October 15, 2021

Tweet of the hour

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1448741745584480259

October 14, 2021

Catholic Church in Los Angeles vandalized with red paint and banner "stop colonizing our land"

St. Peter's Italian Catholic Church in Chinatown was vandalized earlier this week with red paint and a banner that read "stop colonizing our land.

Activists and members of the church held a press conference to voice their concerns about the vandalism.

"It's a slap in the face to Italians and it's a hate crime," said Hands Off Columbus activist Raul Montes Jr.

LAPD said no arrests have been made. But they say it's being investigated as a hate crime.

"This is a house of worship of God. I mean, if you start attacking this what's the next phase," said Hands Off Columbus activist Frank Coconate.

The vandalism appears to be linked to Monday's holidays marking Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/italian-church-in-chinatown-vandalized-with-paint-lapd-investigating-as-hate-crime/ar-AAPubwY?ocid=msedgntp

October 14, 2021

One of most powerful Los Angeles politicians indicted for bribery to get son into usc grad school

L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and ex-USC dean indicted on bribery charges


Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was indicted Wednesday on federal charges that he took bribes from a USC dean in exchange for directing millions of dollars in public funding to the university when he was on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

Ridley-Thomas is aced of conspiring with Marilyn Louise Flynn, who at the time was dean of USC’s School of Social Work, to steer county money to the university in return for admitting his son Sebastian into the graduate school with a full-tuition scholarship and a paid professorship.

Ridley-Thomas, 66, one of the most powerful figures in Los Angeles politics, is the third L.A. City Council member to face federal corruption charges over the last two years. In a 20-count indictment, he and Flynn face charges of conspiracy, bribery, mail and wire fraud.

The alleged kickback scheme is the latest in a string of scandals that have marred USC’s reputation in recent years. Its former medical school dean was exposed as a user of methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs, and the longtime campus gynecologist was accused of sexual misconduct by hundreds of alumnae, leading to a $1.1-billion settlement, the largest sex abuse payout in higher education history.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-13/mark-ridley-thomas-usc-dean-bribery-indictment

October 13, 2021

Several killed in Norway by bow and arrow. breaking

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/man-kills-several-people-norway-bow-arrow-attacks-police-say-2021-10-13/


“The man has been apprehended … from the information we now have, this person carried out these actions alone,” the police chief, Øyvind Aas, told reporters. “Several people have been injured and several are dead.”

He declined to comment on the number of casualties, but said there were “several crime scenes”.


Local media reported a large emergency response operation in the city, involving armed police, two helicopters and more than 10 ambulances.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/13/several-killed-bow-and-arrow-attack-norway

October 13, 2021

Bolsonaro blocks free tampons and pads for disadvantaged women in Brazil

President Jair Bolsonaro’s decision to block a plan to distribute free sanitary pads and tampons to disadvantaged girls and women has been met with outrage in Brazil, where period poverty is estimated to keep one in four girls out of school.

Bolsonaro vetoed part of a bill that would have given sanitary products at no charge to groups including homeless people, prisoners and teenage girls at state schools. It was expected to benefit 5.6 million women and was part of a bigger package of laws to promote menstrual health, which has been approved by legislators.

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“Bolsonaro says this project is ‘against the public interest’ – I say that what is against the public interest is that girls lose around six weeks of school a year because they are menstruating,” Amaral told the Guardian.

She was among politicians and other groups outraged by justifications given for the veto – including that giving free sanitary products to poor girls and women would “favour a certain group”. Many expressed their anger using the hashtag #LivreParaMenstruar (free to menstruate).

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“Have you ever imagined using paper, newspaper or breadcrumbs to contain menstruation? This is a harsh reality, especially among young people. In the midst of the pandemic and worsening social inequality this situation has got even worse.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/11/bolsonaro-blocks-free-tampons-and-pads-for-disadvantaged-women-in-brazil

October 13, 2021

within hours of a man's death, group - including judge, plunder his home, unaware of cameras

outrageous. Summary: EMT take man to hospital and he dies, Widow has dementia and it taken somewhere. Within hours, group that knows the couple, show up and PLUNDER the home. Knowing the sister is starting 12 hour journey to home,...they rush to take all they can. UNAWARE that cameras are recording inside and out...video and audio.

chief judge swore her in as judge knowing about the allegations. Judge had officiated at funeral. sheriff has not charged anyone. small corrupt incestuous (politically) small town.

October 13, 2021

high school soccer coach apologized after letting a player score 17 goals against winless team

Hubbell's performance that day set the state and national records for most goals in a high school game, something that he and his coach had discussed during the game, per the Traverse City Record-Eagle, a local daily.


But most people on social media weren't impressed by the accomplishment, instead criticizing the blowout as poor sportsmanship and the bullying of a struggling team, reported the Record-Eagle. Many felt that Hubbell should have been taken off the game before hitting the record.

"He was firing them off like a rocket," said Heather Bartelmay, a Kingsley school board member whose son was goalkeeper for part of the game, according to The AP. "We went over and hugged our boys. That's what was needed. Their hearts were bleeding."

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The shutout loss was "pretty demoralizing," said Kingsley head coach Tim VanWingerden, per the Record-Eagle.

"To go after a personal record like that at the cost of another team's dignity was a little uncalled for. Soccer is not the right place for that. Soccer is a gentleman's sport," he said.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/a-michigan-high-school-soccer-coach-apologized-after-letting-a-player-score-16-goals-by-halftime-against-a-winless-team/ar-AAPrL6S?ocid=msedgntp

October 13, 2021

'I Am Definitely Not an Angel': Man in U.S. on Political Asylum was a Jan 6th rioter

‘I Am Definitely Not an Angel’: Man in U.S. on Political Asylum Thanks Taxpayers for His Federal Public Defender in Jan. 6 Case




A federal judge on Tuesday morning declined a request by prosecutors to sentence a man who admitted he was present inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to one month of home confinement. Rather, Judge Trevor McFadden decided that defendant Eliel Rosa would be sufficiently deterred from any future criminal activity by serving 12 months on probation, performing 100 hours of community service, and pay $500 in restitution.


According to court documents, Rosa, currently of Texas, is in the United States on political asylum. While being sentenced, he thanked U.S. taxpayers for footing the bill for his federal public defender.


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Michelle Peterson, Rosa’s lawyer, noted that Rosa is in the United States on political asylum and said the case carries possible immigration consequences. According to Peterson’s sentencing memorandum on Rosa’s behalf:

Mr. Rosa is 53 years old and hopes to one day become a United States citizen. He was born in a small town in Brazil, the son of a local evangelical pastor. He married his wife in 1991 in Brazil, and they had their first child in 2000. Two years later, they moved from Sao Paulo to Curitiba, where he worked for the town’s Mayor. Due to political persecution, he and his family came to Midland, Texas in 2016 at the invitation of friends who were, and still are, the pastors of a small Mexican-American church. He intended to attend Regent University. He and his wife began working with the church. He applied for asylum, and the asylum application was granted in October 2018. His asylum status put him and his family on track for obtaining green card status after two years, and potentially citizenship status after five years.

While speaking to the judge, an erudite and eloquent Rosa quoted James Madison’s Federalist 51.

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” Rosa quoted Madison.

“I am definitely not an angel,” the defendant admitted.

He then said he was pleased he had the “ability to repent” for his wrongdoing pursuant to the Christian faith.

“I humbly accept” whatever the judge’s final sentence would be, Rosa continued.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/i-am-definitely-not-an-angel-man-in-u-s-on-political-asylum-thanks-taxpayers-for-his-federal-public-defender-in-jan-6-case/ar-AAPqC30?ocid=msedgntp

October 13, 2021

News story that covid is leading cause of cop deaths gets thumbs down & stupid comments in reaction

October 12, 2021

Donald Trump thinks there's something suspicious about Black voting (again)

At this point, it’s hard to tell if former president Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election are old or new. Everything is sort of blurry, both because so many of his claims have been completely debunked, prompting him to occasionally offer them more vaguely, and in part because Trump always does this with rhetoric. He takes some point he thinks is great and, through repetition, wears it down to a catchphrase that close observers immediately understand. (Do you know who the “FBI lovers” are? Congratulations, you’ve seen this effect at work.) Many of his unfounded claims about fraud in the 2020 election simply require one touchstone — “Arizona!” — and everyone gets the drift.


But then there are more specific things such as this line of attack he offered during a rally in Iowa over the weekend.

“Joe Biden lost with the African American population to former president Barack Hussein Obama in every single state other than the five swing states, in other words, the only states that were going to determine the election — although I think a lot of other states were corrupt also.”

This particular allegation is accusatory on two levels, of course. There’s the actual allegation, that President Biden underperformed with Black voters everywhere but in swing states, which we’ll get to in a moment. Then there’s the subtext, if you can use that term to describe something glaringly obvious. Oh, so there was fraud done by Black voters who’d voted differently for Barack Hussein Obama, you say? I certainly wonder how that will be interpreted by Trump supporters?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-thinks-there-s-something-suspicious-about-black-voting-again/ar-AAPqYvO?ocid=msedgntp