February 8, 2022

Putin's use of crude language reveals a lot about his worldview

(CNN) Russian President Vladimir Putin set Russian media abuzz Tuesday following his news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. The subject of Putin's remarks? The Minsk agreements, a ceasefire protocol signed by Ukraine and Russia in 2015, and whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could abide by them. But it was Putin's coarse language, rather than the technical details of the truce that generated the most clicks in Russia.


"As for the Minsk agreements, are they alive and do they have any prospect or not?" Putin said. "I believe that there is simply no other alternative. I repeat once again, in Kyiv, they either say that they will comply, or they say that this will destroy their country. The incumbent president recently stated that he does not like a single point of these Minsk agreements. 'Like it or don't like it, it's your duty, my beauty.' They must be fulfilled. It won't work otherwise."

For starters, the talk about forcing a "beauty" lie back and take abuse is coming from the same person who, exactly five years ago, decriminalized forms of domestic violence.

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Once again, Putin has given the world a sense of his soul. The Kremlin leader's position on the Minsk agreement is not new. But his crude vernacular -- addressing Zelensky in condescending and gendered language -- left some Russian journalists wondering openly if the president was, in essence, making a crude joke.


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It's not the first time Putin has used such language. One of his most famous quotes dates back to 1999, when he was still prime minister, when he vowed to crush Chechen separatists, saying, "If they're on the toilet, we will waste them out in the outhouse." The same applies to the current crisis. When he discards the diplomatic language, Putin speaks that we may see him.

read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/08/europe/putin-coarse-remarks-ukraine-intl/index.html

January 10, 2022

Two bald eagle eggs have hatched in Florida, part of a huge success story.

(CNN) When two baby bald eagles hatched in Florida in front of a livestream camera in late December, thousands of people tuned in to see it happen. The tiny creatures weren't just magnificent to watch. They were a testament to one of the country's greatest conservation success stories, experts say -- because roughly six decades ago, America's national symbol was on the brink of extinction.

"We recovered the bald eagle in every state in the country," said Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "It's probably the most geographically widespread recovery effort of any endangered species."

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Last year, the Biden administration moved to undo a handful of Trump-era curbs that critics said rolled back ESA protections. That's a step in the right direction, Malcom said, but there's more the government could do, including to better fund the law to support its efforts, like habitat restoration initiatives.

There are also things Americans can do to help support conservation efforts, including volunteering with environmental groups as well as contacting legislators to express support for conservation initiatives, Horning said. "Elected officials are responsive to the voices they hear, so if you're silent on these matters, then they'll respond to the voices that are the loudest," Horning said. Showing support for local leaders and legislation that pushes for conservation can go a long way, experts said.

Link to Video/ Read More: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/us/bald-eagles-success-story-conservation-efforts-scn/index.html

January 7, 2022

These Supreme Court arguments are about far more than vaccine mandates

(CNN) Covid-19 vaccine mandates are up for consideration at the US Supreme Court once again, with arguments set for Friday -- but this time with a couple of twists. Two consolidated cases have made their way to the high court for emergency action, meaning the appellants are seeking to influence whether these mandates take effect now, while litigation proceeds, over whether they are legal and constitutional.

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But these two cases are a bit different. Because they involve actions by federal agencies -- the Department of Labor's Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services -- the key legal question raised here is not whether the actions are reasonable and necessary in light of the pandemic, but whether Congress provided the agencies with the authority to issue these directives under the relevant statutes. The states challenging the federal mandates have also argued that they impinge unconstitutionally on state sovereignty.

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The potential importance of the rulings here could be in foreshadowing the conservative majority's view of executive power: specifically, how much control the federal government has over rule-making, an issue which obviously applies to legal questions far beyond vaccine mandates.

Read More:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/06/opinions/biden-vaccine-mandates-supreme-court-arguments-rodgers/index.html

January 4, 2022

Russian businessman's Kremlin ties could prove intelligence 'gold mine' for US, former official says

(CNN) A Russian businessman who appeared in US court Monday on securities fraud charges could be a valuable asset in US efforts to gather more information on Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as other intelligence operations, former US officials tell CNN.

Former Justice Department and Homeland Security officials say that Vladislav Klyushin's Moscow-based cybersecurity firm's work with the Russian government and Klyushin's alleged relationship with an ex-Russian GRU military intelligence officer will likely be of keen interest to US law enforcement and intelligence officials.

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Klyushin's case is just the latest high-stakes US pursuit of a Russian national with potentially illuminating connections to Russian hacking activity targeting US interests.

Christopher Krebs, former head of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, called Klyushin's arrest and prosecution a potential "gold mine" for US intelligence because it could shed additional light on GRU operations against the US and its allies. "This is a big get for a few reasons: If he flips, he may be able to confirm the intelligence community's findings about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election," Krebs told CNN.

(Read More) https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/03/politics/vladislav-klyushin-kremlin-ties-federal-court/index.html


*The Bloomberg article I posted yesterday seems to have more details than this CNN article, if you are interested in reading more.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-03/kremlin-insider-klyushin-is-said-to-have-2016-hack-details

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216209559

January 4, 2022

U.S. Catches Kremlin Insider Who May Have Secrets of 2016 Hack

* I can't imagine that Trumpy's old buddy Putin is very happy about this....

(Bloomberg) In the days before Christmas, U.S. officials in Boston unveiled insider trading charges against a Russian tech tycoon they had been pursuing for months. They accused Vladislav Klyushin, who’d been extradited from Switzerland on Dec. 18, of illegally making tens of millions of dollars trading on hacked corporate-earnings information.

Yet as authorities laid out their securities fraud case, a striking portrait of the detainee emerged: Klyushin was not only an accused insider trader, but a Kremlin insider. He ran an information technology company that works with the Russian government’s top echelons. Just 18 months earlier, Klyushin received a medal of honor from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. had, in its custody, the highest-level Kremlin insider handed to U.S. law enforcement in recent memory.

Klyushin’s cybersecurity work and Kremlin ties could make him a useful source of information for U.S. officials, according to several people familiar with Russian intelligence matters. Most critically, these people said, if he chooses to cooperate, he could provide Americans with their closest view yet of 2016 election manipulation.

(Read More) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-03/kremlin-insider-klyushin-is-said-to-have-2016-hack-details

December 31, 2021

Happy New Year wishes to Bill Barr from Michael Cohen

https://twitter.com/MichaelCohen212/status/1476652094006435847/photo/1

December 17, 2021

Michael Cohen sues Trump claiming retaliatory imprisonment

(AP) Michael Cohen claimed in a new lawsuit Thursday that Donald Trump retaliated against him for writing a tell-all memoir, saying his abrupt return to federal prison last year endangered his life and amounted to punishment for criticizing the president.

Trump’s former personal attorney recently completed a three-year sentence for crimes including tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. He reported to prison in May 2019 but was released to home confinement after about a year as authorities sought to contain the coronavirus outbreak in federal prisons.

Federal authorities abruptly ordered him back to prison weeks later, claiming he failed to accept certain terms of his release. Cohen, however, said he had merely sought clarification on a condition forbidding him from speaking with the media and publishing his book.

Read More:

https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-crime-lawsuits-donald-trump-trump-investigations-c69ea741b5c1bfbadef45203071ae423

November 28, 2021

My son took me to see Black Violin tonight. WOW.

They are just SO talented, just took my breath away. And we are so proud that they are local guys from Fort Lauderdale. If you ever get a chance to see them when they tour, do it.

I couldn't video anything on my phone tonight (drats) but here are some of their songs on youtube:

&ab_channel=BlackViolin

&ab_channel=BlackViolin

November 24, 2021

After spending 43 years in prison for a triple murder he says he didn't commit, a MO man is finally

Free

(CNN) After spending 43 years behind bars for a crime he said he didn't commit, a Missouri man's conviction has been set aside, according to a news release from Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Senior Judge James Welsh filed his ruling Tuesday morning to set aside the conviction of 62-year-old Kevin Strickland, who served 43 years at Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri, after he was convicted of one count of capital murder and two counts of second-degree murder in a triple homicide. He received a 50-year life sentence without the possibility for parole for a crime he maintained he wasn't involved in.

Strickland, from a wheelchair, spoke shortly after he was released from jail Tuesday afternoon and said he's thankful for his attorneys and everyone who listened to him over the years while he maintained his innocence.

All criminal counts against Strickland were dismissed. His release makes his confinement the longest wrongful imprisonment in Missouri history and one of the longest in the nation, according to The National Registry of Exonerations.

Read More:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/us/kevin-strickland-triple-murder-wrongful-conviction-freed-trnd/index.html

November 14, 2021

This library lets you borrow people instead of books. It just may help bridge our bitter divisions

(CNN) On a rainy spring morning in Muncie, Indiana, a White, middle-aged, conservative woman met a transgender woman for a date. It did not start well. The transgender woman was waiting at a table when the other woman showed up. She stood up and extended her hand. The other woman refused to take it. "I want you to know I'm a conservative Christian," she said, still standing. "I'm a liberal Christian," the transgender woman replied. "Let's talk."

Their rendezvous was supposed to last about 30 minutes. But the conversation was so engrossing for both that it lasted an hour. It ended with the conservative woman rising from her seat to give the other woman a hug. "Thank you," she said. "This has been wonderful."

This improbable meeting came courtesy of the Human Library, a nonprofit learning platform that allows people to borrow people instead of books. But not just any people. Every "human book" from this library represents a group that faces prejudice or stigmas because of their lifestyle, ethnicity, beliefs, or disability. A human book can be an alcoholic, for example, or a Muslim, or a homeless person, or someone who was sexually abused. The Human Library stages in-person and online events where "difficult questions are expected, appreciated, and answered." Organizers says they're trying to encourage people to "unjudge" a book by its cover.

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The Human Library was created 21 years ago by Ronni Abergel, a Danish human rights activist and journalist who became interested in non-violence activism after a friend he describes as a "troubled youth" survived a stabbing in Copenhagen. He wondered if a human library could bring people together like a traditional one. Only in this one, stigmatized or unconventional people would be treated like books -- readers could loan them out, ask them questions, learn something they didn't know and challenge their perceptions.

Read More:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/14/health/human-library-blake-cec/index.html