May 29, 2019

Yes, I think this is hysterical or Your day couldn't be worse than his

Cameron Wilson shot himself in the crotch.
Funny, maybe. But there is so much more

He had his girlfriend drive him to a friend's house to drop off the gun because Mr Wilson is a 13 time convicted felon.
So having a gun is illegal.
Why he didn't go to the hospital and have his girlfriend drop it off after he was there, IDK

As doctors were performing surgery, a balloon containing marijuana fell out of his anus
But, there is even more

Chelan County sheriff’s detectives were notified that Wilson had suffered a gunshot wound and then responded to the hospital. They searched the car and found a bag of methamphetamine inside a pair of blood-stained jeans he’d taken off before entering the hospital.
They didn't arrest him there, they just issued an arrest warrant.
Which makes this even more fun because...

He turned himself in to the police and while they were conducting a strip search, another balloon of marijuana fell out of his ass
And the fun continues

While in the correctional facility awaiting trial, he called his girl friend and told her not to cooperate with authorities.
And surprise, they were listening to the conversation and charged him with four counts of witness tampering

He's being held on 110,000 bail and has pleaded not guilty to every charge

In case you doubt...

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/trouble-snowballs-for-man-who-shot-himself/article_bc761e90-7c07-11e9-9a2e-87ca3ce75ad3.html?fbclid=IwAR0RUy86gjxc6kXuYxfN4kaaIuyvKXGSF_1H82WrpgS1qbbp-yrth18BdKQ

May 27, 2019

The Soviet (Sovreign) Citizen Movement in Russia

Konstantin Vyatkin has never acknowledged the Soviet collapse.

"For the past 28 years I've tried to live in this country called Russia," he says. "But in my heart I still live there, in the Soviet Union."

The words may sound banal in a country where two-thirds of the population professes nostalgia for the former empire, motivated by economic concerns and the absence of a welfare state.

But Vyatkin does not simply miss the Soviet Union -- he actively denies its breakup, and claims to obey only its laws. And now a vibrant cottage industry is helping legitimize his discontent.


https://www.rferl.org/a/flouting-law-in-nostalgia-s-name-russia-s-growing-movement-of-soviet-citizens-/29962523.html

May 27, 2019

Romanian Court Confirms Corruption Verdict Against Ruling Party's Leader

Source: RFE/RL

A court in Romania has rejected an appeal by Liviu Dragnea, the controversial leader of the country’s ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD), against his 2018 conviction on corruption charges.

At last year’s trial, Dragnea received a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence after being convicted of using his influence to procure fake public jobs for two women who were working for the PSD at the time.

According to reports, he is now expected to begin serving his prison sentence immediately.

The jailing of Dragnea will remove from public life the man who has been a key figure in the PSD's push for controversial judicial reforms that critics say has damaged the independence of the courts.

Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/romanian-court-to-rule-on-appeal-against-corruption-verdict-by-ruling-party-s-leader/29964885.html

May 24, 2019

EU elections updates: Dutch Labour party wins surprise victory

Dutch social democrats trump populists

The Labour party of European Commissioner Frans Timmermans on Thursday won a surprise victory in a Dutch election for European Parliament, an exit poll showed, easily beating a Eurosceptic challenger who had been topping the polls.

The leading social democrat candidate to head the EU Commission, Timmermans propelled his pro-European party to an upset win, taking more than 18% of the vote.

snip

The upstart far right Forum for Democracy of nationalist Thierry Baudet, which had been neck and neck in polls alongside Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservatives, finished third at 11%, the exit poll showed.

Labour doubled its 2014 showing and beat opinion polls, most of which showed it finishing third at best.
https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/23/britain-and-netherlands-kick-off-eu-elections-votes

May 14, 2019

Emperor Naruhito, his first foreign leader visit: the harbinger of doom or it can only go up

Emperor Naruhito, the new Emperor of Japan will, on May 25th meet his first foreign leader since his enthronement, U.S. President Donald Trump.
It begs the question for me, "Is this a sign that his time as Emperor is doomed, or is it that it can only go up from here?"

(Imagine if Duerte and Bolisanaro were the next two in line to visit)

May 11, 2019

Heidi Heitkamp (ND) has been busy. Good thing

Former Senator Heitkamp is part of a group called 'The One Country Project'. The Project is to bring Democratic policies and ideas to rural voters in states like North Dakota.
The idea is to sell progressive ideas in conservative terms: economic and social
I don't know if it'll work, but I joined in the hope that it will at least make a dent
I had issues with Sen Heitkamp on several issues, but I also donated a lot of money to her campaign in hopes...
I donated the max to Manchin's campaign as well. My guess is he will become a part of this.
Former IN Sen Donnelly has

What I like about this project from what I've read is it doesn't appear to be something that is designed to appease rural voters by attacking Democratic politicians. It appears to be trying to demonstrate to rural voters how our ideas really do benefit them more than republikkan ones do

It's worth a shot

May 7, 2019

Trump 'messed up the clock' on USMCA, current form 'dead': former U.S. ambassador

In an interview on CTV's Question Period, Heyman said that the deal in its current form is dead.

After nearly 14 months of negotiations, the trilateral trade pact was reached last fall, and signed a short while later. It is called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA in America, and the Canada-United States-Mexico-Agreement, or CUSMA, here.

snip

As things stand, time is diminishing on that possibility given the amount of movement that would have to happen across North America over the next six weeks. That’s when Parliament rises for the last time before the October election will be called.

Among the obstacles yet to overcome: In the U.S. Democrats have said that the deal without changes won’t have their vote, nor will they allow a vote in Congress until Mexico changes its labour laws. In addition to these sticking points, Canada will not sign the deal so long as the U.S.-imposed steel and aluminum tariffs are in place.

"Let me be really clear that the USTR [United States Trade Representative] and Donald Trump mishandled this from day one. Had they just quickly passed a deal in 2017, signed an agreement between the three countries… in early 2018, he had the Congress, he had the Senate, he had the Mexican government in place, and there were no elections coming up here," Heyman said.

link
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trump-messed-up-the-clock-on-usmca-current-form-dead-former-u-s-ambassador-1.4407446?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=em&utm_campaign=mme_politics&sfi=f1bb2ce6d75df6a3b03769e4b64a83f8

May 6, 2019

Nagafuji Mana

She appears on a site called showroom. She plays the piano and sings
She is incredibly talented, peppy and fun to watch and listen to because she has such energy
She usually comes on between 7 and 8 pm (JST)

https://www.showroom-live.com/NagafujiMana

her on youtube

May 2, 2019

Anger as Grenfell boss is invited to speak at housing safety event (UK)

A housing boss in charge of Grenfell Tower before it went up in flames has been chosen to speak at a national housing conference on improving building safety, in a move that has provoked fury among survivors.

Sacha Jevans, who was the executive director of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which managed the building and oversaw the £10m recladding works that left it compromised with fire risks, has been invited to lecture on ways to “improve risk management and building safety post-Grenfell” at the Chartered Institute of Housing conference in Manchester in June.

snip

During the refurbishment works, Jevans, who is now interim strategic director at Epping Forest district council, dismissed a complaint from Daffarn about being unable to close a fire door on his floor. Daffarn was the co-author of the Grenfell Action blog that in 2016 predicted “only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO”.

link
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/02/anger-grenfell-boss-invited-speak-housing-safety-event

May 1, 2019

North Korea gives weather forecasts a makeover

North Korean newscasters are known among South Koreans for their stiff, overly formal demeanor and militaristic way of talking, and weather forecasts are no different. However, the state-operated Korean Central Television (KCTV) network has introduced a friendlier, more viewer-friendly format to its weather forecasts. While North Korean weather forecasters used to remain planted at their desks and simply read off the weather report in robotic fashion, they now stand in front of the green screen and gesture as their South Korean and Western counterparts. The change in format was officially made on Apr. 27.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/892135.html