Roger Stone Crosshairs image of Judge Amy Berman Jackson. When is a crosshair not a crosshair?

Market Watch: Roger Stone's "threatening" instagram of Judge Amy Berman Jackson.

On Monday, Stone posted a photo of Jackson with what appeared to be crosshairs near her head. Later in the day, Stone and his attorneys filed a notice with the court that they recognized the “photograph and comment today was improper and should not have been posted.”

Stone said the photo was “misinterpreted” and that it was “a random photo taken from the Internet.” He dismissed any suggestion that he was trying to threaten the judge as “categorically false.”

Slightly different image of the above found on Reddit.

From the Dan Abrams Production site: 

LawandCrime.com is the only site for live court video, high-profile criminal trials, crazy crime, celebrity justice, and smart legal analysis. Created by TV’s top legal commentator and attorney, Dan Abrams, Law & Crime brings common sense written and video analysis to the often confusing and always intriguing world of the law.

Anyone hear of "Corruption Central"? The only search result I found was a Facebook account by that name, but its last update is October 5, 2014.

It seems with the limited info available, so far, Roger Stone didn't add the cross-hairs. It seems that the cross-hairs might be related to whatever or whoever Corruption Central is.

So when is a cross-hair not a cross-hair? Well, we have these and these as references. Or is it the sun cross? Oddly, one of the earth symbols is identical to the sun cross.

 Sun cross; Wikipedia

Using the particular image of the judge on his Instagram account is not the best decision made by Roger Stone. But I really don't think he did it deliberately or meant it as a veiled threat. He's not stupid. To the casual observer, yeah, the image likely registers as cross-hairs. Anyone...? Weigh in, leave a comment.

UPDATE: H/T to Pappy who, in the below comments section, noted the symbol preceding "Corruption Central" resembles a Register mark. I am in complete agreement. Thanks, man!

Register marks

U.S. Hit by BIG Winter Storm

Image weather.gov

AccuWeather: Back-to-back storm blasts.

USA MacPaper via Yahoo: Coast-to-Coast storm; Winter MISERY.

Daily Mail: 39 states facing winter storm; some areas 1 foot of snow.

USA MacPaper - The Spectrum: Snow in Utah. 

Remember winter driving tips, folks. Always drive as fast as you can, the faster your wheels spin the better traction, you'll stop on a dime on slippery roads so braking is rare, don't allow for extra travel time, honk the horn often and never clear away more than a dime-sized hole of snow from the windshield to see through - this will allow you, the driver, more than adequate visibility and the excess snow on your vehicle helps others to see you better.

The weather is entirely our fault. We didn't listen.

Disputed Island has one occupant.

CNN: South Korean widow sole occupant of island.

In 1991, Kim Sin-yeol and her husband made the unusual decision to move to a lonely outcrop of islands at the heart of a long-standing territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea.
[.]
But since the death of her husband, Kim Sung-do, last October, the 81-year-old has been the only permanent resident on the volcanic islands.
[.]
Japan says that South Korea is illegally occupying the rocky islands, which it claims have been its sovereign territory since the 17th century. South Korea says its claim to the islands, believed to be home to underwater gas reserves, dates back to the sixth century.
[.]
While other Koreans have expressed interest in moving to the islands to reinforce their nation's ownership of the territory, local government officials say there are no plans to encourage more people to move there.

"There is only a space for one household to stay (as) residents there," said a government official.

I can't think of a better way (at least for me) how to live. An entire island to yourself. I might even grant a temp Visa to Mrs. D. to visit. IF she insisted...

Kamela Harris No Comment on Jussie Smollett "Hoax" Until Investigation Complete

Kamela Harris, D - 2020 prez candidate, feigned inability in remembering her original Tweet - you know, the one where she rushed to judgment that the assault on Jussie Smollett was, without question, true and racially motivated by hate-filled, far-Right Winger Trump-Maga supporters.

The Blaze: Kamela Harris' cringe-inducing answer to her Smollett tweet:

"Which tweet? What tweet?" a sheepish Harris replied before looking around in a seemingly confused state [Well, her normal state is one of being confused so I think we can all grant her that, right? -DD] as the reporter filled in Harris regarding her own highly publicized Twitter post — and then finally offered the avowed liberal a lifeline: "Jussie Smollett."

Harris raised her eyebrows, paused, stammered a bit, and said, "I will say this about that case. I think the facts are still unfolding, and I'm very concerned obviously." According to the Associated Press, Harris also said, "I think that once the investigation is concluded, then we should all comment, but I'm not going to comment until I know the outcome of that investigation."

Kamela...so willing to avoid leaping to conclusions. Duh-oh:

Harris' immediate reaction Tweet to early reports of Smollett attack.

ABC News: Smollett feels victimized by reports he played a role in the attack:

Smollett's lawyers say the actor feels "victimized" by reports that he played a role in the assault.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That's so saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

Washington Examiner:  Nigerian brothers who "attacked" Smollett:

“We are not racist. We are not homophobic, and we are not anti-Trump. We were born and raised in Chicago and are American citizens,” brothers Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo said in a statement released by lawyer Gloria Schmidt.
[.]
They were released from the custody of Chicago police Friday after police said "new evidence" indicated they were not suspected of any wrongdoing.
[.]
Smollett had said at the time of the attack that two white men attacked him.

Most importantly, if you hadn't heard, Smollett's Subway sandwich survived, unharmed. The DC Patriot:

Now Fox 32 News’ Rafer Weigel is reporting from a Chicago Police source that Jussie Smollett was seen on surveillance camera still holding his Subway sandwich when he returned to the building after the alleged attack.

Harris, AOC, Pelosi, Cory Booger...any of the Liberals who made instant conclusions that Smollett was attacked by white, MAGA-shouting racists...have any of them ever tweeted they abhor AntiFa violence?

NY Daily News: Al Sharpton says Smollett should face maximum accountability if attack staged. Well, good for Reverend Al. Then again, he does like seeing and hearing his name mentioned in the media.

And, with no intentional reason linking the below clip to the above story - other than it made me laugh, found at You Tube.

Happy President's Day PRESIDENT TRUMP !

Or, as Nancy Pelosi may refer to today as... Arbor Day.

Because...I never get tired or bored watching this clip.

Note the audience reaction. Almost all of them are laughing. There's a few "stiffs". Well, no one ever said that Liberals have a sense of humor.

Stay strong, President Trump; Illegitimi non carborundum.

August 2015 Republican Primary Debate

Fisherman's Blues

Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys. First time I heard the song was (the first time) watching (what is easily in my top ten movies of all time) Waking Ned Devine. Via You Tube.

Jussie Smollett Attack Narrative Falling Apart

But will "SNL" crack any jokes tonight about Jussie Smollett and his attack?

USA MacPaper: Brothers say Smollett paid them to stage attack.

Two Nigerian brothers told Chicago police investigators that they were paid by "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett to stage an attack on him, a police source tells USA TODAY.

Deadline Hollywood: Jussie Smollett viewed as "active participant" in "attack".

“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation,” a Chicago PD statement late Saturday declared. “We’ve reached out to the ‘Empire’ cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”

Daily Mail: Jessie Smollett hires criminal attorney to represent him.

Jussie Smollett has hired Michael Cohen's high-powered criminal defense attorney, as the police investigation into the attack he reported last month took a sudden shift amid allegations of a hoax.

Attorney Michael Monico, a former federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois, revealed in a radio interview on Thursday in Chicago that he is representing Smollett.

Why would a victim of an attack hire a defense attorney? Well, we know why.

In the near future, we might hear some type of defense logic as this:

"Mr. Smollett was depressed, thinking his character is going to be written out of the television program he's on. He feared for his livelihood. He had bouts of anxiety and depression. He needs to seek treatment, not be punished by the law for falsifying a report. In Mr. Smollett's mind, what he did by staging this attack is a cry for help."

But he wasn't anxiety-ridden and depressed quite enough to head for a Subway shop around 2AM and act his part in a staged attack, appear at a concert a few days after the attack and spending countless hours on social media and traditional media telling people that his version of what occurred is absolutely true and that he is "pissed off" at those who doubt him.

Image of Jussie Smollett, after alleged staged attack.

Jussie Smollett Orchestrated Hoax "Attack" says CNN

CNN: Evidence suggests Jussie Smollett orchestrated attack.

Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that Chicago Police believe Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault.

The brothers, who were arrested Wednesday, were released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of "new evidence." The sources told CNN that the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement.
[.]
CNN's attempts to reach both Smollett's representative and attorney Saturday were unsuccessful.

Using the Liberal Standard of, "If you've done nothing wrong, and have nothing to hide, then why would you not fully cooperate," which is what, to me, was the beginning of the unraveling of Smollett's "I was attacked" story.

USA MacPaper: Jussie Smollett GMA interview.

During his "GMA" interview, Smollett addressed his initial refusal to give his phone to authorities, which he said was due to concern for his privacy.

“Because I have private pictures and videos and numbers," he explained, noting his phone contains "my partner’s number, my (family members numbers), my castmates' numbers, my friends' numbers, my private emails, my private songs, my private voice memos.”

Well...as long as those photos, videos, numbers, songs, voice memos are all within what is "legal", what is there to be concerned about? What is there to be paranoid about in handing over to the police the telephone numbers of family, friends, cast members? Why would this be a concern of "privacy" for him? What does Smollett think the PD will do with his "private" data?

From the same USA MacPaper link:

"And I see the attacker, masked and he said, 'This MAGA country, (N-word).' Punches me right in the face," Smollett continued. "So I punched his (expletive) back. And then we started tussling and it was very icy.

"We ended up tussling by the stairs, fighting, fighting, fighting," Smollett added. "There was a second person involved who was kicking me in my back, and then it just stopped. And they ran off.”

The image above is of Mr. Smollett after the attack. If this attack actually happened, it seems the attackers were pretty weak. That's not much of a "punch in the face". Maybe the damage - the bruises and swelling - were more visible in the days after, sometimes that happens.

The NY Post:  Suspicious bottle found near site of Smollett attack.

Last week, The Post traced Smollett’s likely route to the underpass from a 24-hour Subway sandwich shop where he bought a tuna sandwich and a salad.

Near the foot of a stairwell to the Loews, The Post found an empty hot sauce bottle that was partially filled with a clear liquid that smelled like bleach.

Over the past two weeks, Chicago received considerable snowfall. How did this bottle survive sidewalk shoveling or snow-sweepers? This bottle went undisturbed for almost two weeks?

 More details on the bottle at HaveuHeard.

Actor Bruno Ganz has died; age 77. Played role of Hitler that spurred viral memes.

Sky News: Hitler actor Bruno Ganz has died.

Bruno Ganz portrayed Hitler as a ranting and delusional madman in a bunker during the final days of his life.
[.]
One particular scene in the 2004 movie featured a furious fuhrer and spawned many parody memes online.
[.]
 "I tend to identify with my roles to such an extent that I appear to be totally convinced about certain statements that, in real life, I would never believe in," [said Ganz].

The video memes are everywhere. A very funny one here.

But the performance of Ganz? Sheesh - he out-Hitlered Hitler. What an actor. Rest in peace, Mr. Ganz.

 Image: Sky News

Ginsburg alive? Someone looking like her shows up for work.

ClickOrlando: Ruth goes to work.

Shows up on Friday. Nice work week. Better than Johnny Carson's Wednesday-Friday work schedule.

We need some "proof-of-life". How do we know it's really her?

Your odds of...are...

Discover the Odds: Odds of being hit by lightning; 1 in one million.

CBS News: Odds of winning lotteries is roughly 1 in 259 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292 million for its cousin, Powerball.

Elite Daily: Odds of being in an airplane crash; 1 in 11 million.

Forbes: Odds of surviving an airplane crash. (They vary).

Discover the Odds: Odds of being murdered in any given year; 1 in 18,989.

Yahoo Answers: Odds of a huge cruise ship sinking or crashing. ("Titanic" scenarios very rare).

Best Health Degrees: Odds of dying while attending a dance party; 1 in 100,000.

The Wildlife Museum: Odds of being attacked and killed by a shark; 1 in 3,748,067.

Golf Link: Odds of a hole in one: PGA player 1 in 2,500; average player 1 in 12,500.

Injury Fact/National Safety Council: Odds of dying by falling; 1 in 114.

Straight Dope: Rare, but yes, people have been killed by falling pianos and falling safes. Same link notes the following on death by falling anvils:

It’s difficult to imagine why one would ever need to hoist an anvil high enough for it to drop on someone. However, we can’t rule falling anvils out entirely, due to a little-known pastime called anvil shooting, an exemplar of the hold-my-beer-and-watch-this school of redneck diversions.

The concept, which can be seen in practice in numerous online videos, is lethally simple: You put an anvil on the ground, fill a concave space on its upper surface with black powder, insert a fuse, set a second anvil on top, light the fuse, and run like hell. The detonation sends the top anvil flying in the air — preferably straight up and then straight down, but you can see where things could go tragically awry. We didn’t find any instances of this actually occurring, but thanks to the Road Runner we have an artist’s impression of what might happen when it does.

I don’t want to give the impression that getting killed by falling objects is uncommon. On the contrary, the advent of large-screen and more recently wall-mounted televisions has created an entirely new category of real-world danger: death by falling TV.

And a MUST READ - Philthy-Delphia: Odds good you will NOT be eaten by a bear because you smell like a potato. Odds not as good the bear won't kill you anyway.

How ya feeling about your odds? At the moment, or, in general?

FEMA, Trump declares national emergency and Doctor Alvin Kurtzweil of The X-Files.

CBS News: FEMA Admin Brock Long resigns yesterday, Feb. 13.

NBC News: President Trump set to declare national emergency.

The exit of Mr. Long leaves Pete Gaynor as Deputy Admin, the Number Two man at FEMA.

Not connecting any dots together, but recall the words from the character Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil in the 1998 movie The X-Files: Fight the Future, from the clip:

Here's a very Dystopian Op/Ed at Philly.com, fanning fear over Trump declaring a "national emergency."

The Number One man in FEMA is gone. Within a day or two, Trump declares a national emergency. FEMA is without its primary director. Maybe that Op/Ed at Philly.com is looking good. "Trump Declares Self Emperor." The not-far future: "Trump Suspends 2020 Election." If it makes the heads of Liberals explode, I'm all for it.

Is there more to this than coincidence that the FEMA Admin resigned (due to  questions of Long's vehicle and transportation usage) and Trump isthisclose at declaring a national emergency?

Thoughts/Opinions on what's going on here? Was The X-Files right (again) with predictive programming or is this simply coincidental and creative fiction?

H.R. 8 advances with five Republicans voting with Dems.

Washington Times: Five Repubs join Dems in useless gun law.

The Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill, H.R. 8, that would mandate background checks for all firearms’ sales — and five Republicans signed on as cosponsors.

If the point of the bill is to stop criminal acts of gun violence, it’s largely useless. If the point, however, is to erode Second Amendment rights under a cloak of halting gun violence — well then, we have a winner.
[.]
Five — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania; Peter King from New York; Brian Mast of Florida; Chris Smith of New Jersey; and Fred Upton of Michigan — voted with Democrats to advance the measure.

Why?

Why indeed.

The AMA Association: Physicians united join Dems in gun control legislation.

AMA Board of Trustees Chair Jack Resneck Jr., MD, cited polls that said most Americans—even gun owners and National Rifle Association members—support background checks.
[.]
Dr. Resneck also noted the AMA’s position that firearm violence is a public health issue. He summarized AMA policies adopted in recent years that call for background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and other commonsense measures that are not intended to infringe on citizens’ Second Amendment rights but meant to keep guns out of the hands of those who would cause harm.

"To keep guns out of the hands of those who would cause harm." Wouldn't that be describing "criminals" or those with a "criminal" intent? And H.R. 8 keeps guns out of their hands how?

From the "Proudly Serving the 10th District of New York", Congressman Jerry Nadler.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening statement for the markup of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019:
[.]
"The bill would, therefore, extend the current federal background check requirement—which applies now only to licensed gun dealers—and require virtually all transactions to undergo a background check."

Nationwide firearms registration legislation looms.

KTRH Houston: Legislation targets nationwide firearms registration.

Last month, House Democrats introduced the legislation, dubbed H.R. 8, in honor of the eighth anniversary of the January 8, 2011, attack on Gabby Gifford.

Now, this week, if legislation passes, a private gun sale would first need government permission.

Houston attorney Edwin Walker explained the US Constitution states that Congress only has the power to regulate interstate commerce, not private transactions between private individuals.
[.]
Gun laws expert Alan Korwin said Democrats want to register gun owners instead of stopping violent criminals.

"HR 8 is aimed at innocent Americans, instead of at criminals. And, this is something Democrats have been doing for a while," said Korwin.

He said from last week's Congressional hearings, the left knows HR 8 won't work without a registration list of all gun owners.

"They want to register gun owners, instead of do something to stop violent criminals because they're afraid of people who own guns, like most Texans," said Korwin.

Breitbart:  House Dems will vote to criminalize private gun sales.

H.R. 8 would outlaw the private gun sales Americans have enjoyed since December 15, 1791, the date on which the Second Amendment was ratified.
[.]
...Democrats are rushing this legislation to the House floor for a vote

Contact your Representative, contact them and let them know you are against H.R. 8.

Please get the word out and share the info on H.R. 8. Copy and use the URLS here, copy/paste the text. Use it, you don't have to link here, I don't care about any of that. What's important is that this bill is defeated. Hopefully by a sizable margin.

Supporters of the Second Amendment can't allow The Left any degree of success in their continual attempts of chipping away at the Second Amendment.

This also calls for DEMOCRATS TO GET INVOLVED. Yes, all you lifelong Dems, who believe in the Second Amendment - who also happen to hunt and who always vote Democrat (why - - - I'll never grasp) - YOU need to contact the DEMOCRAT you voted for and let them know you are against H.R. 8.

If you're wondering if you're one of those Democrats, let this guide you: You live, for example, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, the Dakotas, Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, Michigan, New Mexico etc.; you claim to support the Second Amendment; you are avid hunters or sport shooters, and, for some reason, when elections roll around, you vote for the candidate with the " D " behind their name. If you think you fall into this description, you probably do - and you need to contact your Rep ASAP.

Cornell Law:

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

    In the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the "Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."

North Jersey.com/USA MacPaper: Background check bill is useless.

[A recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report from the Department of Justice] released in January of 2019, [finds] that the overwhelming majority of people convicted of gun-related crimes obtained those guns by stealing them, buying them on the black market, or through a straw purchase (where someone with a clean record buys a gun for a criminal). H.R. 8 does nothing to prevent any of those crimes.
[.]
What [H.R. 8] will do is outlaw a perfectly legal activity, make it more difficult for honest people to protect themselves and their loved ones, and have no impact on crime.

There is going to be enormous pressure on all the Reps to support H.R. 8. "Because of Gabby Giffords." Of which, her being shot, H.R. 8 would not have prevented.

FIND your Rep. CONTACT them. Thank you.

Jussie Smollett "Pissed off" at those who don't believe him.

WPVI ABC 6 Philadelphia: Jussie Smollett tells GMA's Robin Roberts he is, "pissed off" at people who question he was attacked.

An exclusive interview with "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett will air Thursday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
[.]
In the interview with GMA's Robin Roberts, Smollett said "I'm pissed off."
[.]
...Roberts asked him what was making him so angry.

He responds: "It's the attackers, but also the attacks."

Smollett also talked about those who don't believe his story.

USA MacPaper: Police reject Smollett's redacted phone records.

Sgt. Rocco Alioto told USA TODAY that although they appreciate Smollett's cooperation, the submitted records were rejected because they "do not meet the burden for a criminal investigation as they were limited and heavily redacted."

CBS Chicago: Timeline of events of Smollett's incident.

Two weeks have passed since Jussie Smollett told police he was attacked. The 36-year-old openly gay “Empire” actor has not changed his report of the event, but police still do not have anyone in custody.

Sandra Rose: An alternative incident possibility?

The consensus within the Chicago PD is that Smollett lied about the attack.

Sources say investigators believe Smollett was attacked by a man (or men) he met on a homosexual dating app within an hour after he landed in Chicago.

Smollett is reportedly desperate to keep the truth from coming to light.

The Blaze: Neighbor of Smollett doesn't believe attack happened.

"I don't believe it happened the way he said it did," Agin Muhammad, who lives in the apartment complex as the actor, the New York Post reported. "I've been in this neighborhood five years. I don't believe it, not around here. … Half the people are gay and the other half are black."

 

Jussie Smollet; ABC/GMA

Have some fun.

Take a step back from news and current events. From Mashable, 50 best sites to waste your time. There are a few dead links, so there's not exactly "fifty" time-wasting websites.

I did well on Find the Invisible Cow. After, I think it's 5 points, you can select to find the invisible goat. How many levels can you get through?

PointerPointer is...interesting.

HackerTyper is fun. It's the site to have on your screen when you call the office IT folks because you tell them you're PC is acting funny. Because...IT folks love practical jokes. Hit the site and start typing anything on your keyboard.

Then there's Weave Silk.

And I guess they are actual emails...emails from assholes at dontevenreply.com. There's nothing quite as enjoyable as reading emails that devolve into madness when the other party is an idiot. Don't miss the Stubborn Shovel Seller chain. Click on "View More Emails" link at the bottom of the site.

Gun Owner Registration Hearing on Wednesday; Washington Sheriffs won't enforce gun laws pending decision of constitutionality.

2nd Amendment Daily News reports: HR 8 hearing tomorrow.

Washington, DC — House Judiciary Committee Chairman, anti-gun Democrat Jerrold Nadler, has called for a “mark up” hearing on House Bill 8, National Gun Owner Registration tomorrow in Washington, DC.

A “mark up” hearing is where legislators from the committee in which the bill is assigned make changes [sic] and adjustments to a bill before voting on a final version and sending it on to the floor of the House.
[.]
H.R. 8 would turn gun owners into felons who transfer a firearm without first asking permission from the government.

Universal background checks will make FELONS out of gun owners who transfer a firearm without first obtaining government permission!

More on HR 8 at The War On Guns.

At Congress.gov: H.R. 8.

At Standing By: - Dems pushing for gun confiscation in Virginia and The Importance of the Second Amendment.

KING 5 News: Some Washington sheriffs won't enforce new gun laws.

Sheriffs in a dozen Washington counties say they won't enforce the state's sweeping new restrictions on semi-automatic rifles until the courts decide whether they are constitutional.
[.]
"I swore an oath to defend our citizens and their constitutionally protected rights," Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said. "I do not believe the popular vote overrules that."
[.]
"The political grandstanding is disheartening," said Renee Hopkins, chief executive of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, which pushed the initiative.

No, the political grandstanding is in thinking a measure, or law, should be applied upon the immediate questioning of the Constitutionality and where its finality has not yet been decided. And, it doesn't hurt that the Grant County Sheriff is named Tom Jones.

Ammo Land: More coverage on Kentucky Sheriff John Kirk telling residents, "lock your doors. Load your guns."

El Chapo guilty on all ten accounts.

High Times: El Chapo drug Kingpin guilty.

...many doubted that Mexican kingpin El Chapo would ever come to justice for the crimes committed by his vast drug empire. But today, jury members at a federal district court in Brooklyn found Joaquín Guzmán Loera guilty on all 10 counts, leaving the cartel boss facing a life sentence.
[.]
At times, court proceedings took a dramatic turn best likened to one of Mexico’s world-famous telenovelas.
[.]
The verdict marks the end of a police persecution that began in earnest in 1993, when El Chapo was blamed by Mexican authorities for the airport murder of Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo.

Chicago Tribune: A sentence Guzman can't escape.

Prosecutors had spent months presenting an “avalanche of evidence” that included more than 50 witnesses, 200 hours of testimony, ledgers of drug deals, a grenade launcher and videos of Guzman's escape tunnels and his underwear drawer.

A Telemundo series, not necessarily based on "real persons", can't be far off.

Kentucky Sheriff John Kirk: Lock your homes; load your guns and get a dog.

I don't know what's wrong with, if anything, the below link to the FOX News story. Sometimes I get a "not allowed on server" and the story is blocked, other times, it's fine. Don't know what to advise here. It seems to work when right-clicking and selecting "Open in New Window".

FOX News: Law enforcement suspended due to lack of funding.

A Kentucky sheriff has advice for residents after he announced the suspension of all law enforcement activities: Lock your homes; load your guns and get a dog.

Martin County Sheriff John Kirk took the stage without invitation at a fiscal court meeting on Feb. 4, saying his office was still owed a January payment of $75,000, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. He also said new obligations given to his office will add $99,000 to his annual expenditures.
[.]
“Folks, lock your doors, load your guns and get you a barking, biting dog,” he wrote. “If the sheriff’s office can’t protect you, who will?”
[.]
Without the sheriff’s office, the residents will have to rely on the Kentucky State Police, which at times only has one officer patrolling multiple counties.

More at WJBF News 6.
- - -
Fixed FOX News link 2/12/2019

Schumer urges Trump to accept the emerging border security deal and "not, not, not cause another shutdown."

The Modesto Bee: White House reviewing border security deal.

10:40 a.m.

The White House says it needs more time to assess a bipartisan border security deal.
[.]
10:35 a.m.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is urging President Donald Trump to accept the emerging border security deal and "not, not, not cause another shutdown."

A triple "not"? Doesn't that mean Trump should NOT sign the budget with a hideously weakened border deal?

One "not" would mean "not". "Not not" means not to not. "Not not not" means to not not to not. So Trump should NOT sign the deal. Do I have this right?

World News

SMH: The cough syrup codeine addiction.

Patients hooked on cough syrup and dependent on painkillers are turning up to GP clinics suffering from opioid withdrawals one year after the over-to-counter codeine ban was enforced.
[.]
...some have likely stockpiled the products before the over-the-counter ban was enforced.

- - -
NZ Herald: Emiliano Sala body identified.

An inquest into the tragic death of Emiliano Sala has revealed the football star died from "head and trunk" injuries when the plane he was travelling on crashed into the ocean.

Sala's body was recovered from the seabed wreckage last week after he disappeared on January 22.
[.]
[He] was identified by his fingerprints.

Daily Mail: Full investigation into crashed flight may take one year.

Such a tragic ending for someone just starting life and doing what he loved.
- - -
The Chosunilbo: North Korea's Kimmy Junior's Mercedes.

"Close-up pictures of the [car suggests] Kim may have opted for the exclusive and heavily-armored 'Guard' model," the website added.

And AM radio.

Kimmy Junior's Mercedes

- - -

BBC: Russia to unplug from the internet?

Russia is considering whether to disconnect from the global internet briefly, as part of a test of its cyber-defences.

The test will mean data passing between Russian citizens and organisations stays inside the nation rather than being routed internationally.
[.]
The test is expected to happen before 1 April[.]

- - -
CGTN: Ultima Thule is flat, like a pancake. Previously likened to resembling a snowman...

...an object nicknamed "Ultima Thule" in the Kuiper Belt, to be flat rather than spherical, according to the latest images sent back to Earth.
[.]
Previously scientists called Ultima Thule "snowman" as the first close-up images revealed its two distinct and spherical segments.

 Uma Thurman  Ultima Thule

Clarksville Online: More on Uma Thurman Ultima Thule.
- - -
KMSP Fox 9: You're stuck in Cancun because of a flight delay...heading back to Minnesota.

And the conditions in Cancun are unpleasant; acknowledged. Still, you're in Cancun...heading back to...Minnesota. I'm not sure I see a problem here...
- - -
9 News: Ukraine's An-225, biggest aircraft sits unfinished.

Towering over everything is the massive fuselage of the unfinished An-225. It's a beast of a thing. If ever completed, it will have a length of 84 metres - a whole nine metres longer than the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

 The An-225, aka Mriya, (Ukranian for dream) has the capacity

 to carry other aircrafts inside or on top of it as it flies. Image: AAP

- - -
The Telegraph: Six out of ten Yellow Vests believe Princess Diana was murdered.

The poll also reveals that almost a quarter of “gilets jaunes” are convinced that a terror attack on a Christmas market in Strasbourg was a diversionary tact by the government to spoil their latest round of protests.

Breitbart: 150 Yellow Vests have their phones tapped, says French Media.

Le Point claims that intelligence services are tracking 50 activists in Paris and 100 in the rest of the country[.]
[.]
The claim of government spying also follows an increased level of violence by police toward protestors[sic][.]

- - -

NZ Herald: Inside a L.A. legal weed shop.

"It's like an 'Apple store' for weed."

BBC Reports U.S. Shutdown Avoided

BBC: Breaking...U.S. avoids shutdown.

4 minutes ago

Democrats and Republicans reach agreement in principle to fund the US government and avert another partial shutdown.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

I guess stay tuned to the BBC link. I didn't see any other news org reporting this; so far.

UPDATE - Global News: Border security funding reached "in principle."

February 11, 2019 8:57 pm

U.S. Republican Senator Richard Shelby, one of the congressional negotiators working on border security funding, said late on Monday that an “agreement in principle” had been reached.

Tech News

ArsTechnia: A history of Japan's car industry.

Hit the link. Check out the image gallery of cars.

Extreme Tech: Best cars of the 2019 Chicago auto show.

Hit the links in the link for more images.

Technocracy: Self-driving cars are INCREASING urban congestion.

Self-driving cars will likely jam up downtown streets by cruising at slow speeds rather than parking, according to a new analysis published in the journal Transport Policy. Using game theory and simulated traffic models, report author Adam Millard-Ball found that the vehicles will be incentivized to circle streets rather than pay for parking.

According to Millard-Ball’s model, even as few as 2,000 self-driving cars in downtown San Francisco could slow traffic to less than 2 miles per hour.

- - -  
Tech Dirt: Italy tells EU to drop Articles 11 and 13 in copyright reform.

Italy... has now made a pretty clear statement that if the country is going to support the latest directive, it needs to protect the users of the web, and the only way to do that is to remove Articles 11 and 13.

Good for Italy!
- - -
ZD Net: Will Robot love fulfill emotional needs?

I wonder...how close are we to the era of when our robots will need shrinks?

- - -

Beta News: Spotify to ban ad-blockers.

Under the heading "the following is not permitted for any reason whatsoever" Spotify lists, among other things:

   - circumventing or blocking advertisements in the Spotify Service, or creating or distributing tools designed to block advertisements in the Spotify Service[.]

- - -
TechSpot: Senate investigations into government workers use of VPNs.

Recent months have been filled with news of international cybersecurity concerns and foreign meddling, and now two US Senators are going after a new target – virtual private networks (VPNs) used by governmental employees.

Who are the two senators? Marco Rubio (Republican) and Ron Wyden (Democrat).

10,000 to one odds that, three weeks ago, there might have been two - at most - two senators, who know what a VPN is.  This is similar to when John McCain was convinced the 2016 presidential election was hacked, and he pretended to know about hacking, yet didn't know what an exit node is. Sputnik News:

When questioned by a Sputnik reporter following the hearing about the debunking of the Joint Annual Report by security experts, including the finding that 43 percent of the IP addresses attributed to ‘Russian hackers’ were generic web-browser Tor exit nodes, the Senator responded by saying that he had “no idea” what she was talking about.

Lawmakers getting involved in Tech. Again. You have better odds in uniting the properties of water and electricity.
- - -
Tech News World: Wireless carriers really selling our data.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have sold access to subscribers' real-time location data to aggregators, which in turn have sold it to about 250 bounty hunters and related businesses, Motherboard reported Wednesday.

In some cases, the data allowed users to track individuals to their specific locations inside a building.

- - -
Gizmodo: Washington state's snow-induced mayhem.

Yeah, and hey, Washington, your snows keep coming our way, hitting the central Midwest. So...stop it!
- - -
Computer World: Apple is disabling Safari's "do not track" feature.

The list of online entities who do not respect DNT requests includes all the usual privacy-eroding suspects, such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Medium, Pinterest, and Reddit do honor these requests, which rather suggests you can find alternative ways to make a business.

Polar Bears invade town; eager to stay.

RT: Invasion of the polar bears.

To fend off the beasts, Belushya Guba has already erected some fences and tried to scare the predators off by vehicles and warning shots. Some bears, however, seem to be eager to stay in the town despite all the efforts of humans.

They're probably there to learn coding. No?

AmyKKKlobuchar "pledged" to serve her full six year Senate term.

From the infallible...Minnesota Public Radio:

Aug 22, 2018 MPR

 When asked about her intentions, Klobuchar pledged to serve a full six years if she wins a third term this fall.

"Of course I will," Klobuchar said. "I think my track record shows that. I love working in the Senate. I love representing Minnesota."

She may well serve her full term in the Senate. I dislike the idea of a current elected official, especially someone who was just re-elected, spending the next two years (of their six year term) running for an office while retaining her Senate seat. And I hold the same standard to all political parties.

She's running for a VP spot, or, to increase her political cash or, to get her name in the national spotlight. 

She can say she "changed her mind", but I kinda think she's a...

Read more at Battleground State News.

AmyKKK for Vice President

She's running. Run, Amy Run! Her candidacy is one of hope...hope that some other Dem will name her as VP. 

Uh huh - we need more uppity bitches in politics. What? You don't like me calling her an uppity bitch? Well, then she should have treated people nicer all this while. She's not just uppity, she's a Cunty Bitch.

Added - MediaIte: Klobuchar abusive to her staff.

The 'k' on my keyboard sticks, but only when typing AmyKKK...there it goes again...

Amy Klobuchar WILL enter the presidential race.

Chicago Tribune: Klobuchar expected to join presidential race.

Klobuchar said she would make a "big announcement" about her political plans at an event along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Yeah - she's tossing her hat into the 2020 presidential race. She'll make the official announcement this afternoon. This is based on info told to me from someone who knows someone who has the "inside" info.

Her goal is not the presidency. The reality of her being a viable presidential candidate is a joke. She's ogling for a slot at being named Vice President for some other Dem presidential candidate.

Here's some fun when you have time. Do a web search on "Amy Klobuchar is difficult", or "demanding", or simply...a "bitch".

Charming she is not.

Amy Klobuchar; President? Bwa ha ha ha ha.

The Virginia Dem Trifecta; Northam, Fairfax and Herring. A Herring?

The Atlantic: Virginia Democrat Scandal.

As Goes Virginia, So Goes the Democratic Party.
[.]
Governor Ralph Northam is under fire for wearing blackface, and for a bizarre yearbook photo that shows a man in blackface and another in a Klan hood. (Northam denies he is either.) Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who will succeed Northam if he resigns, is now the subject of a sexual-assault accusation.
[.]
Attorney General Mark Herring, who is second in line for the governor’s seat behind Fairfax, acknowledged late Wednesday morning that he wore blackface at a party in college in 1980, when he was 19. In a statement, Herring said he’d dressed up as the rapper Kurtis Blow and performed a song.

What a Trifecta. If we could travel back in time to a few weeks ago, and had been given odds on what's happening to the three top Virginia Dems - who would have placed money on that type of a long-shot? No one.

It would be easier if all elected Dems in Virginia would raise their hands if they:
a) didn't wear Blackface (or enter a contest or costume party involving a race or ethnicity other than their own),
b) never dressed up as a KKKlansman,
c) haven't been accused of sexual-assault,
d) never participated in other politically incorrect and insensitive behavior.

The Virginia Trifecta ! 
-  Sponsored by the political party that preaches political correctness and is always reminding others that appearances, conduct and actions matter.

What was that about a herring?

A Restaurant Ready Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

If we had a Democrat president, and we had a conservative member of The Supreme Court who turns age 86 come March, and no one had seen this conservative Supreme Court Justice for around two months - do you suppose the Left would be making demands to see "proof-of-life" of said conservative SC Justice?

The Jeff Bezos Peoples' Republic reported that Ginsburg made her first public appearance on February 4:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday night made her first public appearance since undergoing cancer surgery in December, attending a celebration of her life presented in song.
[.]
Ginsburg did not speak, and many in the crowd did not know she was there. She sat in the back, and most saw her only as they left the performance. [Her presence at the event was NOT announced beforehand].

She sat in back, didn't speak, no one knew she was there until people were on their way out of the performance. That's not proof of Ginburg being there.

How long does it take to recover from facial plastic surgery? We can't overlook that Ruth died and the Dems found a youthful 55-65 aged lady who physically resembled Ginsburg and had the lady undergo plastic surgery so she looked liked Ginsburg.

Realself.com: Various recovery times for public appearances after facial cosmetic surgery.

For a patient to sit down to dinner with friends and not be asked any questions, I believe it takes about two weeks. Occasionally a very dark bruise may not be completely gone but can be effectively covered with makeup. About 80 % of the swelling is gone so the remainder is hard to detect.
- David L. Mobley, MD, FACS
- - -
The hardest part about recovery is seeing the facial bruising and swelling, which can take up to 2 weeks to resolve to a point that you feel comfortable being seen in public.  Two weeks is a major landmark in the recovery.  We call this point being "restaurant ready," meaning that you can go out to dinner and no one else in the restaurant would realize that you recently had surgery except your close friends noticing that you look younger and more refreshed.
- Ziyad Hammoudeh, MD

There has been ample time for creating a Ruth Bader Ginsburg Doppelgänger.

When (if?) Ginsburg does emerge into the public eye, how will we know it's really her? It is reported she attends the Monday night concert event. While, supposedly, no one else there knew she was there...until the end...and no one grabbed their phone and snapped a pic of her? CNN is stationed at the home of Roger Stone prior to the FBI raid on his home and reports it "live". Yet no one - no person, no news agency, nobody - can get a pic of Ruth?

When (if) Ginsburg returns to the spotlight, I think a DNA sample needs to be done, confirming that the person claiming to be Ginsburg is Ginsburg.

More Midwest Snow. More... Global Warming. Global Cooling. Climate Change.ManBearPig ALERT!We Didn't Listen!

Damn it people, we didn't listen.

FOX 9 KMSP: More snow.

The Twin Cities metro is now estimated to get around 4 to 6 inches of snow between Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Northwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota could see 6 to 8 inches during that time.

This is nothing compared to the snowfall in other parts of U.S. The Twin Cities winter, so far, has been this: November; got some snow, had a few cold days here and there, there was light snow coverage on lawns around Thanksgiving. December; warmed up, snow melted, didn't get any significant snow, cold days, then higher than average, brown lawns snow-free. January; some decent and tolerable days, a Polar Vortex plunge (that was fun), some sub-zero days, then a few warmer than average. February; expected temps and it snowed yesterday.

National Weather Service

WeatherUnderground; other winter storm alerts: Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, and a lot of other parts of the U.S.  

So many other parts of the country have had far more dumps of snow. I feel for ya, folks; we know what it's like.

Could ManBearPig be real?

- - -
Corrected link to KMSP 2/06/2019

Venezuela seizes large American weapons cache shipped from Florida

PressTV: Venezuela seizes large shipment of American weapons coming from Florida.

Representatives from the Venezuelan National Guard and the National Integrated Service of Customs and Tax Administration (SENIAT) found the weapons aboard a plane that had landed at the Arturo Michelena International Airport in the city of Valencia on February 3.

The official Twitter account of the Venezuela Public Safety Bureau posted pictures of the weapons bust on Wednesday, which included 19 rifles, 118 ammunition clips, high-caliber ammo and 90 communication devices.
[.]
Washington has been leading an international campaign of economic and diplomatic pressure against Maduro, including imposing sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

Trump reiterated his support for [Juan] Guaido during his State of the Union (SOTU) on Tuesday, calling him the " legitimate" leader of Venezuela.

I'm guessing Step Two is verifying if this story is accurate. It could be fake news, on the part of the Nicolas Maduro administration.

Nancy Pelosi In Wonderland

2019 SOTU

Pelosimouth

Unretouched screen caps of Nancy Pelosi during Tuesday's State of the Union Address by President Donald Trump.

What is the deal with her mouth?

 Pelosimouth, 2019 SOTU

Ginsburg absent from the State of the Union Address

Daily Mail: Ginsburg not attending Trump's SOTU address.

President Donald Trump's two Supreme Court picks are among four justices expected to attend the State of the Union. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not be among them.
[.]
The 85-year-old Ginsburg is recovering from cancer surgery in December. She made her first public appearance since the surgery on Monday at a concert given by her daughter-in-law in Washington, D.C.

 Well, yeah...Ruth won't be at the SOTU Address because...

Connecticut proposes 50% Tax on Ammunition

Breitbart: Jillian Gilchrest, DEM-CT, introduces 50 Percent Tax on Ammo.

Connecticut State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest (D-13th) is pushing a 50 percent tax on ammunition purchases in her state.

Gilchrest is willing to exempt police and military personnel from the impost, but homeowners worried about defending their lives and those of their families get no such break.

In fact, Gilchrest questions how much ammunition a homeowner needs to carry out a viable defense. She tweeted: “I’m hearing push back about the need to protect one’s home… but how much ammunition does someone really need to do that?”

Gilchrest's Tweet:

I’ve introduced HB 5700, a 50% tax increase on ammunition. It doesn’t apply to military or law enforcement. I’m hearing push back about the need to protect one's home… but how much ammunition does someone really need to do that? #gunsense #enough pic.twitter.com/NZjkWBrpjC

    — Jillian Gilchrest (@Jilchrest) February 4, 2019

Image: Weapons Man

Will We See Ginsburg Tonight?

The Clover Chronicle: Ruth Bader Ginsburg either dead or on life-support in Nevada mystery location.

Will the public see Ruth, ah...alive...rather than being propped up like Bernie, by two fellow justices...at tonight's State of the Union?