Friday, April 13, 2018

Pompeo and Circumstance

UPDATE (9:30 pm EDT):

Trump announces ‘precision strikes’ launched on Syria

On Friday the 13th no less!

I found out about it when I went to watch Dateline tonight. 

My first reaction was he needs to be placed under arrest and IMPEACHED NOW! Another military aggression launched over a false flag fake and lie. He proceeded to call out Iran and Russia, so forget him. The tool has totally capitulated. Whatever Sheldon and the Zionists have on him must be real juicy. Then the hypocrisy about the horrible use of chemical weapons from a country that has dropped two nuclear bombs on a country and littered the world with depleted uranium -- as well as using chemical defoliants to fight wars in South America and Vietnam.

I then started flipping between all three cable news channels (Fox, CNN, MSNBC) and they all accepted the unquestioned guilt of Assad so shame on them. Rachel Maddow was nearly in tears as she raised the wag the dog argument (she never mentioned the Zionist hand on the tail). 

Fox was cheering the hell out of it, although Tucker had some general named McGregor on a half-hour before saying don't do it, you are the President of the United States. It's not in our national security interest so you don't have to do anything.

CNN was the worst. Stone-faced Anderson Cooper listening as the cretin Christine Amanpour cited the former English air force chief, the former Israeli(!) air force chief, and the former French air force chief, saying they all agreed that they had to go now -- and then it dawned on me: The OPCW would have been on the ground and investigating this weekend. Not now!!

I then went back to MSNBC and they had former Gen. Jack Jacobs on, and he is one of the guys I remember from 2003 and Iraq!! I know it is 9 pm on a Friday and not primetime Shock and Awe timed for the 6:30 newscasts, but it has the same feel to this news junkie. The difference now is I have taken my grain of salt with the analysis as this aggression begins. The military analysts are all saying things are off to a swimming start as there are explosions and smoke in Damascus. I'll reserve judgement on that until I see some actual evidence. 

MSNBC then went to a guy Russia who seemed to indicate Russia was standing down. Now Richard Engel, the guy who lied about his staged abduction in Syria, is blathering on about what Russia will do. For that I'm going to check the alternative media and blogosphere to try and find out what is really going on. I don't want to make any knee-jerk judgements about what is going on out there. Now Andrea Mitchell is putting out the good-cop, bad-cop propaganda saying Mattis restrained Trump! Pffft!

May God bless you and keep you, dear readers, as we descend into the pit of darkness that lies ahead. I pray for all our souls, save those of the mass-murdering, war-criminal psychopaths that are bringing this suffering and misery upon the planet. May they be condemned to eternal hell and have their innards feasted upon. 

UPDATE (10:15): 

First images have started coming in

Trump Orders Military Strikes, Huge Blasts Heard In Damascus

Mattis is now saying they have ceased operations with no more planned. WTF?

They are claiming they bombed chemical labs that don't even exist. I hate to say it, but the OPCW removed all of them and sealed the production facilities in 2014. U.S. and the allies made a big a big point of it when they finally removed them all, patting themselves on the back.

However, if they were there Mattis says he will do his best to keep the chemicals that will be sent into the air by the strikes from harming civilians. Thanks! 

Some puke reporter now asks if Assad had a chance to move his chemical weapons, accepting the premise that he has them. The acceptance of that narrative lie by the pre$$ is really distressing. I feel like all hope is lost.

Jim Stone is saying Russian planes are in the air and the U.S. is targeting large civilian areas while the U.S. military is telling me it's a one and done.

BREAKING: US, UK and France strike Syria 

That's another thing. They hit the place at 4 in the morning while everyone is still sleeping.

Another Bloody Friday in Gaza

Tonight's actions have overshadowed that.

*********

I'm going to begin with what is missing (as opposed to yesterday):

"Senators seek assurance Pompeo won’t enable Trump’s ‘worst instincts’ if he’s secretary of state" by Gardiner Harris and Eileen Sullivan   April 13, 2018

WASHINGTON — Senators on Thursday implored Mike Pompeo, the CIA director nominated to be secretary of state, to stabilize the Trump administration’s erratic diplomacy by standing up to Russia and other adversaries and reviving US influence among allies. 

That is going to destroy not just his administration, but the nation itself!

Under persistent questioning, Pompeo said he had spoken to Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. But Pompeo refused to describe what he had said, maintaining he was at the hearing to discuss foreign policy.

In a week when President Trump issued a fusillade of tweets about Syria, Russia, and China that set a new standard for contradictory and inconsistent policy positions, the hearing kicked off with the question of how Pompeo would manage White House impulses that can have global effects.

“Will you enable President Trump’s worst instincts?” asked Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

SeeSenator Bob Menendez of N.J. says he’ll seek 3rd term

Related:

"A prominent Florida eye doctor once accused of bribing Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey received a 17-year sentence Thursday for stealing $73 million from Medicare by persuading elderly patients to undergo excruciating tests and treatments they didn’t need for diseases they didn’t have. Dr. Salomon Melgen was convicted of 67 crimes including health care fraud, submitting false claims, and falsifying records in patients’ files....." 

Not to mention the underaged Dominicans (he says they lied, but the government wasn't so sure) he was pumping or the sex abuser who worked for him.

Of course, if Democrats are to take the Senate, as the ma$$ media narrative says, even Fox, they will have to rig the results in favor Menendez.

Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and chairman of the committee, said that while Trump has sometimes been erratic, “we have also seen that good counsel has led the president to evolve.”

And now Tillerson and McMaster are gone.

If confirmed, Pompeo said he would take a tough line against Russia and push to improve the Iran nuclear deal through negotiations with European allies so that Trump could be persuaded to preserve it.

And as planning was underway at the White House and Pentagon for a potential missile strike on Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack against civilians, Pompeo, a former Army captain, stressed that “war is always the last resort.”

“I would prefer achieving the president’s foreign policy goals with unrelenting diplomacy rather than by sending young men and women to war,” he said.

The senators’ insistence that the State Department be on the same foreign policy page as the president referred to the relationship between Trump and the last secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who often contradicted each other. Trump fired Tillerson last month.

Actually, he quit

They can't even get that right.

On Wednesday, Trump said in a tweet that “much of the bad blood” between the United States and Russia “is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia investigation.” He was referring to the special counsel inquiry into Russia’s 2016 election meddling and possible coordination with some of Trump’s associates.

At Thursday’s hearing, Democratic Senator Jeanne Sheehan of New Hampshire asked Pompeo if he agreed with that description of the root of tensions between Moscow and Washington.

He did not. “The historic conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union and now Russia is caused by Russian bad behavior,” Pompeo said.

In one tense back and forth, Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, asked pointed questions about Pompeo’s previous denunciations of American Muslim leaders for what he called their “silence” in response to a terrorist attack.

Pompeo replied that he believed Islamic religious leaders had a particular “opportunity” to denounce terrorism by Muslims, rather than a responsibility.

Booker agreed that “silence in the face of injustice lends strength to that injustice.” However, he took issue with “saying certain Americans — I don’t care if it’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Muslims that serve on my staff — if they’re in positions of leadership,” they “suddenly have a special obligation.”

Unless they are Jews regarding Israel's conduct.

The senator then pivoted to ask if Pompeo has denounced anti-Muslim news media personalities that he has appeared with, or whether he stood by comments he made as a congressman that gay sex and same-sex marriage were a “perversion.” Pompeo said he still believes same-sex marriage is inappropriate but supports gay couples in the government. “My respect for every individual regardless of sexual orientation is the same,” he said.

Flagging morale at the State Department was also front and center. Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, noted that Tillerson, Trump’s first secretary of state, had left in “a blue funk.”

Pompeo vowed to raise the department’s morale. He diverged from Tillerson’s vision for the nation’s diplomatic corps, telling Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana he did not foresee any slowing of its mission or personnel cuts.

In one prominent example, Pompeo suggested he’d return some diplomats withdrawn from Cuba last year after they were sickened in what some suspect was a covert attack with Havana’s knowledge. Trump has tightened restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba.

That was never proven, and he says this after a Russian ship docked there.

“Consistent with keeping folks safe, we will build out a team there,” Pompeo told Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, also suggesting he’d push for increased agricultural sales in Cuba.

Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, assured his peers Pompeo is transparent and a “natural fit” for the job.

“I asked Mike to lead the CIA in an ethical, moral, and legal manner,” Burr said. “And I’m here to tell you that he did exactly that.”

As for the new gal.

He asked the committee to examine Pompeo’s nomination on the merits alone.

“If there’s ever one where you put politics aside, this is it,” Burr said.

Pompeo caught Trump’s attention with his broadsides against Hillary Clinton during 2015 congressional hearings about attacks on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that left four people, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, dead. At the time, Pompeo was a Republican congressman from Kansas.

Pompeo has been CIA director for the past year; at least one officer died on his watch.....

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My print copy was this:

"Trump proposes rejoining Trans-Pacific partnership" by Ana Swanson, April 12, 2018

WASHINGTON — In a surprising reversal, President Trump told a gathering of farm state lawmakers and governors Thursday morning that he is directing his advisers to look into rejoining the trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal he pulled out of within days of assuming the presidency. 

It sure is! 

That's it then. He's been totally rolled back.

Rejoining the 11-country pact could be a sharp reversal of fortune for many U.S. industries that stood to benefit from the trade agreement’s favorable terms and Republican lawmakers who supported the pact. The deal, which was negotiated by the Obama administration, was largely viewed as a tool to prod China into making the type of economic reforms that the United States and others have long wanted.

Both Democrats and Republicans attacked the deal during the presidential campaign, but many business leaders were disappointed when Trump withdrew from the agreement, arguing that the United States would end up with less favorable terms attempting to broker an array of individual trade pacts and that scrapping the deal would empower China.

Republicans in Congress have also been skeptical of Trump’s tendencies on trade, and 25 Republican senators sent a letter to Trump, urging him to re-engage with the pact “so that the American people can prosper from the tremendous opportunities that these trading partners bring.”

Trump had remained sharply critical of the pact and said that he would instead negotiate trade agreements one on one, a tactic he says gives the United States better leverage over its trading partners.

Rejoining the pact could be a complex task. The remaining 11 countries have spent months renegotiating a pact that lacks the U.S. market and finally agreed to a sweeping multinational deal this year. Eswar Prasad, a trade expert at Cornell University, said it was difficult to imagine that the United States would be “welcomed with open arms” by the current members or have much leverage in reshaping the deal.

And in the past, the president has floated policies, such as cooperating with Democrats on legislation governing immigration and gun rights, that he has subsequently backed down on..... 

That's where the print ended it. 

How about BACKING DOWN on the MISSILE STRIKE and WAR with RUSSIA instead?!!

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Also see:

"The World Trade Organization predicts continued trade growth this year, though it warned Thursday that tensions and retaliatory measures, notably between the United States and China, could compromise those gains. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo laid out the trade body’s predictions at a news conference amid concerns about a trade war over President Trump’s planned tariffs on Chinese and other goods and Beijing’s retaliation......"

I wouldn't worry about that anymore:

"Technology companies, banks, and industrial companies all rose Thursday as investors got ready for big banks to announce their first-quarter results and let go of some of their concerns about the US-China trade dispute. Apple and Microsoft, the market’s leaders over the last year, rose again. Boeing and Caterpillar gained ground as well, with airlines climbing after Delta reported solid results in the first quarter. Bond prices dropped and interest rates rose, which helped banks. Friday morning, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and PNC Financial Services will report their first batch of quarterly results since last year’s corporate tax cut went into effect. Alicia Levine, head of global investment strategy at BNY Mellon Investment Management, said that’s giving investors something new to focus on after almost six weeks of worrying about a trade war. Investors may have been pleased to hear that, according to a group of legislators, President Trump asked his advisers to explore the possibility of the United States rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks....."

Sick of the mixed me$$ages, yet?

Related:

"The $1.5 trillion tax overhaul was rushed through Congress late last year and has left many lingering questions....."

Not really:

"US filings for unemployment benefits eased last week following a spike reflecting volatility around spring holidays, Labor Department data showed Thursday. Claims are still near the 45-year low of 217,000 in February, indicating employers’ reluctance to fire staff. The prior week’s increase of 24,000, the biggest since September, may have reflected the impact of the Easter holiday and school breaks, periods when seasonal adjustments tend to be more difficult. Also, applications for jobless benefits below 300,000 are considered consistent with a healthy labor market."

Here is a guy who won't need help getting a job:

Trump plans to pardon Scooter Libby 

I take back the nice words I had for him yesterday. 

Who cares if he fires Mueller now?

This next article did make print and was my World lead:

"Mattis Expresses Caution on Imminent Strike Against Syria" by Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Eileen Sullivan   April 12, 2018

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took pains Thursday to walk back President Trump’s threats of an imminent strike on Syria, reflecting mounting concerns at the Pentagon that a concerted bombing campaign could escalate into a wider conflict between Russia, Iran, and the West.

GOOD! 

I guess. 

Think about it: the fate of the world now rests in the hands of Mattis.

A Thursday afternoon meeting was scheduled of the president’s top national security advisers, during which Mattis was expected to urge caution and consideration of a wider strategy. Defense Department officials said that would include trying to get more commitments from allies of help immediately after any strikes.

But officials also noted it may be difficult to extricate the Trump administration from military action, given the president’s Twitter post a day earlier that US missiles “will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart.’ ”

Speaking Thursday morning before the House Armed Services Committee, Mattis said that retaliation for the suspected chemical weapons attack had to be balanced against the threat of a wider war.

“We are trying to stop the murder of innocent people. But on a strategic level, it’s how do we keep this from escalating out of control — if you get my drift on that,” Mattis said.

Yeah, I get your drift! 

Of course, any strike is going to murder innocent people so..... let God sort 'em out, huh?

So when does the bombing of Israel start for what they are doing in Gaza the last two weeks?

He added that lawmakers would be notified before any strikes against Syrian weapons facilities and airfields to punish President Bashar Assad’s suspected use of chemical weapons over the weekend.

The war train appeared to be moving at a fast clip.

Then why isn't the pre$$ putting on the brakes?

President Emmanuel Macron of France cited unspecified proof that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in a deadly attack on a suburb of Damascus, the capital. He said that France was working in close coordination with the Trump administration on the issue.

“We have proof that last week, 10 days ago even, chemical weapons were used — at least chlorine — and that they were used by the regime of Bashar al-Assad,” Macron said in an interview on TF1, a French television station.

Looks like the lying Macron is trying to divert attention from his problems at home.

In London, the British Cabinet had “agreed that the Assad regime has a track record of the use of chemical weapons and it is highly likely that the regime is responsible for Saturday’s attack,” Downing Street said in a statement.

The Cabinet agreed “on the need to take action to alleviate humanitarian distress and to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime,” and that Prime Minister Theresa May “should continue to work with allies in the United States and France to coordinate an international response,” the statement said. 

That kind of talk rings so hollow coming from blood-soaked, mass-murdering, western war criminals.

British submarines were ordered within missile range of Syria, according to The Daily Telegraph.

How is Brexit going anyway?

The Trump administration has not yet confirmed the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime and wants to coordinate its response with allies. But Germany announced that it would not be part of any coordinated military action in Syria, even as Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance of Western powers sending a clear, united message that using chemical weapons “is unacceptable.”

“Germany will not take part in possible military action — I want to make clear again that there are no decisions,” Merkel said after meeting with Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark in Berlin.

Germany refused to take part in the US-led war in Iraq and in 2011 abstained from a UN Security Council resolution authorizing the use of military force to protect civilians in Libya.....

What a switch from version of history we are taught regarding 75 years ago, huh?

God bless the Germans!

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*********

Now back to the front page:

"Yarmouth police officer fatally shot in Barnstable while serving warrant" by Danny McDonald and Jerome Campbell Globe Staff  April 12, 2018

BARNSTABLE — A Yarmouth police officer was shot to death Thursday afternoon while serving a warrant at a home here in the village of Marstons Mills, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the investigation, said that the officer was shot in the head while he was going into the attic to pursue a suspect.

Yarmouth police identified the slain officer as Sean Gannon, a 32-year-old K-9 officer who had been on the force for eight years.....

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It would have worked out better had he hid in the basement:

"Boston police and a K-9 companion tracked down a Hyde Park man after a short foot chase in Roslindale, and officers arrested him on charges of breaking into two homes Wednesday morning, officials said. Officers took Marvin Dumay, 30, into custody at 10:15 a.m. after they received a report of someone breaking into 55 Brown Ave., Boston police said in a statement. An officer arrived at the home to investigate and saw Dumay walking near 75 Seymour St. When the officer tried to speak to him, Dumay fled on foot, discarding several items on the ground, police said. In an attempt to escape, Dumay climbed over a 6-foot fence, ran through several backyards, and finally broke into the rear bulkhead of a home at 61 Cliffmont St. The officer called in a K-9 — named Simeon — who quickly located Dumay hiding in the basement of the home, police said....."

(flip)

Political anger grows over UMass-Mount Ida deal

A swelling chorus of state lawmakers and other politicians is expressing anger and skepticism about the deal.

It's elitist scapegoating, but you know, "these stories may play to the sensibilities of an audience the Globe is desperate to attract, but I don’t see how the paper can simultaneously speak, as it so often does, with an editorial voice for equality in educational opportunity. The Globe at least should be challenging the return to classism in higher education."

Instead they are feeding it as they flood their coverage with $elf-$erving $lop.

As the celebrated coach Alberto Salazar faces doping allegations, a shadow is cast over two of his elite runners competing in the Boston Marathon

He got the stuff from the Russians, right?

Baby boomers have insomnia, and Big Sleep is cashing in

An obese, aging, and insomniac nation has become so fearful of sleep insufficiency — and its links to chronic disease — that we’re up nights worrying about being awake.

At least you can clean while you are up.

*********

"Gun rights supporters: Bring your unloaded rifle to rallies" Associated Press  April 13, 2018

NEW YORK — Organizers are encouraging gun-rights supporters to bring unloaded rifles to rallies at state capitols across the country this weekend, pushing back on a wave of student-led gun-violence protests that some see as a threat to the Second Amendment.

A group called the National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans spread word of the gatherings on social media. Organizers have permits for rallies Saturday outside 45 state houses, said David Clayton, of West Virginia, one of the coalition’s founders.

Vermont is not one of them.

The rallies come less than three weeks after hundreds of thousands marched in Washington, New York, Boston, and other US cities to demand tougher gun laws after the February school shooting that killed 17 in Parkland, Fla. It’s unclear how many will show up.

We shall see if the Globe gets the bullhorn out for them.

‘‘This is a very peaceful approach to a show of force,’’ he said. ‘‘What that means is we’re not going to go there looking for a fight. We’re saying, ‘Look at all the people gathered here. We have a voice too.’ ’’

For now, and they were on the town common last week.

--more--"

California to join Guard border mission, but with conditions

California Governor Jerry Brown accepted President Trump’s call to send the National Guard to the Mexican border, but rejected the White House’s portrait of a burgeoning border crisis. Trump praised Brown on Twitter Thursday, but Brown cast his decision as a welcome infusion of federal support to fight transnational criminal gangs and drug and firearms smugglers.

Leftovers from Fast and Furious? 

Notice how immigration coverage has faded the last few days?

In new book, Comey says Trump ‘untethered to truth’

That's not tethered to the printed article in paper, which reported:

"In his memoir, Comey paints a devastating portrait of a president who built ‘‘a cocoon of alternative reality that he was busily wrapping around all of us.’’

Trump? 

Nope! 

Obama!

Comey defends his handling of the Clinton email investigation and for the first time details a private assurance he received from President Obama following Clinton’s defeat. Many Democrats blame Comey for announcing less than two weeks before the election that the FBI was examining a new trove of Clinton emails for possible classified material.

Whatever happened to Weiner's laptop anyway, and why isn't the pre$$ investigating?

Comey writes that Obama sat alone with him in the Oval Office in late November and told him, ‘‘I picked you to be FBI director because of your integrity and your ability. I want you to know that nothing - nothing - has happened in the last year to change my view.’’

On the verge of tears, Comey told Obama, ‘‘Boy, were those words I needed to hear . . . I’m just trying to do the right thing.’’

‘‘I know,’’ Obama said. ‘‘I know.’’

That's enough of his $elf-$erving lies.

Model Janice Dickinson tells jury Bill Cosby raped her in 1982

National Enquirer paid second source with embarrassing Trump rumor

Now the Washington ComPost is running their stuff.

Lawmakers’ letter claims further spending abuses by the EPA head

That is the New York Times' attempt to remove him from office.

And his successor?

Senate confirms former coal lobbyist as top EPA deputy

Israel's senior senator, Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said circumstances surrounding Wheeler have changed since the environment panel voted in February to advance Wheeler’s nomination.

Teacher walkouts threaten Republican grip on conservative states

The fact they they are NOT in the blue states exposes the underlying agenda of the controlled opposition to push a political narrative.

I wonder who is paying them.

Another power outage hits Puerto Rico

Must be why it didn't make print.

Time to say good riddance to that section.

**********

Israeli, Polish presidents join Holocaust remembrance march

Poland was the cradle of Jewish culture before the Holocaust, but meanwhile, a survey released Thursday found that many adults lack basic knowledge of what happened — and this lack of knowledge is more pronounced among millennials, whom the survey defined as people ages 18-34.

Thirty-one percent of Americans, and 41 percent of millennials, believe that 2 million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust; the actual number is around 6 million. Forty-one percent of Americans, and 66 percent of millennials, cannot say what Auschwitz was. Only 39 percent of Americans know Hitler was democratically elected.

Meaning the high school curriculums will have loaded with more ejewkhazional programs about the Holocaust™. 

Sweden charges man with spying on Tibetans for China

Swedish authorities said Thursday that they have charged a man with spying for China, on suspicion that he gathered information on Tibetans who had fled to Sweden. The security service said it had observed him for some time, saying he gathered information among Tibetans in Sweden then handed them over to an intelligence officer from an unidentified ‘‘foreign nation.’’

He was crying like a baby as they led him away.

Indonesia’s Aceh to take caning indoors after backlash

Indonesia must be getting on the bad side of the United States.

Taliban Overrun Government Offices and Kill Two Top Officials

I'm told that "in retaliation the Afghan air force bombed Taliban positions, killing 30 insurgents."

At least, we are told they were insurgents as the "US military is racing to demonstrate it is making progress in Afghanistan during the arrival of new troops and aircraft, along with a renewed mission and a ‘‘fundamentally different approach’’ -- by doing the same old things we've been doing for the last 17 years!

All to get one man.

Attack on Skripals Shows Russia Is ‘Reckless,’ U.K. Says

They are “blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity” -- like Israel -- and "the group, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, released a report saying that its laboratory analysis of “environmental and biomedical samples” that its experts had collected “confirm the findings of the UK relating to the identity of the toxic chemical,” lending support to Britain’s claim, but the agency did not try to say where the chemical was made, or by whom. Russia, which had demanded that the organization take over the investigation from Britain, was quick to dismiss the findings."

So much for that western organ reporting truthfully from Syria then.

New Zealand Bans New Offshore Drilling, Citing Climate Change

Honestly, that will have to wait. We have bigger concerns right now.


**********

What is this, the Globe admitting it was wrong (when he wasn't!) -- before he says not really when it comes to Trump?

(flip)


About time.

MIT scientists uncover another clue to how life started on Earth

I'm concerned about life on Earth now.

Florida woman says she offered her Honda Accord for a haul of Necco Wafers

They don't go with lobster, Steve, and the Globe is trick candy. By this part of the paper the sweetness has long worn off.


Checking the blotter:

"A 55-year-old man who allegedly killed another man near TD Garden Tuesday night confessed to friends and said he fought with the victim over a $20 debt, authorities said Thursday. The alleged assailant, Mark Love, was stunned to learn the victim, Darryl Noles, 53, had died of his injuries, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Bradley said. Love told a friend he stabbed Noles “and couldn’t believe he had passed away,” Bradley said during Love’s arraignment in Boston Municipal Court....."

At least he didn't have a gun.

"A 20-year-old East Boston High School student was arrested on a gun possession charge on Thursday morning after a foot chase near the school, authorities said. Boston police said the student, identified as Keon Harris of Boston, was approached by a Boston school police officer at the school and acted suspiciously, then took off on foot on White Street. After a brief chase, police arrested him and found a discarded gun nearby, officials said. The school was not placed into lockdown because the incident occurred off school property, according to a statement from Boston School Department. “East Boston High School will increase the use of metal detection technology immediately, and utilize staff and School Police to provide a visible presence in and around the school,” the statement said. Boston police said the man will be charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and faces arraignment in East Boston District Court. The incident remains under investigation."

That is the flip side to the gun grab, and maybe the prime motivation for society's managers.

"Police are investigating reports of shots fired outside the Garrahy Judicial Complex in Providence. The Providence Journal reports that the courthouse was placed on lockdown during the incident. No injuries were reported. Police said four adult males were being questioned in what is described as a gang-related incident."

Also see: Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in fatal shooting of off-duty Revere police officer in 2007

How “absurd,” but that is nothing new.

"Fire officials announced Thursday that a fatal April 7 fire in Fall River was caused by improper use of smoking materials, according to a statement from the state fire marshal’s office. Diane Roy, a 69-year-old woman who lived at 164 Hartwell St., died in the bathroom of her third-floor apartment after the cigar she was smoking ignited her clothing, the statement said. Officials said they believe Roy’s clothing caught fire while she was in the living room and she rushed to the bathroom in an attempt to extinguish the flames. Water was still running in the sink and in the shower when firefighters found her. The one-alarm blaze was contained to the bathroom....."

Firemen couldn't reacher her because the of the ladder collapse.

Baker ‘incredibly annoyed’ by Revenue Dept. blunders

Before he starts praising the place, and once again the Globe didn't mention the placing of friends on the payroll (is it because Baker yelled at 'em?).

Related: Baker ‘extremely disappointed’ with data breach at revenue department

I'm disappointed that they lied about it three times before they "changed course" before we found out they were ripping off fathers and keeping child support payments (hoping you wouldn't notice or just driving up family tensions?)!

City panel delays vote Yawkey Way name change at request of Red Sox

The decision by the commission came at the request of the Red Sox organization, which asked for the delay on Wednesday in a letter written by Red Sox senior vice president David Friedman. He wrote that the Red Sox, under current owner John Henry, remain committed to restoring the city street to its original name. Henry and his wife, Linda Henry, also own The Boston Globe.

I wouldn't travel there if I were you.


In Fitchburg 911 call, father said his daughter was not breathing

That's when I stopped reading the section.

*********

Elizabeth Warren and Mick Mulvaney square off over CFPB in Senate hearing

She never mentioned the aides earning hefty salaries

Then Mulvaney wonTurns out the CFPB is just like all the other government bureaucracies: a place to stash well-connected friends and family and set them up with cu$hy jobs.


Mass. business groups oppose nurses’ ballot question

“Health-care costs are already a burden for many families and employers across Massachusetts.”

And it was the template for Obummercare. 

So why punish the nurses?

EU will seek to grill Zuckerberg about Facebook, privacy

Let's hope he does better than the other day.


Uber’s 2016 breach affected more than 20 million US users

No seems very concerned as they drive away from it. Won't even tell us who is suspected. It's just a trade concern!

"Steve Schwarzman (left) was president of his high school’s student council, but he’s not making the rules now. An agreement putting the name of billionaire cofounder of Blackstone Group on the school — one of the stipulations of a $25 million donation he pledged — was rescinded Tuesday by the Abington, Pa., school board following objections from some residents. The main complaint was that the deal had been done in private with little input from the public. Schwarzman, 71, dropped the requirement to have his name added to Abington Senior High School, and a new agreement was posted Wednesday on the district’s website to be voted on April 24. The revised deal would put the private equity executive’s name on a new science and technology center, but no longer stipulates that he would receive regular updates on the school’s computer science curriculum or construction progress."

I say why not?

Forget the tremendous chutzpah. We already have the Adelson embassy, so let's just take the mask off and admit Jewish domination and control of this society? Why hide it anymore?

"Brightcove executives are hoping for a brighter future under new leadership. The Boston-based handler of online videos said it has hired Jeff Ray to be its new CEO. He lives in Florida and is coming out of retirement to take the job, according to a company spokeswoman, and plans to work in Boston during the workweek. He will oversee a staff of 500, including 270 in Boston. Ray takes over for acting CEO Andy Feinberg, who returns to his previous job as president and COO. Feinberg took charge last year after then-chief executive David Mendels left following pressure from an unhappy investor who was upset with the company’s performance."

Here is another group of people that should be upset:

"A public employee pension crisis for state governments has deepened to a record level even after nearly nine years of economic recovery for the nation, according to a study released Thursday, leaving many states especially vulnerable if the economy hits a downturn. The annual report from the Pew Charitable Trusts finds public worker pension funds with heavy state government involvement owed retirees and current workers $4 trillion as of 2016. They had about $2.6 trillion in assets, creating a gap of about one-third, or a record $1.4 trillion."

Maybe teachers should be protesting that instead if they want 100 percent funding (sigh)?

So who stole your pension

Answer: Wall Street and venture capital

They burned down the cash, to use an industry term. Think Tesla.

"Don’t call Tesla Inc.’s slower-than-anticipated deliveries of Model 3 sedans a delay. It’s merely been a “time shift,” according to Elon Musk. “You’ll definitely get your car,” the chief executive told CBS in an interview aired Thursday. “It’s a six- to nine-month time shift. That’s literally it, and three of those months have already passed.” Musk has tested some customers’ and investors’ patience by struggling to resolve bottlenecks causing a “production hell.” The period of manufacturing woes is lasting about two to three quarters longer than he thought, he said. The comments by Musk were somewhat inconsistent with Tesla’s statement earlier this month....."

OMG! 

That's a POLITE WAY of saying he LIED!

Related: "Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Autotrader.com, said that the decline might suggest that the initial allure of Tesla’s vehicles was beginning to fade. “You just wonder if there’s enough growth in electric vehicles,” she said. “At first everybody who wanted a Tesla and could afford a Tesla hopped on. But it’s not the newest thing anymore.” Tesla sought Tuesday to allay concerns raised by some analysts that its production troubles could create a cash squeeze......"

And they just gave him how much?

Now move along, nothing to see here as the publishing business struggles.

UPDATE:

Speaking of publishing struggles, I have noted -- as have others -- glitches and difficulties in getting my posts formatted and printed within the last week. Strangely enough, the problems coincide with a tremendous drop in hits and views on this blog site. I take it as a sign that I'm on to something and see it as a badge of honor.