Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Coming Up For Air

I can't hold my breath that long.

The top story is a ‘another wakeup call,’ the firestorm that Susan Collins is in middle of is beneath the fold, and this is my page A2 National lead (wimping out?).

Part of the problem is there is no pattern like Weinstein and his wife keeps him on a short leash with his balls in a box. The only thing that has changed since 1991 is that victimhood is now a privilege even in the comical charade the confirmation has become.

Related:

"A star collegiate golfer from Spain was attacked and killed by a homeless stranger while she was playing a round alone near her university campus in Ames, Iowa, police said. Celia Barquin Arozamena, who was working toward joining the pro tour while finishing her degree at Iowa State University, was stabbed Monday morning and left dead in a pond on the golf course, police said. Her body was found after fellow players saw her abandoned golf bag. She was 22. Collin Daniel Richards, a 22-year-old with a history of violence and drug use, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Investigators said Richards had recently told an acquaintance he had ‘‘an urge to rape and kill a woman’’ and that he was living in a homeless encampment near the golf course in Ames, about 30 miles north of Des Moines. Police said they recovered a knife and bloody clothing linked to Richards, who had completed a prison sentence in June and had prior convictions for burglary and harassment."

I can see why Long doesn't want the barracks near his home, but at least he wasn't an illegal, and it's a good thing Kavanaugh plays basketball and not golf. Too bad his accuser was also used as a pawn.

Even the behavior of saints has forced us to ask questions of ourselves to bring about necessary change and take a second look at them.

Gas explosions put spotlight on National Grid lockout, safety

The prime suspects?

Other than that, the first lawsuits have been filed amid sharp differences over the cause and the stroking has begun over who will pay?

Jay Gonzalez’s revenue plan would tax state’s major colleges and universties (sic)

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Already gulping and gasping by the time I turn to page A2:

"Trump rolls back pollution rules for drilling on US lands" Associated Press  September 18, 2018

BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration rolled back an Obama-era rule meant to curb climate-changing pollution on Tuesday, easing restrictions on energy companies that allow huge volumes of natural gas to escape after drilling it from US lands. 

Smells so bad, but just wait.

The move rescinds much of a 2016 rule that forced energy companies to capture methane, a key contributor to climate change. The replacement rule from the Interior Department does not have the same mandates for companies to reduce gas pollution.

In other words, it's one of the executive orders Obama put forward in late 2016 after he lost the election (let's face it, the rejection of Clinton was also a rejection of his eight years of criminal and negligent stewardship). He didn't do anything about it before then.

It comes a week after the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed weakening a similar rule for emissions from public and private lands.

‘‘We’re for clean air and water, but at the same time, we’re for reasonable regulations,’’ Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told reporters.

Methane is a component of natural gas that’s frequently wasted through leaks or intentional releases during drilling operations. The gas is considered a more potent contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide, although it occurs in smaller volumes.

That's why they want a carbon tax on you and not a methane tax on gas and oil companies.

The Obama rule had been tied up in the courts ever since its adoption. It was put on hold in April by a federal judge in Wyoming.....

Meaning it never went into effect, so Trump effectively rolled back nothing!!

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Did you notice that they never used the f-word (fracking)?

Related:

"The head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog office announced his retirement Tuesday, leaving subordinates to pursue ongoing ethics probes."

Georgia has stalled in face of voting system risks

The black woman better win then.

Town accused of bias against Orthodox Jews settles lawsuit

For those who doubt the awesomeness of Jewish power.

"Pope Francis continues to be far more liked than disliked, with roughly one-quarter of the public saying they have an unfavorable impression of him, and a sizable share holding no opinion, but the drop-off is notable from earlier in his papacy, when his messages about acceptance toward gay people and other groups received widespread positive media attention, fueling his popularity....."

Trump must be envious (or proud); however, think of what a band of sick pedophile perverts they were giving positive media attention to in the name of pushing their sick agenda. 

It's a disgusting pre$$ is so many ways!

"A Chicago woman has been charged with making false statements about her contact with a former St. Paul’s School teacher to a grand jury investigating abuse at the school, according to the New Hampshire attorney general’s office. Stephanie A. O’Connell, 28, has been charged with one count of false swearing and one count of conspiracy to commit false swearing, the AG’s office announced Monday. Both counts are misdemeanors. Officials said she made false statements about David O. Pook to the Merrimack County grand jury."

Umm, paging Brett Kavanaugh. 

Of course, we all know a woman would never do that.

Former teacher at St. Paul’s is arrested after alleged relationship with student

Yes, it was ‘badly handled,’ but they are still pursuing charges based on a report that substantiates new allegations of sexual misconduct against 10 ex-staffers, including a late congressman (that would be the trailblazing Gerry Studds, who taught at the ‘haven for predators!’).

[PAGE A3 FULL PAGE TOTAL WINE AD] 

Just thought you might need one after all that.

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"In North Korea, shouts for reunification and peace greet South’s leader" by Choe Sang-Hun New York Times  September 19, 2018

SEOUL — President Moon Jae-in of South Korea was greeted by throngs of North Koreans shouting “Reunification of the fatherland!” as he arrived in the North on Tuesday on a high-stakes mission to persuade its leader, Kim Jong Un, to commit to start dismantling his nuclear weapons program.

Moon is holding his third summit with Kim, a three-day visit during which the two will discuss improving inter-Korean ties and easing tensions along their countries’ border.

The big question hovering over the talks is whether Kim will agree to take steps to convince Washington that he is willing to denuclearize. US officials want to see concrete steps from the North, including submitting a full list of its nuclear weapons and facilities and fissile materials, and they want it to freeze its nuclear activities.

You mean he must appease them? 

Beyond that, think about what they are asking. The U.S. wants a list of what could basically be considered bombing sites. 

Yeah, just turn those right over to the U.S. like Hussein did. 

Kim expressed optimism Tuesday about the future of the negotiations, thanking Moon for helping bring about his June summit meeting with President Trump in Singapore.

“Thanks to that meeting, the situation around the Korean peninsula has stabilized and we can now expect more progress,” Kim said at the start of a two-hour meeting with Moon at the headquarters of the ruling Workers’ Party, according to pool reports from South Korean journalists in Pyongyang, the North’s capital.

What I think we have here, and what I think was decided a long time ago, is Kim knowing that the South, Russia, and China, are going to work around and, if necessary, leave the U.S. behind regarding peace. Russia and China gave him reassurances should the U.S. attack, and Trump is tagging along because he also knows this.

Those who don't know it are the bureaucrats in the bowels of the Deep State, Military-Industrial Complex, and AmeriKan Empire, whose mouthpiece pre$$ spins it as tough Trump getting them to the table over sanctions!

Kim greeted Moon on Tuesday morning at the Pyongyang airport, kicking off a spectacle that stressed the ethnic affinity of the two Koreas, while giving few clues to whether he is willing to give up his nuclear weapons.

When Moon stepped off his plane, a smiling Kim was waiting on the tarmac with a military honor guard and a large crowd of Pyongyang citizens mobilized for his arrival.

As the motorcade carrying Moon and Kim to a state guesthouse wove through Pyongyang, huge crowds, mostly women clad in bright flowing dresses, lined the boulevard, waving pink flowers and chanting for reunification.

Over the years, the North’s propaganda toward the South has mostly focused on ridiculing it as an “American running dog,” but when it seeks warmer ties with the South, it also stresses the ethnic affinity of the two nations.....

You know what propaganda I'm sick and tired of?

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Yup.

RelatedNorth Korea says it will dismantle nuclear complex

And there it is again!

"Cybersecurity firm sees more Iran hacks as US sanctions loomed" by Jon Gambrell Associated Press  September 18, 2018

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian government-aligned group of hackers launched a major campaign targeting Mideast energy firms and others ahead of US sanctions on Iran, a cybersecurity firm said Tuesday, warning further attacks remain possible as America reimposes others on Tehran.

While the firm FireEye said the so-called ‘‘spear-phishing’’ e-mail campaign only involves hackers stealing information from infected computers, it involves a similar type of malware previously used to inject a program that destroyed tens of thousands of terminals in Saudi Arabia.

The company said that raises the danger level ahead of America reimposing crushing sanctions on Iran’s oil industry in early November.

‘‘Whenever we see Iranian threat groups active in this region, particularly in line with geopolitical events, we have to be concerned they might either be engaged in or prepositioning for a disruptive attack,’’ Alister Shepherd, a director for a FireEye subsidiary, said. 

Yeah, they just laid the groundwork for a coming false flag in which Iran is to be fingered for a preemptive strike (remember that term) that destroys the U.S. financial $y$tem based on the petro-dollar?

Of course, it would never be the false-flagging USraeli governments or the $oftware $ecurity firms that stand to benefit.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on FireEye’s report.

FireEye, which often works with governments and large corporations, refers to the group of Iranian hackers as APT33, an acronym for ‘‘advanced persistent threat.’’ APT33 used phishing e-mail attacks with fake job opportunities to gain access to the companies affected, faking domain names to make the messages look legitimate. Analysts described the e-mails as ‘‘spear-phishing’’ as they appear targeted in nature.

FireEye first discussed the group last year around the same time. This year, the company briefed journalists after offering presentations to potential government clients in Dubai at a luxury hotel and yacht club on the man-made, sea-horse-shaped Daria IslandWhile acknowledging their sales pitch, FireEye warned of the danger such Iranian government-aligned hacking groups pose.

I re$t my ca$e. 

Iran is believed to be behind the spread of Shamoon in 2012, which hit Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Qatari natural gas producer RasGas. The virus deleted hard drives and then displayed a picture of a burning American flag on computer screens. Saudi Aramco ultimately shut down its network and destroyed more than 30,000 computers.

Who was behind Stuxnet, Flame, or Duqu (Israel remains the prime suspect)?

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Yeah, the propaganda that comes with mty pre$$ is suffocating!

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"Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe to publish book" by Matt Zapotosky The Washington Post  September 18, 2018

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, who spent 22 years in the FBI, has become something of a lightning rod in the political battles over the FBI and the probe of whether Trump’s campaign interfered in the 2016 election.

A frequent punching bag for President Trump, McCabe was fired from the bureau in March just 26 hours before he could retire, after the inspector general presented Justice Department leadership with allegations that McCabe had authorized a disclosure to the media and then lied repeatedly to investigators about it.

Other than that he was a quiet guy who kept copious notes and kept his mouth shut. It ended up making him his share of friends and enemies.

McCabe alleged that his termination was politically motivated, meant to discredit the bureau and the ongoing Russia probe, but his problems would deepen. The inspector general soon released his findings publicly and referred them to federal prosecutors to explore whether the FBI’s former No. 2 official should be charged with a crime. The DC US attorney’s office in recent months has been using a grand jury in that investigation — a sign of its seriousness.

McCabe was once a key player in the Russia investigation, having taken over leadership of the bureau after Trump fired FBI director James Comey.....

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One can only hope the book tells you more than that shallow and superficial pos.

"Trump suggests his declassifying Russia documents will expose FBI wrongdoing" by Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett The Washington Post  September 18, 2018

President Trump on Tuesday repeated a specious claim that the FBI spied on his campaign and suggested that his decision to declassify documents from the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election would reveal misconduct by federal law enforcement.

So the Washington ComPost is going to deny what everybody knows, huh?

In morning tweets apparently quoting from a television appearance by Representative Peter King, a New York Republican, Trump wrote, ‘‘What will be disclosed is that there was no basis for these FISA Warrants, that the important information was kept from the court, there’s going to be a disproportionate influence of the (Fake) Dossier. Basically you have a counter terrorism tool used to spy on a presidential campaign, which is unprecedented in our history.’’

Yeah, I saw that show. Everything he said was true, and Obama was Nixon on steroids. Nixon only used the national security and law enforcement agencies to help him try and cover it up while lying to them; Obama used those very same agencies to actually commit the offenses. That is why he basically has to shut up, imho.

And that reminds me, remember when the pre$$ (and the WaComPo) used to lunge at these kinds of documents rather than running from them like they do now?

The tweet is a reference to Trump’s Monday night order that the Justice Department declassify materials related to the Russia investigation, including portions of a secret court order to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The order was issued under what is known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is commonly referred to in national security circles as FISA.

I chided the Globe for ignoring it and they turned the page in him long ago.

Democrats and former national security officials have said Trump’s directive is a dangerous one — threatening to undermine an investigation of his own campaign and potentially revealing confidential law enforcement sources. Representative Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday that the order was a ‘‘clear abuse of power’’ and that based on his conversations with federal law enforcement officials, the FBI and Justice Department would consider the release of these materials ‘‘a red line that must not be crossed as they may compromise sources and methods.’’

Between this and Kavanaugh, I am entirely disgusted with Democrats and will never vote for one ever again even there is no other name on the ballot. I'll leave it blank then.

The Justice Department, though, offered a somewhat muted initial reaction, saying in a statement that such a command from the president ‘‘triggers a declassification review process that is conducted by various agencies within the intelligence community,’’ and officials were ‘‘already working with the Director of National Intelligence to comply with the President’s order.’’

To not comply would be to defy the president and commit treason under the Constitution, so they will slowwalk and stonewall.

It was not immediately clear how soon any of the material could be made public.

That is where the print copy got redacted.

The president’s conservative allies had this month appealed directly to the president to release the materials, and they praised Trump’s directive as a win for transparency. Like the president, they have accused the Justice Department of hiding information they say would be damaging to special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference.

That's the thing: Obama came in as the transparent president and prosecuted more whistleblowers while classifying more material than any president in history (just part of the illusion that made up that hypocritical persona and pre$$ imagery during his tenure) while this president has been one of the most transparent yet. 

In addition to ordering the declassification of the Page order, Trump commanded the Justice Department to declassify interviews conducted in the preparation of it. He also commanded the department to release the investigation-related text messages of former Justice Department and FBI officials who he has frequently criticized: former FBI director James Comey, former deputy director Andrew McCabe, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, former FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and former Justice Department official Bruce Ohr.

The Globe never got up again after Strzoking out, but who remembers, huh (come to think of it, where has Lanny been?), and the path you want to follow is Ohr's.

Thousands of text messages from Strzok and Page already have been made public. That is because the inspector general discovered the two, who were involved in both the Russia investigation and the probe of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server, were exchanging anti-Trump sentiments, and their communications were eventually turned over to Congress and released publicly.

Since The Washington Post first revealed the existence of the Page surveillance order last year, details of the classified court orders also have been trickling out.....

That is because at bottom, the Globe is literally a Clinton paper.

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Related: 

"Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes. The third was a Republican donor with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor. At the time, the emissary was also promoting a secret plan to use private contractors to destabilize Iran. The meetings, which have not been reported previously, are the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to the Trump campaign....." 

I'm sorry, NYT, SAY AGAIN?

The contractor is Erik Prince (brother of Betsy DeVos) of Blackwater fame, the specialist is Joel Zamel, whose company employs several Israeli former intelligence officers specializing in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media and was paid up to $2 million, and the emissary would be the infamous Israeli fixer and interventionist George Nader, a convicted pedophile with a shadowy past, who frequently met with Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn.

"Senate backs bill to avert shutdown, boost military spending" by Matthew Daly Associated Press  September 18, 2018

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday approved a wide-ranging, $854 billion bill that funds the military and a host of civilian agencies for the next year and provides a short-term fix to keep the government open through early December.

The measure includes $675 billion for the Defense Department and boosts military pay by 2.6 percent, the largest pay raise in nine years. The bill also approves spending for Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and other agencies, including a 5 percent boost for the National Institutes of Health.

Oh, the Globe hates a parade, and that boost in pay is a shot at Obama.

Beyond that, it looks like the Democrats can't complain either!

Senators approved the bill 93-7. The measure now goes to the House, where lawmakers are expected to approve it next week, days ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline for a government shutdown.

The Senate vote comes as House and Senate negotiators work to approve a separate spending bill that would pay for the Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, and other departments, as well as the Treasury and federal courts. When combined with a measure approved last week, the three compromise spending bills would account for nearly 90 percent of annual federal spending.

The rest was, again, redacted.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, called the bill approved Tuesday historic, noting that the package boosts funding for medical research and the opioid epidemic, while providing troops with the largest pay raise in nearly a decade.

‘‘We are making real progress here’’ in approving spending bills before the new budget year begins Oct. 1, Shelby said. ‘‘We are going to make the appropriations trains run again.’’

The focus on agency-level spending bills marks a departure from recent years, when Congress routinely ignored individual spending measures in favor of giant ‘‘omnibus’’ spending packages that fund the entire government all at once — often after the new budget year had begun. 

Because Trump said he wouldn't sign another one of them.

The Senate had not passed a spending bill covering Labor or Health in more than a decade before approving one last month.

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations panel, said he was pleased that the compromise bill eliminates contentious policy riders that Leahy and other lawmakers call ‘‘poison pills.’’ Such riders frequently lead to a spending bill’s defeat even as lawmakers from both parties agree on a vast majority of spending priorities.

‘‘We did our job and focused on what we should be doing — making responsible, thoughtful decisions about how to fund these federal agencies and leaving controversial policy issues out of it,’’ Leahy said in a refrain that has become familiar on the Senate floor in recent weeks as Leahy, Shelby, and other leaders fend off partisan proposals. 

Now if you will excuse him, he has to head over to the Judiciary Committee meeting over Kavanaugh!

Utah Senator Mike Lee, a conservative Republican, blasted the bill for failing to address right-to-life issues.

‘‘For the second straight year of unified Republican governance — unified pro-life governance — Congress’s annual spending bills will include no new reforms protecting unborn children, or getting federal taxpayers out of the abortion business,’’ Lee said. 

That's odd considering the defen$e money that will be used to also abort lives (in a manner of speaking).

Despite Lee’s comments, under longstanding law and regulations, federal funds cannot be used to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is endangered. Planned Parenthood, a major provider of health care services, receives federal family-planning grants and separately provide abortions.

The bill approved Tuesday provides $147.9 billion for military equipment and upgrades, including $24.2 billion for 13 Navy ships, including two Virginia-class submarines and three fast-moving littoral combat ships. The relatively small ships are intended to operate in congested areas near the shore against small boats and mines.

The bill also includes $9.3 billion for 93 new F-35 aircraft and more than $4 billion for Black Hawk, Apache, and other helicopters.

Let's just hope the gas main doesn't blow up under your car or in the basement, or the bridge fall down when you are crossing it.

The 5 percent boost for NIH is the fourth straight significant increase for the biomedical research agency. The measure would hike spending for Alzheimer’s research to more than $2.3 billion, essentially quadrupling spending levels from four years ago on a disease that requires hundreds of billions of dollars for dementia-related care.

The bill also would provide a $206 million increase for treatment of opioid addiction, bringing spending to $3.8 billion to confront what lawmakers called an epidemic of abuse. It would also boost spending for the Head Start preschool program and increase maximum Pell Grants for college education. 

It's a win-win for everyone, huh?

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"Trump says US considering permanent military base in Poland" by Justin Sink Bloomberg  September 18, 2018

President Trump said the US is looking ‘‘very seriously’’ at establishing a permanent military base in Poland.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, eager to secure a commitment, said his country would not only help pay for the facility but name it ‘‘Fort Trump.’’

I saw that, and Trump looked not only humbled by it but like he didn't even want it named after him, like he thought it was stupid. Then he he just kind of went along with it according to the way I read his body language. 

Trump raised the possibility of a new base during a meeting Tuesday with Duda in the Oval Office, telling reporters the two would discuss the issue, and ‘‘we’re looking at it very seriously.’’

‘‘Poland is willing to make a very major contribution to the United States to come in and have a presence in Poland,’’ Trump added. ‘‘If they’re willing to do that, it’s something we will certainly talk about.’’

At a press conference afterward, Duda said Poland would name the facility after Trump. Duda offered to pay ‘‘billions’’ of dollars to defray the costs of the base, Trump said.

The Polish leader has sought additional military support from the United States, citing the risk posed by an emboldened and expansionist Russia. Duda has asked for a permanent US military base in Poland to serve as a deterrent, and his government has said it would contribute financially to the establishment of such a facility.

Beyond the blatant anti-Russian propaganda posing as news we get a permanent deterrent in Poland. 

What does that mean? 

Is anything permanent? 

If so, should the U.S. not have bases in Germany and Japan?

What if the "enemy" becomes a "friend?"

After Russia seized Crimea during Barack Obama’s administration, the United States and NATO allies established a constant, but fluctuating, rotation of troops in Poland under the European Reassurance Initiative. Poland has argued for a permanent, costlier plan, including a headquarters.

Not only did they not seize Crimea, the whole Obama coup of 2014 has been totally whitewashed by Bloomberg. 

Of course, then they would have to explain that once that happened Crimea voted to secede from the Ukraine, and that they then petitioned Russia to join, and Russia accepted. 

If Bloomberg provided that background, they would then out themselves and their lousy and distorted "journalism." 

The fact that they repeat lies and distortions makes one question reading them at all.

The construction of a base would risk upsetting Russian President Vladimir Putin even as Trump has warmed relations with the Kremlin. 

WTF? 


Really? 

Trump tried to warm relations with them and you saw what happened.

As for upsetting Putin (or any other Russian leader), since when has the AmeriKan Empire given a sh!t?

The plan may meet opposition among European allies chagrined by Poland’s turn toward autocracy, including a revamping of the judiciary that critics say will remove judges who won’t take orders from politicians.

Still blaming them for getting you into World War II, huh?

Poland says it already meets the NATO goal of spending 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, a target that Trump has criticized other European allies for failing to meet.

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That was $weet music to Trump's ears. 

This hit a sour note with me:

"Putin blames downing of Russian plane in Syria on ‘tragic chance events,’ plays down Israeli culpability" by Louisa Loveluck The Washington Post  September 18, 2018

BEIRUT — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday described the downing of a Russian plane in Syria as the result of ‘‘tragic chance events,’’ appearing to dial back a rare flare-up in tensions with Israel.

Fifteen Russian service personnel were killed late Monday after Syrian air defenses hit their reconnaissance plane. Russia’s Defense Ministry had initially claimed that the crash was indirectly the fault of Israel, saying that the Israeli military had not given adequate warning to the Russian aircraft and that Israeli pilots had used the plane as cover while they attacked Syrian targets, but Putin, speaking in Moscow on Tuesday, played down claims of Israeli culpability. ‘‘It looks most likely in this case that it was a chain of tragic chance events, because an Israeli aircraft did not shoot down our aircraft. But, without any doubt, we need to seriously get to the bottom of what happened,’’ he said.

Well, forget him then. All the Putin sycophants one the web talking about him being some kind of hero, wrong. He's just as much a Zionist puppet and tool as the rest. They kill his soldiers while deceptively using the flight as cover (why does the U.S.S. Liberty now ring through my head like a bell?) and he cuts 'em a pass. I understand not wanting to escalate tensions, but at what point does one stop appeasing the blood-dripping-from-the-fangs Zionists?

Now look at this event from the Syrian and Iranian perspective (forgetting that Putin violated Syrian sovereignty by agreeing to the deal in Idlib with Erdogan). Will he really be there for you? I know what he has said, but.... ?? 

Of course, no one is there for the Palestinians.

Russia, which began carrying out airstrikes in support of the Syrian government in September 2015, is one of President Bashar Assad’s strongest allies in a war that has entangled competing international powers.

In a sign of the conflict’s broader dimensions, Israel’s air campaign in Syria is aimed at checking archrival Iran, Assad’s other key ally, which has deepened its influence by backing progovernment fighters and building military bases in the country.

Yeah, you see, only the U.S. is allowed to do that (see Poland above).

What this also tells you is Assad is not going to ask Iran to leave and might even ask them to stay, and why shouldn't he? They are responsible for him winning on the ground and won't abandon him like Russia might.

Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoy a close personal relationship and have used face-to-face meetings to address issues of mutual interest in the Middle East. It was unclear Tuesday whether the latest crisis would test those ties.

‘‘As for retaliatory measures, they will be aimed first and foremost at further ensuring the safety of our military personnel and facilities in Syria. And these will be steps that everyone will notice,’’ Putin said.

The confrontation between Russia and Israel erupted only hours after Russia and Turkey agreed on a plan aimed at averting bloodshed in Syria’s Idlib province, the last-held rebel enclave in the country, ending weeks of speculation that an offensive there would prompt a full-scale humanitarian disaster.

The Kremlin said Tuesday that the downed jet would in no way prevent the Idlib deal from going ahead.

‘‘This incident will have no effect. This agreement is a significant breakthrough,’’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that its fighter jets had targeted a Syrian military facility in the port city of Latakia ‘‘from which systems to manufacture accurate and lethal weapons were about to be transferred on behalf of Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon.’’

The weapons were meant to be used by the Lebanese Shiite militant group to attack Israel ‘‘and posed an intolerable threat,’’ the army said in an unusually detailed statement.

Israel does not usually comment in the aftermath of its strikes in Syria, although military officials said this month that more than 200 have been carried out since 2017.

Yeah, Israel and the United States are the only nations that may violate sovereign nation airspace with impunity.

The Israeli Defense Ministry blamed ‘‘extensive and inaccurate’’ Syrian surface-to-air missile fire for the downing of the Russian plane and said Israeli jets were back inside Israeli airspace when the missiles were launched.

That's a little like blaming the rape victim for resisting, isn't it?

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Fortunately, the French are providing medical aid.

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The Globe editorializes that one year after Maria, Puerto Rico needs final vote on statehood.

And if they reject it?

Look at what has been back-paged already: 

Hurricane Florence’s death toll rises as floodwaters overwhelm region

The victims include a 1-year-old boy who was swept away after his mother drove into floodwaters and lost her grip on him while trying to get back to dry land.

That is a grief I cannot imagine, and that's what happens when you refuse advice to flee.

Michael Jordan donates $2 million for hurricane relief in N.C.

I'm tremoring in anticipation of the Heinz Awards, aren't you?

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Shark attacks prompt call for better cell service

Where is that bug spray?

"A federal grand jury has indicted a California man on charges that he threatened to shoot and kill Boston Globe journalists, calling them “the enemy of the people” in response to the newspaper’s editorial campaign denouncing President Trump’s political attacks against the press. Grand jurors in US District Court in Boston formally indicted Robert Darrell Chain, 68, on seven counts of use of interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat to injure another person, prosecutors said Tuesday. Chain was arrested last month at his Encino, Calif., home and charged by criminal complaint. He’s free on $50,000 bond and slated to appear in federal court in Boston on Sept. 24. Chain’s wife, Betty Staszek Chain, an attorney representing her husband, has not returned repeated requests for comment. “The seven counts charged in the indictment relate to seven separate threatening phone calls that Chain allegedly made to the Globe newsroom,” prosecutors said in a statement. The alleged threats began Aug. 10, after the newspaper’s editorial page first called on news outlets nationwide to use their opinion pages to support the free press. Authorities determined that all of the threats, some of which were recorded, were made by the same caller. Authorities said they found 20 firearms in Chain’s home, including a semiautomatic rifle purchased in May. No charges have been filed in connection with the guns."

Sorry to breaking the chain regarding what smells like a staged, scripted, and self-inflicted scream for sympathy.

R.I. residents blast town council vote requesting ban on Nike purchases

The proposal was nonbinding and doesn't even require action while it was unclear what — if any — Nike products the town’s departments use, so why was the vote even taken and why did it make print?

Because it keeps the sh** going, isn't it?

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I wouldn't bet on him resuming his NFL career anytime soon (wasn't that good a QB anyway):

"No surprises in early MGM Springfield casino revenue numbers" by Jon Chesto Globe Staff  September 17, 2018

MGM’s new casino in Springfield opened with much fanfare last month: a grand parade featuring Budweiser Clydesdales and a marching band, and a crowd waiting at the door. MGM boasted it received 150,000 visitors in just its first weekend, but what about the casino’s gambling revenue? It’s probably too early for MGM to celebrate on that front. The first returns are in, and they’re essentially unremarkable.

Yeah, the Globe was all in before quickly folding.

MGM [is] on track for over $430 million for a full year. MGM had originally predicted $500 million annually, by year three, but Paul DeBole, a political science professor at Lasell College in Newton, says he would have expected MGM to be jamming in its first week, due to all the media attention and hoopla.

He looks at another metric: average daily revenue per slot machine. By his conservative calculations, using an eight-day period, that figure totals $360 per day, roughly in line with spending at the same time at Plainridge Park, an all-slots casino that opened in 2015. DeBole says he would have expected a much higher figure during MGM’s opening week. 

Not a good omen for your night's worth of betting!

For MGM’s part, at least on the record, it’s all good.

Yes, it’s hard to draw much of a conclusion out of just eight days, but.....

It's looking like the southern New England market for gambling is already saturated.

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So what were they expecting anyway?

Btw, where is the sports betting window?

What do you mean there isn't one yet?

Might want to look in to a lawsuit.


"Once again, Wall Street’s jitters over the escalating US-China trade dispute proved to be short-lived. US stocks closed solidly higher Tuesday as investors largely brushed off the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods. A swift response by China, saying it will increase tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods, didn’t dampen investors’ mood, either....."

I'm told Trump is getting away with it for now, but if it changes it means investors have turned on him and his presidency will then be effectively over.

Sort of like another CEO:

Tesla facing Justice Department investigation over Elon Musk tweets

The light at the end of the tunnel is a train.

"Indigo Ag lands massive new investment as it pushes new farming practices" by Andy Rosen Globe Staff  September 18, 2018

Indigo Ag president and chief executive David Perry attributed the strong interest in his company to the clamor for innovation in the agricultural industry, decades after the “green revolution” changed the way the world fed its growing population.

“It’s arguably the world’s most important industry. Every human being on the planet depends on it multiple times a day,” he said. “And it’s really the last of the big industries to not be disrupted by new technologies and business models.” 

Or not. Some people on this planet go hungry or starve, and the pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs have changed a lot.

Though years of industrial agriculture have increased the amount of food that can be grown, Perry argues that it has also divorced many plants from natural microbes that help them grow. By restoring those relationships, Indigo said, the company’s technology can further boost production even in situations where water is scarce.

This year, the company has also been pushing an initiative to change the way grain is sold.....

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I was always told not to talk with my mouth full.