US economy faces hit from climate change, report warns
They are getting on Trump because "just this week, he mocked the science of climate change because of a cold snap in the Northeast, tweeting, “Whatever happened to Global Warming?”
He's got a good point. The contradiction is literally a cold slap in the face, but beyond that is now the attempt to blame the coming economic downturn and stock market crash on climate change! If not that, China, if not that, anything and everything but those who caused the problem and escaped with their pockets full of loot.
In fact, those guys will then be touted as the ones saving the economy from the very problems and corruption that they in fact brought about while enriching themselves. Nice trick, especially when you have a mouthpiece media to bullhorn your narrative.
I'll get to economy later, though, after I get out of the water:
Turtle rescuers blame climate change, geography for unprecedented stranding numbers
Somehow the frozen dead turtles seem to conflict with the warming seas bit:
"Rising seas and erosion are threatening lighthouses around the United States and the world. Volunteers and cash-strapped governments are doing what they can, but the level of concern, like the water, is rising....."
I would be more worried about the fires, whatever their cause:
Rain helps douse Calif. fire, slows search for bodies
Oddly enough, the rain also destroys evidence of whatever it was that sparked the fires.
Everything around him burned in Paradise, Calif. He stayed put.
Yeah, "somehow the home he rents on Birch Street emerged unscathed from a firestorm that turned most of Paradise into charred ruins and killed dozens of residents offers a glimpse into the unpredictable behavior of both wildfires and those trapped in them. He pointed at the dry pine needles in his yard and wondered why they didn’t burn."
That's about as close to arson as the pre$$ will admit.
It's ‘‘what Thanksgiving’s about; it’s not just about your blood family — it’s about giving thanks and helping each other,’’ and celebrity chefs Jose Andres, who started World Central Kitchen, and Guy Fieri cooked and stopped for selfies with fans while reflecting on the tragedy that brought them there.
Two-alarm fire tears through home in Lynn
It was a ‘very difficult night’ due to the cold.
Can't see the forest for the trees:
"Plan to bring hydropower from Canada to Mass. faces mounting obstacles" by David Abel Globe Staff November 23, 2018
It seemed like such a simple solution.
To the north of New England, there’s a vast network of rivers and dams that generates massive amounts of hydropower, energy that could slake the growing demand for emissions-free electricity in Massachusetts.
So the Baker administration sought proposals to build new transmission lines to import some 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec, enough to keep the lights running in some 1.2 million homes. The new power would reduce the state’s heavy reliance on natural gas and curb greenhouse gases, proponents said, but the latest plan — routing the Canadian power through Maine — faces growing opposition, threatening a cornerstone of Governor Charlie Baker’s energy policy. That opposition comes after New Hampshire officials in February rejected a $1.6 billion plan — called Northern Pass — to run power lines through the White Mountains to Massachusetts.
The opposition to the proposed Maine route has been emboldened by delays in the review process that are likely to give the state’s newly elected governor, Janet Mills, significant influence over the project’s fate. She’ll have the power to appoint those overseeing the review.
Unlike Republican Governor Paul LePage, a staunch supporter of the $950 million project, Mills, a Democrat, has expressed repeated skepticism about the proposal, which would carve a long path through the North Woods, cross the Appalachian Trail three times, and span or tunnel below the Kennebec River Gorge, the region’s crown jewel.
“I have serious questions and concerns about the environmental impact of this project, which would clear a football-field-wide swath through 145 miles of pristine wilderness in western Maine, creating a dramatic change to the landscape of our state, disrupting deer-wintering areas, streams, and other important habitats, with no apparent commitment to any serious environmental mitigation,” the governor-elect said in a telephone interview this week.
Mills, currently the state’s attorney general, called on Hydro-Québec, a public company that would generate the electricity, and Central Maine Power, which would build the power lines, to be more transparent about their plans and sweeten their proposal by providing more money to Maine.
“I would want to see substantial mitigation of this environmental impact, as well as concrete, longterm benefits to Maine ratepayers and energy consumers before putting the welcome mat out for this project,” said Mills, who lives in western Maine near the proposed power lines.
Looks like extortion to me.
It's not about the environment at all!
Looks like extortion to me.
It's not about the environment at all!
The plan has also run into increasingly vocal opposition from environmental advocates, some of whom initially seemed open to the proposal.
Those groups recently commissioned a detailed analysis of the project that asserts that its promised environmental benefits are likely fictitious, and could cause overall emissions to rise. The report contends that Hydro-Québec would have financial incentives to divert the hydropower from other regions it supplies, such as New York or Ontario, and instead send them power derived from fossil fuel plants.
So it's a $hell game?
So it's a $hell game?
They also blame Hydro-Québec and Central Maine Power for failing to provide information requested by Maine’s Public Utilities Commission and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, both of which have delayed their reviews of the project. The agencies are unlikely to decide on the required permits for the project until well after Mills takes office in January.
Officials at Central Maine Power insist their plan remains viable and on track to be completed by 2022, as promised to Massachusetts.
The benefits of their proposal, they said, include reduced energy prices throughout the region, millions of dollars in new tax revenue for communities along the project’s path, new jobs, and a major source of emissions-free energy that would benefit all of New England.
We've heard that one before!
They blame natural gas and oil companies for stirring opposition.
So we are all being played in the Promised Land, huh?
And to who$e benefit?
We've heard that one before!
They blame natural gas and oil companies for stirring opposition.
So we are all being played in the Promised Land, huh?
And to who$e benefit?
“Old, inefficient, and costly fossil fuel electric plants in Maine and New England stand to lose millions when this clean energy solution goes online, which is why they are working aggressively to undermine this project,” said Catharine Harnett, a spokeswoman for Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of Avangrid.
Officials at Hydro-Québec called the allegations that they intend to engage in some kind of “greenwashing” scheme — by shifting clean energy to Massachusetts while sending dirtier energy to their other clients — “ridiculous at best.”
“It is appalling that groups such as the Natural Resource Council of Maine and the Sierra Club are recycling arguments concocted by brown power,” said Lynn St-Laurent, a spokeswoman for Hydro-Québec, referring to fossil fuel companies. “If their interest truly lies in reducing the region’s carbon emissions . . . [they] are misguided in fighting this project,” but environmental advocates said their concerns were reinforced by a detailed analysis they commissioned from Energyzt, an energy consulting firm with offices in Boston.
Sort of a he $aid, she $aid, huh?
Sort of a he $aid, she $aid, huh?
The firm’s report, released last month, concluded the project would “not result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and may even increase them.”
The report stated that Hydro-Québec would have a “financial incentive” to maximize its profits by exporting inexpensive gas or oil to other markets, while holding onto the water in its reservoirs until prices rose. They noted that Massachusetts authorities, under the terms of the contracts with the state’s utilities, would have no ability to monitor or prevent the Canadians from doing that.
“Massachusetts ratepayers effectively could be paying above-market prices for power from existing resources outside of Québec that provide no incremental environmental benefit,” the report found.
The new power lines could also “adversely affect the economic prospects for Maine renewables, which are likely to be deferred or delayed as a result of the project’s impacts on the local transmission network,” the report stated.
A previous report on the Northern Pass project reached similar conclusions.
Baker administration officials declined to respond to questions about whether they are concerned about the project’s viability or are considering other options, such as a proposal to bring the power lines through Vermont.
What makes you think they will go for it after their neighbors rejected it?
What makes you think they will go for it after their neighbors rejected it?
Katie Gronendyke, a spokeswoman for the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, pointed to a state Department of Energy Resources finding that the project would substantially reduce emissions in Massachusetts.
“Massachusetts’ greenhouse gas mitigation was a key aspect of the evaluation criteria,” Gronendyke said.
In Maine, however, concerns about the project extend well beyond Augusta.
In the towns of Caratunk and Alna, where the power lines would pass through, local officials recently rescinded letters they had written in support of the project, calling the proposal harmful to local residents and saying the economic benefits would pale compared with other potential clean energy projects.
“We have grave concerns for the welfare of the citizens and ratepayers should this project be brought to fruition,” Elizabeth Caruso, chair of the town’s selectboard, told the Bangor Daily News.....
What would worry me would be the cancer clusters that surround power generation lines.
--more--"
Should just go nuclear, case closed.
--more--"
Should just go nuclear, case closed.
Related:
"Thousands of years ago in what is now modern Pakistan and northwestern India, a new Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study has found additional evidence that climate change was behind the move of the Harappans....."
Also see:
"A giant plant-eating creature with a beak-like mouth and reptilian features may have roamed the Earth during the late Triassic period more than 200 million years ago, scientists said Thursday. In a paper published Thursday by the journal Science, Polish researchers claim their find overturns the notion that the only giant plant-eaters at the time were dinosaurs. The elephant-sized creature, known as Lisowicia bojani after a village in southern Poland where its remains were found, belonged to the same evolutionary branch as mammals. The discovery of giant dicynodonts living at the same time as sauropods — a branch of the dinosaur family that later produced the iconic long-necked diplodocus — suggests environmental factors in the late Triassic period may have driven the evolution of gigantism, the researchers said....."
"Thousands of years ago in what is now modern Pakistan and northwestern India, a new Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study has found additional evidence that climate change was behind the move of the Harappans....."
Also see:
"A giant plant-eating creature with a beak-like mouth and reptilian features may have roamed the Earth during the late Triassic period more than 200 million years ago, scientists said Thursday. In a paper published Thursday by the journal Science, Polish researchers claim their find overturns the notion that the only giant plant-eaters at the time were dinosaurs. The elephant-sized creature, known as Lisowicia bojani after a village in southern Poland where its remains were found, belonged to the same evolutionary branch as mammals. The discovery of giant dicynodonts living at the same time as sauropods — a branch of the dinosaur family that later produced the iconic long-necked diplodocus — suggests environmental factors in the late Triassic period may have driven the evolution of gigantism, the researchers said....."
"Cold temperatures set regional records for Thanksgiving" by Aimee Ortiz Globe Staff November 22, 2018
A record-breaking cold snap swept through the region on Thanksgiving, killing dozens of sea turtles on Cape Cod and plunging Mount Washington into record-setting cold temperatures.
The National Weather Service said Thursday’s big chill made it the coldest Nov. 22 on record in Providence, Hartford, and Worcester.
On the Cape Cod shores of Brewster and Orleans, more than 150 sea turtles were found frozen solid Wednesday and Thursday after temperatures dropped to single digits overnight, a marine expert said.
Good thing those seas are heating up.
Good thing those seas are heating up.
Kemp’s ridleys are considered one of the world’s most endangered sea turtles, especially in Massachusetts waters, said Jenette Kerr, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Most of the 82 turtles that washed ashore Wednesday night after the 10 p.m. high-tide were found alive, Kerr said, but nearly all of a second group of 87 found Thursday night did not survive.
Further north, weather observers at Mount Washington in New Hampshire recorded temperatures of minus 26 degrees early in the morning, with the windchill factor from hurricane-force winds making it feel like a brisk minus 75 degrees. The temperatures are record lows for the month of November at the summit, said Taylor Regan, a weather observer and research specialist for the observatory.
The previous record low for Nov. 22 was minus 11 degrees, set in 1987.....
That was, what, 30 years ago?
Sort of like a cycle that has something to do with the sun?
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Related:
Record cold temperatures reported in Worcester, Hartford, and Providence
Just ignore it as you watch the parade:
Sort of like a cycle that has something to do with the sun?
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Related:
Record cold temperatures reported in Worcester, Hartford, and Providence
Just ignore it as you watch the parade:
Despite cold, balloons fly at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade
Makes you upbeat for going shopping, doesn't it?
"Americans are upbeat about the economy heading into the holiday shopping season, but that cheer may not last. With the lowest jobless rate in nearly half a century and wage growth picking up, economists expect shoppers to open their wallets. A survey by the National Retail Federation, a trade group, points to 4.1 percent more holiday spending than last year, and some forecasters expect even stronger growth. “It’s probably the healthiest growth we’ve seen in the past half-dozen years,” said Stephen Sadove, a senior adviser for Mastercard, but those projections predate the latest round of stock market declines. It’s too soon to say whether the drop will rattle consumers."
Why would it?
Makes you upbeat for going shopping, doesn't it?
"Americans are upbeat about the economy heading into the holiday shopping season, but that cheer may not last. With the lowest jobless rate in nearly half a century and wage growth picking up, economists expect shoppers to open their wallets. A survey by the National Retail Federation, a trade group, points to 4.1 percent more holiday spending than last year, and some forecasters expect even stronger growth. “It’s probably the healthiest growth we’ve seen in the past half-dozen years,” said Stephen Sadove, a senior adviser for Mastercard, but those projections predate the latest round of stock market declines. It’s too soon to say whether the drop will rattle consumers."
Why would it?
"Across the country, thousands of shoppers flocked to stores on Thanksgiving or woke up before dawn the next day to take part in this most famous ritual of American consumerism......"
Not what I heard, but whatever.
"As the holiday shopping season started Friday, many businesses affected by the gas fires in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover are still counting their losses. Some like Carleen’s and Delish Bakery and Cafe, about three-tenths of a mile away, remain closed. Others like Lifestyles Furniture in Lawrence and Pronto Pizza, across from a park where displaced residents live in trailers, have had some customers but have yet to see business bounce back to where it was before the disaster, their owners said. On Saturday, state and local officials are hoping to give small businesses in the three communities a boost with events tied to Small Business Saturday......"
Here are some Friday leftovers.
"S&P 500 slides into ‘correction’ for second time this year" by Alex Veiga Associated press November 24, 2018
US stocks closed lower after a shortened session Friday, bumping the benchmark S&P 500 index into a correction, or drop of 10 percent below its most recent all-time high in September.
Energy companies led the market slide as the price of US crude oil tumbled to its lowest level in more than a year, reflecting worries among traders that a slowing global economy could hurt demand for oil.
‘‘Oil is really falling sharply, continuing its downward descent, and that appears to be giving investors a lot of concern that there’s slowing global growth,’’ said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment director at US Bank Private Wealth Management. ‘‘You have that, and then you have the recent sell-off in tech and in retail, and then throw on there trade tensions and rising rates.’’
Losses in technology and internet companies and banks outweighed gains in health care and household goods stocks. Several big retailers declined as investors monitored Black Friday for signs of a strong holiday shopping season.
Trading volume was lighter than usual with the markets open for only a half day after the Thanksgiving holiday.
The latest correction comes as investors worry that corporate profits, a key driver of stock market gains, could weaken next year.
Of course, they were making record-breaking profit growth in the range of 25-28% the last several quarters so there is really nowhere to go but down.
‘‘The market is re-pricing and trying to assess where we’re going to be in the early part of 2019,’’ said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 178.74 points. Crude oil prices fell for the seventh straight week on worries that a slowing global economy could hurt demand even as oil production has been increasing.
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have recently signaled a willingness to consider production cuts at the oil cartel’s meeting next month. The US has been increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to not cut production, however, a move which could push prices down further.
We will get to those bastards later.
Traders had their eye on retailers as Black Friday, the traditional start to the crucial holiday shopping season, began. Investors will be watching next week when Presidents Xi Jinping and Trump meet at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina for signs that the two leaders can find common ground to begin unwinding the spiraling trade dispute.
What if the meeting does not yield any answers?
The dispute between the US and China has weighed on the market, stoking traders’ worries that billions in escalating tariffs imposed by both countries on each other’s goods will hurt corporate earnings at a time when the global economy appears to be slowing.
‘‘If you can get President Trump and President Xi to even just come closer with their rhetoric and make a bit of progress on the trade front that could be the catalyst for markets to move higher,’’ Kravetz said.
Yeah, it's climate change, it's China, blame everyone and anything but the damn banksters running the looting schemes and enriching themselves beyond belief.
It may take more than a meeting to work out deep-seated issues between Washington and Beijing, which resumed talks over their trade dispute earlier this month. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. has asked its allies to stop using telecommunications equipment from Huawei, which is Chinese-owned. The report cited people familiar with the matter.
Bond prices fell Friday. The dollar fell. The euro weakened. The pound eased. Gold declined. Silver dropped. Copper slid.....
Free falling like a WTC tower on 9/11, 'eh?
--more--"
Amazon, take me away!
"Amazon warehouse workers protest in Europe on Black Friday" by Spencer Soper Bloomberg News November 23, 2018
Amazon.com Inc. employees in Europe protested warehouse working conditions, some using the slogan “we are not robots,” in another challenge for the world’s biggest online retailer heading into its busiest time of year.
The package you ordered may not arrive on time.
Alexa, where's my package??!!!!!!!!!
Workers in Germany, Spain, and France walked off the job at Amazon fulfillment centers on Black Friday, one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. In Italy and the United Kingdom, workers protested at several facilities, according to Bloomberg Law.
Good for them!
More than 600 German workers at the company’s Bad Hersfeld facility walked out on Friday morning local time. In Spain, workers at Amazon’s Madrid-area San Fernando de Henares facility planned a two-day strike Friday and Saturday. That facility employs 1,800 workers and was last on strike during Amazon Prime Day, another major shopping day for the company in May, according to UNI Global Union.
About 500 workers in the United Kingdom demonstrated at five Amazon warehouses, according to the GMB union. Membership in the union among Amazon employees is small, national officer Mick Rix said. Images on social media showed small groups of people gathered with banners from the union.
That's because $elf-$erving Bezos is virulently anti-union, as he says throw open the borders and let all the illegals in!
“What we’re saying is Jeff Bezos, you’re the richest man in the world, you have the wealth and ability to make sure your workers are treated with respect and dignity,” Rix said. “You as the wealthiest man in the world would prefer to spend your wealth on space travel rather than on the people who create your wealth.”
Actually, if he wanted to catch the first space ship off the planet and out of the solar system, I'm fine with it.
Bye!
Amazon said on Friday that the demonstrations in Europe did not disrupt operations and disputed the level of protest participation claimed by some unions. The company has invested about $31 billion and created more than 75,000 permanent jobs in Europe since 2010, it said in an e-mail.
Yeah, I can't see why workers would do this after Amazon has been so wonderful to you all.
Earlier this week, the company said it mistakenly shared customer data with undisclosed parties, a privacy misstep heading into the key holiday shopping period.....
Huh?
Yeah, minimize that!
--more--"
What about the red-blue divide?
Might want to keep that iPhone:
"Two men charged with murder in dragging death of teenager during iPhone robbery" by Matt Rocheleau Globe Staff November 23, 2018
Two Boston men who allegedly dragged a teen alongside their car while robbing him of an iPhone face murder charges after the teen died in the hospital, police and prosecutors said Friday.
Dejon W. Barnes, 18, and Kenneth R. Ford, 23, were charged with murdering 18-year-old Kemoni Miller, who died in a hospital Wednesday after four days on life support, according to a joint announcement from State Police and the Suffolk district attorney’s office.
During a recent online exchange, Miller had agreed to sell an iPhone XS to Barnes, and last Friday night, Miller went to complete the deal on Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester, authorities said.
Barnes arrived in a vehicle driven by Ford, authorities said. From the passenger’s seat, Barnes allegedly took the phone and closed the window on Miller’s arm as Ford drove away at a high speed.
Miller was dragged about a half-mile, authorities said. He suffered a serious head injury when he fell from the car and was taken to Boston Medical Center but never regained consciousness before his death there Wednesday morning.
Barnes, who is from Dorchester, and Ford, who is from Roxbury, were arrested early Sunday morning at a party in the West End and initially were charged with unarmed robbery, authorities said.
They were held on $100,000 cash bail each at their arraignments on the robbery charges Monday and are due back in court Dec. 4.
Arraignments on the murder charges have not yet been scheduled, authorities said.
State Police, including troopers assigned to the district attorney’s office, and Boston police used cellphone records, text messages, witness statements, video footage, and “other evidence” in their probe, authorities said.
They see you when your sleeping, they know when your awake, they know if you are blogging, so log out for goodness sake.
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They would never have gotten away with it if the vehicle was a GM.
All of the above makes the nominal lead, the next big question for the T, seem rather unimportant.
[flip to below fold]
O’Malley left out of group planning child abuse prevention summit
His silence on the seminary scandal is why.
Mourners consider new ways to scatter a loved one’s remains
I usually burn the Globes in the fireplace.
Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, and the double standard of success
Beyonce is building a better construction process.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
"Jerome Corsi, friend of Roger Stone, is in plea talks with Mueller" by Sharon LaFraniere and Maggie Haberman New York Times November 24, 2018
WASHINGTON — Jerome Corsi, a conspiracy theorist and ally of the former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone, is in plea negotiations with prosecutors working on the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
A person familiar with the talks said the prosecutors had presented Corsi with evidence he had not been truthful when investigators asked him whether he knew beforehand that WikiLeaks was going to publish e-mails stolen from Democratic computers during the campaign.
So this is where Mueller is going with the collusion, huh?
The hacks themselves, which they weren't, wouldn't prove collusion in any way, shape, or form.
The truth is, the the files weren't hacked at all, they were leaked by disgruntled DNC insiders like Seth Rich (subsequently murdered) who were angry that Clinton stole the nomination from Sanders.
What's never remarked upon regarding the controversy is this: the veracity of the documents Wikileaks published has never been challenged, not once.
Instead of investigating that, Mueller is looking to silence Corsi.
The special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his team are trying to discover whether anyone connected with the Trump campaign knew of or cooperated with the Russian intelligence operatives who hacked the Democratic systems and funneled the e-mails to WikiLeaks to undercut Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Although Corsi apparently had no direct connection to the Trump campaign, he was in touch with Stone, a former campaign adviser who communicated with senior campaign officials through the election. Stone claimed during the campaign he had a back channel to WikiLeaks, but now says he was merely bluffing to unsettle Clinton’s team. Stone also communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the online persona used by one or more Russian intelligence operatives who hacked the Democratic systems.
Looks like guilt by association.
Although Corsi, 72, insisted in an interview two weeks ago with The New York Times that he had told investigators the truth, the special counsel’s office has decided his text messages and e-mails contradict some of his statements about whether he knew details about the purloined materials before they were released, according to people familiar with those discussions.
Gee, Ivanka's emails sure disappeared fast, huh?
David Gray, Corsi’s lawyer, declined to comment on the plea talks, which were first reported by The Washington Post.
Federal investigators have questioned a host of Stone’s associates about his relationship with WikiLeaks. Corsi is among a string of witnesses who have recently testified before a federal grand jury about the matter. In the interview with The Times, he said prosecutors quizzed him for about 40 hours, then warned his lawyer that the next phase of their talks would involve a possible plea agreement.
“I took that to mean they were planning to indict me” on charges of lying to federal authorities, Corsi said. “I still believe I’ve told them the truth, and to the best of my ability and the best of my recollection,” he added, but “my memory of 2016 is not perfect, by any means.”
Asked about the plea talks Friday, Stone said, “My friend Dr. Corsi has been under a tremendous amount of pressure, and it is beginning to affect him profoundly.” Stone insisted, as he has repeatedly, that he had only secondhand information, at best, about WikiLeaks’ plans to disrupt the presidential race.
Among other issues, investigators have been asking about an Aug. 21, 2016, Twitter message in which Stone predicted that John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, would soon face his “time in the barrel.” Stone posted his message six weeks before WikiLeaks began releasing tens of thousands of Podesta’s e-mails, throwing the Clinton campaign on the defensive a month before the November election.
As if that affected the already set-in-stone impression most voters had of her.
The Wikileaks only confirmed the corruption we knew was there.
Corsi has publicly backed Stone’s explanation of the message, saying Stone was predicting that Podesta would face controversy about his overseas business dealings, not stolen e-mails. “Having reviewed my records, I am now confident that I am the source behind Stone’s tweet,” he wrote in an early 2017 article on Infowars, a site that promotes conspiracy theories.
In a broadcast on YouTube this month, Corsi insisted he had possessed no inside information or ties to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. He compared the special counsel’s team to the Gestapo, saying “they asked the same questions over and over again,” until “my mind was mush.”
That's how this government operates, yeah.
Like Stone, he said he had relied mostly on public information to “connect the dots” about the role of WikiLeaks in the November election.....
--more--"
All they are doing is throwing more rocks, and how odd is it that the Globe omitted the cellphone calls from Stone to Credico?
Pardon the pun, but Credico has no credibility.
Whatever happened to Assange anyway?
"Editorial: Julian Assange: Bad guy, yes. Criminal? Not so fast." November 23, 2018
Love him or hate him, Julian Assange shouldn’t be prosecuted by the United States.
The WikiLeaks founder, a divisive figure who’s either a transparency hero or a Russian pawn who helped elect Donald Trump, depending on whom you ask, has been living inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London for the past six years. Assange has been afraid to leave the embassy, fearing authorities would arrest him and extradite him to the United States to face charges related to releasing a vast amount of US government documents in 2010.
It turns out those fears were well founded. Last week, it emerged that there is a secret indictment of Assange, which was accidentally revealed in an unrelated legal filing.
We don’t know what the charges are, when they were filed, or what evidence the government has to support them. It’s always possible that there’s more to the Assange case than meets the eye — and if there is credible evidence that he hacked e-mail accounts, conspired with others to do so, or committed other crimes, he should be charged. But based on what is known publicly, there are good reasons to be skeptical of his prosecution, and to fear it could set a damaging precedent that would weaken press freedom.
Assange has published information that exposed government wrongdoing, including the abuse of detainees in Iraq. He also published information no responsible publication would touch, including social security numbers and other private material that’s nobody’s business. His cavalier publication of sensitive information may have endangered lives, although there is no evidence that anyone has been killed as a result of WikiLeaks disclosures. The leaks came from sources like former Army private Chelsea Manning, who clearly violated the law by giving classified files to WikiLeaks and was punished for it, but filing criminal charges against the recipient of those leaks is dangerous territory.
The Globe is only worried now because they could find themselves in the crosshairs like the rest of us out here!
Means a hell of a lot more than whether the self-serving hack Acosta got his press pass back, huh?
Assange’s is, no doubt, a complicated case; and a man totally beholden to one foreign government (Ecuador) and suspected of coordinating with another (Russia), doesn’t fit the traditional definition of an independent journalist. Some US officials argue that WikiLeaks should not be granted the same latitude as a conventional media organization, but the fact that Assange is such an obnoxious, compromised character shouldn’t lead anyone to excuse what the government seems to be doing by targeting him. A free press needs to be free even for people like Assange. Prosecuting him solely because of what he published would have a chilling effect on US journalism.....
Let me know when you find some.
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Related:
"The head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, who oversaw the hacking of the Democratic Party’s computers during the United States’ 2016 presidential election, died on Wednesday after a long illness, Russian state news agencies reported. Col. Gen. Igor V. Korobov, 63, had not been seen in public for months and was notably absent from a ceremony on Nov. 2 marking the 100th anniversary of the military intelligence agency, known as the G.R.U. Historically a secretive, little-understood agency, the G.R.U. under General Korobov emerged as Russia’s primary tool of global disruption. Mr. Korobov was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for the release of emails stolen from the Democratic Party in support of Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016. Under his watch, the G.R.U. was implicated in the theft and publication of documents belonging to the presidential campaign of Emmanuel Macron in France, the hacking of computers of the global antidoping watchdog and the poisoning of a former G.R.U. officer, Sergei V. Skripal, with a highly potent nerve agent in Britain this year. G.R.U. operatives also play a key role in the wars in Ukraine and Syria....."
Well, that settles that.
One night even say he was aborted.
Also see:
"The House Judiciary Committee has issued subpoenas for former FBI director James Comey and former attorney general Loretta Lynch to appear for closed-door interviews in a probe of how federal law enforcement officials handled investigations of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and the Trump campaign’s alleged Russia ties. The orders direct Comey to appear on Dec. 3, while Lynch is to appear on Dec. 4, to speak with members of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees, but Comey has already objected to the format of the interview, and on Thursday, his lawyer promised he would challenge the subpoena in court....."
I was wondering who other than Blasé-Ford could dictate to Congre$$ the terms of their testimony, and there they are. You can add the name Rosenstein, too.
You know, if you or I were to do such a thing we would be under arrest and in jail!
Editorial
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
"Chinese presence in Pakistan is targeted in strike on consulate in Karachi" by Meher Ahmad and Salman Masood New York Times November 24, 2018
KARACHI, Pakistan — In the most significant strike against Chinese interests in Pakistan in years, three militants assaulted the Chinese Consulate in the southern port city of Karachi on Friday morning, killing two policemen and two civilians at a checkpoint before being gunned down by the security forces.
Gee, who would want to do that, and why?
On a day of violence that included a bombing that killed at least 30 people in northwestern Pakistan, the near-miss attack on the consulate in Karachi was a rare moment of upheaval for a tightening economic and strategic partnership between Pakistan and China.
That's a clue. Who would want to put a wedge between that?
A Twitter account associated with the Baluchistan Liberation Army, a separatist group in the sprawling and violent province of Baluchistan, said three of its members had “embraced martyrdom” in an attack on the Chinese Consulate, and a spokesman for the group was quoted by Reuters as accusing China of “exploiting our resources.”
BLA = CIA!!
The stench is undeniable!
Pakistan has been a showcase for China’s huge international development program, the Belt and Road Initiative, in recent years. China is estimated to have spent some $62 billion on those projects in Pakistan, mostly to build a transportation corridor through Baluchistan to a new, Chinese-operated deepwater port in the Pakistani town of Gwadar.
And who would want to stop that?
The road corridor being built through Baluchistan, which is also rich in natural resources, is one of the most strategic projects associated with the Belt and Road Initiative. Its stated purpose is to greatly reduce shipping costs and time for Chinese goods, but it would also give China an important alternative if faced with naval blockades by the United States or its Asian allies.
The perpetrators couldn't be more damn obvious!!
Baluchistan has also been the center of two resilient insurgencies, making it one of the most sensitive areas for Pakistan’s powerful military establishment: Ethnic Baluch separatists there have been pursued by a stifling Pakistani security presence, and part of the leadership of the Afghan Taliban also continues to take shelter there, in the city of Quetta.
In a video sent to an Indian news service in March, Aslam Baloch, a senior commander of the Baluchistan Liberation Army, accused China and Pakistan of plundering resources in Baluchistan, which his group wants to turn into an independent state.
Tell it to the Kashmiris.
Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement on Twitter insisting that such attacks could not shake the relationship between China and Pakistan. He said the strike had clearly been intended “to scare Chinese investors” and came as a result of trade agreements announced during his trip to China this month.
The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, the capital, later issued a statement extending condolences over the deaths and expressing faith in Pakistani security.
“We believe that the Pakistani side is able to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan,” the statement said, adding that any attempt to undermine the countries’ relationship was “doomed to fail.”
After the attack in Karachi, another bombing — this one in the Orakzai region of northwestern Pakistan — showed the continuing threat posed by militants on a separate front.
At least 30 people were killed and 40 or more wounded when a bomb blast ripped through a fruit and vegetable market in the Hangu district there, officials said. The market was near a seminary for Shi’ite Muslims, a minority in Pakistan that is often targeted by extremist Sunni groups, but the dead included a mix of Pakistanis.
And cui bono?
“The dead include Sunnis, Shi’ites, and a couple of Sikh community members,” said a local official, Mutahir Zeb Khan. “We are identifying the dead.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, which ended a brief lull in violence in the restive northwestern region, where the Pakistani Taliban were once active.
Khan, the prime minister, implicitly linked the two attacks Friday, saying they represented “a planned campaign to create unrest in the country by those who do not want Pakistan to prosper.”
And we know who specializes in directing destabilization campaigns in foreign countries, too. And why.
The State Department condemned the attacks and commended the Pakistani security forces’ response to the Chinese Consulate, in a statement made Friday.
“The United States stands with the Pakistani people in the face of these terrorist acts, and will continue to seek opportunities to cooperate with the Pakistani government to combat these threats in the region,” said Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the State Department.....
Crocodile tears isn't a strong enough analogy.
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Related:
"The suicide bomber that targeted the Chinese consulate in Karachi used a foreign-made C-4 plastic explosive, said Pakistani police, who suggested Saturday that the attack was orchestrated in India. Counter-terrorism officer Umar Khitab said that authorities are investigating whether Baluch separatist commander Aslam Achhu, who they believe masterminded the attack, is in India....."
I wouldn't doubt it.
More loads of crap:
"Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who arrived in Abu Dhabi late on Thursday, is also scheduled to visit other Mideast countries, where he will be warmly received by Arab leaders who have stood firmly by his side amid international outrage over Khashoggi’s horrific slaying. The crown prince will round off his tour with a stop in Argentina where he’ll come face-to-face with world leaders on Nov. 30 for the two-day Group of 20 summit. Among those expected to attend that summit are President Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The crown prince’s tour abroad underscores the strong support he continues to have from his 82-year-old father, King Salman....."
A Friday leftover for you:
"Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi killing" by Josh Dawsey Washington Post November 23, 2018
PALM BEACH, Fla. — ‘‘Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place,’’ President Trump said.
He seemed to suggest that all US allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, ‘‘we wouldn’t be able to have anyone for an ally.’’
Not only is the statement incredible coming from a president, but it shows that Trump is woke.
He better be careful. This is the second time he has told the CIA to shove their propaganda.
Not only is the statement incredible coming from a president, but it shows that Trump is woke.
He better be careful. This is the second time he has told the CIA to shove their propaganda.
Trump also threatened to close the southern border if he decided that officials in Mexico had lost control of security there, again wielding the presence of the migrant caravan in Tijuana as fodder for his call for an immigration crackdown, returning to a recurring pre-election theme, the president warned the nation about threats he said were being posed by a caravan.
Related: "The migrant caravan that left Honduras in mid-October was mostly well received by the towns it passed through along the way to the border. Even cities with few resources made sure the migrants had food and a place to rest, but....."
But what, Globe?
See: Mexico mulls allowing migrants to stay there pending US asylum bid
My print copy was WaPoo.
Also see: Fights, escapes, harm: Migrant kids struggle in facilities
There they go again, waving children at you!
That reminds me, nothing about the children of Yemen and Gaza in the paper or these articles.
Related: "The migrant caravan that left Honduras in mid-October was mostly well received by the towns it passed through along the way to the border. Even cities with few resources made sure the migrants had food and a place to rest, but....."
But what, Globe?
See: Mexico mulls allowing migrants to stay there pending US asylum bid
My print copy was WaPoo.
Also see: Fights, escapes, harm: Migrant kids struggle in facilities
There they go again, waving children at you!
That reminds me, nothing about the children of Yemen and Gaza in the paper or these articles.
Trump also said that he had ‘‘given the OK’’ for US troops to use lethal force against anyone crossing the border who represented a threat. US military forces are typically not allowed to take such actions, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has already signaled his disinclination to change that policy.
So we are going to do an Israel now?
The only difference will be the jew$papers screaming bloody murder this time!
So we are going to do an Israel now?
The only difference will be the jew$papers screaming bloody murder this time!
Separately, Trump struck an unusually political tone in calls to members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays, and throughout, Trump was sure to congratulate himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch.
He later told reporters, ‘‘I made a tremendous difference in this country,’’ he said. ‘‘This country is so much stronger now than it was when I took office and you wouldn’t believe it and when you see it, we’ve gotten so much stronger people don’t even believe it.’’
The president’s televised holiday phone call with US military officers was meant to deflect criticism he has faced for not yet visiting a war zone, as previous presidents have done. He seemed to hint he would visit soldiers.
Yet if the Thanksgiving morning activity was meant to allay one political firestorm, Trump’s remarks on Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi only inflamed another.
Time and again, the president has sided with Saudi officials and their explanations of the events leading to the killing, rather than with his own country’s intelligence community.
Trump sided anew against the CIA on Thursday, noting that in Saudi Arabia ‘‘at the top level they say they did not commit this atrocity.’’
Again on Thursday, Trump indicated that the ally’s economic contributions weighed on him more than the death of a US resident.
‘‘Do people really want me to give up hundreds of thousands of jobs?’’ he asked when pressed about whether Saudi Arabia’s actions deserved a stiff penalty. Again, he credited the nation for a drop in oil prices.
Well, yeah, since it means the slaughter of people in conquests based on lies that benefit a certain chosen cabal and that's all. I don't want an economy based on war.
Well, yeah, since it means the slaughter of people in conquests based on lies that benefit a certain chosen cabal and that's all. I don't want an economy based on war.
He alluded to the close relationship that Mohammed had forged with Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner over the course of the administration. The two have repeatedly talked as part of Kushner’s Middle Eastern portfolio.
‘‘Till this happened, there were a lot of people saying a lot of good things about the crown prince,’’ Trump said.
Trump continued for a second day his dispute with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. over the judgments of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit......
See: No Thanks!
And now Trump thinks he is going to help him with transgenders in the military?
What is he smoking in that White House anyway?
And now Trump thinks he is going to help him with transgenders in the military?
What is he smoking in that White House anyway?
--more--"
"May takes her case for Brexit to the people" by Benjamin Mueller New York Times November 23, 2018
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May, estranged from much of her own party and dealing with scorn even from supposed allies in business, is trying to apply pressure to reluctant lawmakers by building public approval for the deal.
Since weathering a bumbling leadership challenge from proponents of a clean split from Europe within her Conservative Party, May has seen her popularity rebound. More people backed her staying on as prime minister than standing down in a YouGov poll this week, a reversal of the results from a week earlier, but the draft deal itself remains deeply unpopular, with only 23 percent of people saying in a YouGov poll this week that they supported it, and only 3 percent saying they did so strongly.
May ducked the thorniest questions put to her by radio callers Friday, in a preview of what looked to be a week of public campaigning for the deal.
The feeling that May’s deal was worse than remaining in the bloc was reported to be spreading among Conservative lawmakers.....
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"British and EU negotiators agree on Brexit plan" by Stephen Castle New York Times November 23, 2018
LONDON — Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, still faces the daunting task of selling her Brexit plan to British lawmakers and hopes to accomplish that using the latest text, which promises many things to many people, as part of what it calls an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership.”
While pledging “deep and close” — but not frictionless — future trade ties, it hinted at leeway for Britain to choose a different economic path. Despite some last-minute objections to the draft Brexit plan from Spain, over provisions concerning Gibraltar, analysts expect the deal to be signed off by EU leaders Sunday. Assuming it is, May then faces a huge challenge in the British Parliament, where many lawmakers have already expressed their opposition.
Many of them fret about the legally binding withdrawal agreement. Under the plans, the whole of the United Kingdom might remain in a European customs union temporarily, but critics fear that this could become a permanent arrangement, preventing the country from pursuing new trade deals around the world.
The document agreed on Thursday held out the prospect that technology could solve this thorny question — an apparent sop to the hard-line, pro-Brexit faction. Yet the declaration is, in truth, a wish list for future negotiations — one that avoided the central question of whether Britain would stay deeply enmeshed in the bloc’s economic structures, and therefore accept its rules, or chart a different course.
Although the draft political declaration was intended to reassure some opponents, its critics immediately dismissed it. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labor Party, called it “half-baked,” a “vague menu of options” and “26 pages of waffle.” Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party, wrote on Twitter that it was so vague that it “adds up to a blindfold Brexit.”
Mark Francois, a senior pro-Brexit Conservative lawmaker, told the BBC that the document was best described as a “fig leaf” and “26 pages of political camouflage.”
“Everything the EU wanted from the negotiations has ended up in the withdrawal agreement — which is a legally enforceable international treaty,” said Priti Patel, another Brexit supporter and Conservative lawmaker.
Away from the political arena, Simon Fraser, a former top official at the British Foreign Office and a managing partner at Flint Global, a consultancy firm, said the document reflected “good work” by British officials and that it moved the debate on to a new stage, but.....
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"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg won’t testify before 7 countries’ lawmakers" by Tony Romm Washington Post November 23, 2018
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is ‘‘unable’’ to testify at a rare joint hearing with lawmakers from seven countries - representing more than 368 million people - who remain frustrated about the social media giant’s handling of misinformation online.
Instead, Facebook will dispatch Richard Allan, the company’s vice president of policy solutions, to answer questions at a Tuesday hearing featuring top policymakers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Latvia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, representatives from the U.K. said Friday.
Zuckerberg’s decision against testifying at the global gathering could add to Facebook’s woes with governments around the world, which have grown frustrated with the company’s business practices. It’s uncommon for seven countries to band together and seek to question a chief executive, reflecting the heightened threat of regulation and other punishments now facing Facebook and its peers in Silicon Valley.
In Europe, lawmakers recently have taken aim at the way social media companies handle users’ personal data and combat hate speech and terrorism online. The European Union previously grilled Zuckerberg at a short, controversial hearing in May. In Brazil, meanwhile, Facebook has had to battle back misinformation on its site during its most recent election, while WhatsApp emerged as a major flash point for candidates who felt it had been deployed deliberately to spread falsehoods.
I'm sure the Russians were behind it all, even gifting Brazil with their own Trump.
The push for Zuckerberg to testify began earlier this year with the U.K., where Damian Collins, the leader of a top, tech-focused parliamentary committee, has probed Facebook over mishaps, including the company’s entanglement with Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that had improperly accessed personal data of about 87 million Facebook users.
Of course, it is okay when Democrats do it.
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{@@##$$%%^^&&}
"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friend offered to testify Tsarnaev knew his brother was involved in Waltham triple slaying" by Matt Rocheleau Globe Staff November 23, 2018
Newly unsealed court documents in the case against Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev provide new insight — and raise new questions — about a still-unsolved 2011 triple murder in Waltham.
One document revealed that Tsarnaev’s college classmate Dias Kadyrbayev was the previously unnamed prosecution witness offering to testify that Tsarnaev knew that his older brother was involved in the Waltham killings.
Kadyrbayev said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told him in the fall of 2012 that Tamerlan “had committed jihad” in Waltham, according to an August 2014 letter from federal prosecutors describing conversations they had with Kadyrbayev’s attorney just days before Kadyrbayev pleaded to conspiracy and obstruction charges.
He was coerced into saying it because he was part of his circle of friends.
On Sept. 12, 2011, Brendan Mess, 25, once a close friend of Tamerlan’s, Erik H. Weissman, 31, and Raphael M. Teken, 37, were discovered in Mess’s apartment with their throats slit and marijuana scattered on their bodies. Presumed to be a drug-related crime, the case went cold.
It's another leg in the Marathon bombing.
Nearly two years later, Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, planted two bombs near the Marathon finish line that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others in April 2013. The brothers also killed an MIT police officer.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a police shootout in Watertown a few days after the bombing, and his brother has been convicted and sentenced to death in the bombing. The documents were unsealed as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pursues an appeal of his sentence.
That's the conventional myth narrative surrounding the staged and scripted crisis drills gone live that was piggybacked on by private contractors with a real bomb.
Related: Tsarnaev's Cell
He didn't have a very good defense.
Kadyrbayev, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friend at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, pleaded guilty to trying to throw away Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s laptop and a backpack containing explosive powder from fireworks after he recognized Tsarnaev in FBI photos released to the public after the bombings.
Kadyrbayev was released from federal prison in August and was due to be deported to Kazakhstan, where he is a citizen.
The Middlesex district attorney’s office, which has been investigating the Waltham killings, has remained tight-lipped about the case. No one has been charged.
A month after the Marathon bombing, Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s friend, Ibragim Todashev, 27, was fatally shot after attacking an FBI agent and State Police officer in Florida. He had allegedly confessed on tape to helping Tamerlan kill the three men in Waltham.
No, what really happened was the FBI was trying to force him to sign a confession for something he didn't do, and when he wouldn't they executed him.
Related:
FBI Fires Away in Florida
Globe Fogging Up FBI Shooting in Florida
Long Jog in the Boston Globe
Another Leg in Marathon Bombing Posts
Government Snow Job?
Last Leg of Marathon Bombing Posts
Marathon Bombing Finish Line
Over the Top(sfield)!
Isn't it all?
That comes from a Father's Love and cover-up is now complete and buried.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s attorneys sought unsuccessfully during the trial to raise the Waltham case to paint a picture of Tamerlan Tsarnaev as the mastermind behind the bombings and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a pawn acting under his older brother’s influence.
Another unsealed document showed that online searches for information about the Waltham killings were made about one week after they happened on a laptop computer belonging to Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s wife, Katherine Russell.
Yet another unsealed document raised new questions about Khairullozhon Matanov, a Quincy cab driver who was a friend of the Tsarnaev brothers and who took them both out to dinner only hours after the bombings.....
He mentioned it to a lawyer during a cab ride.
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Isn't life in prison enough?
UPDATE: Tsarnaev’s lawyers say jurors lied and Marathon bombing trial should have been moved
