We Are Vikings---A Message for tRump

The warning for AIPAC in Tom Malinowski's primary loss

When the American Israel Public Affairs Committee decided to spend big in the New Jersey special election to fill the U.S. House seat Mikie Sherrill vacated when elected governor, it was following a familiar strategy. By punishing a politician the group viewed as an apostate, it might get a friendly vote in the House; if nothing else, the race would be an object lesson: Cross AIPAC and you’ll come to regret it.

But things didn’t work out that way. The race turned out to be a lesson in AIPAC’s diminishing power and the rapidly changing politics around the America-Israel relationship.

Former Rep. Tom Malinowski, the early favorite in the crowded Democratic primary, conceded on Tuesday to Analilia Mejia, a progressive who garnered endorsements from the likes of Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Through the United Democracy Project, its affiliated super PAC, AIPAC poured more than $2 million into attack ads targeting Malinowski, though they didn’t mention Israel, making it a stealth effort.

In his previous two terms in Congress, Malinowski supported Israel. But AIPAC targeted him because he now says we should condition that support on some basic respect for human rights. “I committed one sin in their minds,” Malinowski said in January. “I was not willing to tell them that I would unconditionally, unquestionably, blindly support any request for assistance that Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel might make.”

That was too much for AIPAC, which maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward any cracks in U.S. support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Clearly, the group hoped that knocking out Malinowski in the primary would help a candidate it might find more reliable. But Mejia is poised to be a stronger critic of Israel than her opponents would have been, and other politicians may be a little less afraid of AIPAC going forward. As they should be.

https://www.ms.now/opinion/aipac-new-jersey-special-election-malinowski-majia-israel

It's about damn time.

I think we can now give Pam Bondi a new name

After yesterday, instead of addressing her as "Madam Attorney General", she should simply be addressed as "Madam Screech". I rest my case.

Bill would hold data centers responsible for energy costs and environmental protections

After passing a series of landmark environmental bills in Illinois over the last few years, advocates and legislators are hoping to use that momentum to push through a new law that would regulate the growing data center industry in the state, ensuring efficient energy and water use and protections for ratepayers from rising utility bills.

“We cannot afford to be complacent now. As new industries emerge, we must continue strengthening regulations,” Lucy Contreras, Illinois state program director for GreenLatinos, said at a Wednesday news conference.

The growing use of artificial intelligence has drawn water-intensive data centers to regions where the resource is abundant, such as the Great Lakes, where experts say not all communities have the capacity to sustainably support the industry. The facilities also use massive amounts of energy that are driving electricity rates up for neighbors and nearby residents.

The POWER Act, introduced in collaboration with the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, would incentivize data centers to obtain power from local renewable energy sources and batteries, increase local accountability by setting water and electricity reporting requirements and water efficiency standards, and ensure community engagement.

“This is not too much to ask,” state Sen. Ram Villivalam, the bill’s House sponsor and a Democrat from Chicago, said at a news conference. “By establishing policies that ensure data centers, not consumers, bear the increasing energy costs and critical protections for our environment and sustainable water use, we can work towards a future built for technology to support our daily lives, not deplete our resources and price us out of our homes.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/illinois-data-centers-energy-environment/

I hope other states, and eventually the US government, will pass similar legislation. Of course states like Texas probably will not....

Loyal dog who lived by owner's grave for 10 years inspires new law in Brazil

A dog who spent 10 years living in the São Paulo cemetery where his owner was buried has inspired a new law permitting the burial of pets with their families in the Brazilian state.

Nicknamed Bob Coveiro - meaning "gravedigger" in Portuguese - the loyal dog brought comfort to mourners and became a fixture at the graveyard until his death in 2021, when he was buried alongside his guardian.

The law named after the canine came into effect on Tuesday and recognises the "emotional bond" between pets and their human families, the state government said.

One of its authors, representative Eduardo Nóbrega, wrote on social media: "What began as a story of love and loyalty has turned into public policy."

Bob attended his owner's funeral at the cemetery in Taboão da Serra and refused to leave thereafter, Brazilian media reported - even returning when family members tried to take him home.

He was given a green dog house to live in and was known to accompany funeral processions at the site, where he was eventually buried with his owner after being hit by a vehicle in 2021.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89kvqjyx4ko

I'm not crying, you're crying.

2 Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid dock in Cuba as US blockade sparks energy crisis

Two Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid docked in Cuba on Thursday as a U.S. blockade deepens the island’s energy crisis.

The ships arrived two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba, prompting the island to ration energy in recent days.

The Mexican government said that one ship carried some 536 tons of food including milk, rice, beans, sardines, meat products, cookies, canned tuna, and vegetable oil, as well as personal hygiene items. The second ship carried just over 277 tons of powdered milk.
(snip)

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has called Trump’s threats an “energy blockade” and said it affects transportation, hospitals, schools, tourism and the production of food.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-cuba-humanitarian-aid-havana-us-sanctions-52c44db94c9423511d67366662e78ac4

Next one probably needs to contain medical supplies. Cuba has been incredibly generous with medical aid to disaster areas.

Several ICE agents were arrested in recent months, showing risk of misconduct

Investigators said one immigration enforcement official got away with physically assaulting his girlfriend for years. Another admitted he repeatedly sexually abused a woman in his custody. A third is charged with taking bribes to remove detention orders on people targeted for deportation.

At least two dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and contractors have been charged with crimes since 2020, and their documented wrongdoing includes patterns of physical and sexual abuse, corruption and other abuses of authority, a review by The Associated Press found.

While most of the cases happened before Congress voted last year to give ICE $75 billion to hire more agents and detain more people, experts say these kinds of crimes could accelerate given the sheer volume of new employees and their empowerment to use aggressive tactics to arrest and deport people.

The Trump administration has emboldened agents by arguing they have “absolute immunity” for their actions on duty and by weakening oversight. One judge recently suggested that ICE was developing a troubling culture of lawlessness, while experts have questioned whether job applicants are getting enough vetting and training.

“Once a person is hired, brought on, goes through the training and they are not the right person, it is difficult to get rid of them and there will be a price to be paid later down the road by everyone,” said Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/ice-crimes/

Absolute immunity, my sainted Aunt Matilda! Not even "qualified immunity"! BTW, go to the link and look at the picture---this guy was recruited from the Gravy Seals!

Shooter in Canada kills 9 people and injures 25 others at a school and home

A shooting at a school in remote northern British Columbia left seven people dead, while two more were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said Tuesday. A woman believed by police to be the shooter was also found dead, apparently from a self-inflicted wound.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people were wounded, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School

Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, near the provincial border with Alberta. The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.

British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters that police officers reached the school within two minutes.

A video showed students walking out of the school with their hands raised as police vehicles surrounded the building and a helicopter circled overhead.

Police found six people dead, RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd said. A seventh person died while being transported to a hospital, and two more were found dead at a residence the authorities believe was connected to the attack. A suspect appeared to have died of a “self-inflicted injury.”

https://apnews.com/article/canada-shooting-british-columbia-66b021ac7c75e857885b81dc78a29d05

That was an export they could have done without, Shitler. (BTW, shooter is identified as female.)

Mark Carney reminds Trump that Canada paid for key border bridge US president says he won't open

Mark Carney said he had held a “positive” conversation with Donald Trump after the US leader threatened to block a new key bridge between their two countries, reminding the president that Canada paid for the structure – and that the US shares ownership.

Late on Monday, Trump posted a lengthy message on social media, falsely claiming that the $4.6bn Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, had “virtually no US content”. The bridge is due to open in early 2026.

n his post, Trump had also claimed that Canada owns both ends of the bridge and made a bizarre assertion that increased trade between Canada and China would include a ban on Canadians playing ice hockey.

“Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just ‘take advantage of America!’ What does the United States of America get – Absolutely NOTHING!” he wrote.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday ahead of a flashpoint ice hockey game between the two countries at the Olympics, Carney downplayed Trump’s comments, telling reporters in French the “situation will be resolved”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/trump-canada-windsor-detroit-bridge

I sm so sick of Shitler's bullying and I'm sure everyone else here is too---not to mention the people of Canada!

Epstein engineered intimate relationship for Tesla's Kimbal Musk, emails show

Jeffrey Epstein engineered an intimate relationship between a woman in his network and Kimbal Musk, who is the brother of Elon Musk and on the board of directors at Tesla, according to emails from the Department of Justice’s recent release of documents involving the convicted sex offender. The younger Musk and the woman were involved for around six months between 2012 and 2013, with Kimbal Musk describing them as “dating”.

In the lead up to Musk and the woman’s first meeting, Epstein and his longtime associate Boris Nikolic labored to set them up and bring her to a birthday party Musk was throwing – with Nikolic telling Epstein “please prepare [the woman] — ”.

“Jeffrey and Boris, many thanks for connecting me with [the woman],” Musk later emailed Epstein and Nikolic in October 2012 after a lunch at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment. “I believe you both played a role. ”

Throughout Musk and the woman’s time together, she forwarded Epstein several of the personal messages Musk sent to her and asked Epstein for guidance on the relationship. There is nothing in the emails to suggest that Musk was aware of her backchannel correspondence with Epstein.

Through her lawyer, the woman has said in recent years that she was trapped, coerced and abused by Epstein while in his circle. The woman has not publicly told her story nor spoken about her relationship with Musk, and the Guardian has chosen not to publish her name. Her full name appears in the documents due to a faulty redaction, while other mentions in the emails match her first name and an itinerary of her travels with Musk that Epstein retained. Attempts to reach her and her lawyer did not receive any reply. A request for comment sent to Nikolic via his venture capital firm did not receive a reply. Nikolic, who was named as a backup executor of Epstein’s estate, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and previously said he did not consent to being named as an executor.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/jeffrey-epstein-tesla-kimbal-musk

Well, well...the plot thickens. Is this why Eloon wanted so desperately to be invited to the party?