demmiblue
demmiblue's Journal2 Arizona sisters who never returned home from trip to Europe died by assisted suicide
On March 17, we first reported on Lila Ammouri and Susan Frazier, who traveled to Europe via a direct flight on Feb. 5 from Chicago to Zurich. The sisters were supposed to fly back on Feb. 13 and return to work on Feb. 15. Both failed to do so, which left their friends worried.
"They were in a very good position of their lives in terms of careers and what they have reached and accomplished, and there is no reason for them to not be returning on their own volition," said Dr. David Biglari.
Ammouri and Frazier's deaths were later confirmed by Jill Barwig with the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the United States Department of State.
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/missing-women-colleagues-left-worried-after-2-sisters-never-returned-home-from-trip-to-europe
Arizona lawmakers pass 15-week abortion ban
Source: Axios
Why it matters: The vote comes a month after Arizona's Senate approved the bill, which resembles a Mississippi abortion ban that is currently being considered by the Supreme Court and that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade.
Details: Arizona's SB 1164 states that any health professional who performs an abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy could lose their medical license or face imprisonment.
The bill does not contain exceptions for cases of rape or incest, only for medical emergencies that could result in the pregnant person's death or "substantial impairment of a major bodily function."
What's next: The bill now heads to desk of Gov. Doug Ducey (R), who is expected to sign it.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/arizona-abortion-ban-15-weeks-roe-mississippi-4ddd2805-33bd-4dd5-a9ca-9224255c374c.html
McConnell to vote 'no' on Ketanji Brown Jackson
The big picture: Jackson is likely to be confirmed with or without McConnell’s support, but he had left the door open in previous days, saying he wasn't yet sure.
What he's saying now: In a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, McConnell said Jackson deflected questions on constitutional philosophy and cited the fact that she's backed by groups that support court-packing.
"I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson to her lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court," McConnell said.
https://www.axios.com/mcconnell-ketanji-brown-jackson-confirmation-127977a3-a4ed-44a6-9485-80169ead4c45.html
Russian spies indicted in worldwide hacks of energy industry, including Kansas nuclear plant
Source: Politico
Their targets worked at more than 500 different entities, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the indictment.
Three Russian spies spent five years targeting energy infrastructure in 135 countries in an effort to enable the Russian government to gain remote control of power plants, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged in an indictment unsealed on Thursday.
From 2012 to 2014, according to the indictment unsealed in a district court in Kansas, the three FSB officers — Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov — worked to hide malware in software updates used by systems that control the equipment in power plants. That tactic and others let the accused install malware on 17,000 devices around the world. The attacks had been previously disclosed in 2018.
From 2014 to 2017, Akulov, Gavrilov and Tyukov are accused of using spearphishing and other tactics to home in on more than 3,300 specific people working in the energy industry. Their targets worked at more than 500 different entities, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the indictment. In one instance, they are alleged to have compromised the business network of Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. in Kansas, which runs a nuclear power plant, though a Justice Department official ,who was granted anonymity as a condition of letting reporters join a press conference, said Thursday that the control systems network was not accessed.
The indictment was one of two unsealed Thursday against Russian hackers. A second indictment unsealed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia alleged that Russian national Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh and unnamed co-conspirators targeted a foreign oil facility and a U.S. energy company between 2017 and 2018.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/24/russian-spies-indicted-hack-nuclear-plant-00020217
I'm the Prime Minister of Estonia. Putin Can't Think He's Won This War.
TALLINN, Estonia — To anyone who lived under Soviet occupation, reports from Ukraine replay scenes we thought we would never see again. The bombing of civilians and the wanton destruction of buildings recall the carnage unleashed on the European continent by Hitler and Stalin. In Mariupol, a port city subjected to a brutal, horrifying siege, residents are reportedly being deported to faraway places in Russia where an uncertain fate awaits them.
My family knows what that’s like. My mother was only a 6-month-old baby when, in 1949, the Soviets deported her, together with her mother and grandmother, to Siberia. My grandfather was sent to a Siberian prison camp. They were lucky to survive and return to Estonia, but many didn’t. Today the Kremlin is reviving techniques of sheer barbarity. Those who have escaped Mariupol describe it as hell on earth.
To put an end to these horrors, the most optimistic observers have put their hope in a peace deal. But peace is not going to break out tomorrow. We must face up to the fact that the Kremlin’s idea of European and global security is completely at odds with that of the free world. And Vladimir Putin is willing to kill and repress en masse for the sake of it.
At NATO, our focus should be simple: Mr. Putin cannot win this war. He cannot even think he has won, or his appetite will grow. We need to demonstrate the will and commit resources to defend NATO territory. To check Russia’s aggression, we need to put in place a long-term policy of smart containment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/opinion/nato-russia-putin-estonia.html
UPDATE: "Gay" Dog Dumped At Shelter Gets Adopted By Charlotte Area Gay Couple
Nichols and his partner John live in the Charlotte area and have been together for more than 30 years. He says, “We’ve been subject to that kind of bigotry and ignorance throughout our lives together, and we couldn’t always do anything about it. We looked at each other and said, we can do something about this.”
...
Nichols and his partner have re-named Fezco “Oscar,” after Oscar Wilde, the late gay poet.
https://www.wccbcharlotte.com/2022/03/22/update-gay-dog-dumped-at-shelter-gets-adopted-by-charlotte-area-gay-couple/
Firm: Michigan AG hopeful Matt DePerno fired over 'padded,' false billings
KALAMAZOO—A Republican running to be Michigan’s top law enforcement official was fired from a law firm in 2005 after colleagues alleged he “padded” client billings for personal and professional benefit, according to court records reviewed by Bridge Michigan.
Matt DePerno, an attorney general candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, sued the firm over his firing and denied the allegations in court. But he told Bridge he cannot discuss details because of a confidential settlement.
DePerno is best known for defending former state Rep. Todd Courser after a 2015 sex scandal cover up and challenging Antrim County election results in a failed lawsuit that spawned ongoing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
The Antrim County case made DePerno a national figure in Trump’s campaign to overturn the election but prompted criticism from a Republican-led Michigan Senate panel that accused him of making false claims for personal profit, echoing allegations that marred DePerno’s legal career nearly two decades earlier.
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/firm-michigan-ag-hopeful-matt-deperno-fired-over-padded-false-billings
https://twitter.com/jonathanoosting/status/1506986803332583426
President Biden: NATO leaders met today in Brussels -- one month since the start of Russia's... (pic)
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1506975057729531912
Dozens of L.A. Sheriff Deputies Alleged to Be 'Tattooed Members' of 'Law Enforcement Gangs'
The gang scandal within the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has flared up again, with the county’s top watchdog accusing LASD brass of stonewalling its investigation into tattooed gang members within the department, and the department accusing the inspector general of an “unhealthy obsession to attack” the LASD.
A new letter to Sheriff Alex Villanueva from Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman reveals that Huntsman’s office is investigating at least 41 deputies for their alleged membership in tattooed “law enforcement gangs.” The letter cites a “partial list of deputies whom the Sheriffs Department itself has identified as allegedly being tattooed members,” a list that includes “eleven alleged Banditos and thirty alleged Executioners.”
The alleged deputy gangs within the LASD operate out of the department’s precincts, called “stations” in LASD lingo. The Banditos are linked to the East Los Angeles station, while the Executioners, according to Huntsman’s letter, are “a deputy gang based out of the Sheriff’s Department’s Compton Station.”
Deputy gangs have plagued the LASD for decades — as detailed by a county-commissioned 2021 report by the RAND corporation — and members have been accused of violence, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation, not only against members of the public but fellow members of the department. The county has paid out at least $55 million in settlements to resolve claims linked to alleged deputy gangs.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/los-angeles-sheriff-scandal-gang-activity-1325695/
Jack White Convinced the Prince Estate to Let Him Drop the Mythical, Unreleased 'Camille'
The label’s co-founder Ben Blackwell broke the news in a recent interview with Mojo (via the fansite, Ultimate Prince, and social media screen grabs). While no release date or details were given, Blackwell confirmed the label obtained the rights to the 1986 LP, saying, “We’re finally going to put it out. Prince’s people agreed — almost too easy.”
A rep for Third Man could neither confirm nor deny the planned release. A rep for the Prince Estate did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
The fabled Camille came about as Prince began experimenting with pitch-shifting his vocals, and he planned to release the album under his feminine alter-ego, “Camille.” While a handful of test-pressings of the album were made, a full release was ultimately scrapped.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/prince-camille-third-man-records-jack-white-release-1322029/
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