Friday, August 16, 2024

Chase Rice

Paul Rudnick.



Now for music.  Chase Rice released a new song.


It's from his upcoming album.  

What happens in Haw River is pretty dark but real. Shit like that happened and unfortunately still happens all the time in this country and around the world. The story is about fighting back, a girl standing up for her family, her sister and what is right. I absolutely love this song. Wrote it in Wilmington North Carolina with Blake Pendergrass.

I hope yall enjoy this one as much as me🤘🏼
 

Copyright © 2024 CHASE RICE all rights reserved


"Chase Rice's THE ALBUM" is where he hooked me with his songs and he followed that with "Chase Rice's I HATE COWBOYS" which was an even bigger growth spurt artistically.   I can't wait t hear the new album.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):  

Friday, August 16, 2024.  Iraq will not be asking for US troops to leave, Joe Biden continues to supply the Israeli government with the weapons needed for genocide, Jill Stein prepares to have her useless vanity stroked yet again, and much more. 


Let's start with constant failure Jill Stein.  She's run for office repeatedly and never won.  She's run for the presidency twice already and never won.  On Saturday, she's expected to be named the Green Party's presidential nominee -- no despite claims for TRT as well as multiple idiots on YOUTUBE, she is not yet the nominee.

At 74, she's only four years younger than Donald Trump -- and Boomer's supposed to speak to young voters and a young party/  Maybe that's why she sounds so stupid in her MIDDLE EAST EYE interview saying things like "zombie candidates."  THE WALKING DEAD started airing 14 years ago, Granny, you don't look up to date and your references aren't fresh, you come off like the seriously out of person you are prompting nothing so much as eye rolls.


The old whore gets off this in the interview:


The Democrats have just coronated Kamala after having essentially circled the wagons around a truly impaired president whose problems eventually became perfectly clear, such that the power elites inside the Democratic Party had to switch gears and move to a Plan B. And then suddenly, there she was, Kamala Harris, coronated, without ever a single vote having been cast for her, other than among the Democratic party elites. 

This is really a crisis of democracy in our own country.


Did your Green elites -- including Margaret Kimberley -- not crown you?  Did Cornel West -- the man who you endorsed for this year's Green Party's presidential nomination -- not walk away from your party?  I know YOUTUBERS plot and scheme during the political circle jerks but we're not as stupid as they wish we were.  And we know what we down and we know that every criticism that you're leveling goes to yourself, Queen of Projection.


You're the tired failed face of the 2012 Green Party and the 2016 Green Party.  


The only thing more hilarious is watching the press with headlines about the Democratic Party trying to "block" Jill from the Wisconsin ballot.  No, that's not an accurate heading.  The accurate heading is that the Democrats are trying to make sure Jill abides by the rules like everyone else.

At another point, she insists "Candidates for president are completely out of step, out of touch," apparently not anticipating the obvious reply of "You certainly are, Jill!"


And it's easy for people to forget but they don't a thing about Jill Stein. Her estimated net worth is $7 million.  Hey, Steiners, how'd your gal make that money?  She's not like you.  You're not sitting on millions.  And a lot of people don't even know she's married.  Or has children.  It's a detail that even her own campaign site scrubs 


Go to "Meet Jill Stein" on her campaign site and you'll find a laughable 511 words 'about her' but none of the words are Richard  Rohrer (her husband) or  Noah and Ben  (her children).  


Of all the laughable things at "Meet Jill Stein," I think this is my personal favorite:


She is the co-author of two widely-praised reports, In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, published in 2000, and Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging, published in 2009.  The first of these has been translated into four languages and is used worldwide as a community tool in the fight for health and environmental justice. 


It's "used worldwide"! And it's "been translated into four languages"!  Worldwide.  It's the sort of thing a person might read and then shake their heads saying, "White people."  There are over 7,000 spoken languages in the world but Jill wants to claim 'her' report is read worldwide . . . in four languages.


The laughs and the lies never stop with Jill.  Sadly for her, I have the 'report' in question.  And the cover does not have Jill as the author.  No, the cover has the title and then it has "A Report By Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility."


The second page lists authors: Ted Schettler MD, MPH,  Jill Stein MD,  Fay Reich PsyD, Maria Valenti and David Wallinga MD -- with a foreword by Philip Landrigan MD.  But, hey, co-author!  She hides her kids and she hides co-authors.  She probably wishes she could hide the book because this is actually from her anti-vaccine period that she now pretends does not exist. 


Not just a glory hog, please note, but a failed glory hog.  And this is who the Green Party appears to be about to name their party's presidential candidate.  It'll happen tomorrow evening, the naming of the candidate.  And then she'll name her running mate.


See, she's struggled there too.  Right now, it's rumored to be Noura Erakat.  However, Abdullah H. Hammoud is the man she tried to make her running mate but that didn't work out because he wasn't old enough, as THE WASHINGTON POST noted.


These are not secrets, these are not arcane tidbits.  


She has run twice before for US president and she's not aware of the age requirements?


Again, Democrats aren't trying to "block" her from Wisconsin or anywhere else.  They're trying to ensure that she plays be the rules already in place.


Tomorrow is her big day!  And they're noting her on Twitter.







 The 2024 presidential election is 80 days away so let's note this from  DEMOCRACY NOW!



AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

The United Auto Workers has filed federal labor charges against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The union accuses the men of illegally attempting to threaten and intimidate workers who go on strike. The UAW’s complaint with the National Labor Relations Board comes in response to these comments made by Trump during a discussion with Musk Monday on the social media platform X, which Musk owns.

DONALD TRUMP: You’re the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, and you just say, “You want to quit?”

ELON MUSK: Yeah.

DONALD TRUMP: They go on strike. I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike. And you say, “That’s OK. You’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.” And you are the greatest. You would be very good. Oh, you would love it.

AMY GOODMAN: On Tuesday, UAW President Shawn Fain spoke to CBS about why the union filed federal labor charges against Trump and Musk.

SHAWN FAIN: This is the problem in America right now. The rich keep getting richer at the expense of the working class. And people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, they sneer at labor law, but they don’t care about labor law, because they don’t care about working-class people. You know, they believe in buying off the system and buying off politicians and being able to have their way with people.

And, you know, look, employers need to be held accountable in this country when they break the law. It is a federal right of workers to go on strike, and they cannot be fired for that. But, you know, people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, they laugh about firing people, because they can care less about people and about their jobs and what they do to their careers. All they care about is their billionaire buddies and taking more wealth.

And so, this is a which-side-are-you-on election, and that’s why working-class people will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, because they’re one of us, and Donald Trump and Elon Musk represent everything that this nation stands against.

AMY GOODMAN: While the UAW has endorsed Kamala Harris, Elon Musk is funding a new political action committee to help elect Donald Trump. There have been reports Musk was planning to spend $45 million a month to help elect Trump, but Musk has disputed that figure.

We’re joined now in Boston by Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli. She recently co-wrote an article headlined “Inside Elon Musk’s Hands-On Push to Win 800,000 Voters for Trump.” She’s the author of the new book The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power.

We’re going to talk about that in a minute, but let’s start with Elon Musk and your latest reporting, Dana. Before we talk about the UAW filing a complaint with the NLRB, let’s talk about what Elon Musk’s role is in Donald Trump’s campaign for president.

DANA MATTIOLI: It’s really fascinating. As early as a few months ago, Elon Musk said he would not be contributing any money to either presidential candidate. And what we’ve seen is a complete 180. Not only did he start this super PAC with lots of money to help Donald Trump win, he is really taking on the get-out-the-vote aspect of the Trump campaign. He also had a big endorsement for Donald Trump after the assassination attempt. So he’s become like a very big political player this presidential cycle, in addition to running six companies that he’s involved in. This is a person with a very big microphone.

The super PAC is looking to get 800,000 low-propensity voters in swing states to the polls for Donald Trump. Elon also wants his workers in those states to register new voters to get them for the polls. But it’s had a bit of disruption in the last few weeks because he signed off on firing a lot of their vendors.

AMY GOODMAN: Firing the vendors, which, of course, firing was what Donald Trump was praising his ability to do in that conversation he had with Elon Musk on X. But talk more about why he broke with the Democrats and joined Donald Trump in his effort to become president.

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah, it’s sort of this remarkable political transformation. You know, as of a few years ago, Musk has said that he exclusively voted for Democrats. He voted for Obama. He was pretty close to President Obama. And he voted for Democrats up and down the ticket.

What has happened is, during the Biden administration, there was a break between Elon and the Democrats. He felt like he was almost pushed out of his party. It related to Tesla primarily. You know, the Biden administration, because he has said he wants to be the most pro-union president in history, Biden is very reliant on the United Auto Workers union. And the United Auto Workers union does not love Tesla, because Tesla’s factories are not unionized. So, whenever Biden held electric vehicle summits or would praise other companies for moving to the transition away from fossil fuels, Elon Musk and Tesla were not invited or name-checked. And this really grated on the billionaire, because, you know, his company has primarily the biggest market share in the EV space. It felt like these personal slights.

In addition to that, as Elon Musk’s wealth grew — you know, he’s the richest man in the world — the progressive wing of the party started villainizing him for wealth, for taxes, for income disparity in the country. And, you know, he started to move more to the right the last few years, culminating in this historic PAC that he helped form.

AMY GOODMAN: So, can you talk about what Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his staff, when he was running for president, has to do with the new super PAC that Elon Musk is behind but doesn’t want to be seen as behind?

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah. So, when Elon started this super PAC in April, he started meeting with vendors in Austin, Texas, and he told them that he wanted to create this red wave of voters. And he started relying on these Texas-based advisers for this. More recently, just a few weeks ago, he brought in some of the team from Ron DeSantis’s failed presidential bid. These are people from the campaign but also run DeSantis’s super PAC. He brought them in, and then, right after he brought them in, we saw the vendors change at Elon’s super PAC, called the America PAC.

And that’s caused really big disruptions, because the people that were hired to knock on doors in all these swing states were fired. The people that were hired to maintain the super PAC’s website, to get forms out to prospective voters who wanted to register to vote, were fired, so those forms never went out. And there were other disruptions along the way, 90 days before the election starts. And some of the political operatives we’ve spoken to on the Republican side have worried that because this is such a big part of the GOP’s efforts on get out the vote, where, you know, they think that the Democrats have historically been stronger, that this could cause some speed bumps along the way very close to the election.

AMY GOODMAN: So, people who thought they were signing up to get ballots, they haven’t gotten them?

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah, that’s right. People from swing states that put all of their information into the America PAC’s website were supposed to be mailed documents that they could then sign and send to their elected officials to register. What happened is, the America PAC fired the vendor that was mailing out those forms a few days before they were about to send them, so those have not been mailed out yet. There’s 8,500 of them.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the two investigations into America PAC, Dana?

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah. So, that very issue has raised some alarm bells at some of the swing states. And they were worried that the America PAC was just collecting voter information under the guise of registering them to vote. But the full picture is a little bit more complicated. Had the vendors been able to stay on, you know, the 8,500 people who put in their personal information would have received those forms. But it was really because the new people, leadership of the PAC came in, and there was this disruption, that that last part of the cycle was not completed. Interestingly enough, the super PAC has had to rehire the vendor that it fired to complete that task.

AMY GOODMAN: How is Elon Musk hiding his name in the various PACs that he’s supporting?

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah, what we’ve learned is really interesting. While Musk formed this PAC with a lot of his friends and cohort, he did not want to be the face of it, and he took pains to hide his involvement. You know, he has been on weekly one-hour phone calls with the vendors to get progress reports from them. He’s very hands-on. He has asked them to show him the training materials for the door knockers. He has asked them to videotape what they say at the doors when they’re knocking, right? So he’s really keeping a very close look at how the progress of the PAC is. But he didn’t want to be the face.

So, what he did was he assembled the PAC, and he assembled other donors to give checks of $500,000 or a million dollars for the first quarter of expenses that appeared in July 15th federal campaign filings, with the intent of not donating himself the majority of the money for the PAC until July 1st or after, so that it wouldn’t show up until the October 15th filings. What happened was, we were able to get to the bottom of his involvement, and we reported these big stories about his involvement. And then there was a witch hunt within the PAC to see where the leaks came from. He was not very happy about that.

AMY GOODMAN: So, if you can address, Dana Mattioli, what Elon Musk said about, well, you, The Wall Street Journal, denying that he’s putting in $45 million a month? I think at the time it was four months; it would be about $200 million into electing Donald Trump. He directly named The Wall Street Journal in saying it wasn’t true.

DANA MATTIOLI: He did. What we understand is he was really upset about the report coming out. Interestingly enough, before he denied it, he responded to someone on Twitter who said — who made the point that Elon went from voting for Obama to giving $180 million to Donald Trump and that the Democrats must have screwed up pretty badly. And Elon confirmed that and said, “Yeah.” And then, after, he started to deny the reports and walk back how much money he’s giving.

We have, you know, really stood by our reporting. He has told people around him that he would give around $45 million a month. You know, he obviously has the option to change his mind. Nothing is said and done until he writes those checks. But our understanding is, at the outset of this, he told them that he would fund the majority of the costs that were associated with the PAC, and that he has said that he would give $45 million a month.

AMY GOODMAN: And how is this all legal?

DANA MATTIOLI: You know, this is the world of super political action committees. You know, this happens on both sides, I should say. There are super PACs on the Democratic side, as well. And it’s a way for billionaires to really pool their resources in major ways that are not allowed if you’re just giving individual contributions to campaigns. And this is how a lot of the big money is funded when it gets to presidential elections.

AMY GOODMAN: And Trump, who has been attacking EVs, electric cars, for quite some time now, has flipped, hasn’t he?

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah, he’s definitely softened his stance since Elon has come out in full support of him. You know, Trump had been pretty critical of the EV sector. He’s been known to be very close to Big Fossil Fuel and the oil companies. And he’s even come out and said that he has to be more supportive of electric vehicles because Elon has come out with such support of him. So, that’s like a really fascinating thing here, as well. And they even spoke about it during the live stream, their differing opinions on fossil fuels, global warming, EVs. And, you know, there’s definitely differing opinions there. But fascinating enough, even if you think about that, you know, Tesla, SpaceX, which Elon also owns and runs, these are both mission-based companies that would historically align more with Democratic causes.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go back to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, when Donald Trump called for UAW President Shawn Fain to be fired.

DONALD TRUMP: The United Auto Workers ought to be ashamed for allowing this to happen, and the leader of the United Auto Workers should be fired immediately. And every single autoworker, union and nonunion, should be voting for Donald Trump, because we’re going to bring back car manufacturing, and we’re going to bring it back fast.

AMY GOODMAN: So, Dana Mattioli, that was Donald Trump in his acceptance speech in Milwaukee talking about Shawn Fain, repeatedly saying his name, saying he should be fired. Now you have UAW President Shawn Fain filing a labor relations complaint against Musk and Trump for saying that they were firing striking workers or celebrating firing striking workers, which is illegal. Talk about Elon Musk and his relationship with UAW, and Donald Trump and his relationship with UAW and Shawn Fain.

DANA MATTIOLI: Yeah, I mean, Elon Musk has had a very, very contentious relationship with the United Auto Workers union. Elon has been famously anti-union for Tesla. His Fremont factory, where these cars are assembled, is not unionized. And Elon has got into some hot water over the years about his comments about union activity at Tesla. And it’s also the reason that he was on the outs or is on the outs with the Biden administration. You know, he’s one of the only U.S. automakers that isn’t a unionized shop, and he was ostracized because of that decision. So, this is, you know, par for the course with friction between the union and Elon.

What’s interesting is, the Republican Party has been trying to court union workers and is trying to make themselves look more pro-union. So we’re seeing this confluence happening with what each party stands for and, like, some blurred lines there, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s stay at the Republican convention, where we were broadcasting from in Milwaukee. Next week, of course, we’re headed to the Democratic convention, and we’ll be broadcasting from Chicago.


Turning to Iraq, there was hope among some Iraqis that next month's official trip to the US would lead to US troops departing Iraq.  From Wednesday's snapshot:


Over the weekend, APA noted, "The foreign minister of Iraq will travel to Washington next month to make a formal announcement about the withdrawal of American military forces from the Arab country, informed sources said, APA reports citing TASNIM."  Officially, 2,500 US troops remain in Iraq.  The number is actually much higher.  Last month, someone at the US Embassy in Baghdad shot a woman in an apartment across the way leaving her hospitalized which has increased the calls for US troops to leave Iraq.  As noted in this snapshot, the wife of Dr Abdul Amir al-Hazali was praying in her apartment when she was shot.   As we noted then, the shooting resulted in another push to expel US troops from Iraq: 


Abdul Amir Al-Ghazali spoke with ALSUMARIA and explained to them that the shooting took place on Friday while his wife was praying.  The Badr Organization accuses the US government of converting the US Embassy in Baghdad into a "military base," condemns the action citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, and, citing the Iraqi Constitution (Articles 1, 15, 50 and 109) calls for Iraq's legislative and executive branches to expel the US military from Iraq.


The Badr Organization is part of the alliance that controls the Parliament.  Over the weekend, another group began echoing the call.  SABA reports, "State of Law Coalition member Ahmed Al-Sudani on Sunday said that Washington is procrastinating in determining the withdrawal paragraph from Iraq, stressing that the withdrawal of US forces is necessary to achieve national security.  State of Law is former prime minster and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki's coalition.  Arabic social media is showing some excitement about the upcoming September trip to DC with the hope that an announcement will be made that US troops are leaving.  

Love to see that happen but don't see it happening.  


Yesterday afternoon, CNN's longterm Iraq correspondent Mohammed Tawfeeq reported:


             Iraq has postponed announcing an end-date for the US-led military coalition’s presence in the country due to “recent developments,” raising questions about the future of US military presence in the Gulf state amid heightened tension in the region.

Iraq’s Higher Military Commission had aimed to propose an end date for Operation Inherent Resolve, the US military operation combatting terror group ISIS.

“We were very close to announcing this agreement, but due to recent developments, the announcement of the end of the international coalition’s military mission in Iraq was postponed,” a statement by Iraq’s foreign ministry said Thursday, without giving further details on what the “recent developments.”     


Meanwhile at COMMON DREAMS, Brett Wilkins writes:


  As the Palestinian death toll from Israel's 314-day assault on Gaza passed 40,000—a figure experts say is likely a vast undercount—human rights groups this week decried the Biden administration's approval of $20 billion worth of new weapons for Israel and renewed pleas for Congress to block further arms transfers to the nation on trial for genocide at the World Court.

On Tuesday—just days after Israeli forces used at least one U.S.-supplied bomb in an airstrike on a Gaza City school that killed scores of forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians sheltering there—the Biden administration notified Congress of the pending sale of a new weapons package that includes dozens of F-15 fighter jets, tens of thousands of 120mm mortar shells, over 32,700 tank shells, and 30 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.

Since October, Congress and the Biden administration have approved more than $14 billion in unconditional military aid to Israel. President Joe Biden has signed off on more than 100 arms transfers to Israel during that period. This, atop the $3.8 billion in annual armed aid the U.S. already gives to the key Middle Eastern ally.

"Israel used U.S.-made weapons in May when it slaughtered Palestinian families sheltering in tent camps in Rafah," Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) said Wednesday. "Israel used U.S.-made weapons when it bombed the al-Mutanabbi school in Khan Younis in early July, killing over two dozen displaced Palestinians seeking refuge there. And it used U.S.-made weapons on Saturday to murder over 100 Palestinians while they prayed."

"Biden continues to send weapons to Israel, and both political parties—Republicans and Democrats—have cheered on the Israeli government's slaughter and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," JVP continued. "This is a U.S.-perpetrated genocide as much as it is an Israeli one."

"But the Democratic voting base is calling for something different, and we have seen the progressive and increasingly mainstream wing of the party begin to echo this need," the group said. "We are playing a critical role in driving the Democratic Party to finally catch up to the demands of its own base."

"Right now, we have an opportunity to re-center Gaza in the national conversation and continue building pressure on the Biden administration, on [Vice President] Kamala Harris, and on Democratic members of Congress to support an immediate arms embargo," JVP added.

While Harris has expressed sympathy for Palestinians suffering what she called a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, like Biden, has proclaimed her "unwavering" support for Israel. One aide said last week that Harris does not support an arms embargo. 


Gaza remains under assault. Day 315 of  the assault in the wave that began in October.  Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.  But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets:  How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence."   CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund."  ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them."  NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza."  The slaughter continues.  It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service.  Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide."   The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher.  United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse."  THE NATIONAL notes, "Gaza death toll rises to 40,005 with 92,401 woundedd." Months ago,  AP  noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home."  February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

  



April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons.  In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."


The following sites updated:





at

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Another MAGA moron facing prison time

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS  "He Wants To Be Your Queen" 

queen drag




That's his second comic of the week. 

Now here's Paul Rudnick.



Only an idiot can support JD Skidmarks Vance. 

Remember those idiots who got offended by the Olympics because they lacked basic education?  Ava and C.I. called the idiots out in "Media: The Idiot Wants To Run (and Ruin) The Village" -- short version -- no, the opening ceremony was not supposed to be The Last Supper.


Well all the crazies came out and they just don't want to go back into the asylum.  Turns out one of the loons will be taking a detour to prison.  

Greg Owen (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

An Ohio restaurant owner who attracted attention for banning Olympic broadcasts at his four Ohio eateries after calling them anti-Christian is now facing charges of rape, kidnapping and attempted murder.

Bobby George, 43, made headlines two weeks ago when he announced that his restaurant group was “protesting” the Paris Olympics over what he described as a sacrilegious “portrayal of ‘The Last Supper'” in the event’s opening ceremony. The famous 1498 painting by gay artists Leonardo DaVinci depicted the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion, according to Gospel accounts.

“[The portrayal was] handled with an irresponsible level of irreverence, insulting the Christian faith,” George posted in an announcement on Instagram and on signs at his restaurants. Right-wingers complained about the inclusion of drag queens in the portrayal, however, Olympic officials said it was inspired by the Greek Festival of Dionysus, not “The Last Supper.”

More recently, police reports obtained by Cleveland.com said that George assaulted his victim—a 25-year-old woman living with him over the past year—multiple times, threatened her with a gun and beat her so severely that she had to be treated by a nurse practitioner who worked with George’s very own restaurant group.

“You think God is going to help you?” George allegedly taunted the woman as he shoved a towel down her throat and choked her, according to police. George also mocked her for praying to God, saying that she wouldn’t die during one of his multiple attacks, the reports added.

The abuse began in September 2023 and only ended last month, police said.

The restauranteur turned himself in on Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of attempted murder, rape, felony assault, four counts of kidnapping and two counts of strangulation.


There it is, one of the MAGA morons in the closet thing to glory that a MAGA moron will ever find.






"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, August 15, 2024.  In Gaza the official death toll has passed 40,000, Donald Trump has done something new that should invite an investigation and should result in charges (ADDED: He's violated the Logan Act -- so many e-mails came in during the last hour since this posted that I've added a section where I go into this in detail at the end of this snapshot), Robert Kennedy Jr remains a fake ass and so much more. 



Starting in the US where the presidential election is 81 days away.  And we've got to start with the two fake candidates: Robert Kennedy Junior and Jill Stein.

Junior proves he's a fake every day but never more so than this morning when Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Reid J. Epstein (NEW YORK TIMES) report:


Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate whose standing has dropped in the polls, sought a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss endorsing her in exchange for a promise of a cabinet post, according to two people briefed on the outreach who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.

His effort has been unsuccessful. The news was first reported by The Washington Post.

“We’ve reached out repeatedly through the highest level intermediaries,” Mr. Kennedy wrote in a text message on Wednesday night. “We’ve been told that they have no interest in talking with me.”


Poor little Junior, a failure his old life and now, at 70 years old, it looks like he's going to go out a failure as well.  

So grasp that as Junior continues his failed run: He's on the phone begging for a job in a Kamala Harris administration and saying that he will drop out of the race and endorse her if he can be promised a job.

Grasp that as he slams the Democratic Party.  

That is a fake ass.  That's what fake assery is.  Pretending one thing to the public while doing something else in secret.


Last month, sources told the Post that Kennedy had also discussed the possibility of ending his campaign and endorsing Trump in exchange for a position in his administration in the event he wins a second term in November. Hours after the assassination attempt on the former president, Trump reportedly called Kennedy. Sources indicated that the two spoke about a possible Cabinet-level position or a role where Kennedy would oversee a portfolio of health and medical issues, although it was unclear who pitched the idea.   


Grasp that.  Like any whore, he's for sale to the highest bidder -- or, in his case, any bidder at all.  What an embarrassment to the Kennedy family.  He has no chance at winning and has spent the last year and a half dragging the family's name through the mud.  Most people, for example, didn't know that his second wife killed herself after finding his diaries documenting his non-stop affairs throughout their marriage.  It was whispered about but not part of the national conversation -- let alone on a WIKIPEDIA page.  His eating dog, his crazed comments about Jewish people and some international cabal genetically engineering COVID to make it target other populations.  His harassment of a baby sitter.  We could go on and on.  Because of who his father was, Junior got a lot of protection.  People didn't want to talk about the nutso factor out of respect for Robert F. Kennedy.  They didn't want to trash his legacy.

Sadly, his embarrassing son Junior couldn't care less. 

Robert F. Kennedy made his 1968 campaign about how to help Americans.  His small-minded and small-membered son Little Junior made it all about himself with one whine after another. 

Moving over to the other fake ass Jill Stein . . . 


Usually, the ASSOCIATED PRESS grasps what reporting is.  Of all the US news outlets, it has the least problems and if you were a media critic, it would be the one you rarely had to note.  (In the early days of this site, when we did media criticism constantly, we called out everyone but the outlet called out the least was AP.)   Which is why this article by Jeff Amy and Charlotte Kramon is so disappointing.  This is not a factual statement:  "The Green Party, which has nominated Stein, says it aims to make Georgia ballots using the 20-state rule."



I know YOUTUBERS lie.  They're YOUTUBERS.  (Not all people on YOUTUBE lie but, yeah, if you can identify them as a YOUTUBER, chances are they lie.)

But AP is supposed to be factual.

Jill is not the Green Party's presidential nominee.

That's a fact.  You could call her the presumed nominee.

As a friend who holds office in the Green Party stated yesterday, "Jill Stein supporters can be mad at you but you're noting the convention more than anyone."  Yes, I am.  Does no one know about the convention this week?  


On Saturday, and you can go to the Green Party's website here for the schedule for this week's convention which kicks off tomorrow afternoon, the party will determine their presidential nominee:


Saturday, August 17

• Press conference with the Green presidential and vice-presidential nominees following the nomination, expected to begin around 5 pm

During the nomination, there will be a virtual roll call of designated Delegation Reporters from affiliated state Green Parties and Green identity caucuses, as determined by convention procedure.


Do you get it yet?

She's probably going to become the nominee but despite all the YOUTUBERS lying on their questionable programs, she is not the nominee at this point in time.

I'd love to see the Green Party invest in the party and make someone younger a nominee.  Instead, they'll probably go with Old Lady Jill Stein and let her run for the third time.  If so, that's their declaration that they are not a real party. 

AP is usually factual and the most factual of US news outlets.  So it's really disappointing that they aren't with regards to this but it gave us a chance to note the convention -- starts Thursday, ends Saturday -- one more time.

I have no faith in the national Green Party -- which is why I believe Jill will be the nominee -- but I will note this from Friday's convention schedule because the local chapters and state chapters are better run:


Friday, August 16: Press conferences with Green candidates for state and local office and Greens in public office

• 10 am ET: Green Party candidates for local and state offices

Eddie Espinoza, for Texas Railroad Commissioner https://www.espinoza4tx.com

Nathalie Paravicini, for Oregon Secretary of State https://www.nathalie4or.org

Rachel Braaten, for Mayor of Crystal, Minnesota https://www.rachelformayor.org/home

• 11 am ET: Green Party candidates for federal office

Beau Forte, for US House in New Jersey, District 5 https://beauforcongressnj.com

Justin Filip, for US House in Oregon, CD-4 https://www.justin4congress.org

Michael Dublin, for US House in North Carolina, District 2 https://dublin4congress.org

Kymone Freeman, for DC Delegate to the US House https://kymonefreeman.com



Meanwhile Nemat Shafiq is back in the news.

baroness


From May 1st, that's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "From The River To The Sea No Student Shall Be Free."  Columbia University's President and bully Nemat Shafiq -- Baroness Shafiq -- abused her position to attack the students calling for an end to the assault on Gaza.  Her  'answer' to protests at Columbia -- a campus historically known for its protests -- was to assault the protesters -- verbally and physically.  The issue -- ending the genocide -- was an important issue.  But set aside the issue for a moment and grasp just how much Shafiq's actions disgraced Columbia University, went against everything the campus embodies and stood for. Her actions would have been bad enough at any university but to take place at Columbia?  She is a disgrace and fortunately she's now out the door.



  The president of Columbia University announced her resignation late Wednesday, months after she authorized a violent police crackdown on student demonstrators urging the school to divest from Israel over the country's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.

Minouche Shafik said in her announcement that recent months have been "a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community." Dozens of Columbia students were arrested and injured during a Shafik-approved police raid of a campus building in late April.

"This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community," said Shafik, whose resignation was effective immediately. "Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead."

  Pro-Palestine student organizers at Columbia—a university at the center of the protest movement that swept the country earlier this year—celebrated Shafik's departure but vowed to continue pressuring the institution's leadership to divest from Israel. Students specifically demanded that Columbia drop its Tel-Aviv Global Center project, which also drew backlash from faculty members when it was announced last year.

Shafik was adamant that Columbia "will not divest from Israel."

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in response to Shafik's resignation that "after months of chanting 'Minouche Shafik you can't hide,' she finally got the memo."

  "To be clear," the group added, "any future president who does not pay heed to the Columbia student body's overwhelming demand for divestment will end up exactly as President Shafik did."

The Columbia chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace wrote on social media that students "will never forget the sheer violence unleashed upon us by Minouche Shafik, and we will not be placated by her removal as the university's repression of the pro-Palestinian student movement continues." 




Columbia was the site of the most prominent pro-Palestinian protests of the spring semester. Tensions between student protesters and the administration reached a breaking point in April, when dozens of protesters began occupying South Lawn hours before Shafik testified in front of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The next day, Shafik authorized the New York Police Department to sweep the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” leading to the arrest of over 100 protesters and generating immediate backlash from local politicians and community members. Encampments sprung up at universities across the nation and world in solidarity with Gaza and Columbia protesters.

Later that month, Shafik again authorized the NYPD to sweep campus on April 30 for the second time after dozens of students occupied Hamilton Hall in the most intense protest escalation of the school year. Police arrested over 100 protesters, threw stun grenades, and used an electric saw to enter the building, which had been barricaded with tables, chairs, and zipties.



This as AP notes, "Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 17 people, including five children and their parents."  The death toll continues to increase and it has passed another marker.  Tom Soufi Burridge and Diaa Ostaz (ABC NEWS) note:


Israel’s war in Gaza has hit another grim milestone after the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip declared that the death toll had passed 40,000 since the start of the war on Oct. 8.

On Thursday officials in Gaza said a total of 40,005 people had been killed in the conflict.


BBC NEWS adds, "That number - 40,005 on Thursday - equates to about 1.7% of the 2.3 million population of the territory - another sobering indication of the human cost of the war.  Alongside the fatalities, satellite image analysis suggests nearly 60% of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war."





AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

The Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, with 36 Palestinians killed in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among those killed on Tuesday were two newborn twins, a boy and a girl. They were 4 days old. When their father went to register their births at a local government office, the home where they were sheltering, near Deir al-Balah, was bombed, killing the newborn twins, their mother and their grandmother. The Gaza Health Ministry says 115 newborns have been killed in Gaza since October. According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, out of nearly 17,000 Palestinian children killed by Israel in Gaza over the last 10 months, about 2,100 — more than 2,000 — were babies under the age of 2. As we broadcast, nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since October, though the true casualty figure is likely far higher with thousands of dead unaccounted for.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has issued additional evacuation orders for Khan Younis. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced, often multiple times. According to the U.N., around 84% of Gaza’s territory has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have raided towns and villages across the territory. In the northern town of Tammun, Israeli forces seized the bodies of four Palestinians killed in a drone strike. Over the past 10 months, Israeli forces have increasingly used aerial strikes in the occupied West Bank, a practice largely not seen in the territory since the end of the Second Intifada in 2005. In the South Hebron Hills, Israeli forces demolished six more homes of a Bedouin community in Masafer Yatta today. And in occupied Jerusalem, hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the second straight day, under the protection of Israeli security forces.

This all comes as the U.S. State Department announced Tuesday it’s approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles.

In response to that announcement, our next guest, the prominent Palestinian Reverend Munther Isaac, posted on social media, quote, “The US is funding the genocide. Faith leaders must speak up. Words of 'concern' and void calls for peace are not enough. Speak truth to power. Silence is complicity,” end-quote. The Reverend Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian theologian, is the pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. He’s in the United States on a speaking tour and will be giving an address tonight at the historic Riverside Church titled “Silence Is Complicity.” The Reverend Munther Isaac joins us now in our New York studio.

Welcome to Democracy Now!

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: Thank you for having me.

AMY GOODMAN: We spoke to you at Christmastime in Bethlehem, where you had set up this crèche scene, “Christ in the Rubble.” This is many, many months later. Talk about why you’re in the United States, Reverend.

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: Well, I wish I was not here. I wish I was here in different circumstances. We’re still calling for a ceasefire. And it feels like we’re still calling for the world to humanize the people of Gaza, to humanize Palestinians. So I’m here to talk to faith leaders, and particularly church leaders, my own community, to speak louder, for it’s been 10 months now since this war has broken, and we’re tired of void calls for peace. We’re tired of the same kind of discourse. And it’s time that the voices of faith leaders, it must be heard, given that we are in the country that’s funding this genocide, given that we are in the country that continues to give political cover to this war in Gaza. So, if you’re silent, knowing how your money is being spent, that means you approve. And so, enough is enough. And I hope that more and more faith leaders, pastors, theologians, clergy, speak up more so that this tragedy in Gaza stops.

AMY GOODMAN: You know, yesterday we spoke with the Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy. He was a negotiator under two Israeli prime ministers. And he decried, he criticized Zionist extremism and talked about what it means, what we’re seeing now play out in Gaza. You’re a reverend. If you can talk about the Christian Zionist evangelical community here? Explain to people who they are and how much power they have.

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: Well, Christian Zionists are Christians who endorse the vision of Zionism of bringing Jews to Palestine. And what many people don’t realize is that Christian Zionists are actually far more in number than Jewish Zionists and that Christian Zionism predates Jewish Zionism. Christians began dreaming of this concept of bringing Jews to Palestine long before the modern Zionist movement.

And the idea was that Jews will someday be restored, using a theological term, which really means convert to Christianity, embrace Jesus as their Messiah. And for that to happen, they must be in Palestine, the biblical land. And many Christians would then add that for that — for the Second Coming of Christ to happen, this must happen first. So they tie it to the Second Coming of Christ.

And today, this movement has grown to become a very strong political force, giving millions of dollars and very much engaged in political lobbying on behalf of Israel. We have many congressmen and women actually repeat Christian Zionist phrases, like “You have to bless Israel,” “Israel is chosen by God,” “It’s a Christian commandment to support Israel.” And when, during the Trump presidency, Trump moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the American Embassy, Trump said — and I quote — “I did it for the evangelicals.”

So, this is a very strong political force, which brings me back to what I was saying, that we can’t be silenced when the Bible is weaponized right now to continue a genocide in the same way, because when we look at Zionism and Christian Zionism, in reality, they have contributed to the Nakba in 1948, to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, of Palestinians, many hundreds of thousands of refugees. Israel was not created on an empty land. And as a pastor, I question: Where is the concept of peace and love and justice and compassion in all of this? It’s shocking to us that many Christians don’t see even the humanity of Palestinians because of this theology.

AMY GOODMAN: Have you spoken to the lobby group Christians United for Israel? It’s one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States, has something like 11 million members. The group’s annual summit largely focuses on advocating for increased U.S. military aid to Israel.

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: I’ve never spoken to them directly. I don’t think they will even recognize me as a Palestinian to speak to. It’s a very extreme group. It’s a very militarized group. And it’s shocking to me, again, that such a thing exists in our Christian thinking, because Jesus is the antithetical of all of this.

And the twisted irony in groups like Christians United for Israel is that in the end times scenarios that they fascinate about, they think of a scenario in which two-thirds — you know, when the Jews gather in Palestine, two-thirds of them will be massacred in a big Armageddon type of war, and then the other third will convert to Christianity. And somehow this group is considered pro-Israel or, you know, fighting for the Jews, when, in essence, some of their views are truly antisemitic. And rather than channeling all of these efforts and movement into peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, they’re promoting war, which, again, shocks me.

So, I hope they listen. But I also hope that people of good conscience in this country, faith leaders from different traditions, speak up against them. And many actually gathered outside of the meeting of Christians United for Israel to show their protest and to say, “Not in our name,” and I’m very grateful for that.

AMY GOODMAN: Yes, earlier this year, nearly 150 Mennonites were arrested on Capitol Hill in an act of peaceful civil disobedience as they called for immediate ceasefire in Gaza. So, clearly, the Christian community is divided on this.

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: It’s divided. And in December, in the sermon I gave in Bethlehem, I said Gaza has become the moral compass of the world. Gaza has divided the world, not on the basis of religion or ethnicity or nationality, but really on moral, ethical grounds. And it has divided even many Christians. And I think that’s a good thing, because we need to know where you stand.

And we’re certainly beginning to see many movements among faith leaders, among Christians. For the last months, many, many Christians are speaking up, conducting not just vigils, pilgrimages, walking in the street, demonstrating. As you said, some have been arrested. Even in the university encampments, I’ve seen many of my pastor friends are there supporting the students, which has actually been one of my messages, that we need to defend, support and encourage those students and be with them. To me, that’s where the street belongs, in the streets — where the church belongs, I mean. It belongs in the streets. So, we’re beginning to see a divide.

But to be honest, by and large, the majority of faith leaders, Christian leaders in particular, are still silent or not strong enough in their calls for peace, for, you know, the United States is still funding this war. You can’t just call for peace. You need to call out your political leaders. You need to speak to them. You need to put pressure on them, to say this is not ethical to continue to fund such a war or to continue to give the political cover. So, more is needed right now. I’m beginning to see some change, but with the urgency of the moment, the numbers of people being killed — 16,000, 17,000 are already — children are being killed in this war, so we can’t just resort to old calls, “Let’s pray for peace,” and hope things get well.

AMY GOODMAN: Has the Jewish opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza surprised you, the number of people in the United States, Jews who have been arrested, who have engaged in protest?

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: Yes and no. And I say no because even before this war, there has been a divide. And actually, surveys showed that, ironically, support to Israel among white evangelicals have always been stronger in the United States than that of the Jewish community. And I also say no because it’s part of the Jewish faith and tradition to be for justice. And, you know, I’ve seen the work with the civil rights in this country, particularly.

But, yes, because it’s really getting stronger and stronger. Groups like IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace and Rabbis for Ceasefire, they’re really speaking up and being well organized — and not just speaking, demonstrating. Many of them, I think, have been arrested. And I’m grateful for their clarity in their opposition to Zionism, because we need to call Zionism for what it truly is. And it’s not just that they’re standing for a ceasefire or peace right now, but they’re clear in their diagnosis of the problem. The ideology of exclusion that Zionism is promoting, and supremacy, has to be called out. And I’m grateful that many Jewish groups in the United States now and around the world is speaking up against Zionism.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you leave us with a graphic picture of Bethlehem, with your hometown, a religious site for the entire world, what it looks like? Before, you mentioned a divide. The divide right through Bethlehem itself, the physical wall.

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: Amy, for the first time in history, Bethlehem and Jerusalem are divided. Bethlehem has always been kind of the little sister of Jerusalem. I still remember vividly when I was a child and my mother used to take us to Jerusalem for shopping. It used to take us 15 minutes on a bus ride to get from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

Right now we’re isolated. We can’t get to Jerusalem. Bethlehem is a little town besieged by a wall and Israeli settlements, colonies, suffocated in a very small area. And all the land, including the green area around us, is being confiscated by Israel, and it’s out of reach to us, meaning we can’t grow as a community. And we can’t, you know, think of a future if there is nowhere else to go. They’re clearly pushing us out of the country.

And with the isolation from Bethlehem and since October 7th the restriction of movement even to other Palestinian towns, it truly feels like a city isolated. There’s so much unemployment. And right now all it takes for Israel is to close two checkpoints, and Bethlehem becomes another Gaza, another isolated block. This is true for other Palestinian blocks, towns and villages.

AMY GOODMAN: We have 10 seconds.

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC: So, it is a really sad reality, and we’re really anxious that this war on Gaza could expand to the West Bank.

AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you so much for being with us, Reverend Munther Isaac, Palestinian Christian theologian, pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. He’s speaking tonight at the historic Riverside Church here in New York, his address titled “Silence Is Complicity.”

That does it for our show. To see our podcasts, video and audio, go to democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.



Gaza remains under assault. Day 314 of  the assault in the wave that began in October.  Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.  But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets:  How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence."   CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund."  ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them."  NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza."  The slaughter continues.  It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service.  Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide."   The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher.  United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse."  THE NATIONAL notes, "Gaza death toll rises to 40,005 with 92,401 wounded." Months ago,  AP  noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home."  February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

  



April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons.  In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."


Lastly, Convicted Felon Donald Trump apparently is seeking more legal charges.   Writers for AXIOS know how to type, they just don't know how to think which is how you get:

Former President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and discussed the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, according to two U.S. sources who were briefed on the call. 


Donald Trump is not the president.  He has not been tasked by the US government with any role.  His talks with a leader of a foreign government should not be taking place.  The government is attempting a cease-fire.  He has no legal right to be involved in this and, as we know from the Iranian hostage crisis, when fright-wing politicians enter clandestine talks with a foreign government, no one benefits.  The US Justice Dept needs to open an investigation and the press needs to be asking Donald about this.

ADDED:  This is a violation of The Logan Act, I wasn't aware people wouldn't know about this.  The Logan Act per WIKIPEDIA:

The Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953, enacted January 30, 1799) is a United States federal law that criminalizes the negotiation of a dispute between the United States and a foreign government by an unauthorized American citizen. The intent behind the Act is to prevent unauthorized negotiations from undermining the government's position.[2] The Act was passed following George Logan's unauthorized negotiations with France in 1798, and was signed into law by President John Adams on January 30, 1799. The Act was amended in 1994, changing the penalty for violation from "fined $5,000" to "fined under this title"; this appears to be the only amendment to the Act.[2] Violation of the Logan Act is a felony, punishable with imprisonment for up to three years.

Only two people have ever been indicted on charges of violating the Act,[3] one in 1802 and the other in 1852.[4] Neither was convicted.[4]


 


Some history.  In 2004, Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry noted in remarks that some leaders of other countries had expressed to him that they hoped he won the election.  That's not a violation of The Logan Act but Karl Rove tried to spin it as such.  Donald Trump is familiar with The Logan Act as evidenced by this 2019 report from Maegan Vazquez (CNN):

             President Donald Trump on Thursday accused former Secretary of State John Kerry of violating the Logan Act by taking part in negotiations with Iran’s government, which in recent days has announced it will reduce its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal that the Trump administration pulled out of last year.

Kerry promptly denied the President’s accusation.

During an event focused on medical billing at the White House, Trump alleged that Kerry, who served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, is undermining the current administration’s efforts with Iran by participating in calls and meetings with the Iranian government.

“What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me. You know John Kerry speaks to them a lot. John Kerry tells them not to call. That’s a violation of the Logan Act and frankly he should be prosecuted for that,” Trump said. 


Innocent until proven guilty?  I don't go with that here.  I do call for an investigation.  

Netanyahu has publicly attacked US President Joe Biden.  For him to be plotting with Donald Trump?

Donald is a convicted felon and is someone desperate to recapture the White House.  Both of which make him more suspect than John Kerry in 2004 or in 2019.  He was found, in a court of law, to have repeatedly broken the law in order to become president in 2017 (that's what the hush money was about).  So don't give me innocent until proven guilty..  He's a convicted felon and this goes to pattern.

He needs to immediately cease all communications with any people in the Israeli government.  Antony Blinken is the person tasked by the US government with reaching a deal on a cease-fire.  Donald is not part of that effort and should not bee communicating with a foreign leader during this.  You can say "off sides" or "out of bounds," but I say "illegal."

It's amazing that AXIOS was bragging about their exclusive when all they did was type -- and type poorly.  The only reason that calls (or calls) matter is because no calls are supposed to be taking place between Donald and any foreign leader -- especially not one that the US government is currently attempting to negotiate with.

CONSORTIUM NEWS is now a joke.  But were the late Robert Parry alive, he would have grasped this issue immediately because he covered how Ronald Reagan's people interfered with then-President Jimmy Carter's efforts to free the US hostages held by Iran.  That was done to steal an election.  

Donald Trump has motive and he is a convicted felon with a record.  This is not just a type up from AXIOS followed with a "NEXT!" that you move on from.

This is a serious legal issue and also goes to national security and OOPS! Donald's record there -- stealing classified documents and refusing to return them when the FBI ordered him to -- goes to pattern as well.

This needs to be investigated immediately.  If Donald is throwing up roadblocks to a cease-fire, that impacts the people in Gaza as well as this election.  He's a convicted felon and his actions are suspect.



Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Crowd Envy" and "He Wants To Be Your Queen" went up last night.   The following sites updated:


at