Current Events Chat

[Twin Tiers Living 558]

An open forum to talk about current events that may not fit in any other section. This can include state and national news as well as political/election related news.

Pretty much anything goes.

[Chris 3,628]

NASA has announced the Artemis Crew:

 

NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly around the moon late next year, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission.

The first moon crew in 50 years — three Americans and one Canadian — was introduced during a ceremony in Houston, home to the nation’s astronauts as well as Mission Control. 

“This is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/astronauts-nasa-moon-crew-91ea388ce81ebbefbb80d24b0ddb79a2

I’m really looking forward to this happening.

[Chris 3,628]

Quote

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump conspired to illegally influence the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments designed to stifle claims that could be harmful to his candidacy, prosecutors said Tuesday in unsealing a historic 34-count felony indictment against the former president.

The payments, said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy, were part of “an unlawful plan to identify and suppress negative information that could have undermined his campaign for president.”

Trump, stone-faced and silent as he entered and exited the Manhattan courtroom, said “not guilty” in a firm voice while facing a judge who warned him to refrain from rhetoric that could inflame or cause civil unrest.

The next court date is December 4, though it is not clear if he will be required to appear.

 

Source

Well, if he wanted to do something historic, he's done it.

[Ann 510]

The genie is out of the lamp now and can’t be put back.   

Edited April 5, 2023 by Ann

[MsKreed 1,690]

With this indictment (and others that may follow for classified docs or the GA election, etc), my mind keeps wandering off on a tangent:

How exactly is Secret Service protection going to work if their “protectee” is incarcerated?

It’s not like the Treasury is going to grant SS Agent status to correctional staff.

My husband and I spent a combined 40 yrs working in NY State prisons. I don’t see how Trump (or Hillary, or anyone else under SS protection) can spend time inside where no guns or radios are allowed. Those are necessary for SS to perform their duties. But they sure as hell can’t carry around prison contraband like weapons and communications devices while escorting Trump around the facility.

And if SS has to always have eyes on the “protectee”, what does that look like? Do agents take shifts being locked inside a cell with Trump?

[Adam 589]

5 hours ago, Chris said:

“an unlawful plan to identify and suppress negative information that could have undermined his campaign for president.”

I guess i have hard time understanding how this is different than any other candidate doing opposition research or performing pre-emptive defense is.

did trump use campaign money or private funds? if private(being no lawyer) i cannot see how election law was broken, particularly if Cohen didnt tell trump WHAT legal service he was performing.

if it was a bribe, has Daniels been charged for accepting it?

please do not mistake this for support of the guy as i shutter to imagine another four years of him or pappy Joe

[Adam 589]

4 hours ago, MsKreed said:

With this indictment (and others that may follow for classified docs or the GA election, etc), my mind keeps wandering off on a tangent:

How exactly is Secret Service protection going to work if their “protectee” is incarcerated?

It’s not like the Treasury is going to grant SS Agent status to correctional staff.

My husband and I spent a combined 40 yrs working in NY State prisons. I don’t see how Trump (or Hillary, or anyone else under SS protection) can spend time inside where no guns or radios are allowed. Those are necessary for SS to perform their duties. But they sure as hell can’t carry around prison contraband like weapons and communications devices while escorting Trump around the facility.

And if SS has to always have eyes on the “protectee”, what does that look like? Do agents take shifts being locked inside a cell with Trump?

easy fix would be to no longer offer protection to any ex-elected official, particularly since majority come out millionaires, they can pay for it themselves

 

[Chris 3,628]

9 hours ago, Adam said:

did trump use campaign money or private funds?

Admittedly I’ve only half-heartedly followed this, more out of coverage fatigue than anything. But my understanding is they used business funds to pay off people. Which is apparently kinda illegal in NY.

I have to admit, I giggled when they led him into  the court and the officer in front of him didn’t hold the door for him. That had to have pissed him off. Petty, I know, but I’m only human.

Also, seeing that raving lunatic Marjorie Taylor Green get run out of there still has me smiling. The clip I saw on Twitter was pure 100% NY attitude with her in the receiving end. 

[Adam 589]

49 minutes ago, Chris said:

Also, seeing that raving lunatic Marjorie Taylor Green get run out of there still has me smiling

didnt really watch any of it, but that chick is 100% bat shit lunatic

[MsKreed 1,690]

10 hours ago, Adam said:

easy fix would be to no longer offer protection to any ex-elected official, particularly since majority come out millionaires, they can pay for it themselves

I don't disagree that they can generally afford their own security which wouldn't be allowed to offer protection in jail. But I imagine former living presidents (and their spouses) feeling "safer" because SS has authority and jurisdiction over state and local law enforcement, that their private details wouldn't.

For instance, when Obama visited Central NYS (back in 2012 or 13), he stayed at (commandeered) the Holiday Inn in Auburn.  A couple of the "Wall" towers at Auburn Correctional were visible from the roof and top floor of the hotel.  Those towers have armed COs and if SS can see the weapons, then the weapons had a line of site close enough to POTUS's "bubble" to be a danger. SS ordered NYS to disarm those posts during Obama's visit.

 

The lifetime protection, after leaving office, is only provided for former POTUS and FLOTUS, I assume because there's only one at any given time with 4-5 former POTUSes at most. As opposed to the 535 members of the Senate and House in office, which would be thousands of individuals after leaving office. 

[Chris 3,628]

4 hours ago, Adam said:

but that chick is 100% bat shit lunatic

That's being kinda rough on the guano if you ask me.

Quote

 

Greene, who traveled to New York City to protest Trump’s arraignment, noted the timing of the arraignment during a broadcast interview before bringing up the Christ comparison.

“Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government,” she said. “There have been many people throughout history that have been arrested and persecuted by radical corrupt governments, and it’s beginning today in New York City.”

 

 

Coo Cocoa Puffs GIFfrom Coo GIFs

[Twin Tiers Living 558]

In the latest saga at Twitter:

Quote

 

Twitter CEO Elon Musk drew the ire of thousands of users after he announced a temporary limit on the number of posts that can be read in a day. 

Musk said the social media company was implementing post-reading limits to "address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation."

On Saturday afternoon, verified accounts could read up to 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts 600 per day and new unverified accounts 300 per day. A few hours later, the numbers were updated to "10K, 1K & 0.5K" respectively. 

 

Source

[MsKreed 1,690]

I'm doubtful that any human is reading 6,000 tweets a day.  That's four tweets per minute -- around the clock. 

 

I think he may be onto something.  From the start, Musk questioned the number of twitter "users" that were bot accounts, because large numbers of AI accounts falsely inflate the "reach" for advertisers (and also create a fake sense that "people" are interacting with other "people").

[Chris 3,628]

6 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

I think he may be onto something.  From the start, Musk questioned the number of twitter "users" that were bot accounts, because large numbers of AI accounts falsely inflate the "reach" for advertisers (and also create a fake sense that "people" are interacting with other "people").

Right. Problem is, so many people are caught up in the anti-Musk hysteria that no matter what he does with the platform, they'll complain. And seriously, if you're spending enough time on there each day to actually see 600 separate posts, you have bigger problems than being cut off at #601.

God, I stopped in for a minute to look around and had to leave because what's treading today made me nauseous. 

[Chris 3,628]

Quote

 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American soldier who had served nearly two months in a South Korean prison, fled across the heavily armed border into North Korea, U.S. officials said Tuesday, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.

Private 2nd Class Travis King had been held on assault charges and was released on July 10 after serving his time. He was being sent home to Fort Bliss, Texas, on Monday, where he could have faced additional military disciplinary actions and discharge from the service.

According to officials, King, 23, was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs. But instead of getting on the plane, he left the airport and later joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. He bolted across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, on Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea.

 

Source

I heard this called an "international crisis". Where's the "crisis"? Let him rot there!

[Zapp Brannigan 287]

3 hours ago, Chris said:

Source

I heard this called an "international crisis". Where's the "crisis"? Let him rot there!

Gee I wonder what high ranking terrorist we will exchange for this poor innocent American.

[Hal 609]

Yep … leave his punk ass right there ! Two years in and he just up and goes sour , nope , guaran-damn - tee you he was trouble from day one . And yeah , he is looking at spending time in the brig up to and including equal time served in civilian jail . Plus any “ legal hold” time , then looking at at a Legal Discharge . 
So yeah , heres a good idea … I’ll just Defect , run across the DMZ and give Kim Chee Ugh some crap to throw at the US ! Then if Uncle Sugar doesn’t meet the chubby little guys demands to please take my sad ass self of his hands ( think “ Ransom of Red Chief “) I’m going to slap down the race  the card , shame the Military into a Medical , PTSD generated ,Discharge and then i’m going to apply for SSD … 

And there ya have it folks … thats the plan ! 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Hal

[Chris 3,628]

#45 is now also Inmate P01135809 and the first president with a mug shot:

[Chris 3,628]

And speaking of whom, looks who’s back in Twitter:

And it’s kind of a hot topic:

[Hal 609]

LOL 😂, I’m just going to take a hard pass on this topic thanks . Understand , I am not a hard core Trump supporter , its the underlying issues that I have a hard time dealing with and would have nothing worth contributing. 

[Chris 3,628]

Well if this is true, it would appear even DJT has a feeling his days are numbered: 

Quote

 

Zillow listing claimed to have shown that Donald Trump has sold his signature Mar-a-Lago luxury residence in Florida. The listing claimed the resort was purchased on August 4—weeks before the former president voluntarily turned himself in at Fulton County jail in Georgia, where he was booked on 13 felony counts.

Newsweek has not been able to independently confirm the accuracy of the listing, which now appears to have been updated from "sold" to "off market." However, the Trump Organization has told Newsweek the claim is false. "Mar-a-Lago has absolutely not been sold nor will it ever be. This rumor is asinine," Eric Trump said in a statement.

Newsweek contacted Zillow for comment by email on Friday.

A report by The Express said that the former president might have not really "sold" the property, but simply transferred its ownership to an organization owned by his son Donald Trump Jr.

 

Source

[Chris 3,628]

Dude got less votes than the first round, and he's thinking the 3rd time will be the charm:

Quote

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan has brought the House speaker’s race to a stalemate — the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump has been unable to win the gavel but he and his far-right allies won’t step aside for a more viable GOP nominee.

The House is tentatively set to convene sometime Thursday afternoon for Jordan to try again.

 

APNews

From what I understand, it seems even some of his fellow Republicans who voted for him the first time voted "no" this time because they don't like the strong-arm tactics that are being used to sway others to vote for him. 

[Chris 3,628]

Once again 'Gym" Jordan failed to get enough votes for House Speaker. 

[Adam 589]

10 minutes ago, Chris said:

Once again 'Gym" Jordan failed to get enough votes for House Speaker. 

every Dem in DC is walking around with a super-hard on right now

while every voter who keeps all 535 of these jokers in office should be walking around with heads hung low

[Chris 3,628]

In other news, not only did Sydney Powell take a plea deal yesterday, but Kenneth Chesbro did now. 

Two people who supported and/or helped orchestrate his "fake election" claims may well end up testifying against him now.