May 15, 2024

A Bit of Assistance Against Hogan in Maryland.

1. He said he consulted former President George Bush about running. Unless he was conducting a seance, that means he was getting advice from "Bumbles Mc Crappy Prez" from 2002-08 to help him decide. (That's who we all want as a close political advisor to a U.S. Senator )
2. He was governor of a state with a sizable Democratic majority in the legislature, thus preventing him from doing anything disastrous.
Which brings me to 3. There is a scant bit of difference on policy issues between Hogan and il duce orangino mc wratherfurer of the somnambulist mc wratherfuhrers.
Hope that helps

May 10, 2024

London Mayor Khan Celebrates the Campaign of His Arch-Rival Count Binface

Count Binface was again running for the Mayor of London.
Our eldest daughter who is attending Kings College, though she cannot vote because she is there from Japan, urged her friends who could vote in the election to back the Count who supports ending video assistant referees and banning loud snacks from theaters (you know, the important stuff)
The Count secured a whopping 24,260 votes, making Khan, who received a paltry 1,088,225 votes sweat election night.
Finishing 2nd was the rather strange Susan Hall of the Tory Party who got 812,397 votes

Mayor Khan at his election night celebration made sure to mention his arch-nemesis:
"It would be nice to take a moment to celebrate becoming the first person in British political history to win successive victories over Count Binface. Believe me, he made me work hard for it." Khan would then add that Count Binface's third place finish, and thus, finishing ahead of far right, Britain First candidate Nick Scanlon, was "Another reason to love London."

Ponder that for a moment; Count Binface, a candidate who ran on a platform that also included changing the name of London Bridge to Phoebe Waller-Bridge finished 3rd, and the odious, Nigel Farage lackey of the Britain First Party finished "London Fourth".
Nick Scanlon apparently didn't find Mayor Khan's remarks at all funny.
I've seen reports that Scanlon stormed off the stage at the vote count ceremony. But, I can't find if it was after Mayor Khan's witticism.

The Count also finished ahead of the Social Democrat candidate who ran on a platform of ending 'wokeness' in London.
Looking at Britain First and the Social Democrat platforms, I ask myself, "Who had the more serious platform of the 3?"

May 10, 2024

Mariska Hargitay Helps Lost Child Who Thought Olivia Benson Was a Real Police Officer

After a quarter of a century playing the NYPD’s Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay has saved a lot of fictional New York children. And according to People, Hargitay recently helped a real lost little girl who walked up to the actor to ask for help while she was shooting an episode of SVU, believing Hargitay to be an actual police officer.

Per People, the child got separated from her mother on April 10 at the Anne Loftus Playground in Fort Tryon Park, an event that coincided with Hargitay and the crew shooting one of the final episodes of SVU’s 25th season. Hargitay, the star of SVU and an executive producer on the show, halted production on the episode for 20 minutes after the girl approached her, taking the time to help reunite her with her mother.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/mariska-hargitay-helps-lost-child-who-thought-olivia-benson-was-a-real-police-officer

I think this is a cute story and pleased it has a happy ending

May 7, 2024

This months early leader in the category of "Uhhhh... yeah. Ummmm... kay? I... ummmm...?

We have this story about a representative in New Hampshire.

https://www.masslive.com/politics/2024/05/nh-lawmaker-opposes-new-marriage-bill-says-teens-are-of-ripe-fertile-age.html

April 23, 2024

Joe Biden has been invited to sdeliver the commencement address at Morehouse College

I hear Trump is in negotiations to speak at the 2024 Ku Klux Klan Klam Bake.

April 16, 2024

April 16, 2024. The 10th Anniversary of the Sewol Ferry Disaster in Korea

On April 16, 2014, the Sewol Ferry sank off the southern coast of South Korea killing 304 of the 472 people on board (passengers and crew), 250 of which were High School students from Danwon High School going to Jeju for their class trip.

I was living in Korea when it happened. It was the worst tragedy in my two decades there, surpassing the subway fire in 2003. It was the worst act of corporate negligence in Korea since the mid-90s.
At the time, all my daughters were in elementary school or kindergarten. To this day, I don't know what I would have done had it been one of my children that were on that ship.
This disaster is what happens when you have almost zero oversight and rules regarding safety are blatantly ignored.

The ship was carrying 185 cars and over 2000 tons of cargo on a ship that had a maximum allowance of 987 tons capacity. The cars and other cargo were not properly secured
The Captain was not the regular captain. The regular captain, Shin, had warned the company on numerous occasions about the ship's deficiencies, and was warned by the company of repercussions if he didn't cease.
Captain Lee, the captain for this voyage, was in his mid-60s and had 40 years of sailing expertise. His crew ere 33, mostly irregular workers unfamiliar with the ship.
Modifications to the ship completed January 24, 2014, had been deemed to make the ship less stable.

At around just before 8:50 the boat began to list to the right. The crew tried to turn the ship left but it continued listing to the right and towards the water. The cargo all shifted toward the list and the ship continued to fall over in the water. There was no way to right the ship.
The captain called for everyone to stay put in their quarters. Never were there any instructions given by the Captain to abandon ship -- even when he abandoned he ship along with some of the crew: Captain Lee. the 1st Mate and 2nd Mates all were rescued.

The South Korean Coast Guard, in a very Keystone Cops like manner, had trouble locating the ship, gave conflicting orders, seemed uncertain what to do, as passengers jumped off the ship, local fishing boats rescued the bulk of them, not the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard never made any attempt to board the ship to save people.
The Coast Guard would eventually order the fishing boats to leave the area.
Scuba Divers from the Korean Army Special Warfare Command arrived, but they were not trained for dives like this.
A US Navy ship arrived in the area but was told they were not needed -- I guess a ship with highly trained divers are not needed to save passengers trapped in a sinking ship.
A little after 1 pm the ship was completely under water.
The Coast Guard's inadequacies was watched on television by an outraged public.

A private diving company sent divers to assist. As they were better trained than both the Navy and Coast Guard for this kind of dive. But, their efforts were delayed because President Park arrived and the Coast Guard wanted the space to pump in air to the ship which they knew would do no good, but they wanted to look good in front of her.
President Park was slow to react because she sought counsel with her spiritual advisor and was unavailable for several hours. When she did appear, she did not seem to have any idea about specifics -- almost as if she hadn't been briefed

250 students, 12 of their teachers, 3 crew members died saving others, a father and his seven year old son were among those who died.
The Vice-Principal at Danwon that arranged the rip was so grief stricken he hanged himself two days after the sinking.
It has had a sobering effect on Korean Society. In some cases, it has caused a split -- there are conservatives that resent the Sewol Ferry debacle brought down Park Geun-hye and are not shy about expressing their anger.
The government used many resources to shut down any criticism of it.

Some of the stories are heartbreaking:
One mother said she was on the phone with her sister when her son called. She decided to continue with her call and would call him back, not knowing he was on a sinking ship. She never got to speak to him.
One mother talked of how she wanted a new family photo because the most recent one was when her daughter was in elementary school. She decided to wait until her daughter returned from her class trip.

The first video is the Academy Award Nominated "In the Absence" If you want to see blithering incompetence. This is it. The documentary has the radio communications between the rescue parties with written commentary and some interviews

The 2nd Video is a short video of the parents of the students removing and boxing up the items from the Shrines for the Students that were made in their classrooms. It's hard to watch the grief. I don't know how they do it sometimes. Especially those that had only one child



The 3rd Video is of the Shrines made in each of the classrooms. The items on the desks were placed/chosen by their parents and classmates. It is a song that shows the desks and has the names of all that died

April 16, 2024

Conald is upset he won't be able to attend Barron's high school graduation on May 17th

Court is not in session on May 17th
So Conald could go
But, given he didn't attend any of his other four children's high school graduation, the odds of him having planned to attend was likely nil
Until he saw the opportunity to Wounded Martyr himself -- again

April 15, 2024

And another in a long line of dimwitted il douche supporters

This guy is especially gullible
I would say "stupid", but Jamie Dimon (the guy who helped tank the economy in the 2000s) has urged us to not say such things about his supporters

from electoral-vote.com:
But some people bought the shell company, DWAC, earlier. Tree-remover Jerry McLain of Oklahoma didn't want to miss out, so he bought DWAC at $90/share 2 years ago. He put his life savings into it, expecting that he would make a killing, thanks to his orange hero. McLain is not worried. He said: "I know good and well it's in Trump's hands, and he's got plans."


***********

I'm certain he does have plans. And it doesn't involve what McLame thinks

April 13, 2024

April 13th. Happy Songkran to everyone here in Asia

Songkran is the Thai New Year.
My understanding is that Songkran is comes from the Sanskrit and means movement.
Songkran happens when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries in the solar system.
Songkran technically happens every month, but this event is the High Songkran
Though Thailand officially celebrates new Year on January 1st. The country also celebrates Songkran for 3 days.
There are lots of water fights (super soakers are a must), which represent a ritual cleansing.

I live in Japan, not Thailand. I have never been to the Songkran celebrations. Though I imagine it is a lot of fun -- especially for children.

And happy Songkran to those not in Asia when April 13th comes to your region

March 23, 2024

Five Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

5. To Some In Belgrade, Serbia Risks Loss Of 'Crown Jewel' In Kushner Deal

BELGRADE -- Serbs in Belgrade and close followers of their memorialization of the Balkan wars of the 1990s are responding coolly to word that Serbian officials are surprisingly advanced in talks for Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to redevelop one of the most recognizable symbols of Western military might targeting Serbs.

The abandoned headquarters of the Yugoslav General Staff in downtown Belgrade was struck by two overnight bombing raids in April and May 1999, midway through NATO’s 79-day bombardment to force an end to violence and charges of ethnic cleansing between mostly Serb troops and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, then an autonomous province of rump Yugoslavia.

Despite decades of sporadic debate about transforming the site, the old General Staff buildings have remained mostly unchanged as a crumbling reminder to many Serbs of perceived bias against their national cause at a dark historical juncture.

"Why should it be given away?” Belgrade retiree Zivko Nedeljkovic told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service this week, following news of the potential Kushner deal.

https://www.rferl.org/a/jared-kushner-serbia-nato-bombing-belgrade-hotel/32873406.html

4. Kurti Says Won't Change Suspension Of Serbian Dinar Use In Kosovo

PRISTINA -- Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti says he will not suspend a move by the central bank to ban the circulation of the Serbian dinar in parts of the country with Serbian majorities but will accept the forming of an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities once Belgrade agrees to sign a basic agreement on bilateral relations.

The basic agreement for the normalization of relations with Serbia was reached in February 2023, and includes the formation of the association, which is expected to more adequately represent predominantly ethnic Serb areas in Kosovo.

Kosovo is not a member of the European Union or its common currency area, the eurozone, but it unilaterally adopted the euro in 2002 to help bring monetary stability and to simplify and reduce transaction costs inside and outside the country.

Serbia, which has never acknowledged its former province's 2008 declaration of independence, still pays many ethnic Serbs at institutions in Serb-dominated parts of Kosovo in dinars. Many also hold their pensions and get child allowances in dinars.

https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-serbia-dinar-ban-kurti/32868947.html


3. Senior Labour figures seeking to water down plans to decriminalise abortion

Senior Labour figures want to water down proposed legislation to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales ahead of a historic Commons debate on the issue.

Later this spring, MPs are due to have a free vote on a proposal by the Labour MP Diana Johnson to abolish the criminal offence associated with a woman ending her own pregnancy.

The proposal from Johnson, who chairs the home affairs select committee, has support from MPs on both sides of the house and senior doctors’ groups. There has been a widespread expectation it will pass, in a major change to abortion law.

snip

Some senior Labour figures have privately expressed concern that Johnson’s proposal goes too far because of the provision of telemedicine in England and Wales, whereby a woman seeking an early-stage abortion can be prescribed tablets at home without seeing a doctor.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/23/senior-labour-figures-seeking-water-down-plans-decriminalise-abortion


2. Rising prices and social inequality could decide the European elections: Exclusive poll

The fight against rising prices and social inequalities are the most important issues for European voters ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, according to an exclusive poll by Ipsos for Euronews.

Beating out topics like climate change and immigration, economic issues represent four out of the top five topics that Europeans think should be the highest priorities for incoming decision-makers.

The first-of-its-kind survey, conducted in 18 countries representing 96% of the EU's population, found that rising prices remain the leading electoral issue for Europeans, followed closely by social concerns such as preserving healthcare and pension systems.

https://www.euronews.com/business/2024/03/23/rising-prices-and-social-inequality-could-decide-the-european-elections-exclusive-poll

1. Ex-Prime Minister Of Bosniak-Croat Federation Begins Jail Term

Fadil Novalic, the former prime minister of the Bosniak-Croat federation, one of Bosnia's two entities, has started serving a four-year prison sentence for corruption in a case regarding the purchase and importing of Chinese ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fahrudin Zolak, the head of the entity's civil protection service, and entrepreneur Fikret Hodzic were also found guilty on April 5, 2023, and were sentenced to six years and five years in prison, respectively.

Jelka Milicevic, the entity's finance minister, was found not guilty.

The trial regarding the procurement of 5.4 million euros ($5.9 million) worth of ventilators earmarked for the entity's health-care system began in February 2021.

snip

The Sarajevo Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation after it emerged that 100 ventilators had been purchased without following the legal public-procurement procedure via direct negotiations with Hodzic's private company F.H. Srebrena Malina (Silver Raspberry), which deals in fresh produce.

https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-novalic-corruption-prison-novalic/32350526.html