Tag: news

When reality interferes with the narrative, it’s reality that must make way:

A Democrat with a racist past? That fact might be too far from the mainstream line for CNN, so they labeled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam a ‘Republican’ when reporting on his apology for a past racist photo.

Northam is under pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to resign after admitting that he is one of two men that appeared in an old photograph, one in blackface and the other dressed in a KKK robe. He apologized for the photo, unearthed from a 1984 school yearbook this week, saying that it did not reflect the person he is today, and promised to work to regain the public’s trust, but did not indicate any intention to leave office.

When the story was covered on Anderson Cooper’s show on CNN Friday night, the governor’s name was labeled with the letter ‘R’ – which stands for ‘Republican’.

This sort of thing is why I don’t ever watch ABCNNBCBS Fake News. If they’re misrepresenting the most easily verified facts, what else are they lying about?

The God-Emperor has spoken:

President Trump has canceled the White House holiday party for the media, making the decades-old tradition a victim of his increasingly contentious relationship with major news organizations. The annual Christmas-season gathering was a significant perk for those covering the White House, as well as other Washington reporters, anchors and commentators, and New York media executives would regularly fly in for the occasion. At its peak, the invitation-only soirees grew so large that there were two back-to-back events, one for broadcast outlets and one for print organizations.

Bravo. Despite the various disappointments to date, Donald Trump still easily the best President since Calvin Coolidge. Let them celebrate whatever fake holidays it is they pretend to celebrate on their own.

I don’t do “holiday” parties myself. We celebrate Christmas.

Stan Lee (1922-2018)

We’re told an ambulance rushed to Lee’s Hollywood Hills home early Monday morning and he was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. We’re told that’s where he died.

Apparently the Fake Bombs didn’t work, so Plan B is in effect:

Brett Kavanaugh: Senate votes yes to advance nomination to final floor vote.
Flake, Collins and Manchin vote yes; Murkowski votes no
Nomination advances 51-49 to final confirmation vote

It’s not over yet, but it’s over. The God-Emperor wins again. Trumpslide 2020.

Bridge collapse in Italy:

At least 22 30 35 people have been killed ‘including a baby’ and dozens more are feared dead after a huge 260ft section of a highway bridge collapsed during a fierce storm in the Italian city of Genoa. Cars fell 300ft along with tonnes of twisted steel and concrete debris into a river, railroad tracks and an industrial zone below when the Morandi bridge gave way at 11.30am local time.

Officials have said ‘dozens’ are dead in what is being described as ‘an immense tragedy.’ One witness described the carnage as ‘apocalyptic’ with up to 35 cars and three heavy trucks cascading into the valley below as they were making their way over the bridge. Rescuers desperately hunting for survivors are now fearful of explosions from damaged gas lines and some areas have been evacuated while safety checks take place.

Incredibly, two people have been pulled alive from cars found in the mangled ruins of the bridge while two warehouses below the structure were empty having been closed for the summer holiday.

The highway bridges around Genova are pretty dilapidated in general. From Rome all the way up to the French border, they also tend to be alarmingly high, which makes these collapses even more dangerous. I suspect that one unanticipated consequence of this is going to be an even harder government line on immigration; Italians are in no mood to keep spending large quantities of money on refugees and immigrants when their national infrastructure is literally collapsing.

The video almost makes it look as if a bomb went off, and indeed, one Italian journalist said, Sembra che una bomba abbia colpito la città. “It’s like a bomb hit the city.”

It’s about time the agent lost his job. The next question is, when will he be arrested?

The FBI has fired Agent Peter Strzok, who helped lead the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election until officials discovered he had been sending anti-Trump texts.

Aitan Goelman, Strzok’s lawyer, said FBI Deputy Director David L. Bowdich ordered the firing on Friday — even though the director of the FBI office that normally handles employee discipline had decided Strzok should face only a demotion and 60-day suspension. Goelman said the move undercuts the FBI’s repeated assurances that Strzok would be afforded the normal disciplinary process.

“This isn’t the normal process in any way more than name,” Goelman said.

The FBI declined to comment.

The termination marks a remarkable downfall for Strzok, a 22-year veteran of the bureau who investigated Russian spies, defense officials accused of selling secrets to China and myriad other important cases. In the twilight of his career, Strzok was integral to two of the bureau’s most high-profile investigations: the Russia case, and the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

The Wild Boars are out of the cave:

All 12 youth football players and their coach have now been rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, following a three-day operation.

The final four school boys and their coach, who had been trapped in the Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai for 18 days, were carried out on stretchers to waiting ambulances on Tuesday afternoon.

Among those extracted today is the youngest member of the team, 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungruang, whose nickname is Titan.

The governor of the rescue mission had previously said Tuesday’s operation would be more difficult than the previous two days, due to the increased number of people who need to be evacuated.

Following the last boys and their 25-year-old coach will be four Thai Navy SEALs – including a medic – who have been staying with the group since they were discovered huddled together on a muddy ledge 2,620ft (800 metres) underground on July 2.

The Thai Navy SEALs confirmed the successful rescue on their official Facebook page, writing: ’12 wild boars and coach out of the cave. Everyone is safe. Now just waiting to pick up four frogs. Hooyah.’

Amazing. And while the story never truly ends, it’s great to see this particular chapter come to a close on a high and happy note.

“As long as you fight, as long as you believe in yourself we will go through the bad things and will succeed in life.”
– Thitiporn Anurakkhana

If anyone ever had an excuse for despair, if anyone ever had a rational reason to just give up, it was those 12 boys. They are an object lesson in the importance of fighting until the very end. I wonder how many of them will become SEALs themselves?

Four more boys have been successfully rescued, bringing the total to eight:

Four more boys have today been rescued from the cave complex in northern Thailand where a youth football team became trapped two weeks ago, leaving just four teammates and their coach stuck underground for at least another day.

The first of today’s rescued Wild Boar FC players, whose identities have not yet been confirmed, was seen being carried out on a stretcher shortly before 5pm local time, a few hours after the mission entered its second day.

Boys number six and seven were brought out little over an hour later, with boy number eight spotted being taken out at about 7.40pm local time.

They were all carried out on stretchers and into ambulances before being airlifted to the Chiang Rai Pranukroh Hospital, where the four players rescued on Sunday are recovering.

The fact that they got the weakest boys out first is a very promising sign that all 12, plus the coach, are going to survive the arduous experience. It’s really an incredible story.

The story of the Thai soccer team trapped 800 meters underground is pretty incredible. Two of the boys are now out, so here’s to hoping the rescuers are able to safely extricate the rest of the team.

First two members of Thai soccer team are OUT of the cave: Official reveals news after threat of rain forced divers to begin mission to rescue children and coach from flooded tunnels

• The first two schoolboys were rescued safely after divers executed a carefully constructed rescue mission  
• The treacherous rescue operation to save 12 young Thai footballers from a flooded cave begun this morning
• Eighteen divers have been sent in to complete the mission as officials said Sunday was ‘D-Day’ for rescue
• The young footballers and their coach have been trapped in flooded caves in northern Thailand for 16 days   
• As soon as the boys exit the cave they will be airlifted by helicopter or driven by ambulance to local hospital 

A Thai Navy SEAL has already died bringing in oxygen and other supplies. It’s good to know his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

UPDATE: four of the boys are out now.