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Mon, 08 Nov 2021
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About that Trump tax return story . . . .

Trump
© Getty Images
US President Donald Trump

Comment: It is ironic, yet apropos to the spirit of the current times, that more accurate political commentary and analysis is to be found coming from ordinary people, in 240-character increments, than from media giants.


So. I finally read the NYT Trump tax story because I wanted to see what line was being reported for taxes owed and I came across this about the $750 in 2016 and 2017. Per the NYT own story, Trump actually paid to the US Treasury $1 million in 2016 and $4.2 million in 2017.

Comment: 'Fake news': New York Times hit piece claims Trump paid no federal taxes


Bad Guys

US politicians are too old: The short-term philosophy this encourages creates a vicious circle that is dooming the country

trump biden
© Getty Images/Drew Angerer; Getty Images/Mario Tama
(L) Donald Trump (R) Joe Biden
Both US presidential candidates would break the record for oldest age if elected, and many in Congress are pushing 90, with every reason to pursue short-term gain and leave the country holding the bag. How did this happen?

When conservative organization Students for Trump posted a video in which House Judiciary Committee chair Jerry Nadler (D-New York) appeared to have soiled himself on live TV, even conservative media hesitated to pick it up, and quite a few Twitter users shamed the organization for mocking the 73-year-old, 15-term congressman. Even in 2020's hyper-partisan climate, some thought it beyond the pale to make fun of an old man for apparently losing control of his bowels. And Nadler is actually youthful and vibrant compared to many of his colleagues.

Magnify

Epstein victim is painting his enablers as murderous lizard people

maria farmer art
© RadicalMedia
In Maria Farmer's "FBI diagram," dead sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is in a flying saucer, Ghislaine Maxwell is a bloodthirsty reptile, and a pantsless Alan Dershowitz is shushing victims underneath a tree of poisoned apples.

"I'm going to be working on a series all about the elites," Farmer told The Daily Beast of her whimsical painting, a depiction of heaven and hell that features Les Wexner, the former chairman of Limited Brands and an Epstein associate, as the head of a snake. "As someone who's been hurt by these people, I can translate it in a way that people can see."

Farmer, 50, is believed to be the first victim to report Epstein to police. She says Epstein and Maxwell assaulted her at Wexner's Ohio estate, where she stayed in the summer of 1996 while working on an art project. (Wexner has denied knowing Farmer.) She later learned that Maxwell had allegedly assaulted her underage sister, Annie, at Epstein's New Mexico ranch. In a recent court filing, Maxwell has denied these accusations.

Megaphone

Ex-OPCW member says Syria 2018 chemical attacks report may not reflect actual events

douma
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy
A former lead investigator from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ian Henderson, said the final report of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) into the alleged use of toxic chemicals in an attack in Douma, Syria, in 2018, may not reflect what happened on the ground.

Henderson was speaking at an informal meeting of the UN Security Council, organised by the Russian Mission, to openly discuss the treatment of the Syrian chemical dossier, in contrast to traditionally closed gatherings of the council on the issue.
"I speak for myself, but I know there are other Douma FFM inspectors who hold the similar concerns that I do about the manner in which the investigation was controlled, locked-down... [as well as] the findings reflected in the final FMM report", Henderson said. "We believe that there is more than sufficient information out there today that has demonstrated our points that the findings of the FFM report on Duma may not reflect the actual situation".

Syringe

Over 5,000 Russians have taken world's first Covid-19 vaccine, none have reported serious side effects

Sputnik-V vaccine
© REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva
Trials of Russia's Sputnik V, the world's first registered vaccine against Covid-19, are going well, and giving hope of a return to normality. That's according to a statement from the ministry of health in Moscow.

More than 5,000 volunteers have received the formula, and there have been no severe side effects,officials announced on Monday. Trials are currently in the third, and final, stage.

"To date, more than 5,000 citizens have been vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine," read a statement by the ministry, quoting Alexander Gintsburg, the head of Moscow's Gamaleya Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology, which created the formula. "Cases of significant undesirable and adverse reactions, other than the expected ones, have not been recorded."

Cookie

Oxford University anonymously interviews RT journos, reveals we have 'doubts about the West.' In other news, water is wet...

RT news moscow
© Reuters / Gleb Garanich
RT vehicles seen near Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2018
Oxford University academics interviewed two dozen former RT employees in a bid to reveal the inner workings of our newsroom. However, they didn't need secret interviews to find out we're a bit skeptical of the West.

In December 2018 I received a message on LinkedIn, the world's most boring social network. It was from Mona Elswah, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, and she and her colleagues wanted to anonymously interview me about my experiences working at RT - specifically how "editorial policies might influence, or not, the news content."

I politely declined and went about my day. However, Elswah's team sent out 240 such messages, and 23 people responded. Considering that these 23 were okay with breaking nondisclosure agreements, what they revealed amounted to one big nothingburger.

Regardless, the study was published on Monday, and received considerable attention in the media. According to Politico, it gives an inside look at "Russia's state-media propaganda machine."

Yellow Vest

Police bombarded with pigs' heads in Catalonia over regional president's removal

Barcelona police
© Ruptly
Screenshot
Following the Spanish Supreme Court's decision to uphold the suspension of regional president Quim Torra, hundreds of protesters took to the streets, some of whom pelted heavily armed police with pigs' heads.

The protests were organized by the Committees for the Defense of the Republic, and supporters filled the streets of the Catalonian regional capital to express their indignation at the decision, as well as their growing ire over Madrid's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

When the protesters reached the Public Prosecutor's Office, they were stopped by a barrier erected by the police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, at which point they began bombarding the officers with the severed hogs' heads. Local media reported that there were at least five arrests during the marches.

Comment: Perhaps the Spanish government considered this to be an opportune time to get particularly unpopular things done. Because, over in Madrid, thanks to the coronavirus hysteria, they've already set a precedent by locking down the low income, high density areas along with the deployment of the army onto the streets, and so should there be any escalation with these protests - any protests - they have 'effective', albeit tyrannical, measures at their disposal: Anti-lockdown protests continue in Madrid, police response grows increasingly violent, army checkpoints at 'restricted zones'


Heart - Black

Leftists mock Brad Parscale following report on mental health issues; Trump campaign responds

Parscale
© AFP/Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America
Brad Parscale
Leftists mocked and made derisive comments on Sunday evening in response to news reports that former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale was hospitalized in Florida following threats he allegedly made about harming himself.

Tim Murtaugh, Director of Communications for the Trump campaign, said in a statement:
"Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we all love him. We are ready to support him and his family in any way possible. The disgusting, personal attacks from Democrats and disgruntled RINOs have gone too far, and they should be ashamed of themselves for what they've done to this man and his family."
Democrat congressional candidate Bob Lynch responded to the news:


Comment: Forget 'compassion'...the guy works for Trump:
The man's apparent mental health issues did not stop some of the more vehement anti-Trumpers from attacking Parscale. Moreover, when confronted about seemingly downplaying a person's mental issues, they doubled down on their dismissal of the supposedly newfound "mental health crusaders."
Statements such as the above, gives pause to the true mental state and lack of emotional control displayed by those who flaunt their ignorance and venom in social commentary.


Broom

Female kindergarten teacher handed death sentence for poisoning dozens of children in China

Henan
© Wikimedia Commons
A map showing the location of Henan province.
A kindergarten teacher in China has been sentenced to death for poisoning dozens of children in an act of revenge against a colleague that left one toddler dead.

A court in the central Chinese province of Henan said Wang Yun put sodium nitrite into porridge being prepared for her colleague's students, sickening 25.

The attack took place in March 2019 and left one boy severely ill for months before he died in January this year, according to news reports.

Comment: See also: Poll Suggests Majority of Canadians Support the Death Penalty


Mail

Tulsi Gabbard says bipartisan bill banning ballot harvesting will protect 'sacred right to vote'

Gabbard
© Reuters/Brendan McDermid
Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard tweeted Monday that her bipartisan bill to ban ballot harvesting is required to safeguard Americans' "sacred right to vote."

The former Democratic presidential candidate tweeted, "Congress needs to pass our bipartisan bill to ban ballot harvesting so no one can exploit our sacred right to vote." She recently introduced the Election Fraud Prevention Act with Republican Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis.

Gabbard also cited a Project Veritas report that claims the practice was rife during Minneapolis's Ward 6 city council special election race. Minneapolis police announced that they are investigating the allegations.


Comment: The warnings are out there and they are not unreasonable. Others agree this is a crisis in the making:



See also:
Pelosi's stimulus bill: Nationwide 'Ballot harvesting' without 'any limit' - what could go wrong with that?