Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalGOP lawmaker 'screamed' curse words inches from Senate pages' faces and 'shooed' them, source says
A freshman Republican lawmaker received bipartisan condemnation after he allegedly yelled at a group of high- school-age Senate pages for “defiling” the Capitol on Wednesday. New details shared with NBC News paint an even more disturbing picture of what took place that night.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told the teenagers to “get the f--- out” of the rotunda, according to one source who witnessed the interaction and spoke on condition of anonymity. The source described Van Orden's demeanor as “physically aggressive” toward the pages.
The lawmaker was “screaming inches from the pages’ faces” and “shooed” at them with his hands several times, said the source, who described previously unreported details of Van Orden’s behavior.
The summer pages are part of a prestigious Senate tradition that dates back to 1829, and were enjoying their last week on the job. After completing a long shift, a group of them decided to take advantage of a typically empty rotunda at that time of night to take in the Capitol sights.
Van Orden approached the group. He had been hosting a beer and cheese event with constituents as he often does, a spokesperson said, and a photo posted to Twitter by a reporter for Punchbowl News showed empty alcohol bottles and trash in his office.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-lawmaker-screamed-curse-words-inches-senate-pages-faces-source-say-rcna97157
His constituents should be appalled...but probably aren't...at his gutter behavior. How drunk was he? (No excuse)
Medieval tools for 'haunting' injuries: How one American surgeon is bringing his skills to Ukraine
The first time Connor Berlin scrubbed into theater at Ukraine’s Mechnikov Hospital, he was given a hand-cranked neurosurgical drill that’s long been outmoded in the United States. The American’s task: using this “medieval” tool to operate on a Ukrainian soldier with horrific head injuries from a suspected land mine.
“His left eye socket was totally destroyed, completely gone, and we had to reconstruct that entirely,” said Berlin, 30, a resident brain surgeon at the University of Virginia, who is using his vacation time to volunteer in the city of Dnipro, less than 70 miles from the front line of Ukraine’s war against Russia. “Some of the traumatic injuries to soldiers we’re seeing every day here are unlike anything you will ever see in the United States.”
“The gruesomeness of what one man can do to another, it can be haunting,” he said.
Born in New York, Berlin is indelibly linked with Ukraine through his Jewish faith and his ancestors, who fled the country following a murderous, antisemitic pogrom more than 100 years ago. Today he believes he is the only neurosurgery resident from the U.S. operating there, giving him rare insight for an American into the human cost of the worst fighting in Europe since the end of World War II.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-us-surgeon-medieval-tools-injuries-operations-rcna96597
Slava heroyam! (not all of them are wielding weapons of war)
'I'm not wanted': Florida universities hit by brain drain as academics flee
With the start of the 2023-24 academic year only six weeks away, senior officials at New College of Florida (NCF) made a startling announcement in mid-July: 36 of the small honors college’s approximately 100 full-time teaching positions were vacant. The provost, Bradley Thiessen, described the number of faculty openings as “ridiculously high”, and the disclosure was the latest evidence of a brain drain afflicting colleges and universities throughout the Sunshine state.
Governor Ron DeSantis opened 2023 with the appointment of six political allies to the college’s 13-member board of trustees who vowed to drastically alter the supposedly “woke”-friendly learning environment on its Sarasota campus. At its first meeting in late January, the revamped panel voted to fire the college president, Patricia Okker, without cause and appoint a former Republican state legislator and education commissioner in her place.
Over the ensuing weeks, board members have dismissed the college’s head librarian and director of diversity programs and denied tenure to five professors who had been recommended for approval.
In a statement given to 10 Tampa Bay about faculty vacancies that was issued earlier this month, NCF officials said that six of the openings were caused by staff resignations and one-quarter of the faculty member departures “followed the changes in the New College board of trustees”. One of those resignations was submitted by Liz Leininger, an associate professor of neurobiology who says she started looking for an exit strategy as soon as she learned about the DeSantis appointments in the first week of 202
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/30/florida-universities-colleges-faculty-leaving-desantis
Not just college professors. Teachers at all levels, and quite a few parents.
Explosions Rock Moscow in Brazen Early-Morning Drone Attack
Several explosions rocked Moscow early Sunday morning in a drone attack that damaged a skyscraper, left at least one person injured, and shut down local airspace, according to local reports.
The Moscow City business center took a direct hit in the attack, with footage from the scene showing debris and smoke apparently pouring from the building. Local outlet 112 reported that a security guard was injured in the strike, though Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said no injuries had been reported.
“Ukrainian drones attacked tonight. The facades on two [Moscow] City office towers were slightly damaged,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
Residents reported hearing multiple explosions just before 3:30 a.m. local time, as air defenses were activated to shoot down the drones. Witnesses told local media at least one of the drones appeared to tear through a floor in the Moscow City skyscraper, blowing out nearby windows in the process.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have “suppressed” two drones, causing them to lose control and crash into Moscow City, and to have shot down a third drone.
Airspace over and around the city was shut down as a result of the attack, and Vnukovo International Airport temporarily halted incoming and outgoing flights.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/explosions-rock-moscow-in-brazen-drone-attack
Hey Vlad, your vaunted military ain't doing so good!
The other American women's team at World Cup
One of the shocks of the women's World Cup was Philippines beating co-hosts New Zealand this week. It was a victory forged thousands of miles away, where most of the triumphant team were born.
Sarina Bolden, who made history by scoring her nation's first World Cup goal, waved her country's flag and spoke in Filipino as she dedicated her team's win to her compatriots.
"Para sa bayan," which means "for our country", she told a Filipino news crew after the match in Wellington.
Hearing screams of "Pilipinas" from the crowd will live with me forever, she added.
"I'm just so happy we were able to get this win for you all. People back home in the Philippines, I hope you guys are happy and proud of us. We did this for you guys and to Filipinos globally, around the world, thank you so much for your support. "
Like many of her team mates, Bolden was born in the US. She grew up in California and although her talents caught the eye of the US national youth team system she ended up playing for the country of her mother.
The US flavour of the team did nothing to dilute the joy felt by football fans watching Bolden score her historic goal on a giant screen in one of Manila's swankiest shopping malls.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66330501
Apparently the BBC reporter does not know that the Philippine language is Tagalog.
Parents of Colorado teen allegedly killed by ex-boyfriend say police didn't protect her
The parents of a 15-year-old Colorado girl allegedly murdered by her 16-year-old ex-boyfriend say that police should have arrested him after their daughter filed a domestic violence complaint accusing him of punching her in the face six days before she died, they told NBC News in exclusive interviews.
The girl, Lily Silva-Lopez, also told police that her ex-boyfriend, Jovanni Sirio-Cardona, stuck a gun in her mouth two weeks before her death and threatened to shoot her family after she tried to end their six-month relationship, according to her mother.
Then, on June 16, he allegedly forced his way into her home and shot her multiple times, according to the district attorney’s office.
But it’s unclear if the police in Greeley, where Lily lived, contacted Sirio-Cardona or any of his family members after the domestic dispute and before Lily’s death. Her parents, Alma Lopez and Hector Silva, believe their daughter would still be alive if the police had done more.
“They didn’t do much, and it’s not OK, and I lost my daughter because of that,” Lopez said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/parents-colorado-teen-lily-silva-lopez-say-police-didnt-protect-her-rcna96198
Same thing happened in Knoxville, TN, to Emma Thompson, and in other places to other young girls. Come on cops, get on the damn stick and do your job!
Tax complaint filed against rightwing parents' rights group Moms for Liberty
A Michigan attorney has confirmed she filed an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) complaint against Moms for Liberty, the parental rights group with positions against racially inclusive and LGBTQ+ education in schools. The complaint, which is private but was obtained by the Guardian, alleges that the rightwing organization is in violation of its 501(c)4 non-profit status.
Experts in tax law say an IRS investigation into the Moms for Liberty, named an extremist group by Southern Poverty Law Center, would take at least two years. If their non-profit status is revoked, it would most likely cause the group to re-characterize as a private organization, further decreasing transparency about how money is flowing into it.
Representatives for Moms for Liberty declined to comment, saying they would be unable to respond to questions without seeing a copy of the complaint.
The eight-page complaint questions whether Moms for Liberty is a political educational organization and notes public posts endorsing Republican candidates, the group’s campaigning for Republican candidates, and links to partisan training materials.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/29/moms-for-liberty-irs-tax-complaint
THIS is the way to get 'em! Good work!
Katie Ledecky passes Michael Phelps for most individual golds at world championships
Here's why Katie Ledecky is one of the greatest freestyle swimmers in the history of the sport: She is never quite satisfied.
The 26-year-old American won the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday at the world championships to become the first swimmer to win six golds in the same event at worlds. It was also her 16th individual world title, breaking a tie with Michael Phelps for the most golds at worlds.
She also is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in both the 800 and 1,500.
But that winning time — 8 minutes, 8.87 seconds, which is the seventh-quickest she'd ever swum — wasn't quite good enough in her favorite event.
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/29/1190948192/katie-ledecky-passes-michael-phelps-golds-championships
Katie Ledecky is Wonder Woman!
How hot is it?
It's so hot here that the cats have deserted their usual haunts and are laying low elsewhere. Josie has deserted her throne in favor of the stairs to the lower yard where breezes blow up, or is else under one of the cars, whichever one hasn't been driven recently. Meggie prefers the grass, and is currently under the birdbath, disdaining the birds and not minding if they occasionally splash on her.
Putin's Dystopian Plan for Post-Mutiny Russia Revealed
Tucked away in a new law aimed at raising the draft age for Russia’s military are several mysterious amendments that are designed to create new armed groups or paramilitary companies throughout the country.
The military companies, also known as “special enterprises,” would be there to maintain public order, protect Russia’s borders, and counter sabotage efforts, according to the text of the bill.
As the proposal is currently framed, the new military companies would be armed and run by governors, but would obtain weapons from the Russian Ministry of Defense. They would ostensibly operate at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The law on draft age adopted this week is raising questions about when they will begin forming—and what exactly the State Duma is trying to accomplish, as Russia already has a national guard and territorial defenses.
The steps to create the military companies come just weeks after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sent his mercenaries storming through Russia toward Moscow in an apparent mutiny. And although Putin was able to stymie the revolt through negotiation, the entire affair has sent ripples through Moscow’s approach to security and public order, exposing the vulnerabilities in the Kremlin’s armor.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putins-plan-after-wagner-mutiny-new-military-groups-across-russia?ref=home
It's time. For him. to die.
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