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To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

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OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Democrats' Weekly Address

Marie (Feb 23): As far as I can tell, there isn't any. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like Democrats are so screwed up, they can't even put together a couple of minutes of video to tell us how screwed we are.

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

New York Times: “Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, two people familiar with the changes said. The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, 'The ReidOut,' is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years. MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host 'The Weekend,' which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.” MB: In case you've never seen “The Weekend,” let me assure you it's pretty awful. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: "Joy Reid is leaving MSNBC, the network’s new president announced in a memo to staff on Monday, marking an end to the political analyst and anchor’s prime time news show."

Y! Entertainment: "Meanwhile, [Alex] Wagner will also be removed from her 9 pm weeknight slot. Wagner has already been working as a correspondent after Rachel Maddow took over hosting duties during ... Trump’s first 100 days in office. It’s now expected that Wagner will not return as host, but is expected to stay on as a contributor. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s former White House press secretary, is a likely replacement for Wagner, though a decision has not been finalized." MB: In fairness to Psaki, she is really too boring to watch. On the other hand, she is White. ~~~

     ~~~ RAS: "So MSNBC is getting rid of both of their minority evening hosts. Both women of color who are not afraid to call out the truth. Outspoken minorities don't have a long shelf life in the world of our corporate news media."

As we watch in horror the rapid destruction of our democratic form of government, it is comforting to remember there is life outside politics. I took a break a while ago to enjoy a brief lesson in the history of the moonwalk: ~~~

But it may go back even further:

And this chronological account is helpful:

New York Times: “Chuck Todd, the former 'Meet the Press' moderator and a longtime fixture of NBC’s political coverage, told colleagues on Friday that he was leaving the network. A nearly two-decade veteran of NBC, Mr. Todd said that Friday would be his last day at NBC.... Mr. Todd, 52, is the latest TV news star to step aside at a moment when salaries are being scrutinized — and slashed — by major media companies. Hoda Kotb exited NBC’s 'Today' show this month, and Neil Cavuto of Fox News and CNN’s Chris Wallace departed their cable news homes late last year.”

CNBC: “ CNN plans to lay off hundreds of employees Thursday [Jan. 23] as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience.... The layoffs come as CNN is rearranging its linear TV lineup and building out digital subscription products. The cuts will help CNN lower production costs and consolidate teams, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. Certain shows that are produced in New York or Washington may move to Atlanta, where production can be done more cheaply, said the people. For the most part, the job cuts won’t affect CNN’s most recognizable names, who are under contract, said the people. CNN has about 3,500 employees worldwide.... NBC News is also planning cuts later this week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. While the exact number couldn’t be determined, the job losses will be well under 50....”

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Page Links
Saturday
Jun152024

The Conversation -- June 15, 2024

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Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News: "The Biden administration is making plans to announce one of the largest immigration relief programs in recent history, developing a policy that would offer legal status to hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the country without proper documents, four people familiar with the plans told CBS News. A program being developed by White House officials would offer work permits and deportation protections to unauthorized immigrants married to U.S. citizens, as long as they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years, the sources said.... The proposal, known as 'Parole in Place,' would also open up a pathway to permanent legal status and U.S. citizenship for some beneficiaries by removing an obstacle in U.S. law that prevents those who entered the U.S. illegally from obtaining green cards without leaving the country. Another plan being prepared by the Biden administration would streamline the process for so-called DREAMers and other undocumented immigrants to request waivers that would make it easier for them to obtain temporary visas...."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department said on Friday that it would not prosecute Attorney General Merrick B. Garland for declining to comply with a congressional subpoena for audio recordings of President Biden's interview by a special counsel. The decision had been expected. The Justice Department does not consider it a crime for a government official to fail to comply with a subpoena for material when the president has invoked executive privilege, as Mr. Biden did last month.... 'The longstanding position of the department is that we will not prosecute an official for contempt of Congress for declining to provide subpoenaed information subject to a presidential assertion of executive privilege,' Carlos Felipe Uriarte, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, wrote in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson. In a statement, Mr. Johnson said ... that [the House] would file a lawsuit asking a judge to order Mr. Garland to comply with the subpoena."

Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "House Republicans banded together on Friday to narrowly pass an $895 billion defense policy bill that would restrict access to abortion and transgender medical care in the military and eliminate all positions and offices of diversity, equity and inclusion across the Pentagon. The 217-to-199 vote, largely along party lines, reflected a dramatic shift in support for the annual National Defense Authorization Act, normally an overwhelmingly popular bill, since it emerged from a House committee last month with broad bipartisan support. Democrats turned against the bill in droves after Republicans insisted for the second year in a row on loading it with conservative policy dictates.... The Democratic-led Senate, which typically produces a bipartisan bill, will almost certainly leave the measures out, and they are unlikely to survive a conference between the two chambers to reconcile competing versions of the legislation. Even if they did, President Biden would be highly unlikely to sign them into law." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Brooke Migdon of the Hill: "Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Thursday protested an amendment added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that bars funding for drag performances with a blown-up photo [displayed on the House floor] of former President strong> Trump and Rudy Giuliani ... dressed in drag. [MB Note: Trump is not in drag; Rudy is.] An amendment filed this week to the annual defense policy bill by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) would prevent funding made available by the measure from being used for drag events. The amendment passed Thursday by voice vote." (Also linked yesterday.)

Mass Murder, He Wrote

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a ban on bump stocks enacted by the Trump administration after a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. The decision, by a vote of 6 to 3, split along ideological lines. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, found that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had exceeded its power when it prohibited the device, an attachment that enables a semiautomatic rifle to fire at a speed rivaling that of a machine gun. The agency, he added, had overstepped in issuing a rule that classified bump stocks as machine guns....

"The narrowly written decision was not a Second Amendment challenge. Rather, it is one of several cases this term seeking to undercut the power of administrative agencies.... The man who challenged the bump stock ban is Michael Cargill, a gun shop owner in Texas, backed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, an advocacy group with financial ties to Charles Koch, a billionaire who has long supported conservative and libertarian causes. The organization primarily targets what it considers unlawful uses of administrative power....

"Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Sotomayor summarized her dissent from the bench, a practice reserved for profound disagreements and the first such announcement of the term.... 'A bump stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle fires "automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger." Because I, like Congress, call that a machine gun, I respectfully dissent.'" (Also linked yesterday.) NPR's report, by Nina Totenberg, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What I learned from Dahlia Lithwick & Andrew Weissmann -- who discussed the ruling on MSNBC -- is that this is another instance of a right-wing justice (in this case, Thomas), after having read friendly amicus briefs (in this case by the bump-stock industry), then deciding the knowledge he gained from these self-serving briefs allows him to substitute his new-found "expertise" for the actual expertise of administrative agencies (in this case, the ATF). And all the other winger "justices" nod their heads & sign on, even as they pretend to be "calling balls & strikes." Or ascribing to an "originalist" judicial philosophy. So we find out that when the Founders wrote that Second Amendment militia thing, they were just dreaming of the day when Rapid-fire Guns for All would become a legal and technical reality. At last the day has come, folks! Maybe we should forget Flag Day (sorry, Martha-Ann!) and designate June 14 Supreme Boost to Mass Murderers Day.

Benjamin Weiss of Courthouse News Service: "The White House urged Congress on Friday to codify a federal ban on bump stocks for semiautomatic firearms just hours after the Supreme Court struck down Trump-era regulations making such accessories illegal." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement is here, via the White House. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday condemned a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling overturning the Trump-era ban on bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic guns to fire like machine guns, and called on Congress to pass legislation to counter the decision. 'The far-right Supreme Court continues their unprecedented assault on public safety by reversing the commonsense guidance issued in 2018 by the ATF. Bump stocks have played a devastating role in many of the horrific mass shootings in our country, but sadly it's no surprise to see the Supreme Court roll back this necessary public safety rule as they push their out of touch extreme agenda. They're even further to the right of Donald Trump,' Schumer said in a statement responding to the ruling." (Also linked yesterday.)

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court sided with the federal government on Friday in a dispute over what information immigration officials must provide migrants about their deportation hearings. In a 5-to-4 decision, the majority upheld the current requirements, which can mean that basic information about a deportation hearing is missing. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the majority opinion, joined by four of the court's other conservatives. He cautioned that the decision 'does not mean that the government is free of its obligation' to provide immigrants with notice of deportation hearings. Rather, he wrote, it blocked immigrants from seeking to challenge removal orders 'in perpetuity based on arguments they could have raised in a hearing that they chose to skip.'"


National Crime Blotter. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump pushed back on Friday night in an aggressive -- and at times misleading -- way against an effort to curb his public attacks on the F.B.I. agents working on his classified documents case in Florida. In a 20-page court filing, the lawyers assailed prosecutors in the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, for seeking to limit Mr. Trump's remarks about the F.B.I. on the eve of two consequential political events: the first presidential debate, scheduled for June 27, and the Republican National Convention, set to start on July 15.... [Smith's] request [to modify Mr. Trump's bail] came days after Mr. Trump made a series of blatantly false statements, claiming that the F.B.I. had been prepared to shoot him when agents executed a search warrant in August 2022 at Mar-a-Lago.... In their filing on Friday night, Mr. Trump's lawyers soft-pedaled his falsehoods, saying that he had merely 'criticized' the Mar-a-Lago search 'in a manner that someone in the government disagreed with and does not like.'" CNN's report is here.

Presidential Race

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The Biden campaign is taking over the homepage of a local newspaper in Milwaukee on Friday, seizing on comments from former President Trump a day earlier in which he criticized the city. The Biden campaign will have a homepage takeover ad of The Shepherd Express -- an alt weekly -- and the Journal Sentinel, highlighting Trump calling Milwaukee a 'horrible city' during a meeting on Capitol Hill with Republicans.... The ad is a split-screen image, one highlighting Trump's 'horrible city' critique and the other boasting that President Biden passed legislation to invest in Milwaukee. Trump officials have insisted the former president's remark was specifically referring to crime. In addition to the ad, the Biden campaign created merchandise around the Trump comment, including T-shirts and Wisconsin-shaped stickers that read, '(Not) a horrible city,' and T-shirts and can koozies that play off 'I heart Milwaukee' and feature a mug of beer in place of a heart." (Also linked yesterday.)

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post keeps us up-to-date on what's going on in the Trump campaign and in Republican politics in general. Conspiracy theorists are especially busy. For instance: "Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), on Fox Business, declared that Hunter Biden's guilty verdict 'creates an opening for Democrats to slip someone like Michelle Obama in here' as the Democratic presidential nominee, rather than [Joe] Biden, he said. Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo replied: 'I am buying into what you're saying there.' So, Biden ordered the Justice Department to prosecute his son to create an excuse to decline the presidential nomination? That one is so crazy, it must be true!" (Also linked yesterday.)

David Kurtz of TPM: "Donald Trump’s return to the scene of the Jan. 6 attack that he instigated was a watershed moment in the whitewashing of his failed auto-coup. Republicans in Congress, many of whom three years ago were running for their lives from the mob Trump unleashed, applauded and celebrated his return in ways that highlighted the party’s cultish, authoritarian turn. It marked a papering over of all the internal divisions and past animosities (which tend to arise when a president of your own party sends over to the Capitol a mob that is intent on hanging his own vice president ) in order to rally together to win in November." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

On the Other Hand. Christina Wilkie & Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "... Donald Trump failed to impress everyone in a room full of top CEOs Thursday at the Business Roundtable's quarterly meeting, multiple attendees told CNBC. 'Trump doesn't know what he's talking about,' said one CEO who was in the room, according to a person who heard the executive speaking. The CEO also said Trump did not explain how he planned to accomplish any of his policy proposals, that person said. Several CEOs 'said that [Trump] was remarkably meandering, could not keep a straight thought [and] was all over the map,' CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin reported Friday on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.'... Trump's energy in the meeting was also noticeably subdued, according to two people who were in the room. At no time during his remarks was there any noticeable applause for Trump, two attendees told CNBC."

On the Other Hand. Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The film ['The Apprentice,' about the relationship between young Donald Trump & mob lawyer Roy Cohn]..., is a classic story of a mentor and his protégé, chronicling how Trump first learned from and later surpassed his brutal, Machiavellian fixer.... Unfortunately, you may not get a chance to [see it] anytime soon, at least in the United States.... The filmmakers have yet to secure a deal to release it here ... [possibly because] Trump and his supporters have already intimidated some media companies, which seem to be pre-emptively capitulating to him.... Any company that wants to be sold or to merge with or buy another company would be hesitant to touch 'The Apprentice' because of the possibility that, should Trump be re-elected, his 'regulators will be punitive.'... In a cease-and-desist letter to the filmmakers, a lawyer for Trump claimed, absurdly, that the movie is 'direct foreign interference in America's elections,' citing the fact that its director, Ali Abbasi, is Iranian Danish and that the movie received funding from Denmark, Ireland and Canada." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is what authoritarianism looks like: people voluntarily self-censoring out of an abundance of caution. It is disturbing when Republican sheeples do so; but fatal to democracy when interests in the art world -- yes, even corporate interests in the art world -- also defer, even to an out-of-office would-be dictator. What we've seen just in this week's news is almost every elected federal official groveling at the feet of Donald Trump, some of them holding hearings to excoriate the justice system, and now a corporate entity -- one supposedly in the edgy business of exposing government misdeeds -- possibly rolling over, too. Why, it's as if the ghost of Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy's sidekick, is re-instituting the infamous Red Scare of the 1950s seven decades later. We already are seeing some version of the Army-McCarthy hearings in the farcical Jim & Gym committee shenanigans. Can the 2020s version of the House Un-American Activities Committee be far behind?

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Three months into the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci was at home in northwest Washington when he answered his cellphone to ... Donald J. Trump screaming at him in an expletive-laden rant. He had incurred the president's wrath by remarking that the vaccines under development might not provide long-lasting immunity. That was the day, June 3, 2020, 'that I first experienced the brunt of the president's rage,' Dr. Fauci writes in his forthcoming autobiography.... Dr. Fauci described how Mr. Trump repeatedly told him he 'loved' him while at the same time excoriating him with tirades flecked with four-letter words.... Dr. Fauci also makes clear he had little use for some of Mr. Trump's advisers: his chief of staff, Mark Meadows; his chief economic adviser, Peter Navarro; and his medical adviser, Scott Atlas. He said Mr. Trump's aides were feeding negative stories about him to journalists in 2020."

Adriana Usero & Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "On June 13..., the RNC posted a clip it captioned, 'What is Biden doing?' The post has been viewed more than 3 million times. Biden is seen with other Group of Seven leaders watching skydivers in Italy.... Biden turns and walks a few steps to chat with one of the parachutists, the only leader to do so. Then Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni turns him back to the other leaders. In one feed distributed by news services -- the one used by the RNC -- it's not entirely clear who Biden is talking to, but an alternative feed, also distributed by news services, makes it clear that Biden is having a conversation....

"An X community note was added to the video clip, saying: 'Biden didn't "wander off".... Biden stepped aside to speak with one of the other skydivers who is kneeling on the ground packing away his chute. The video in the above post has been digitally altered to remove the skydiver.' A few hours later, for undisclosed reasons, the community note was changed to simply say 'the video was cropped,' with a link to a 14-minute clip...." ~~~

     ~~~ Ted Johnson of Deadline: "The White House is slamming the New York Post for pushing out a video on social media, and later a cover story, claiming that President Joe Biden wandered off as he and other world leaders watched a skydiving demonstration at the G7 summit in Italy.... [White House spokesman Andrew] Bates shared the video with the wider angle and wrote, 'The Murdoch outlets are so desperate to distract from @POTUS's record that they just lie. Here, they use an artificially narrow frame to hide from viewers that he just saw a skydiving demonstration. He's saying congratulations to one of the divers and giving a thumbs up.' Bates also included the Post's video edit.... The video was shared across media on the right, including for a digital story written for Sinclair Broadcast Group's The National Desk for posting on local station websites. That story picked up on the Post's cropped video."


Sari Horwitz & Dana Hedgpeth of the Washington Post: "U.S. Catholic bishops issued a formal apology Friday morning for the church's role in inflicting a 'history of trauma' on Native Americans, including at church-run Indian boarding schools where a Washington Post investigation published last month documented pervasive sexual abuse by priests. The vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which establishes policies and norms for the church in the United States, represents the most direct expression of regret to date by church officials for past participation in a systematic effort by the U.S. government to forcibly assimilate Native Americans into White society. By a 181-2 vote, the bishops approved a document called 'Keeping Christ's Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry.' Three ... abstained."

Covid Masking All Over Again. Ashlie Stevens of Salon: "As of June 9, ten states ... have reported outbreaks [of bird flu, H5N1,] among dairy cattle and an estimated 85 dairy herds nationwide have been infected; however, there isn't a federal requirement for dairy farms to test their herds outside interstate movements of milking cows, so many farmers are opting out. This opened the door for human exposure and as of now, there have been three documented cases of H5N1 in humans.... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn that consuming raw, unpasteurized milk could come with big health risks.... However, in recent weeks, as the number of bird flu cases have climbed, so have sales of raw milk. This is because numerous Republican public figures have decried what they perceive to be attempts from the government and 'Big Milk' to infringe on their right to consume the beverage, regardless of whether it contributes to the human-to-human spread of bird flu.... Essentially, for Republicans, it seems like avoiding raw milk is the new masking -- and they're just not going to do it in order to prove a point." Via digby. ~~~

     ~~~ digby: "The throwback states are already putting laws on the books to ensure that people can kill themselves with raw milk." Thanks to RAS for the link.

David Collins & Juan Luzano of the AP: "A federal judge on Friday ordered the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones′ personal assets but dismissed his company's separate bankruptcy case, leaving the immediate future of his Infowars media platform uncertain as he owes $1.5 billion for his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Ukraine, et al.

Nectar Gan of CNN: "China's support for Russia is 'enabling' its war in Ukraine, leaders of the world's most advanced economies warned Friday in a hardening of tone against Beijing, while threatening further sanctions against actors that materially support Moscow's war machine. The stark warning, issued at the end of the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy, comes as the United States is stepping up diplomatic efforts to convince Europe to adopt a tougher stance on China over its role in aiding Russia's military-industrial complex."

Putin's Proposal. Dasha Litvinova of the AP: "Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to 'immediately' order a cease-fire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kyiv began withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounced plans to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected what he called an ultimatum by Putin to surrender more territory. Putin's remarks came as Switzerland prepared to host scores of world leaders -- but not from Moscow -- this weekend to try to map out first steps toward peace in Ukraine. They also coincided with a meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Italy and after the U.S. and Ukraine this week signed a 10-year security agreement that Russian officials, including Putin, denounced as 'null and void.'" (Also linked yesterday.)


U.K. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Catherine, the Princess of Wales, said on Friday that she planned to take part in a parade on Saturday marking the birthday of King Charles III, a tentative return to the public stage after confirming in March that she was being treated for cancer. The news, which Catherine released in a highly personal six-paragraph statement, reflected both the progress she has made since she was first hospitalized for abdominal surgery last January and the long road to recovery she still faces.... 'I am not out of the woods yet,' she wrote. 'I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes...."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (12)

Here is a screen shot of the G7 fake news

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

House GOP plans to vote to rename the entire coastline surrounding
the U.S. to the "Donald John Trump Exclusive Economic Zone."

Says Rep. Greg Steube (R-Florida) "President Trump took several
commendable actions for our oceans. Renaming our waters will serve
as a reminder of his many contributions to our nation for generations
to come."

https:www.yahoo.com/news/house-republican-wants-name-u-
004500378.html

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

Bump stocks

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Media

"It’s a troubling time for journalism. A major-party candidate is running for dictator, and some people in the news media are helping him. Others keep playing the same old stupid games and unintentionally paving the way for his takeover.

If our democratic system dies, the autopsy report will list the primary cause of death as Rupert Murdoch. The Fox News owner is the most devious and damaging of a group of media moguls who have systematically made our society more divisive and helped dishonest demagogues achieve political power."

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Trump was just picking out his namesake coastal waters in that famous sharpie hurricane picture from a few years ago.

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

More of what we knew but may have forgotten. The review ends with a whimper, but directs us to a book that would seem (I haven't read it) to document how we got to our sad state.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/06/13/when-clock-broke-america-early-1990s-john-ganz-review/

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Whadaguy!

Phew, the big ideas that emanate from the black hole that is the Mind of MAGA Don…it’s scary.

His latest stable genius Eureka Moment is to lose the first debate on purpose, to help Biden.

Yeah. I mean, what does he have to prove? He’s a genius and stuff. He’s connected to MIT. MIT. MIT. Did you know that? MIT. Very smart. Did you know?

Well, in an interview (don’t really know if it’s accurate to call stream of unconsciousness ranting an interview, but okay) with some MAGA dweeb, the Fat Felon informs the host guy that they’re gonna inject Biden with all kinds of drugs before the interview. It’ll be rigged. Everybody knows this. Rigged. Unfaaaiiir to Trump, like just about everything is.

“Of course they might want to replace Biden because I beat him in the polls. I beat everyone else too. So I’ll just lose on purpose to keep him in the race.”

Didja get that? He could beat anyone, so…why would he care if Biden was replaced? Wouldn’t that make it easier for him to win? Why throw the debate on purpose?

Unless…oh yeah! It’s a chance to weasel out of another debate. Biden kicked his flabby ass in the 2020 debates, and now, four years later, he’s lucky he can form a coherent sentence. Now he mumbles about boats sinking under their own weight, and batteries, and sharks.

First, boats don’t sink “of their own weight”. An aircraft carrier weighs 100,000 lbs. more than Fatty’s whole ass! And it doesn’t sink. Whatever. MIT!

So, no debate.

Too bad. I was looking forward to hearing the end of the shark story.

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Sorry…aircraft carriers weigh 100,000 tons. Still more than Fatty’s ass.

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Always trying to protect the criminals.

Guardian

"Wisconsin Republicans are withholding $125m designated for cleanup of widespread PFAS contamination in drinking water and have said they will only release the funds in exchange for immunity for polluters."

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

I approve this message

"MAGA Candidate Gets Fake Endorsement From AI-Resurrected MLK

“I have another dream!” begins the skin-crawling video, which was posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “Yes, it is me, Martin Luther King. I came back from the dead to say something, as I was saying, I have another dream—that Anthony Hudson will be Michigan 8th district’s next congressman. Yes I have a dream, again.”"

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

How MAGA threats destroy much more than just democracy…

Bible Mike’s appointment of dangerous MAGA assholes to the Intelligence Committee pisses off even other Republicans.

The appointment of Trump lackeys, Busted Down to Captain Ronny (DrunkMan) Jackson and Scott (Insurrection!) Perry, to a highly sensitive committee has created an uproar in the House, and not just among Democrats. Threats from Freedumb Cock-us Trumpbots, and likely Trump himself, gave Man of Godly Principles, Bible Mike, the wiggles, and so, even without the courtesy of alerting the committee chair—a Republican!—Pontius Johnson did what he was told and washed his hands of the whole thing.

In addition to wrecking democratic institutions from the inside, Trump’s cockroaches seek the nation’s secrets which they van use for their own benefit.

Surprised?

Everything this fat trait and amoral ass kissers touch turns cancerous within minutes. Oh, but wait. They have Doc Ronnie now. He’ll take care of everything. If he’s not drunk or ranting.

June 15, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus
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