Lasher
Lasher's JournalUkraine war: this map holds an important clue about Kremlin fears of NATO expansion
This has been a constant refrain of Kremlin military briefings. For example, following the humiliating sinking of Russia’s Black Sea flagship, Moskva, in April, Margarita Simonyan, the head of broadcaster RT and a major Putin cheerleader, said:
We need to understand, when we see difficult events taking place, the losses, we are not fighting against Ukraine … from an entirely technical, military point of view we are fighting with Nato. We are fighting against an enormous armed opponent, the most powerful and in essence the only one of its kind.
https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-this-map-holds-an-important-clue-about-kremlin-fears-of-nato-expansion-190677
I am not defending Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but this is their side of the story, so to speak. They feel threatened by the expansion of NATO.
Mexico arrests ex-attorney general in missing students case
Source: Associated Press
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors said Friday they have arrested the attorney general in Mexico’s previous administration on charges he committed abuses in the investigation of the 2014 disappearances of 43 students from a radical teacher college.
Prosecutors also announced they had issued arrest warrants in the case against 20 army soldiers officers, five local officials, 33 local police officers and 11 state police, as well as 14 gang members.
The roundup included the first arrest of a former attorney general in recent history, and one of the biggest mass arrests ever by civilian prosecutors of Mexican army soldiers.
Jesús Murillo Karam served as attorney general from 2012 to 2015, under then President Enrique Peña Nieto. The office of the current attorney general, Alejandro Gertz Manero, said Murillo Karam was charged with torture, official misconduct and forced disappearance
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/mexico-caribbean-arrests-4d219a28ac3294e76b3254a93ac855fa
I'm sure some of you remember the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico during 2014. Looks like the perps have been brought to justice.
Liz Cheney releases call to Trump-backed opponent who said she didn't concede
Liz Cheney has released her concession call to Harriet Hageman, after the Trump-backed Republican who won the Wyoming US House primary on Tuesday told Fox News her rival had not made “any kind of concession or anything else”.
Cheney gave a recording of the call to Politico. In it, she said: “Hi, Harriet, it is Liz Cheney calling. It is about 8.13 [pm] on Tuesday the 16th. I’m calling to concede the election and congratulate you on the win. Thanks.”
Hageman beat Cheney, a three-term congresswoman, in a landslide.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/18/liz-cheney-concession-call-trump-harriet-hageman
Why do they always tell such horrid lies? Maybe she didn't have time to check her voicemail.
Sinema indicates she may want to change Schumer-Manchin deal
Source: Axios
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) had a message for her Democratic colleagues before she flew home to Arizona for the weekend: She's preserving her options.
Why it matters: Sinema has leverage and she knows it. Any potential modification to the Democrat's climate and deficit reduction package — like knocking out the $14 billion provision on carried interest — could cause the fragile deal to collapse.
Her posture is causing something between angst and fear in the Democratic caucus as senators wait for her to render a verdict on the secret deal announced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin last Thursday.
Driving the news: Sinema has given no assurances to colleagues that she’ll vote along party lines in the so-called “vote-a-rama” for the $740 billion bill next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/2022/07/30/sinema-schumer-manchin-deal-democrats
We might have celebrated too soon.
New Scholar Ranking of US Presidents just out today (6/23/22).
Biden is #19
Trump is #43
Obama is #11
GWB is #35
Clinton #14
GHWB #20
Reagan #18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States#Scholar_survey_summary
The above is from Wikipedia. Here is a link to the new Siena survey, just in case any of you want to drill down:
https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PDF-Ranking-FINAL-REAL.pdf
Exclusive: Michigan widens probe into voting system breaches by Trump allies
Source: Reuters
LANSING, Michigan, June 6 (Reuters) - State police in Michigan have obtained warrants to seize voting equipment and election-related records in at least three towns and one county in the past six weeks, police records show, widening the largest known investigation into unauthorized attempts by allies of former President Donald Trump to access voting systems.
The previously unreported records include search warrants and investigators' memos obtained by Reuters through public records requests. The documents reveal a flurry of efforts by state authorities to secure voting machines, poll books, data-storage devices and phone records as evidence in a probe launched in mid-February.
The state’s investigation follows breaches of local election systems in Michigan by Republican officials and pro-Trump activists trying to prove his baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
The police documents reveal, among other things, that the state is investigating a potential breach of voting equipment in Lake Township, a small, largely conservative community in northern Michigan's Missaukee County. The previously unreported case is one of at least 17 incidents nationwide, including 11 in Michigan, in which Trump supporters gained or attempted to gain unauthorized access to voting equipment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-michigan-widens-probe-into-voting-system-breaches-by-trump-allies-2022-06-06/
More good news.
Dozens of New York City teachers placed on unpaid leave for using fake coronavirus vaccine cards
(snip)
The Department of Education defended its actions in a statement.
"Fraudulent vaccination cards are not only illegal, they also undermine the best line of protection our schools have against COVID-19 -- universal adult vaccination," The Education Department said in a statement. "We immediately moved to put these employees -- fewer than 100 -- on leave without pay."
New York City has engaged in a prolonged legal battle with teachers over its vaccine mandate. The mandate went into effect on Oct. 4, 2021, at the behest of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. The city required all public school teachers -- in the largest school system in the country -- to receive at least one dose of the vaccine.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dozens-york-city-teachers-unpaid-leave-fake-coronavirus/story?id=84249232
I have long suspected that fake vaccine cards are more widespread than we know.
Mitch McConnell calls Donald Trump's bluff in Alaska
On Monday, the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with McConnell, announced that it had booked more than $7 miIlion worth of ad time in Alaska as GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski tries to fend off a challenge from Kelly Tshibaka, who has been endorsed by the former President. (The group also reserved ad time in six Senate battleground states.)
The move to defend Murkowski isn’t terribly surprising – McConnell has made clear all along that he supports Republican incumbents, including Murkowski.
But the super PAC’s decision to commit $7 million – by way of context, that’s roughly how much Murkowski spent on her 2016 reelection race – to Alaska means that McConnell is sending a not-so-subtle message to Trump: Time to put up or shut up.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/18/politics/mcconnell-murkowski-super-pac-money/index.html
My guess is, Trump will not respond in kind. He might host a rally somewhere in Alaska, but that's about it. He slings around quarters like they're manhole covers.
defendants acquitted in Michigan governor kidnapping case; mistrial declared for 2 others By Brian
Source: CNN
A federal jury on Friday found two men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer not guilty of kidnapping conspiracy and a mistrial was declared for two other defendants.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta faced federal charges for allegedly conspiring to kidnap the Democratic governor. All four defendants, who pleaded not guilty, faced up to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping conspiracy.
Harris and Caserta were found not guilty of kidnapping conspiracy. The jury also found Harris not guilty on other charges. The jury could not reach a verdict for Fox and Croft, after which US District Judge Robert Jonker declared a mistrial for those defendants.
US Attorney Andrew Birge said in a statement to CNN that the Michigan US Attorney’s Office is “disappointed” with the jury’s decision but that it respects the jury trial system. He added that two defendants await a retrial and so he would not comment further.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/whitmer-trial/index.html
WTF? What else could it possibly require for a jury to convict these fascists?
Trump allies' fake Electoral College certificates offer fresh insights about plot to overturn Biden'
Source: CNN
*Biden's victory.
In the weeks after the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump's allies sent fake certificates to the National Archives declaring that Trump won seven states that he actually lost. The documents had no impact on the outcome of the election, but they are yet another example of how Team Trump tried to subvert the Electoral College -- a key line of inquiry for the January 6 committee.
The fake certificates were created by Trump allies in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico, who sought to replace valid presidential electors from their states with a pro-Trump slate, according to documents obtained by American Oversight.
The documents contain the signatures of Trump supporters who claimed to be the rightful electors from seven states that President Joe Biden won. But these rogue slates of electors didn't have the backing of any elected officials in the seven states -- like a governor or secretary of state, who are involved in certifying election results -- and they served no legitimate purpose.
The documents were first posted online in March by the government watchdog group. But they received renewed attention this week, as the January 6 committee ramps up its investigation into Trump's attempted coup, including how his allies tried to stop states from certifying Biden's victory, in part, by installing friendly slates of electors who would overturn the will of the voters.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/12/politics/trump-overturn-2020-election-fake-electoral-college/index.html
Back in the olden days, states used to send in conflicting elector certificates. This is why Congress was certifying Biden's victory on January 6 last year, in what had become a ceremonial process.
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