if the war escalates, expands beyond Ukraine or drags on indefinitely. And after two decades of U.S. foreign policy failures, including the Iraq War and the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, many Americans are approaching the moment with caution. On the eve of Russia's invasion, just 26% of Americans said they supported the U.S. playing a major role in the conflict, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But the challenges to Trump's approach to the world are clear. Sweden and Finland have abandoned their long-held neutrality and warmed to the idea of joining NATO, expanding an alliance Trump continued to criticize this week. Germany, a country Trump spent years trying to browbeat into spending more on its defense, broke its longstanding post-World War II policy by sending anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine and pledging to dramatically increase its defense budget. Trump and his allies insist that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine were he still president. And Russia did not make aggressive moves on his watch, something former aides and others credit to his erratic behavior and direct threats that left world leaders uncertain of how Trump would respond to a provocation. Roger Zakheim, the Washington director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, credited Trump for deterring Putin, who he said had “validated the need for allies to invest more in their security and defense.” “I think President Trump, at least at it related to Ukraine, was able to deter Vladimir Putin. And that was a function of unpredictability, which is valuable to deterring an autocrat like Vladimir Putin,” he said. Still, he argued Putin’s actions had been “so aggressive and so brazen and so immoral” that it had “de-emphasized the difference” between various foreign policy approaches. Still, the war renews focus on the controversial role Ukraine played during Trump's tenure, particularly the way the then-president used defense of the struggling country as a bargaining tool to improve his domestic political standing. Trump was impeached for the first time for trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate his 2020 Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. The effort included holding up nearly $400 million in U.S. security aid to Ukraine and leveraging an Oval Office visit that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been requesting. Trump also pushed discredited claims that Ukraine, not Russia, had meddled in the 2016 election, repeatedly siding with Putin over his own national intelligence agencies. “Putin is the critical agent, but certainly Trump contributed to it with his scheme back then and continued to contribute it by undermining national security," said retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman, the former national security council whistleblower who raised alarms about Trump's pressure tactics. “Ultimately the president undermined U.S. foreign policy because he weakened Ukraine.” As he aims to play a significant role in this year’s midterms and potentially run for president again in 2024, Trump has shown little interest in calibrating his approach to Putin. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been laying the groundwork for his own potential presidential run, has largely abandoned the language he was criticized for using before the invasion, when had called Putin “very capable” and said he had “enormous respect for him.” Even Tucker Carlson, the popular Fox News host who had openly questioned why he shouldn’t side with Russia over Ukraine, has tried to walk back his pro-Russia rhetoric, saying, “We’ve been taken by surprise by the whole thing.” That’s left Trump relatively isolated, defending his decision to label Putin as “smart” and criticizing the response from Biden and other Western leaders, even as he has denounced the invasion as “horrific” and a “very sad thing for the world.” “NATO has the money now, but they’re not doing the job they should be doing,” he said this week on Fox Business. “It’s almost like they’re staying away.” That has earned rebuke from some in his party. In a speech to GOP donors Friday night, Pence forcefully defended NATO and admonished those who have defended Putin as he, too, weighs a presidential run. "There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin," he said, according to his prepared remarks. “There is only room for champions of freedom.” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News there "should be no confusion about Vladimir Putin. “He’s a thug. He’s a killer,” McConnell said. "He’s been on the rampage and this will not end well for him.” Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute think tank and a contributing editor of The Dispatch, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is fundamentally different from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that turned large swaths of the American public against foreign intervention and which Trump was able to use to his political advantage. “Putin," he said, “has undone so much of what Trump and nationalists in the United States had done to change the global order.” | |
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| 03-04-22 10:16am - 930 days | #15 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
The ICF (International Cat Federation) has banned Russian cats from competitions. Everyone knows that Russia has some of the finest, most beautiful cats in the world. As well as some of the finest porn stars. That is why the IFC has banned Russia's cats from competitions. To give cats from other nations the chance to win prizes more easily. Don Trump, the ex-president of the US, has vowed a secret war against the ICF, in support of his good pal, Putin. ----- ----- International Cat Federation bans Russian felines from competitions NBC Universal Marlene Lenthang March 3, 2022, 12:10 PM The International Cat Federation has banned Russian cats from international competitions, condemning the invasion of Ukraine as an "unprecedented act of aggression." Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe), a group which considers itself "the United Nations of Cat Federations" with members from over 40 counties, said in a statement on its website that "it cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing." Starting this week, no cat bred in Russia can be imported or registered in any FIFe pedigree book outside Russia and no cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any FIFe show outside of the country. The group said the new regulations will last though May 31 and "will be reviewed as and when necessary." FIFe said it is "shocked and horrified" by the war launched in Ukraine. "Many innocent people died, many more are wounded and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are forced to flee their homes to save their lives," the group said in a statement. "On top of that our Ukrainian fellow feline fanciers are desperately trying to take care of their cats and other animals in these trying circumstances." The Board of FIFe said it will dedicate part of its budget to support cat breeders and fanciers in Ukraine. The federation was created over 70 years ago and holds over 700 shows a year with more than 200,000 cats exhibited, according to its website. The announcement is the latest blow to Russia, which has been hit with sanctions by a number of countries, including the U.S., and excluded from a slew of high-profile organizations and sports including FIFA and UEFA competitions. The International Olympic Committee has also recommended athletes from Russia and Belarus be banned from international competition. So far, over 1 million Ukrainians have fled amid the invasion. | |
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| 03-04-22 12:42am - 931 days | #14 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
US Senator Lindsey Graham urges Russians to assassinate Putin: 'Take this guy out'. Is this the way a US Senator thinks about the leader of a foreign country? What does Graham have planned for Joe Biden, who is the leader of the US opposition party? In the run-up to the January 6th, 2021 insurrection, Lindsey Graham did plenty to help Donald Trump spread misinformation. The South Carolina senator went as far as to call Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to inquire about the state‘s vote count. Politicians can be tricky fellows. They can switch positions faster than you can blink. Is Graham a red, white and blue patriot? Or is he a lackey of Donald Trump, the fightenest president the US has ever had? ----- ----- Lindsey Graham encourages Russians to assassinate Putin: 'Take this guy out' George Back George Back·Producer, Yahoo Entertainment Thu, March 3, 2022, 10:33 PM As the Russian invasion of Ukraine commands the world’s attention, Senator Lindsey Graham weighed in on the matter Thursday night. He appeared on Hannity, and repeatedly called for Russians to take it upon themselves and resolve the conflict by assassinating Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Is there a Brutus in Russia?” Graham asked. “Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends, my friend, especially in Russia, is to take this guy out. You would be doing your country a great service and the world a great service.” The senator’s brazen solution did not resonate as “diplomatic” on social media. Graham was trending on Twitter, but many of the reactions are those of concern and disappointment. As to leave nothing in doubt, a little later Graham literally begged someone in Russia to kill Putin. | |
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| 03-02-22 06:55am - 932 days | #13 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Russia, land of freedom-loving peoples, holds drills with nuclear subs and land-based missiles. It's not enough to praise freedom. You must do it with heavy weapons, nukes, missiles, and whatever else it takes to destroy the enemies of freedom. And if we have to invade the Ukraine, the US, Europe, or anywhere where commie-hating peoples live, let us do so with chants of "Freedom will ring!!!" ------- ------- Russia holds drills with nuclear subs, land-based missiles Associated Press VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV March 1, 2022, 5:02 PM MOSCOW (AP) — Russian nuclear submarines sailed off for drills in the Barents Sea and mobile missile launchers roamed snow forests Tuesday in Siberia after President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation's nuclear forces put on high alert over tensions with the West over the invasion of Ukraine. Russia's Northern Fleet said in a statement that several of its nuclear submarines were involved in exercises designed to “train maneuvering in stormy conditions.” It said several warships tasked with protecting northwest Russia's Kola Peninsula, where several naval bases are located, would join the maneuvers. In the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia, units of the Strategic Missile Forces dispersed Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers in forests to practice secret deployment, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The military didn't say whether the drills were linked to Putin's order on Sunday to put the country's nuclear forces on high alert amid Russia's war in Ukraine. It also was unclear whether the exercises represented a change in the country's normal nuclear training activities or posture. Putin's decree applied to all parts of the Russian nuclear triad, which like in the U.S., consists of nuclear submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-tipped land-based ICBMs and nuclear-capable strategic bombers. The United States and Russia have the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world, by far. The U.S. said Putin's move unnecessarily escalated an already dangerous conflict, but so far has announced no changes in its nuclear weapons alert level, perhaps in part because it was unclear what the Russian president's order meant in practical terms. Russia and the U.S. have the land- and submarine-based segments of their strategic nuclear forces on alert and prepared for combat at all times, but nuclear-capable bombers and other aircraft are not. One party raising the nuclear-combat readiness of bombers or ordering more ICBM-carrying submarines to sea would ring alarm bells for another. Compared to the U.S., Russia relies more heavily on nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are located in silos or mounted on mobile launchers. A change in their readiness status could be more difficult to spot and assess. Putin's order heightened already soaring tensions, drawing comparisons to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that saw Moscow and Washington teetering on the brink of a nuclear conflict. In announcing his decision, Putin cited “aggressive statements” from NATO powers and new, crippling Western sanctions that froze Russia's hard currency reserves, an unprecedented move that threatened to have devastating consequences for the its economy and finances. The latest statements from Putin and other Russian officials indicated the Kremlin view of Western sanctions as a threat on par with military aggression. Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, responded Tuesday to French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire commenting that the European Union would unleash an all-out economic and financial “war” against Russia. “Today, some French minister has said that they declared an economic war on Russia,” Medvedev, who served as Russia's placeholder president in 2008-2012 when Putin had to shift into the prime minister’s post because of term limits. “Watch your tongue, gentlemen! And don’t forget that in human history, economic wars quite often turned into real ones.” ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | |
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| 03-01-22 11:41pm - 933 days | #12 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Scammers asking for money donations. Scammers are capitalists. They want you to donate money to them, in the name of charity. The charity is the scammer. But if you don't check, you won't know who you're giving money to. ------ ------ Want to help Ukraine? Avoid these war scammers asking you for bitcoin and money. Yahoo News Garin Flowers March 1, 2022, 7:51 AM Scammers are looking to cash in on the charitable giving surrounding the events of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cybersecurity companies and consumer experts have warned. They suggest two things before donating to help: Watch out for the fakers, and take time to research legitimate charities and causes. While social media has made information gathering and connecting a lot easier, it’s also a gateway for cyber thieves to reach victims. The criminals are now hopping on the bitcoin wave and asking for it on platforms like Twitter. Avast, a worldwide cybersecurity company, released a blog post warning users to watch out for these crypto scams. “As cyber criminals seek to take advantage of the chaos, we have tracked in the last 48 hours a number of scammers who are tricking people out of money by pretending they are Ukrainians in desperate need of financial help,” wrote Michal Salát, an expert on threat intelligence. “In the past, we have seen similar scams for people stuck while traveling or looking for love. Unfortunately, these attackers do not operate ethically and will use any opportunity to get money out of people willing to help others in need.” Salát said that what makes a post suspicious is the immediate mention of bitcoin, especially coming from odd usernames that consist of numbers and letters. Reports of scams have surfaced on other platforms as well, including TikTok and Instagram. But scammers are also using more traditional methods, like email and websites, to reach potential victims. Tomáš Foltýn with WeLiveSecurity said its researchers have unearthed a “bevy of websites” that are asking for money for charitable purposes but are fraudulent. “The websites make very vague claims about how the ‘aid’ will be used. It should also be obvious — upon closer inspection, anyway — that none of them represents a legitimate organization,” Foltýn wrote on a website post. “Also, stay alert for emotional pleas for help that may land in your email.” Appeals for money typically use specific language and range from heartbreaking to threatening. As curated by several experts, some statements to watch out for include: “Help, I’m stuck here,” “I have money, lots of money” (someone claiming they need to transfer money and need your help to do it, which includes transfer fees), “I need to give my loved one a proper burial” and “I love you” (tapping in to common romance scams). Crime prevention expert Rania Mankarious, who wrote “The Online World, What You Think You Know and What You Don’t,” told Yahoo News she’s been monitoring and trying to help combat scams involving Ukraine. “With nearly 1 million Ukrainians in the U.S. and social media accounts pulling at our heartstrings, generous Americans want to give and do their part,” she said. “But how do we make sure that our hard-earned dollars are going where they should?” She added, “Fight the pressure. Don’t give in to sales calls or solicitations for donations that require you to ‘act immediately.’” When planning to give, here are some ways to avoid being scammed, according to advice from Mankarious, the Better Business Bureau and Avast: 1. Stick to well-known organizations that have strong credibility. 2. Ask what percentage of your donation will go to relief efforts. 3. While it doesn't necessarily reveal a scam, research an organization’s current presence in Ukraine because “not all relief organizations will be able to provide timely assistance unless they already have a presence in Ukraine,” the BBB warns. 4. Be cautious of requests to wire money, send gift cards or transfer through PayPal — charities don’t normally request those payment methods. 5. Be wary of social media posts promoting a charity or an individual needing money. Take time to flesh out their authenticity. 6. Watch out for messages or links, even from credible-looking organizations. Call or email them to further verify that they are legitimate. 7. Here's a current list of BBB-accredited charities working on Ukraine relief: Catholic Relief Services GlobalGiving International Rescue Committee Save the Children To further research other organizations, use Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, Guidestar, Candid.org or the BBB’s give.org, which gives accreditation ratings. A women holds a child and a dog in a shelter inside a building in Mariupol, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) A women holds a child and a dog in a shelter inside a building in Mariupol, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) Where are Russian forces attacking Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out. | |
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| 03-01-22 10:01pm - 933 days | #11 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Republicans are standing up for all Americans. They are telling people that Joe Biden is a fool. That Biden puts American lives in danger. What about the more than 400,000 Americans that died from covid during Trump's presidency? Trump was a Republican, so any Americans that died during his term in office were patriots who died for America. But if 13 people, or even 1, died while Biden was president, that's a crime against the American people. Go, Trump, the fightenest president we've ever had. If Biden was more like Trump, he would order his secret service agents to shoot down Rep. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene as commie traitors. But Biden is too cowardly to act on his impulses. We need Trump to lead us with strength. And vigor. And moral courage. Vote for Trump!!! ------- ------- Rep. Boebert heckles Biden during his State of the Union remarks on protecting veterans Yahoo News Dylan Stableford,Caitlin Dickson March 1, 2022, 8:08 PM Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., heckled President Biden during Tuesday’s State of the Union, just before he recalled his late son Beau Biden’s brain cancer. Biden was in the middle of calling on Congress to pass legislation to help Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits that were used to incinerate waste, with troops often using jet fuel as an accelerant. “When they came home, many of the world’s fittest and best-trained warriors were never the same: Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness,” Biden said. “A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.” “You put them there!” Boebert yelled, according to reporters in the House Chamber. "Thirteen of them," she added — a reference to the 13 U.S. service members who died last year in a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Biden briefly paused before continuing his speech. President Biden makes an impassioned plea. President Biden delivers his State of the Union address in the Capitol on Tuesday. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via Reuters) “I know. One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden,” the president said. “I don’t know for sure if the burn pit that he lived near in Iraq, and earlier than that, in Kosovo, was the cause of his brain cancer, or the diseases of so many of our troops, but I am committed to finding out everything we can.” Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer at age 46. Last year, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation that would streamline the Veteran Administration’s review process to recognize toxic exposure as a cost of war. The bill, the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, passed out of committee last summer, but has yet to receive a full vote in the House. On Monday, the Biden administration released a statement calling on Congress to pass the legislation. Reps. Lauren Boebert in black, shouts loudly as Marjorie Taylor Greene stands to scream. Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., heckle President Biden during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP) Boebert’s tenure in Congress has been heavily focused on opposing Biden. By the end of her first month in office, the Colorado Republican, who previously embraced the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory, had introduced four bills opposing executive orders issued by Biden regarding a range of issues, from mask mandates, to U.S. reentry into the Paris climate agreement and funding for the World Health Organization. In June 2021, she introduced a bill to censure Biden “for his dereliction of duty at our Southern border.” Last September, Boebert introduced articles of impeachment against Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “Joe Biden willfully abandoned his duty as president of the United States and violated his constitutional oath to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed, by failing to ensure the national security of the United States and its citizens,” Boebert said at the time. Her impeachment bill has yet to receive a vote. | |
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| 03-01-22 07:51am - 933 days | #10 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Why the Chinese Internet Is Cheering Russia’s Invasion As the world overwhelmingly condemns the assault on Ukraine, online opinion in China is mostly pro-Russia, pro-war and pro-Putin. A bombed Ukrainian home in south Kyiv. Many Chinese social media users have praised President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and accepted his justification for invading Ukraine. By Li Yuan Published Feb. 27, 2022Updated Feb. 28, 2022 If President Vladimir V. Putin is looking for international support and approval for his invasion of Ukraine, he can turn to the Chinese internet. Its users have called him “Putin the Great,” “the best legacy of the former Soviet Union” and “the greatest strategist of this century.” They have chastised Russians who protested against the war, saying they had been brainwashed by the United States. Mr. Putin’s speech on Thursday, which essentially portrayed the conflict as one waged against the West, won loud cheers on Chinese social media. Many people said they were moved to tears. “If I were Russian, Putin would be my faith, my light,” wrote @jinyujiyiliangxiaokou, a user of the Twitter-like platform Weibo. Mr. Putin’s portrayal of Russia as a victim of the West’s political, ideological and military aggression has resonated deeply with many on social media. It dovetails with China’s narrative that the United States and its allies are afraid of China’s rise and the alternative world order it could create. For its part, the Chinese government, Russia’s most powerful partner, has been more circumspect. Officials have declined to call Russia’s invasion an invasion, nor have they condemned it. But they have not endorsed it, either. Under Xi Jinping, its top leader, China has taken a more confrontational stance on foreign policy in recent years. Its diplomats, the state media’s journalists and some of the government’s most influential advisers are far more hawkish than they used to be. Together, they have helped to shape a generation of online warriors who view the world as a zero-sum game between China and the West, especially the United States. A translation of Mr. Putin’s speech on Thursday by a nationalistic news site went viral, to say the least. The Weibo hashtag #putin10000wordsspeechfulltext got 1.1 billion views within 24 hours. “This is an exemplary speech of war mobilization,” said one Weibo user, @apjam. “Why was I moved to tears by the speech?” wrote @ASsicangyueliang. “Because this is also how they’ve been treating China.” Mostly young, nationalistic online users like these, known as “little pinks” in China, have taken their cue from the so-called “wolf warrior” diplomats who seem to relish verbal battle with journalists and their Western counterparts. The day before Russia’s invasion, for instance, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said in a daily press briefing that the United States was the “culprit” behind the tensions over Ukraine. “When the U.S. drove five waves of NATO expansion eastward all the way to Russia’s doorstep and deployed advanced offensive strategic weapons in breach of its assurances to Russia, did it ever think about the consequences of pushing a big country to the wall?” asked the spokeswoman, Hua Chunying. The next day, as Ms. Hua was peppered with questions about whether China considered Russia’s “special military operation” an invasion, she turned the briefing into a critique of the United States. “You may go ask the U.S.: they started the fire and fanned the flames,” she said. “How are they going to put out the fire now?” She bristled at the U.S. State Department’s comment that China should respect state sovereignty and territorial integrity, a longstanding tenet of Chinese foreign policy. “The U.S. is in no position to tell China off,” she said. Then she mentioned the three journalists who were killed in NATO’s bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999, a tragic incident that prompted widespread anti-U.S. protests in China. “NATO still owes the Chinese people a debt of blood,” she said. That sentence became the top Weibo hashtag as Russia was bombing Ukraine. The hashtag, created by the state-run People’s Daily newspaper, has been viewed more than a billion times. In posts below it, users called the United States a “warmonger” and a “paper tiger.” Other Weibo users were bemused. “If I only browsed Weibo,” wrote the user @____26156, “I would have believed that it was the United States that had invaded Ukraine.” The strong pro-war sentiment online has shocked many Chinese. Some WeChat users on my timeline warned that they would block any Putin supporters. Many people shared articles about China’s long, troubled history with its neighbor, including Russian annexation of Chinese territory and a border conflict with the Soviet Union in the late 1960s. One widely shared WeChat article was titled, “All those who cheer for war are idiots,” plus an expletive. “The grand narrative of nationalism and great-power chauvinism has squeezed out their last bit of humanity,” the author wrote. It was eventually deleted by WeChat for violating regulations. Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the United States “started the fire and fanned the flames” that led to the war in Ukraine.Credit...Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters The pro-Russia sentiment is in line with the two countries’ growing official solidarity, culminating in a joint statement on Feb. 4, when Mr. Putin met with Mr. Xi in Beijing at the Winter Olympics. The countries’ friendship has “no limits,” they declared. Given that the leaders met just weeks before the invasion, it would be understandable to conclude that China should have had better knowledge of the Kremlin’s plans. But growing evidence suggests that the echo chamber of China’s foreign policy establishment might have misled not only the country’s internet users, but its own officials. My colleague Edward Wong reported that over a period of three months, senior U.S. officials held meetings with their Chinese counterparts and shared intelligence that detailed Russia’s troop buildup around Ukraine. The Americans asked the Chinese officials to intervene with the Russians and tell them not to invade. Russia’s Attack on Ukraine and the Global Economy Card 1 of 6 A rising concern. Russia’s attack on Ukraine could cause dizzying spikes in prices for energy and food and could spook investors. The economic damage from supply disruptions and economic sanctions would be severe in some countries and industries and unnoticed in others. The cost of energy. Oil prices already are the highest since 2014, and they have risen as the conflict has escalated. Russia is the third-largest producer of oil, providing roughly one of every 10 barrels the global economy consumes. Gas supplies. Europe gets nearly 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, and it is likely to be walloped with higher heating bills. Natural gas reserves are running low, and European leaders have accused Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, of reducing supplies to gain a political edge. Food prices. Russia is the world’s largest supplier of wheat and, together with Ukraine, accounts for nearly a quarter of total global exports. In countries like Egypt and Turkey, that flow of grain makes up more than 70 percent of wheat imports. Shortages of essential metals. The price of palladium, used in automotive exhaust systems and mobile phones, has been soaring amid fears that Russia, the world’s largest exporter of the metal, could be cut off from global markets. The price of nickel, another key Russian export, has also been rising. Financial turmoil. Global banks are bracing for the effects of sanctions designed to restrict Russia’s access to foreign capital and limit its ability to process payments in dollars, euros and other currencies crucial for trade. Banks are also on alert for retaliatory cyberattacks by Russia. The Chinese brushed the Americans off, saying that they did not think an invasion was in the works. U.S. intelligence showed that on one occasion, Beijing shared the Americans’ information with Moscow. Recent speeches by some of China’s most influential advisers to the government on international relations suggest that the miscalculation may have been based on deep distrust of the United States. They saw it as a declining power that wanted to push for war with false intelligence because it would benefit the United States, financially and strategically. Jin Canrong, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing, told the state broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, on Feb. 20 that the U.S. government had been talking about imminent war because an unstable Europe would help Washington, as well as the country’s financial and energy industries. After the war started, he admitted to his 2.4 million Weibo followers that he was surprised. Just before the invasion, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, ridiculed the Biden administration’s predictions of war in a 52-minute video program. “Why did ‘Sleepy Joe’ use such poor-quality intelligence on Ukraine and Russia?” he asked, using Donald Trump’s favorite nickname for President Biden. Earlier in the week, Mr. Shen had held a conference call about the Ukraine crisis with a brokerage’s clients, titled, “A war that would not be fought.” When the fighting began, he, too, acknowledged to his Weibo followers, who number 1.6 million, that he had been wrong. Nationalistic emotions on social media were also sparked by the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine. Unlike most embassies in Kyiv, it didn’t urge its citizens to evacuate. Hours into the war, it advised Chinese people to post the country’s red flag conspicuously on their vehicles when traveling, indicating that it would provide protection. | |
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| 02-28-22 06:07am - 934 days | #9 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Putin nuclear alert order part of pattern of made-up threats, U.S. says Reuters February 27, 2022, 9:40 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's order to put Russian nuclear forces on high alert is part of a pattern of Moscow manufacturing threats to justify aggression, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday. "We've seen him do this time and time again. At no point has Russia been under threat from NATO, has Russia been under threat from Ukraine," Psaki said on ABC's "This Week" program. "This is all a pattern from President Putin and we're going to stand up to it. We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we're seeing here from President Putin," Psaki added. The United States is open to providing additional assistance to Ukraine, Psaki said. Washington also has not taken sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector off the table, Psaki added. "We have not taken those off, but we also want to do that and make sure we're minimizing the impact on the global marketplace and do it in a united way," Psaki said. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Will Dunham) | |
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| 02-28-22 05:54am - 934 days | #8 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Russia taking seriously the threat of invasion by US forces. Russia is on guard against attacks by Western Forces. Russia struck a Ukraine radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv. Russia, a great friend of ex-president Donald J. Trump, is forced to defend itself against all foreign enemies. And to send peace-keeping forces into Ukraine, where people are threatening Russia. Go, Trump, and take back the White House from the criminal who stole it away from you!!! ------ ------ Radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv hit by airstrike, Ukraine officials say Yahoo News Niamh Cavanagh February 27, 2022, 9:32 AM Russian bombs struck a radioactive waste burial facility near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, overnight, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said on Sunday morning. In a post published to its official Facebook page, the organization wrote: “At [1.20 a.m.] Kyiv time as a result of the mass bombing of Kyiv with all types of anti-aircraft and missile weapons available to the Russian Federation, the missiles hit the radioactive waste disposal site of the Kyiv branch of the State Specialized Enterprise ‘Radon.’” The organization stressed that there was no threat of radiation to people outside of the protection zone that surrounds the burial site. All employees have remained in a shelter due “to the ongoing mass [shelling].” The agency added that the automated radiation monitoring system failed, but the missiles had been caught by surveillance cameras. The extent of the radiation will be assessed by portable devices as soon as the bombing has finished, the agency said. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A plume of smoke and flames is seen in the distance. A burning oil depot that was reportedly hit by shelling near the military airbase Vasylkiv in Ukraine. (Maksim Levin/Reuters) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it had been a "difficult night" following a Russian strike against civilian infrastructures. Major attacks overnight included an assault on Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city. Ukraine accused Russian troops of blowing up a natural gas pipeline there. An oil depot in Vasylkiv, a city near the capital, was also set ablaze after an apparent missile strike. Authorities in Kyiv warned civilians to stay indoors and keep windows shut after the explosion caused toxic fumes. The Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine said that the transmission of natural gas was continuing “normally” despite the Kharkiv pipeline explosion. Ukraine is one of the major transmission routes that brings gas from Russia to Europe. Continuing into its fourth day, the Russian invasion has taken more than 200 Ukrainian civilians' lives, a defense official said. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country’s nuclear arsenal had been put on alert in response to sanctions against the country. "Western countries are not only taking unfriendly economic actions against our country. Leaders of NATO countries are making aggressive statements against us," Putin said on Sunday. He went on to say that he had ordered the Kremlin’s nuclear deterrence “on a special regime of duty.” | |
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| 02-27-22 03:20am - 935 days | #7 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump sends personal email to Putin asking for the TOS-1 heavy flamethrower, capable of vaporizing human bodies. Trump has been alarmed by reports that US Federal Forces might descend on his property in Florida and seize important documents that Trump requires to file his Federal Income Taxes. "Give me liberty or give me death", Trump is reportedly shouting into his megaphone, as he struggles to pay his fair share of taxes. And no commie-loving Federal Agents, sent by the Democrat From Hell, Joe Biden, will be able to take down Donald J. Trump, the fiercest, most fightenest President the US has ever had. Trump would only use the TOS-1 heavy flamethrower if needed, Trump said. Trump does not want to kill American forces, but would, if forced to protect his property and civil liberties. Trump uber alles. Disclaimer: portions of this report might not be 100% factual. But facts never bothered Trump, so why should they bother us? -------- -------- Russian army deploys its TOS-1 heavy flamethrower, capable of vaporizing human bodies, near Ukrainian border, footage shows Joshua Zitser Sat, February 26, 2022, 5:53 AM CNN footage shows a TOS-1 heavy flamethrower being deployed near the Ukrainian border. Footage from inside of Russia appears to show a thermobaric rocket launcher being deployed towards the Ukrainian border, according to The Guardian. The video, shared on Twitter by CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen, displays a TOS-1 heavy flamethrower, which can shoot thermobaric rockets mounted on a T-72 tank chassis. The footage was captured south of Belgorod, Pleitgen said, which is about 45 miles away from Kharkiv, Ukraine. The TOS-1 was first used during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, The Guardian said, and was also deployed in Chechnya and the Syrian civil war. It can launch two types of warheads — incendiary and fuel-air explosives. The latter, also called vacuum or thermobaric rockets, work by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. The weapons system is extremely effective against entrenched personnel. The TOS-1A is used to clear out buildings, field fortifications and bunkers, according to Military-Today.com. They are considerably more destructive than conventional explosives. According to i News, thermobaric weapons can vaporize human bodies and crush internal organs. Western officials first publicly expressed concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin might use thermobaric bombs to seize control of Ukraine on Friday, HuffPost reported. "My fear would be that if they don't meet the timescales and objectives, they would be indiscriminate in the use of violence," one Western official said, per i News. "They don't adhere to the same principles of necessity and proportionality and the rule of law that Western forces do." | |
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| 02-27-22 02:19am - 935 days | #6 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Calls the invasion a work of genius. On the other hand, America's leaders are really dumb. They don't know how to lead. Put Trump back in the White House, and he will make America great again. He will be able to stop the commies in New York from investigating him for civil and criminal actions, since as US President, he would be immune from prosecution, with the entire federal government behind him. He could even nuke New York with nuclear missiles. That would only be done with regret, since New York was home to Trump for many years. But leadership demands a strong heart. And Trump's heart is beating strongly, with passion and humanity and the spirit of American freedom. Trump uber alles!!! T-shirts proclaiming “Trump won" are selling like hotcakes. Get your order in now, before the supply disappears. 10% of sales proceeds go to fund Trump's lawyer bills, in his fight against commies investigating Trump for civil and criminal acts. ------ ------ Trump talks Putin, grievances as GOP focuses on midterm wins Associated Press STEVE PEOPLES February 27, 2022, 12:35 AM ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Leading Republicans spent much of three days avoiding Donald Trump's chief grievances or ignoring him altogether as they unified behind a midterm message designed to win back the voters the polarizing former president alienated while in office. That changed Saturday night. Facing thousands of cheering activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference's annual meeting, Trump falsely blamed his 2020 election loss on widespread voter fraud, for which there is no evidence. As Russian troops advanced on the Ukrainian capital in an invasion widely condemned by Western leaders, Trump described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “smart.” “Of course he’s smart,” Trump said, doubling down on praise of the Russian leader that many other Republicans have avoided in the wake of the invasion. “But the real problem is our leaders are dumb. Dumb. So dumb.” While Trump expressed support for the Ukrainian people and called the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a “brave man,” he also noted his ties with other leading autocrats. He specifically pointed to his friendly relationships with Xi Jinping of China and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump then left no doubt he is the most powerful voice in Republican politics by indicating he will run for president a third time in 2024. “We did it twice, and we’ll do it again,” Trump said. “We’re going to be doing it again, a third time.” Up until Trump's appearance, lies about election fraud, the focus of last year’s conference, had been an afterthought among the top speakers. No one parroted Trump’s approving rhetoric toward Putin. And some leading Republicans didn’t even mention Trump’s name. Instead, those most likely to seek the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination not named Trump united behind an agenda that includes more parental control of schools, opposition to pandemic-related mandates and a fierce rejection of “woke” culture. The message from more than a half-dozen elected officials, delivered to thousands of mostly white activists at an event that usually celebrates far-right rhetoric, does not mean the party has turned its back on Trumpism. Far from it. The former president was a frequent topic among some of the conference's lower-profile speakers. T-shirts proclaiming “Trump won" were being sold in the hallways. And Trump is expected to be announced the overwhelming winner of CPAC's 2024 presidential preference straw poll on Sunday. Still, conference organizer Matt Schlapp, the chair of the American Conservative Union, noted that Trump does not have an absolute lock on his party's base. He pointed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in particular, who was a crowd favorite throughout the first three days of the four-day conference. Audience members applauded almost every time DeSantis' name was referenced or his picture appeared on big screens. “Trump looms large,” Schlapp said in an interview. “No. 1 is, Does he run again? And it’s overwhelming that people want him to. But there’s a diversity of opinion.” And while Trump's most controversial supporters were generally given lower-profile speaking slots over the four-day program, they were not excluded. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., appeared on a Saturday morning panel hours after being featured at a conference of pro-Trump white nationalists. Trump offered Taylor Greene a particularly warm shoutout during his speech as he ticked down the Republican officials in attendance. “I refuse to shut up,” Taylor Greene said earlier in the day during a brief appearance as she railed against “Democrat communists.” Despite Trump's dominant place at the head of the Republican Party, other party leaders are increasingly optimistic they have found a forward-looking strategy to overcome pro-Trump extremism and expand the party's appeal with control of Congress at stake in November. It's essentially the same playbook that Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin used last fall when he won in the swing state by avoiding Trump and his biggest grievances, including the false notion that the 2020 presidential election was plagued by mass voter fraud. “There are people that perhaps have never voted the same way any of you have in a presidential race and they're really angry,” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Friday. “And that’s why I believe that for all the negative we’ve heard, the pendulum is swinging.” Democrats are clinging to paper-thin majorities in the House and Senate, and voter sentiment has swung in an ominous direction for them since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. In an AP-NORC poll conducted Feb. 18-21, 70% of Americans said the country was headed in the wrong direction. As few as 44% said the same in April 2021. Some leading Republicans seemed intent at CPAC on not helping Democrats by embracing Trump. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who tried to block the certification of Biden's electoral victory after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, sidestepped a question about whether he would challenge Trump in a 2024 prospective matchup. "I’ve said I’m not planning to run for president,” Hawley said. He also declined to say whether he wants Trump to run again in 2024: “I never give him advice, including on this.” Hawley also said it was a mistake for Republicans like Trump to offer soft praise for Putin. “Putin is our enemy. Let’s be clear about that,” Hawley said. DeSantis, who has also refused to rule out a 2024 presidential bid should Trump run, did not mention the former president in his 20-minute address, focusing instead on his resistance to mask and vaccine mandates. Trump's former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, spoke about his work in the Trump administration, but he did not repeat his own recent flattering comments about Putin, in which he called the Russian leader “very capable” and said he has “enormous respect for him.” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, considered a potential running mate for Trump in 2024, talked about the 2016 presidential election and the unsubstantiated allegations that Democrats in power “spied” on the Trump campaign. But she pivoted quickly to the future. “We have some fantastic fighters, like President Donald Trump. But he’s not alone. The American people are on our side,” Noem said. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Nick Riccardi in Denver and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report. | |
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| 02-25-22 07:15am - 937 days | #5 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Trump and Putin agree: we must be strong and kill our enemies. Trump will sign a non-aggession pact with Putin, that will strengthen the ties between the two world leaders. And once Trump re-takes the White House, from the scum Democrat who stole it from our beloved Trump, America will once again be great and powerful, striking fear in the hearts of its enemies. Trump will rally the troops and march on New York, which is a treasonous state that is investigating Trump for possible civil and criminal acts. Hail Trump, uber alles!!! ------- ------- Why Putin's 'de-Nazification of Ukraine' argument makes no sense Yahoo News Dylan Stableford February 24, 2022, 2:00 PM In announcing an unprovoked military assault on Ukraine Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was acting to prevent "genocide" against Russian-speaking people in the sovereign nation and aiming for the “de-Nazification of Ukraine.” “Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide," Putin said in the televised address moments before airstrikes began. "And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine.” Putin's claim that he wanted to “de-Nazify” Ukraine was striking — and in opposition to reality. For one thing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was democratically elected to office in 2019, is Jewish. Shortly before Putin's address, Zelensky delivered an emotional appeal — in Russian — to the Russian people, pleading with them to stop Putin from launching an unjustified war. “The Ukraine on your news and Ukraine in real life are two completely different countries — and the main difference is ours is real,” Zelensky said. "You are told we are Nazis, but how can a people support Nazis that gave more than 8 million lives for the victory over Nazism? How can I be a Nazi? Tell my grandpa, who went through the whole war in the infantry of the Soviet Army and died as a colonel in independent Ukraine." Ukraine’s official Twitter account posted a cartoon image of Adolf Hitler and Putin gazing lovingly at each other. pic.twitter.com/IaqFbpayqz — Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 24, 2022 Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, similarly dismissed Putin's claim. “In his attempt to justify the unjustifiable, #Russia's assault on #Ukraine, Putin referred to a fictional genocide & set goal of 'denazification of Ukraine,' a country that overwhelmingly elected a Jew president,” Pifer tweeted. There is also no evidence of “genocide” by the Ukrainian army, say U.S. officials, former Ukrainian diplomats and foreign policy experts. (There are far-right elements within Ukraine's national guard, but they are not part of the government.) While Putin's claims were absurd, they were also not new. When he justified Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, he claimed to be protecting ethnic Russians. Vladimir Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin on Russian state television on Thursday. (Pool via Reuters) In a speech to the United Nations last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken — whose stepfather was a Holocaust survivor — warned that Russia would make a similar claim now to “manufacture a pretext for its attack.” “Russia may describe this event as ethnic cleansing or a genocide, making a mockery of a concept that we in this chamber do not take lightly,” Blinken said, “nor do I take it lightly, based on my family history.” | |
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| 02-25-22 06:42am - 937 days | #4 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
This is wrong. Talk show hosts complain that Trump is praising Putin for killing Ukraine citizens. In the US, we have the right of free speech. If Trump, the most genius president of the United States we've ever had, wants to praise Putin for killing people, Trump has that right, protected by the U.S. Constitution. Putin has said he's invading Ukraine for peace-keeping: he wants to keep the people of the Ukraine safe. Give Putin the Nobel Peace Prize for being such a fine fellow. And put Trump back in the White House, where he can send nuclear missiles to California or any other state that did not vote for him. -------- -------- Kimmel and Colbert hammer Trump for praising Putin amid invasion of Ukraine Yahoo TV Stephen Proctor February 25, 2022, 2:05 AM On Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Thursday, Kimmel and Colbert took time out of their monologues to address former President Trump’s remarks regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Trump has praised Putin’s justification for the invasion, calling him a genius, and blamed the invasion on his lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. “It takes a special kind of son of a bitch to see innocent people fleeing their homes and think, ‘How can I make this about me?’” Kimmel said. “But nobody does that better than Donald Trump.” Kimmel later continued, “There are hundreds of casualties in Ukraine, images of families running for their lives, and not only hasn’t Trump condemned Putin, ‘Sar-a-Lago’ has been praising his KGBFF. He called him a genius. He called what he's doing wonderful. He keeps defending Putin, which is embarrassing. He's never gonna date you, dude, give it up. There’s nothing good you can say about Vladimir Putin.” It's important to keep our eyes on the unhinged fascist lunatic.Stephen Colbert Colbert had clearly seen the same interviews as Kimmel, as well as the speech Trump gave at Mar-a-Lago in which he also praised Putin. But since Trump left office, Colbert refuses to speak his name on The Late Show, instead giving Trump a different name each time he talks about him. “Amidst all this horror, it's important to keep our eyes on the unhinged fascist lunatic,” Colbert said. “I’m talking about former ‘President Stonewall Jackass.’ He has been out there pushing a pro-Putin agenda, forever.” Colbert also called out Fox News for some of its coverage of Putin and Ukraine in the lead-up to the invasion. Some at Fox, especially popular opinion host Tucker Carlson, defended Putin’s buildup of military forces along the Ukrainian border before the invasion began. “The ex-prez took to Russian state media — I’m sorry, I misread that — Fox News, and he had a lot of opinions,” Colbert said. “He had a lot of opinions, just not a lot of information.” Colbert was referencing an interview Trump did with Fox’s Laura Ingraham on Wednesday in which the former president became confused about who was landing on Ukrainian shores shortly after the invasion began. When Ingraham mentioned an amphibious landing by Russian forces, Trump thought she was talking about American troops. “Sometimes he has trouble telling the difference between America and Russia,” Colbert said. “He knows he worked for one of them.” The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Jimmy Kimmel Live aires weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on ABC. Watch Russian expatriate Garry Kasparov say that Putin has a 'sick' view of the world following the invasion of Ukraine: | |
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| 02-24-22 01:24pm - 938 days | #3 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald J. Trump's friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin, might be the richest man in the world. That's one reason why Trump admires Putin. Billionaires must stick together. ------- ------- Explainer: How rich is Putin, and can the West sanction his money in Ukraine crisis? Yahoo News Niamh Cavanagh February 24, 2022, 9:49 AM Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched a “full-scale” attack in Ukraine, reportedly blasting missiles and bombs in cities at dawn. It came hours after the Kremlin leader declared war on Ukraine in a televised address calling for the “de-Nazification” of the country. The response by the West has been swift. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed that he would impose “massive” sanctions on Russia that would “hobble” its economy. Johnson said the details of the sanctions would be coordinated with the country’s international allies. He called for the West to end its dependence on Russian oil and gas as a response to the invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, Germany made the decision to shut down the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, an $11 billion project between Russia and Germany. But many believe that these sanctions will do little to thwart Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the sanctions amounted to too little, too late, to curb Putin’s aggressive moves. Many are calling for tougher sanctions aimed directly at Putin and his inner circle, which raises questions about just how wealthy the Russian president is, and where the bulk of that wealth is spread around the world. The yacht Graceful sails along the Kiel Canal near Rendsburg, north of Hamburg, Germany. The yacht Graceful sails along the Kiel Canal near Hamburg, Germany. (Steffen Mayer/Reuters) In a scene out of a James Bond film, just days before it was believed that Western nations would impose sanctions on Russia, a $125 million superyacht believed to be owned by Putin was swiftly sailed from German waters to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad. The luxury yacht, named Graceful, had been left at a port in Hamburg for repair work before it abruptly left on Feb. 7. One report revealed that the yacht was receiving several modifications, including a swimming pool extension and the enlargement of two balconies. In 2017, Fortune magazine said Putin was believed to be the richest man in the world, with a net worth of $200 billion. Hermitage Capital Management CEO Bill Browder, who previously worked as a fund manager in Russia, said in 2015: “After 14 years in power of Russia, and the amount of money that the country has made, and the amount of money that hasn't been spent on schools and roads and hospitals and so on, all that money is in property, bank, Swiss bank accounts, shares, hedge funds, managed for Putin and his cronies.” Last year, a palace worth $1.37 billion was featured in a viral video by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — who has since been jailed for allegedly embezzling donations, an accusation that he has vehemently denied. Navalny said the luxury Black Sea property was paid for “with the largest bribe in history. [They] built a palace for their boss with his money.” One builder described the palace as if the Egyptian pyramids were being built. "I reckon around 1,500 people worked at the construction site at that point,” the builder told the BBC in 2011. “There were Russians, Uzbeks; there were soldiers. There was a rush to get it finished." According to others who worked at the site, the property included a Japanese garden, a gym made out of marble, an underground ice hockey rink and a vineyard. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media at the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media at the Kremlin. (Sergei Guneyev/Pool/Tass via Getty Images) A recent investigation by Forbes put forward a number of theories about how Putin could have amassed and hidden his fortune. One theory relates to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian oligarch who was once believed to be the richest man in Russia, with an estimated $15 billion fortune. In 2003, however, he was imprisoned on charges of tax evasion and fraud. He continually denied these accusations. Khodorkovsky’s fortune was frozen and his companies were broken up. But Browder, who is wanted by Putin after being sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019 for tax evasion in Russia and funneling money overseas, told Forbes he believes the arrest could have allowed Putin to cut new deals with other oligarchs. “The deal was, 'You give me 50 percent of your wealth and I’ll let you keep the other 50 percent,'” he said. “If you don’t, [I'll] take 100 percent of your wealth and throw you in jail.” Another theory is that Putin increased his fortune by using his position in government to help his family and close friends. Forbes suggested that those in his inner circle would offer him money or stakes in a company they acquired as a result of his help. One of Putin's friends, Arkady Rotenberg, received more than $7 billion in state contracts in the lead-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. According to an investigation by Reuters in 2015, Putin’s daughter Katerina, then 29, had corporate holdings worth about $2 billion with her reported husband, Kirill Shamalov, son of Nikolai Shamalov, a longtime friend of the president. Financial analysts revealed that the wealth of Putin’s daughter stemmed mainly from a large publicly disclosed stake in a major gas and petrochemical corporation that Kirill acquired from another friend of Putin's, Gennady Timchenko — who was hit with sanctions from the U.K. earlier this week. Along with the holdings, Putin’s daughter reportedly owned a villa in France worth $3.7 million. Not much is known about his other daughter’s wealth. That’s what reporters in the West have uncovered. But what’s the official Russian party line about the president’s wealth? An annual list of declared earnings in the Kremlin stated that Putin is paid 8.6 million rubles per year, or $234,000, as president of Russia. In 2015, Putin famously claimed he did not know how much his salary was, saying: “They just give it to me, and I put it away in my account.” The properties he declared in 2019 included two apartments, three Russian-made Soviet-era cars — two GAZ-M21s and a Lada Niva — and a Skiff trailer (also made in Russia), reported the Russian state-controlled media site RT. The value of the three cars adds up to no more than an estimated $27,000. In 2002, Lada Niva was awarded zero stars out of a possible four for safety after a dummy passenger was hit by the glove compartment so hard that it showed a risk for a traumatic brain injury. Despite all the items listed, no international buildings or apartments were featured in Putin's declaration, nor were any mega-yachts now berthed safely in Russian waters. So if Putin did amass the bankroll that Fortune magazine believes he has, where is the money, and how can Western countries come up with sanctions aimed directly at Putin’s real assets? Where are Russian forces surrounding Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out. | |
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| 02-24-22 01:15pm - 938 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Republicans blame Biden for Putin's Ukraine invasion. If Trump were the President, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine. Russia would have been too afraid to anger Trump. But Biden is a different story: Biden is a weakling, who will let Russia invade Ukraine, and do nothing to stop the killing. Vote for Trump, who will make America great again. ------- ------- Republicans target Biden for blame over Putin's Ukraine invasion Reuters David Morgan February 24, 2022, 10:18 AM By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought no pause to partisan squabbling in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, as some Republicans blasted Democratic President Joe Biden's handling of the crisis and called on him to "change course" in his response. Some Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives blamed Biden for failing to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from sending forces into Ukraine and called on the U.S. president to take a stronger position on the largest conflict in Europe since World War Two. "There's no doubt that weakness leads to war," Representative Brian Mast, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a Thursday morning tweet. "Putin once said the collapse of the Soviet empire was the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe' of the past century for Russia. For America, President Biden may be the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of this century." The invasion of Ukraine followed months of Russian military buildup along the country's borders, leading to frantic diplomacy and sanctions from the United States and NATO that failed to prevent the incursion. Biden plans an address to the nation at 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT). "Almost 12 hours since Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and the only response we've gotten from Biden is a Zoom call. Where's Biden? He's the leader of the free world. It's time to start acting like it," Representative Carlos Gimenez wrote on Twitter. Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the invasion began late on Wednesday, convened his National Security Council on Thursday, and met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies to map out more severe responses. "The president must change course or our deterrent posture will continue to collapse, chaos will continue to spread and eventually no one will trust America's promises or fear America's power," said Representative Mike Gallagher, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Former President Donald Trump — who even out of office remains the most powerful voice in the Republican Party — had threatened during his four years in office to leave NATO, calling the military alliance "obsolete." He withdrew the United States from international agreements — including the Paris Climate Accord, which it has since rejoined — and pulled out of a pact in which Iran had curbed its uranium enrichment program, a possible pathway to nuclear arms, which is now being renegotiated. Trump, who has expressed admiration for Putin, described the Russian leader's actions leading up to invasion as "genius," "smart" and "pretty savvy." ELECTIONS LOOMING The response among congressional Republicans — blaming Biden, calling for stronger sanctions and warning against any use of U.S. troops in Ukraine — largely mirrored the sentiments of Republican voters, as lawmakers approach the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Only 34% of Americans — including just 12% of Republicans — approved of the way Biden was handling the crisis in the run-up to the invasion, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Tuesday and Wednesday. Twenty-five percent of Republicans polled said Biden was primarily to blame for the conflict, with 46% saying Putin was primarily to blame. Nearly one in five was unsure who to blame. Senator Mitt Romney, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a moderate voice in his party, offered broader criticism that also blamed U.S. responses to Russia by former Presidents Barack Obama and Trump while evoking the Reagan era's tough posture against the former Soviet Union. "Putin's impunity predictably follows our tepid response to his previous horrors in Georgia and Crimea, our naive efforts at a one-sided 'reset,' and the shortsightedness of 'America First.' The '80s called' and we didn't answer," Romney said in a statement. Senator Dan Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that Putin's action had changed the global landscape for the Americans and their Western allies. "We must wake up to the fact that this new era of authoritarian aggression will likely be with us for decades. We need to face it with strategic resolve and confidence," the Alaska Republican said. (Reporting by David Morgan, additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) | |
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