Release all the Epstein Files Now!

There are fresh reports that q secret storage locker rented by Jeffrey Epstein contained computers, video tapes, sex-slave manuals and photographs of naked women. The Telegraph revealed that Epstein paid private detectives to remove items from his Florida property in an apparent attempt to hide them from investigators ahead of a police raid in 2005.  These were kept at a nearby storage facility in Palm Beach for several years while police investigated the pedophile.

The unit was rented on Epstein’s behalf by the Riley Kiraly detective agency and was one of at least six storage lockers leased by the late financier over a 16-year period.  An inventory of the secret Palm Beach lock-up showed that the stashed items included three computers, 29 address books and a three-page list of masseuses in Florida.  The hidden storage unit also contained nude photographs, believed to be of Epstein’s victims, as well as dozens of pornographic magazines, VHS tapes and DVDs eroticizing teenagers.  An 8mm video cassette tape was also locked away in the storage unit, apparently containing footage of someone in the shower and a woman in lingerie, as well as a 2005 calendar, greeting cards, letters and laboratory results.

The New York Times has also now reported that the vast trove of documents released by the Justice Department from its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein failed to include some key materials related to a woman who made an accusation against President Trump.  The materials are F.B.I. memos summarizing interviews the bureau did in connection to claims made in 2019 by a woman who came forward after Mr. Epstein’s arrest to say she had been sexually assaulted by both Mr. Trump and the financier decades earlier, when she was a minor.

The existence of the memos was revealed in an index listing the investigative materials related to her account, which was publicly released. According to that index, the F.B.I. conducted four interviews in connection with her claims and wrote summaries about each one. But only one summary of the four interviews, which describes her accusations against Mr. Epstein, was released by the Justice Department. The other three are missing.  The public files also do not include the underlying interview notes, which the index also indicates are part of the file.

 

Season 2 Can't Come Fast Enough!

 

Sports Always Seem to Turn the GOP Into Sore Losers

Oliver Willis of the Daily Kos opined last week on how the Olympics almost always seem to turn conservatives into sore losers.  Convicted felon Donald Trump himself started digging his own hole in this regard when he attacked Team USA skier Hunter Hess as a “loser” for speaking out about the toxicity of Trump’s presidency.  Snowboarder Chloe Kim later backed up Hess and told reporters,“Obviously, my parents being immigrants, this one definitely hits pretty close to home. I think in moments like these it is important for us to unite and stand up for one another.” Kim called on athletes to “lead with love and compassion” as their home country is roiled by violent and lawless mass deportation efforts.

Trump and other Republicans’ objections to athletes voicing their beliefs highlight conservatives’ lack of understanding about the Olympics. The games are about respectful athletic competition, global unity, and mutual respect. In contrast, the right’s world view—especially under Trump—is of an archaic past where domination, not cooperation, is the default.

If at First You Don't Succeed . . .

Convicted felon Donal Trump is trying yet again.  In the midst of diplomatic talks ( ), the Trump administration (in cahoots with Israel) launched an attack on cities across Iran.  The major assault threatened a broader regional conflict, with President Trump vowing to devastate the country’s military, eliminate its nuclear program and bring about a change in its government. Iran and the United States had been engaged a series of indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear program in recent weeks but failed to reach a compromise that could have staved off American strikes. The most recent talks were held on Thursday when senior U.S. and Iranian officials gathered for a seemingly decisive round of negotiations in Switzerland.  Regarding those talks, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi said that the most recent round of negotiations ended with an agreement on a “set of guiding principles.” 

Waves of large explosions shook the Iranian capital, Tehran, starting around 9 a.m. local time (1 a.m. EST) and witnesses described chaos in the streets as people rushed to seek shelter, find loved ones or flee the city. Israel admitted that it had, in part, targeted a gathering of senior Iranian officials in the opening strikes. 

As they made their public case for another American military campaign against Iran, President Trump and his aides asserted that Iran had restarted its nuclear program, had enough available nuclear material to build a bomb within days and was developing long-range missiles that will soon be capable of hitting the United States.

All three of these claims are either false or unproven.  American and European government officials, international weapons monitoring groups and reports from American intelligence agencies give a far different picture of the urgency of the Iran threat. Iran has taken steps to dig out the nuclear facilities hit during strikes last June, and it has resumed work at some sites long known to American spy agencies. But the officials said that there isn’t evidence that Iran has made active efforts to resume enriching uranium or trying to build a mechanism to detonate a bomb.  The stockpiles of uranium that Iran has already enriched remain buried after last year’s strikes, making it nearly impossible for Iran to build a bomb “within days.”  Even though Iran has a large arsenal of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting Israel and American military bases in the Middle East, American intelligence agencies believe Iran is probably years away from having missiles that can hit the United States.   

The U.S. Agency for Global Media said it had “significantly expanded” Voice of America’s Persian-language service in recent months and was broadcasting Trump’s speech announcing today’s attack “to the brave people of Iran across every available platform, including satellite.”  The U.S. government’s overall messaging to the Iranian people was muddled. There was no additional information on how Iranian soldiers and police officers were supposed to carry out Trump’s demand that they surrender. And it was unclear how deeply Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media would be able to cover the war in the wake of last year’s extensive cuts. 

Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said there were currently no back-channel negotiations taking place in an effort to end the war with the United States and Israel. “If the Americans want to talk to us, they know how they can contact me,” Araghchi said in an interview on NBC News.  Araghchi added that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and Masoud Pezeshkian, the president, were still alive “as far as I know.” When asked about President Trump’s call for Iranians to overthrow the government, Araghchi dismissively labeled it: “Mission Impossible.” 

Analysts warned that the fighting could easily devolve into a protracted war with no clear exit. Many world leaders urged restraint, although Canada and Australia backed the American campaign against Iran.  The Pumpkin Putin suggested that the conflict might end with Iranians rising up against their own authoritarian government after the American assault. “It will be yours to take,” Trump said, speaking to the Iranian public. “This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

 

Mumford & Sons - The Banjo Song

BBC and BAFTA in Hot Water Over Their Bigotry

At the BAFTA Awards over the weekend, one of the nominated movies was a biographical film of John Davidson, who suffers from Tourette's syndrome. Tourette's is a disorder characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal tic.  Approximately10-15% of people with Tourette's experience vocal tics like coprolalia, which is the involuntary, uncontrollable outburst of obscene words or socially inappropriate phrases.  There is no cure for Tourette's, there is no single most effective medication, and no one medication effectively treats all symptoms.   

Naturally enough, John Davidson himself attended the awards ceremony and could be heard shouting various expletives, due to his Tourette’s.  When "Sinners" stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took the stage to present an award, Davidson shouted out the "n-word" which was picked up by nearby audience microphones and was also heard on the broadcast, which was on a 2-hour delay.  25 minutes later, Davidson left the auditorium.  

The BAFTA organization was aware that Davidson was going to attend the ceremony and later admitted that they met to discuss what might happen were he to swear during the broadcast. Despite these efforts (if we are to believe they took place) they took no precautions to seat Davidson away from live microphones that could pick up his outbursts.  The ceremony was on a 2-hour broadcast delay, and the BBC had ample opportunity to "bleep" out the racial slur.  After the ceremony was broadcast, it was made available for streaming for 15 hours before public outrage forced the BBC to take it down.  To make matters worse for the BBC, they did take advantage of the 2-hour delay to edit out award winner Akinola Davies Jr.'s  mention of "free Palestine" in his acceptance speech.

The fallout has been major.  The BBC has been widely criticized for leaving up a version of the ceremony on its streaming platform (in which the racial slur was audible) for over 15 hours before it was taken down. The broadcaster has also been criticized for failing to edit out the racial slur, while it did edit Davies Jr.’s speech, including a part where he says “free Palestine.”

British actor Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù shared a lengthy statement on social media, criticizing what he described as the “institutional racism” behind the BBC’s decision to edit Davies Jr.’s BAFTA speech but not Davidson’s involuntary slur.  

“On a night of incredible joy and celebration, not only of our film but many other wonderful artists, especially black artists, this is the biggest talking point walking away from the evening,” Dìrísù wrote in the statement. “I didn’t want to fuel the discourse about it, but like Vinícius Júnior, racism, bigotry, and injustice have to be exposed and shouted from the rooftops.”  (last week, Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior reported racist abuse during a game against Portuguese team Benfica). 

Dìrísù continued: “That the BBC found wonderfully creative ways to censor Akinola’s beautiful speech about inclusivity and justice and freedom, but were comfortable and actively made the decision to broadcast a message of hate and intolerance shows where its priorities lie.” 

Dìrísù added he is not “ignorant” to how “institutionally racist the UK, the industry, or the BBC are and continues to prove themselves to be.” But he said the actions still hurt when “it’s thrown in your face in front of the world.” 

The Gangs of London actor ended his statement by commending Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, whom he described as “gracious, dignified, and defiant.”  Dìrísù said he is looking forward to a [BBC] apology and repercussion, but he wasn't holding his breath.  Neither am I, frankly.

 

A Real Disaster