Ohio GOP Reduced to Insanity in War on Women

Ohio lawmakers have introduced legislation that would jail doctors for “abortion murder” unless they reimplant ectopic pregnancies in the uterus. Unfortunately, there no such procedure in medical science. Ectopic pregnancies, where the embryo is implanted in the fallopian tube, can be fatal for mothers. Legislators have been told in the past that this fantasy operation cannot be done.

Ohio obstetrician and gynecologist Dr David Hackney wrote on Twitter: “I don’t believe I’m typing this again but, that’s impossible. We’ll all be going to jail.” The bill proposes punishing women and girls as young as 13 with “abortion murder” if they have an abortion, and creates a new law called “aggravated abortion murder” which would be enforced with the death penalty.

Ohio passed a six-week abortion ban last summer. The “heartbeat bill”, as supporters called it, banned abortion before most women know they are pregnant. Reproductive rights groups immediately sued, and the bill never went into effect. 

Putin Envy or Penis Envy?

 

Shock News: Another Trump Banker Commits Suiciide

It has just come to light that a former Deutsche Bank executive who signed off on some of the institution’s questionable loans to Donald Trump recently killed himself in his Malibu home.  Thomas Bowers, the onetime head of Deutsche Bank’s American wealth-management division, committed suicide by hanging, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office. Bowers was 55.

Bowers isn’t the first Trump-connected Deutsche exec to unexpectedly commit suicide.  In 2014, Deutsche derivatives analyst William Broeksmit, who had links to Trump and Russia, hung himself from a dog leash at his home in London.  Broeksmit reportedly left notes expressing anxiety over investigations of the area of banking where he worked.  It was later revealed that Broeksmit became ensnared in numerous investigations pertaining to potential criminal activity with respect to LIBOR fixing and illegal trading.  The whereabouts of work-related financial documents found at the scene of Broeksmit's suicide remain unclear. 

Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank—which lent him around $2 billion after most other institutions had abandoned him after his long string of defaults and bankruptcies—has come under investigation by two Congressional committees and the New York Attorney General, who are hoping the bank can shed light on Trump’s elusive finances, according to the New York Times. At one point, Bowers had a close connection to those finances.

Rosemary T. Vrablic, who was Trump’s private banker after 2010, reported directly to Bowers.  Bowers approved loans including more than $100 million to buy his Doral resort in Miami—even after Trump and Deutsche had to settle litigation over a Chicago loan that went bad.

Bowers hasn’t been employed by Deutsche since at least 2015, when he joined Starwood Capitol Group as COO, and was then appointed to the Board of Directors of Opus Bank in 2016.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wild Pigs Fatally Maul Texas Healthcare Worker

A 59-year-old Texan woman has died after being assaulted by feral hogs, in what the county sheriff described as “one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen”.

Christine Marie Rollins, a healthcare worker in Anahuac (near Houston), arrived to look after an 84-year-old patient who she had been caring for almost two years when she was attacked in the early hours of the morning. 

Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said he would not go into the details of the incident but said he was disturbed by the attack. In a statement, he said: “This is an unbelievably tragic, a very rare incident. In my 35 years I will tell you it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”

An autopsy determined she had died from exsanguination – bleeding to death – due to feral hog assault.  Hawthorne said that bites and bruises of varying sizes made it clear that multiple animals were involved in the attack.  He said the pigs had taken over some of the pasture and woods of the family land.

The issue of feral hogs in the U.S. has been bubbling under the surface for some time.  In August, self-proclaimed libertarian William McNabb became a viral sensation when he waded into the debate on gun reform by posing the question: “How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 minutes of my kids while they play?”  Multiple news outlets – including the Guardian – raced to see how much of an issue wild hogs really are in the US.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are about 5 million feral hogs in the U.S., half of which are in Texas. They cause billions in damage every year, destroying local wildlife and native habitats, and threatening locals. However, the USDA does not recommend shooting as a method to control groups of the pigs, which can weigh between 100 and 400 pounds.

Sheriff Hawthorne said there have been six deaths by feral hogs reported in U.S. history.  A University of Nebraska paper from 2013 put the total number of wild hog killings in U.S. history at four.

Federal Contractor Cancels Event at Trump Golf Club

A for-profit company collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government for locking up migrant children apparently decided it wasn’t such a great idea after all to hold its holiday bash at Trump's Virginia golf course, according to reports.

Caliburn International — operator of the Homestead facility for children in Florida — had already sent out invitations to its December 6 gala at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia.  Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, who was instrumental in the president’s immigration policy,  joined the company's board of directors after leaving the White House.

After one of the invitations was leaked to the press, Caliburn issued a mass email to workers changing the venue.  “Our team leaders have made the decision to change the venue so that our employee holiday event is focused on the spirit of compassion and thankfulness to our employees who work every day supporting missions of humanitarian service, national security, and medical care around the world,” the company said in a statement.

A federal contractor paying for a party at a property owned by a current U.S. president is unprecedented, as American presidents typically divest from their businesses before taking office to avoid conflicts of interest.  However, this wouldn't be the first time that private interest attempted to curry favor with Trump by steering business to one of his properties.  “It’s hard to overstate how problematic it is for a company with billions in government contracts to be paying the president directly,” said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. 


Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for CREW, said: “Obviously for a contractor that has hundreds of millions of dollars in business before the federal government, I don’t think it’s any small coincidence that they’re patronizing a Trump business.  These facilities are ways for people to influence the administration.”

Debatable Moment

Sumatran Rhino Now Believed To Be Extinct

The Sumatran rhinoceros has become extinct in Malaysia, zoologists have announced.

The last of the species in the country succumbed to cancer in the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, it was revealed.

The rhino, named Iman, had suffered from uterine tumors since her capture in March 2014. “Iman’s death came rather sooner than we had expected, but we knew that she was starting to suffer significant pain,” said Augustine Tuuga, the director of the Sabah wildlife department.

“Despite us knowing that this would happen sooner rather than later, we are so very saddened by this news,” added Christina Liew, Sabah environment minister.

Iman escaped death several times over the past few years due to sudden massive blood loss – but on each occasion wildlife officials managed to nurse her back to health. They also obtained her egg cells for a possible collaboration with other scientists to reproduce the critically endangered species through artificial insemination programs.

Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino died in May and another female rhino also died in captivity in 2017. Efforts to breed them have so far proved futile.

Rhinoceros are killed for their horns which are sold on the black market because of their supposed medical attributes. The horns are ground up and swallowed as treatments for fevers or convulsions even though they are made primarily of keratin, the same material that makes up hair and fingernails.

Increasing Calls for White Nationalist Stephen Miller to Resign

Calls from elected officials for white supremacist Stephen Miller to leave the White House aren’t coming just from the House. Two dozen senators so far—all Democrats—told HuffPost that they also believe he should resign or be fired over his anti-immigrant policies and radical views, which have been further exposed in hundreds of recently leaked emails.

“Stephen Miller has championed this administration’s cruelest initiatives,” said Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen. “From family separation to terminating TPS and DACA, he's used his role to impose his extreme views on policy.” Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono said, “Stephen Miller’s emails reinforce what we’ve known all along: that white nationalism permeates Donald Trump’s administration. He should resign.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “On the long list of people that work in the Trump administration who we believe should not be there, Stephen Miller is at the top of that list.”

In their letter calling for Miller’s resignation, Jewish groups said, “Stephen Miller’s penchant for white nationalism has been public knowledge for some time, but on November 12, we finally saw the paper trail confirming what we all suspected: Stephen Miller is a white nationalist.” Among the revelations in Hatewatch’s investigation is Miller’s close ties to the anti-immigrant hate group Center for Immigration Studies, a group with a “decades-long history of circulating racist writers, while also associating with white nationalists”—like Miller.

DOJ Fails Yet Again To Criminalize Humanitarian Aid

The Trump Justice Department’s years-long, taxpayer-funded mission to prosecute a volunteer for providing humanitarian aid to two people who had recently crossed the southern border has once again failed.  A jury acquitted humanitarian worker Scott Daniel Warren on felony charges of harboring undocumented immigrants. “The not guilty verdict came after just 2.5 hours of deliberation,” the Arizona Daily Star reports, “and it was greeted with cheering, laughter and tears from Warren’s supporters and fellow aid workers, including a contingent of clergy members from across the country.”

This is the second time the Trump administration had tried to imprison Warren for his work with the humanitarian group No More Deaths, which leaves water, food, and other life-saving supplies for migrants in the searing border desert. Warren’s first trial ended in a hung jury this past June, where he faced up to 20 years on two counts of felony harboring and one count of felony conspiracy for giving food, water, and clean clothes to two men in Arizona.  Not satisfied with failing to criminalize basic humanity, federal prosecutors announced they would once again try him.

”In closing arguments this week, defense lawyer Gregory Kuykendall said Warren only provided humanitarian aid,” the Arizona Daily Star continued. “’Being a good Samaritan is not against the law. Practicing the golden rule is not a felony,’ Kuykendall told the jury.” The jury agreed.

Coldplay - Champion of the World

The Party Prince STILL Does Not Get It

Prince Andrew was forced to pull out of a travel junket to Bahrain after being persuaded by his family that it was 'not a good idea' following this week's dramatic events.  He had planned to fly to the Middle East to attend an event connected with his Pitch@Palace initiative – less than 72 hours after being fired from royal duties over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The prince announced his intention to 'step back from public duties for the foreseeable future' after he was widely criticized for his comments during a BBC interview last weekend.  He was accused of showing a lack of empathy for Epstein's victims and no remorse over his friendship with the financier. But yesterday's cancelled plans to go to Bahrain proved, however, that he still clearly plans to continue working on private initiatives.

A source close to Andrew tried to put a positive spin on this week's dramatic events, saying: 'Despite everything the duke is getting a lot of support. This really feels like a witch-hunt. He'd been hounded about this since 2011 non stop. So he's very positive about it actually. He can concentrate on clearing his name."

The Duke is now being forced to walk away from some of his most beloved charities and organizations as he starts the humiliating process of withdrawing from public life. 

The Outward Bound Trust has announced that Andrew had stepped down as patron.  Losing his patronage of the Outward Bound Trust will be a major blow to the duke, who only took over the role earlier this year, succeeding his father, the Duke of Edinburgh.   The University of Huddersfield had earlier stood by the duke but later was forced to announce that he was stepping down following an outcry by students. 

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions also announced yesterday that the duke was no longer its president. Andrew is patron of around 200 charities and groups and more resignations are now likely to follow.  Lawyers for Epstein's victims said they planned to subpoena Andrew, raising the prospect he could be questioned under oath about what he knows.

Prince Andrew Stripped of Duties and Salary Amid Scandal

In shock news overnight, Queen Elizabeth has sacked Prince Andrew-- summoning a distraught Duke of York to Buckingham Palace, ordering him to step down from public duties and stripping him of his $320,000 salary amid fall-out from his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.  "Randy Andy" will keep his grace-and-favor home in Windsor and cash will still come in from his mother's Duchy of Lancaster estate.

The Duke of York is being urged to fly to the U.S. to speak to the FBI with lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein's victims warning him 'any delay' would lead to FBI agents heading to London to interview him before Christmas. 

The Queen took decisive action against her second son in a desperate bid to contain the fall-out from the duke's disastrous BBC interview about his years of friendship with the pedophile.   Prince Charles, who is in New Zealand with his wife Camilla, is said to have stepped in and made it clear his younger brother be stripped of all royal duties.

Andrew has been pilloried for his TV performance because of a lack of contrition for his friendship with the pedophile and his failure to express sympathy for the dozens of women Epstein trafficked and abused over three decades.

His alibis for not having sex with Virginia Roberts three times including being in Woking's Pizza Express have also been widely ridiculed by the public. And now his claim he was with Britain's consul general in New York when Roberts said they slept together in 2001 was flat-out contradicted by the diplomat in question, Sir Thomas Harris, who said last night: 'I don't recall him staying with me'.

Impreachment Bombshells Destroy GOP Defense of Trump

In her opening statement deputy assistant defense secretary Laura Cooper announced that her staff had located two emails indicating that not just officials in the United States, but officials at the Ukrainian Embassy, expressed concern about the military assistance hold on July 25. That’s the same day that Donald Trump placed his call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.  What this means is that  Zelensky could very well have been fully aware that Trump had placed a hold on that assistance at the time of the call.

Much of the GOP's defense of Trump is based on the pretense that the Ukrainians were unaware of the hold on assistance until it became public knowledge at the end of August. But Cooper is the first to indicate that the Ukrainians were already aware of the hold at the time Trump talked with Zelensky. That means that when Trump was asking for investigations into Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, he was not only doing so while withholding defense funding from Ukraine, they knew it.

Cooper’s testimony, and that of other witnesses, completely takes the “Ukraine didn’t even know” claim off the table.

Following that key testimony, Ambassador Sondland showed up, and proceeded to drop several bombs--throwing Trump, Pompeo, and Mulvaney under the proverbial bus: Gordon Sondland testified there WAS a quid pro quo, that a he was ORDERED to 'talk to Rudy,' and says Bidens probe was to benefit the president.

In his opening statement, Sondland implicated top officials including Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser John Bolton and Vice President Mike Pence
"They knew what we were doing and why," Sondland said as he plainly asserted, "Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret."

Sondland elaborated further, saying "They knew what we were doing and why.  Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret."  And he said flat-out there was a 'quid pro quo' at work.

GOP's Continued Futility in Defending Trump

A few tidbits from this morning's impeachment hearings:

Jennifer Williams provided first-hand testimony that Donald Trump said “unusual and inappropriate” things to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about investigating the Bidens.   Even though Williams is an adviser to Pence, her appearance before the inquiry earned her attacks from Trump. She was a direct witness to Trump’s July 25 phone call to the Ukrainian president, and to a later call placed by Pence.

Vindman later testified that he was in a meeting in which Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland talked about conditioning White House meetings on Ukraine launching the investigation Trump wanted, and he reported it to the National Security Counsel lawyer. He, too, heard Trump’s voice on the call. Vindman “couldn’t believe what I was hearing” and worried about national security implications, so he reported that, too.

Gym Jordan proceeded to misstate Vindman’s testimony without allowing objections to correct his mistakes.  Jordan then engaged in ridiculous attempts to out the whistleblower, attacked Vindman, called Schiff a liar, and finished up with a (weak) defense of Trump’s call.

Gym Jordan also tried to claim that some people raised concerns about Vindman’s judgment.  “Your former boss, Dr. [Fiona] Hill, had concerns about your judgment,” Jordan said. “Your colleagues had concerns about your judgment and your colleagues felt that there were times when you leaked information. Any idea why they have those impressions, Colonel Vindman?”

Vindman calmly pulled out the last performance evaluation that Fiona Hill had given him, dated this past July.  “Alex is a top 1% military officer and the best Army officer I have worked with in my 15 years of government service,” Vindman read from the document. “‘He is brilliant, unflappable, and was exemplary during numerous visits,’ so forth and so on. I think you get the idea.”

Jordan, a bit shaken, quickly moved on to asking Vindman if he ever leaked information, something the veteran denied.

Republican Brad Wenstrup attempted to paint Vindman as someone who “didn’t follow the chain of command” by going to NSC attorney Eisenberg-- even though he had been previously instructed to do so by his boss (Fiona Hill). 

Devin Nunes spent the majority of his allotted time railing against the process, or talking about the Russia investigation, without ever addressing a question to either witness.

Trump's America

High Stakes TV Interview Backfires on Duke of York

"No memory" of photo- says it's a fake

A scandal has been simmering across the pond over Prince Andrew's personal relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (who died in August under mysterious circumstances while in prison, awaiting trial).  In a surprise move, the "Party Prince" agreed to a TV interview with BBC reporter Emily Maitlis-- obviously hoping that it would quell the controversy.  Well, he was so, so wrong. 

Prince Andrew’s bizarre defense that he chose to stay at convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s home because it was “convenient” and “honorable” has gone down very badly in the court of public opinion.  And now his defense of their relationship and his explanations for where he was on key dates when he is alleged to have had sex with women procured by Epstein has met similar derision.

The prince was confronted about his relationship with the disgraced financier-- why did he visit him in New York in 2010, despite knowing Epstein had been convicted of sex offenses against underage girls?  Did he know Epstein was still committing crimes against children then?  And had he himself had sex at several of Epstein’s houses with Virginia Giuffre (then known as Virginia Roberts) when she was 17?  She claims in court papers she was trafficked and forced to have sex with the prince.

Andrew seemed unconcerned by the seriousness of the matter, laughing and smiling at several points during the interview--  including when Maitlis reminded him that Epstein was dead--  and expressed no regrets or concern about Epstein’s victims.

No, the duke said repeatedly-- he had not slept with Giuffre/Roberts. “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”  He later added: “It just never happened”, saying: “I am not one to, as it were, hug, and public displays of affection are not something that I do.”   When asked about her claims to have had sex with him at the house of Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of the prince, in Belgravia, central London, he said "there are a number of things that are wrong with that story".  When asked about a photograph of him and Giuffre being taken at Ghislaine Maxwell's house, he said he had "absolutely no memory" of it.  He further claimed that his own investigators have been unable to determine that it was a fake.

The day after the interview, videos and photos emerged showing Prince 'I-don't-go-partying-or-do-public-affection' Andrew doing plenty of both at wild parties on the French Riviera in 2007.   The video and photos see the Prince enjoying the attention of a string of beautiful women, looking sweaty and disheveled.

Randy Andy with socialite Chris Von Aspen in 2007

His relationship with Epstein was based entirely on the fact that he was the boyfriend of the prince’s university friend Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the late newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell. Epstein was “a plus one” who was invited to various royal events. It had been “beneficial” to know him, he told Maitlis, in one of several exchanges that provoked astonishment from viewers.

She asked if he felt any “guilt, regret or shame” about his behavior or friendship with Epstein.  The prince said that he did not. He said only that it was “the wrong decision to go and see him in 2010”.  He went on: “Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes...”

Maitlis interrupted, with visible amazement: “Unbecoming? He was a sex offender!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m being polite – I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender,” the prince replied, before continuing his justification for remaining in contact with Epstein until 2010.

After Epstein was release from jail in 2010 (serving time for solicitation of prostitution), Prince Andrew went to visit him in his New York mansion in December that year.  Challenged on his decision to stay at the home of a convicted sex offender, he said: "I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together."  He stayed several days and attended a dinner party, however. "It was a convenient place to stay," he said, but added "with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do".  The duke denied an account by another guest that he had been seen receiving a foot massage from a Russian woman.

The prince insisted that, as patron of the NSPCC’s Full Stop campaign, he “knew what things to look for” when it came to sexual abuse.  But later in the interview, when asked about his time in Epstein’s properties, he said there was “absolutely no indication” that anything was going on.  Epstein must have concealed his activities, the prince explained, and suggested that his status as a member of the royal family meant he was used to “members of staff” being around the building.

The prince’s answers are likely to ensure he remains in the headlines for the conceivable future, and several commentators have condemned his approach.  Catherine Mayer, founder of the Women’s Equality Party, tweeted that the prince was “too stupid to even pretend concern for Epstein’s victims.”

Charlie Proctor, editor of the Royal Central website, said: “I expected a train wreck.  [The Prince's interview] was a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion level bad.”

The Sunday Times of London reported that a source close to Queen Elizabeth said the interview would “go down as one of the single worst PR moves in recent history.”  In fact, Andrew's own public relations guru, Jason Stein, walked off the job two weeks ago when he couldn't persuade his royal client from agreeing to the interview. 

Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment but she re-tweeted a comment from Peter Barton (former editor of the Northern Echo) that said, “Astonishing decision by the royal family to go ahead with this Prince Andrew confessional interview in the hope it would [end all discussions about] the scandal.  It will have the opposite effect.”

Giuffre’s lawyer, Jack Scarola, told reporters that the prince should agree to an interview “under oath” instead of giving statements to the media that carry “little weight”.

He said: “I believe there is an ongoing investigation in New York by the FBI under the supervision of the US Attorney’s office into those involved in facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse.

“I would love to see Prince Andrew submit to an interview under oath with the investigating authorities. Talking to the media doesn’t quite cut it. Statements that are not under oath carry little weight.”

Shocking Details of Trump Phone Call Made Public

Republicans have been complaining a lot about "hearsay" during the impeachment inquiry-- despite the fact that it is not a criminal proceeding.  Well, finally we have some very damning evidence to consider-- a State Department employee named David Holmes heard firsthand a phone call between Ambassador Sondland and Donald Trump.   During his closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee late yesterday, David Holmes recalled the following about that fateful call:

I then noticed Ambassador Sondland's demeanor change, and understood that he had been connected to President Trump. While Ambassador Sondland's phone was not on speakerphone, I could hear the President's voice through the earpiece of the phone. The President's voice was very loud and recognizable, and Ambassador Sondland held the phone away from his ear for a period of time, presumably because of the loud volume.

I heard Ambassador Sondland greet the President and explain that he was calling from Kyiv. I heard President Trump then clarify that Ambassador Sondland was in Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland replied, yes, he was in Ukraine, and went on to state that President Zelenskyy "loves your ass." I then heard President Trump ask, "So, he's gonna do the investigation?" Ambassador Sondland replied that "he's gonna do it," adding that President Zelenskyy will do "anything you ask him to." Even though I did not take notes of these statements, I have a clear recollection that these statements were made. I believe that my colleagues who were sitting at the table also knew that Ambassador Sondland was speaking with the President.

The conversation then shifted to Ambassador Sondland's efforts, on behalf of the President, to assist a rapper who was jailed in Sweden, and I could only hear Ambassador Sondland's side of that part of the conversation. Ambassador Sondland told the President that the rapper was "kind of fucked there," and "should have pled guilty." He recommended that the President "wait until after the sentencing or it will make it worse," adding that the President should "let him get sentenced, play the racism card, give him a ticker-tape when he comes home." Ambassador Sondland further told the President that Sweden "should have released him on your word," but that "you can tell the Kardashians you tried."

After the call ended, Ambassador Sondland remarked that the President was in a bad mood, as Ambassador Sondland stated was often the case early in the morning. I then took the opportunity to ask Ambassador Sondland for his candid impression of the President's views on Ukraine. In particular, I asked Ambassador Sondland if it was true that the President did not "give a shit about Ukraine."  Ambassador Sondland agreed that the President did not "give a shit about Ukraine." I asked why not, and Ambassador Sondland stated that the President only cares about "big stuff." I noted that there was "big stuff" going on in Ukraine, like a war with Russia, and Ambassador Sondland replied that he meant "big stuff" that benefits the President, like the "Biden investigation" that Mr. Giuliani was pushing. The conversation then moved on to other topics.

What's not getting widely reported is that this phone call took place between Trump (who was using a personal cell phone) and Ambassador Sondland (who was not using proper operational security).  If you recall, the GOP raked Hillary Clinton over the coals for not using proper OpSec with her email account-- and we have Trump and Sondland doing the same thing.

Trump Digs A Deeper Hole for Himself By Engaging in Witness Tampering

House Republicans were reportedly planning to “avoid bullying” former Ukrainian Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch during today's impeachment hearing, but Trump screwed that up big time-- by engaging in witness tampering during the hearing itself.

 

Taking a post like Somalia is an act of commitment and courage from a Foreign Service officer—and the idea that a nation would have a civil war because of a single relatively junior U.S. diplomat is in competition for the title of the stupidest thing Trump has ever said.

Adam Schiff read the tweet to Yovanovitch during the questioning, asking for her response. When he read the Somalia part of the tweet, Yovanovitch smiled incredulously. “I don’t think I have such powers,” she said. “Not in Mogadishu, Somalia, and not in other places. I actually think that where I’ve served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better, for the U.S. as well as for the countries that I’ve served in.”

 

Jake Bugg - Kiss Like the Sun

GOP's Gym Jordan Embarrasses Himself During Impeachment Hearing

Republican Jim Jordan is a god-awful human being. His last-minute appointment to the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment hearings is a mystery, in as much as he’s dumb as mud and has nothing but enormous skeletons in his own closet.

There are the numerous lawsuits and allegations that while an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, Jordan knew about multiple men being sexually assaulted and molested by Dr. Richard Strauss and did nothing.

However, the GOP seems to want to find the most craven and shameless within their ranks to spin their wheels, since an actual defense of Trump’s attempts to extort the Ukrainian President eludes them.   Unfortunately, "Gym Jordan" has a grotesque quality of speaking fast, saying nothing, and then acting like he’s smugly made a point.  His false bravado masks a pathetic history of cowardice-- which is why many find it amazing that the GOP wants to make him their poster boy for anti-corruption during impeachment.  

The reality is that most of the informed American public knows that he is a jerk that allowed younger men to be molested and raped by his coworker.  He turned a blind eye to protecting the young people he was charged to mentor and help become adults.  As he made a fool of himself at the impeachment hearing, #GymJordan became a trending hashtag, and the Twitter-verse lampooned him mercilessly.  Here's a small sample: 

U.S. Has Video of Turkish-Allied Fighters Targeting Kurd Civilians

As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives in the United States for a White House meeting with Donald Trump (part of a Trump effort to normalize Turkish ethnic cleansing on the Turkish-Syrian border)  U.S. military sources are letting it be known that the U.S. has video of some of that ethnic cleansing in action.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the United States has drone-based footage of Turkish-backed fighters targeting civilians during the sweep into northern Syria, both a war crime and evidence that the Turkish incursion was not, as the Turkish government has claimed, aimed solely at Kurdish militants. It is not the only video evidence of apparent war crimes—the Journal reports that the U.S. sent up a monitoring drone after multiple videos posted to social media showed roadside executions and the assassination of a Kurdish politician as U.S. troops were retreating from the area.

The public leak of the existence of those recordings might result in a few awkward moments between the visiting Erdogan and U.S. officials, if Donald Trump were not himself an authoritarian-minded sociopath. We also recently learned that Erdogan's Proud-Boy-esque security thugs not only assaulted public protesters during Erdogan's prior White House visit, but also injured two diplomatic agents, six Secret Service officers, and a police officer in their zeal for violence. Team Trump seems willing to overlook that, too, in its attempts to boost Erdogan's standing and put a veneer of dignity on the broken U.S.-Turkey relationship.

Trump Administration Trying to Block Thailand Pesticide Ban

The Trump administration is pressuring Thailand not to ban three pesticides that scientific research has shown to be particularly dangerous to children and other vulnerable populations.

Thailand’s leaders have said that as of 1 December, a ban will take effect on the use of the following farming chemicals: chlorpyrifos, an insecticide made popular by Dow Chemical that is known to damage babies’ brains; Syngenta’s paraquat, a herbicide scientists say causes the nervous system disease known as Parkinson’s that has been banned in Europe since 2007; and Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide, which is linked to cancer and other health problems.

Dow, Syngenta and Monsanto have each merged their way to become bigger corporate behemoths in recent years, wielding their power in Washington to keep their money-making pesticides on the market. They are not having as much luck keeping foreign leaders in line, however, amid growing global awareness of the risks many pesticides spell for human health.

Thailand joins dozens of countries that have already banned or are planning bans on paraquat, chlorpyrifos and/or glyphosate. Thailand’s national hazardous substances committee voted last month to ban all three due to the dangers established by scientific evidence.

Thailand’s leaders were motivated in part by research showing that use of these chemicals in agriculture not only puts farm workers at risk, but also endangers consumers because the bug and weed killers’ residues persist in fruits, vegetables, grains and other foods.

In the United States, pesticide residues are so common in domestic food supplies that a Food and Drug Administration report found more than 84% of domestic fruits, 53% of vegetables, and 42% of grains sold to consumers carried pesticide residues.

U.S. regulators parrot industry talking points as they insist that dietary exposures to pesticides are nothing to worry about and say any risks to farm workers can be mitigated with proper training, protective clothing and other measures.

According to Thai news reports, US officials have also been warning that the ban will interfere with lucrative trade. The U.S. is especially upset about a glyphosate ban, arguing that it could limit hundreds of millions of dollars in Thai imports of US grains, which are often laced with glyphosate residues.

Outraged Thai officials say they have been forced to “clearly explain” to U.S. officials that Thailand’s priority is the health of Thai consumers. “Our job is to take care of the people’s health,” the public health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told the press.

Trump Met With Protests at NYC Veterans Day Ceremony

For the first few minutes of Trump’s speech in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park ahead of the 100th annual Veterans Day Parade, attendees could hear protesters outside the ceremony chanting “lock him up” and “traitor.”

To Trump's left, luxury high-rise condominiums towered over the park with signs on some windows spelling out “IMPEACH” and “CONVICT” in massive black letters.

Trump, the first sitting president to attend the Veterans Day Parade in New York City, did not acknowledge the protests.

Outside the park, Veterans Day Parade attendees ― a mix of veterans and their families, Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters ― lined the streets of the parade route.

Janet Gonzales, 85, said she has a long list of reasons why she came out to protest Trump on Monday, including his “upside down” foreign policy in the Middle East.

Asked what she would say to Trump if she met him, she said, “Fuck you.”

Bolivians in Shock as Morales Resigns as President

Bolivian President Evo Morales has resigned after nearly 14 years in power, amid turmoil following his disputed re-election last month.  Morales had initially agreed to new elections in order to quell the controversy-- however, continued protests increase the political pressure on Morales and his party.  Several of Morales' key political allies resigned, some citing fears for the safety of their families.  The final straw came when the army chief, General Williams Kaliman, urged Morales to resign "to allow for pacification and the maintaining of stability."

Vice-President Alvaro García and Senate President Adriana Salvatierra also resigned.  Protesters took to the streets to celebrate, chanting "yes we could" and setting off firecrackers.

Auditors had discovered irregularities with last month's poll but Morales said he had been the victim of a coup.  He said he was leaving to help protect families of political allies, after their homes were burned down.  In a televised address, Morales urged protesters to "stop attacking our brothers and sisters, stop burning and attacking."

Opposition leader Carlos Mesa-- who came second in last month's poll - thanked protesters for "the heroism of peaceful resistance."  In a tweet, he described the development as "the end of tyranny" and a "historical lesson", saying, "Long live Bolivia!"

Trump Curse?

Being endorsed by Donald Trump is looking more and more like a fatal curse.  Trump's endorsement of Matt Bevin in the governor's race in Kentucky proved the kiss of death last Tuesday-- instead, it resulted in an upset by Democrat Andy Beshear.   Trump won Kentucky by a whopping 30 points in the 2016 presidential election, and a presidential endorsement should have sealed the deal for Bevin-- but not from Trump.

Previous Trump endorsement failures have included Luther Strange and Roy Moore in Alabama, Ed Gillespie in Virginia, Kris Kobach in Kansas, and Scott Walker in Wisconsin.

The Trump curse is also extending to the sporting arena-- he recently attended Game 5 of the World Series in support of the Washington Nationals.  Unfortunately, the Nats were blown out by the Astros, 10-4.  More glaringly, Trump (likely looking for a friendly reception) decided to attend the University of Alabama football clash with the LSU tigers in Tuscaloosa.  The Red Tide were heavily favored at home, having beaten LSU eight straight times previously.  Unfortunately for Trump, his presence led to an LSU upset, which will likely result in Alabama being eliminated from the college football playoff.   Curses!

One for the God Squad

Bolivian Protests Growing Over Morales Election

Police guards outside the presidential palace in Bolivia left their posts today, allowing anti-government protesters to walk up to the doors of the building.

President Evo Morales was not in the building when police retreated on Saturday, with some of them standing on the roof of a near by police station in a sign of growing discontent among security forces after a disputed election.

Officials in the palace in La Paz were evacuated, leaving only a military presidential guard. Protesters later left the area.

Some police in Bolivia became openly defiant toward the government on Friday, and their protests appeared to be spreading.

Their demands include better working conditions and the resignation of their commander.

Morales claimed he was re-elected in the October 20 vote, but the opposition alleged fraud.

The dispute triggered nationwide protests, resulting in three deaths and more than 300 injuries.

Defense Minister Javier Zabaleta has downplayed the police protests, saying a 'police mutiny occurred in a few regions.'

The political opposition says there was fraud in the election, an allegation that Morales says amounts to an attempt to overthrow Bolivia's rightful government.

On Thursday a Bolivian mayor was doused in red paint and had her hair hacked off by protesters who blamed her for the deaths of two opposition protesters.

Patricia Arce, of the governing Mas party, was dragged out of Vinto town hall on Wednesday and subjected to four hours of degradation in which she was made to kneel and sign her resignation.

Young men carrying batons and wearing masks chanted, 'Murderess, murderess,' as they marched Arce to a platform where they cut her hair before the baying mob.

Bolivia has been gripped by deadly protests following President Evo Morales' election victory over claims it was rigged.

Morales, first elected president in 2006, is seeking to remain in power until 2025 after he took legal action to get around constitutional term limits.

In 2016, a majority of the country voted against constitutional changes that would have allowed Morales to run for a third term.  Despite the vote, Morales supports applied to the Bolivian Supreme Court to abolish term limits.  The Court-- which was packed with Morales loyalists-- struck down term limits which allowed Morales to run for this term earlier this year.