Judi Lynn
Judi Lynn's JournalTourism Minister Created Fale Congress Candidates To Embezzle Campaign Money
Marcelo Álvaro Antônio coordinated an effort that transferred US$ 76,000 to his associates
Feb.4.2019 12:56PM
Ranier Bragon
Camila Mattoso
BRASÍLIA
Brazilian Tourism Minister Marcelo Alvaro Antonio - REUTERS
Tourism minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio (PSL), who was the most voted representative for Minas Gerais, sponsored a scheme using fake House candidates to embezzle public campaign funds to companies associated with his cabinet officers in Congress.
In 2018, PSL's national headquarters transferred R$ 279,000 (US$ 76,000) to fund the campaigns of four female candidates, at Antônio's request, who at the time was the Minas Gerais party head. The amount is the law-mandated minimum to be requested from the government's campaign funding for women running for office.
Although these four women are among the 20 PSL candidates who received the most substantial amounts of taxpayers' money to fund their campaigns, their performances in the ballots were negligible. Combined, they received a little over 2,000 votes -- a clear sign of candidacies just for show, in which there are some campaign events, but no an apparent effort to gain votes.
Records show that, from those R$ 279,000, at least R$ 85,000 (US$ 23,000) were transferred to four companies owned by Antônio's aides or their relatives.
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2019/02/tourism-minister-created-fale-congress-candidates-to-embezzle-campaign-money.shtml
How Colombia's far-right is trying to deceive Colombia about war crimes tribunal
by Adriaan Alsema February 4, 2019
The radical wing of the Democratic Center (CD), the party of Colombia’s President Ivan Duque, has embarked on a disinformation campaign in an attempt to discredit the country’s war crimes tribunal.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) came into being last year as part of a peace process with the FARC. The transitional justice court has since been seeking justice to the more than 8.5 million victims left during the armed conflict.
Far-right supporters of Duque and his political patron, former President Alvaro Uribe, have opposed peace since the beginning of talks in 2012 and have been using social media for a concerted disinformation campaign.
Ahead of a referendum on the 2016 peace deal with the FARC, which is now a political party, Uribe, Duque and the CD used disinformation tactics to sink the initial draft of the historic peace deal.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/how-duques-far-right-allies-are-trying-to-deceive-colombia-about-war-crimes-tribunal/
Son gets 30 years for killing ex-federal prosecutor with ax
Updated 12:44 pm CST, Monday, February 4, 2019
CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — The son of a former federal prosecutor has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his father with an ax in Virginia.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a judge on Friday sentenced 32-year-old Frank Altimari after concluding his "detailed delusions that his father wanted a mercy killing by an ax is not reliably substantiated by the evidence." Altimari had pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and malicious wounding in the November 2017 slaying of 61-year-old Nicholas Altimari.
The malicious wounding charge stemmed from the broken leg his stepmother suffered after he struck her and his father with a car.
Defense attorney Ali Amirshahi said he was surprised expert testimony about Altimari's psychosis didn't play a larger role in sentencing, but said "proving insanity is nearly impossible in Virginia."
https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Son-gets-30-years-for-killing-ex-federal-13587845.php
(Short article, no more at link.)
Frank Altimari, Nick Altimari
Article published right after the crime:
Police: Chesterfield homicide suspect used vehicle, ax to kill father
By: kshelor525
Posted: Nov 05, 2017 12:13 AM EDT
Updated: Nov 05, 2017 12:13 AM EDT
WRIC Newsroom - CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Chesterfield County Police say a son used a vehicle and an ax to kill his father on Saturday.
. . .
When officers arrived, they located 61-year-old Nicholas S. Altimari in the driveway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
. . .
A woman on the scene, who supplied police with suspect information, was also injured in the incident and transported to an area hospital where she was treated and released.
. . .
N. Altimari was an attorney who worked as an Assistant US Attorney out of Richmond back in the 1990's.
More:
https://www.wric.com/news/crime/police-chesterfield-homicide-suspect-used-vehicle-ax-to-kill-father_20180326070446681/1078076552
Obit.
https://www.richmond.com/obituaries/altimari-nicholas/article_9c91b1b9-ad9f-5ad2-a047-e1bb48cc15b8.html
The Milky Way is warped and twisted around, scientists discover
Breakthrough finally shows our galaxy is not flat or stable as expected
Andrew Griffin
9 hours ago
Artist's impression of the warped and twisted Milky Way disk ( CHEN Xiaodian )
Our galaxy is twisted and warped, scientists have said after a shock discovery.
The Milky Way that surrounds us has long been presumed to be relatively stable and flat. But scientists have accurately mapped the galaxy for the first time, and found that it becomes increasingly warped and twisted towards the edges.
It has been notoriously difficult to see the shape of our own galaxy, even as we have mapped others in detail. We are stuck inside of it and it is difficult to see: scientists liken the experience of measuring the Milky Way to standing in your garden and trying to work out what shape your country is.
Now researchers have used 1339 stars to create a map that reveals the true shape of our galaxy. They found that the disc of stars twists up as it approaches the edges, far from the flat shape that scientists have seen in other galaxies.
More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/milky-way-galaxy-shape-twisted-warped-scientists-disc-a8762636.html
Kansas judge calls teenage girls 'aggressors' in sex abuse case and gives defendant reduced sentence
Source: Independent/Kansas City Star
Judge's comments have triggered outcry
Andrew Buncombe Seattle @AndrewBuncombe
4 hours ago
Prosecutors are considering launching an appeal after a judge branded two teenage girls “aggressors”, in the case of a 67-year-old man convicted of solicitation and gave him a reduced sentence.
Last December, Raymond Soden from Leavenworth, Kansas, pleaded guilty to a charge of electronic solicitation, after he admitted sending messages to a 13-year-old girl and offering to pay her for nude photographs and sex acts.
. , ,
But judge Michael Gibbens told a court he was sentencing Soden to just five years and 10 months in prison - eight years less than what was called for by Kansas sentencing guidelines.
He claimed the two girls involved in the case - aged 13 and 14 - were partly to blame for what had transpired, The Kansas City Star reported.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kansas-judge-teenage-girls-sexual-abuse-michael-gibbens-raymond-soden-a8763181.html
Kansas judge Michael Gibbens (l.), Raymond Soden
The judge questioned how much the teenage victims had suffered from having sex with Soden, because they did not attend his sentencing
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 05 February, 2019, 7:52am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 05 February, 2019, 7:52am
Associated Press
US prosecutors are researching an appeal after a Kansas judge called two teenage girls the “aggressor” in a sexual encounter with a 67-year-old man and eased his prison sentence.
Leavenworth County District Judge Michael Gibbens sentenced Raymond Soden in December to five years, 10 months in prison for soliciting a 13-year-old on Facebook. Prosecutors had sought more than 13 years behind bars because Soden had prior convictions, the Kansas City Star reported.
Soden admitted in his plea to knowing that one of the young girls was 13 when he began exchanging messages with her online.
. . .
He cited that the teens had voluntarily gone to Soden’s house and taken money for sexual favours as reasons for his decision to give Soden a prison sentence that is eight years less than what is called for in Kansas sentencing guidelines. Gibbens also questioned the level of harm the victims suffered because they didn’t appear at the sentencing hearing.
More:
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2185027/kansas-man-raymond-soden-67-solicited-girls-aged-13
Raymond Soden
Uncle Fester, Adams Family
Venezuela crisis: Former UN rapporteur says US sanctions are killing citizens
‘Modern-day economic sanctions and blockades are comparable with medieval sieges of towns’
Michael Selby-Green
Saturday 26 January 2019 19:00
The first UN rapporteur to visit Venezuela for 21 years has told The Independent the US sanctions on the country are illegal and could amount to “crimes against humanity” under international law.
Former special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, who finished his term at the UN in March, has criticized the US for engaging in “economic warfare” against Venezuela which he said is hurting the economy and killing Venezuelans.
The comments come amid worsening tensions in the country after the US and UK have backed Juan Guaido, who appointed himself “interim president” of Venezuela as hundreds of thousands marched to support him. European leaders are calling for “free and fair” elections. Russia and Turkey remain Nicolas Maduro’s key supporters.
. . .
“Sanctions kill,” he told The Independent, adding that they fall most heavily on the poorest people in society, demonstrably cause death through food and medicine shortages, lead to violations of human rights and are aimed at coercing economic change in a “sister democracy”.
More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/venezuela-us-sanctions-united-nations-oil-pdvsa-a8748201.html
Editorials and other articles:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016225795
Venezuela crisis: Former UN rapporteur says US sanctions are killing citizens
‘Modern-day economic sanctions and blockades are comparable with medieval sieges of towns’
Michael Selby-Green
Saturday 26 January 2019 19:00
The first UN rapporteur to visit Venezuela for 21 years has told The Independent the US sanctions on the country are illegal and could amount to “crimes against humanity” under international law.
Former special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, who finished his term at the UN in March, has criticized the US for engaging in “economic warfare” against Venezuela which he said is hurting the economy and killing Venezuelans.
The comments come amid worsening tensions in the country after the US and UK have backed Juan Guaido, who appointed himself “interim president” of Venezuela as hundreds of thousands marched to support him. European leaders are calling for “free and fair” elections. Russia and Turkey remain Nicolas Maduro’s key supporters.
. . .
“Sanctions kill,” he told The Independent, adding that they fall most heavily on the poorest people in society, demonstrably cause death through food and medicine shortages, lead to violations of human rights and are aimed at coercing economic change in a “sister democracy”.
More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/venezuela-us-sanctions-united-nations-oil-pdvsa-a8748201.html
Trump-loving musician fumes about Spanish speakers - then abruptly leaves his own Texas concert
NOOR AL-SIBAI
04 FEB 2019 AT 15:12 ET
A musician known for his love of Donald Trump stormed off stage over the weekend after getting angry about Spanish-speaking fans.
McAllen, Texas’ Monitor news site reported that Aaron Lewis was trying to quiet the crowd during a solo acoustic set on Saturday when someone suggested he ask the crowd at the US-Mexico border town to do so in Spanish.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to speak Spanish,” Lewis responded. “I’m American.”
Video from the event shows the former Staind frontman-turned-country-singer strumming and motioning for the crowd to quiet down before checking his watch and bidding the audience goodnight.
More:
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/trump-loving-musician-fumes-spanish-speakers-abruptly-leaves-texas-concert/
Singer Aaron Lewis cuts show short, says he doesn’t speak Spanish because he’s American
By admin - February 4, 201906
Singer Aaron Lewis irked his already-rowdy audience on Saturday when he implied that Spanish speakers are un-American, then walked off the stage and ended his concert early.
The 46-year-old former Staind frontman grew visibly irritated when the crowd at his Pharr, Texas, show wouldn’t stop talking.
Video footage obtained by TMZ shows a smoking Lewis scolding the fans who’d paid to see him, telling them, “I’m only going to wait for so long and then I’m just going to say goodnight.”
. . .
A fan then asked Lewis to sing something in Spanish, to which he replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to speak Spanish. I’m an American.”
More:
http://daily-news-media.com/singer-aaron-lewis-cuts-show-short-says-he-doesnt-speak-spanish-because-hes-american/
Only a P.O.S. who can "drank", smoke while singing, torture innocent animals in their homes, wear his NRA hat, and flip people off is smart enough to vote for the Orange Hump.
Trump's Venezuela playbook is disturbingly familiar: Here's the 12-step American method for regime c
Trump’s Venezuela playbook is disturbingly familiar: Here’s the 12-step American method for regime change
Vijay Prashad, AlterNet
01 FEB 2019 AT 16:56 ET
On September 15, 1970, U.S. President Richard Nixon and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger authorized the U.S. government to do everything possible to undermine the incoming government of the socialist president of Chile, Salvador Allende. Nixon and Kissinger, according to the notes kept by CIA Director Richard Helms, wanted to “make the economy scream” in Chile; they were “not concerned [about the] risks involved.” War was acceptable to them as long as Allende’s government was removed from power. The CIA started Project FUBELT, with $10 million as a first installment to begin the covert destabilization of the country.
U.S. business firms, such as the telecommunication giant ITT, the soft drink maker Pepsi and copper monopolies such as Anaconda and Kennecott, put pressure on the U.S. government once Allende nationalized the copper sector on July 11, 1971. Chileans celebrated this day as the Day of National Dignity (Dia de la Dignidad Nacional). The CIA began to make contact with sections of the military seen to be against Allende. Three years later, on September 11, 1973, these military men moved against Allende, who died in the regime change operation. The United States “created the conditions,” as U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger put it, to which U.S. President Richard Nixon answered, “that is the way it is going to be played.” Such is the mood of international gangsterism.
Chile entered the dark night of a military dictatorship that turned over the country to U.S. monopoly firms. U.S. advisers rushed in to strengthen the nerve of General Augusto Pinochet’s cabinet.
What happened to Chile in 1973 is precisely what the United States has attempted to do in many other countries of the Global South. The most recent target for the U.S. government—and Western big business—is Venezuela. But what is happening to Venezuela is nothing unique. It faces an onslaught from the United States and its allies that is familiar to countries as far afield as Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The formula is clichéd. It is commonplace, a twelve-step plan to produce a coup climate, to create a world under the heel of the West and of Western big business.
More:
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/trumps-venezuela-playbook-disturbingly-familiar-heres-12-step-american-method-regime-change/?utm_source=push_notifications
A HOUSE BILL WOULD EXPAND BEARS EARS TO 1.9 MILLION ACRES
Source: Pacific Standard
REBECCA WORBY11 HOURS AGO
Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) and Representative Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico) reintroduced legislation on Wednesday to expand Bears Ears National Monument, which a 2017 presidential proclamation by Donald Trump reduced by roughly 85 percent.
The bill would not only restore the areas excised from the monument by Trump, but also add additional land included in the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition's original proposal, bringing the monument from its current size of 200,000 acres to 1.9 million. That acreage would include more than 100,000 Native American archaeological sites of cultural and scientific value. "It is encouraging to see Congress working towards safeguarding our most cherished landscapes instead of dismantling them," the Hopi tribe said in a statement.
The legislation would also "restore tribal consultation by requiring federal land managers to use tribal expertise to manage the monument's lands," according to a press release from Gallego's office.
The downsizing of Bears Ears sparked outrage among environmental and tribal groups, who immediately sued the Trump administration, arguing that the president lacks the authority to take such an action. That lawsuit, along with a similar one concerning Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, is currently making its way through the courts.
Read more: https://psmag.com/news/a-house-bill-would-expand-bears-ears-to-nearly-2-million-acres
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