Good morning from my Hunker-Bunker overlooking the Puget Sound from the hillsides of West Seattle. I am actually upstairs at the moment since my actual bunker downstairs is being cleaned by the maid service. They brought in six people this morning because they are getting deep down clean, complete with the carpets cleaned and at the same time, my former sound studio is getting painted Chroma Key Green.
This way I can use any background I want for my podcast. I am debating whether to get a Chroma Key Green suit so nobody can see me. Whoever came up with the saying, ‘he has a face for radio’ was probably talking about me.
Thanks to the weather “back East”, most of the shipments I’ve been waiting on in order to complete this podcast studio are in various stages of ‘DELAYED’. A little bit of snow and they lose their minds…
My camera arrived last night. The instructions are in “Chinese”, and it won’t just connect to the computer in 4K as advertised. So I just ordered a Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro exactly like the one below.
Now I can get 4K video from two cameras, plus sound from two mics all saved directly to the computer without having to manually upload SD cards from the cameras and the soundboard to the computer and then edit them all together in Adobe Premiere Pro. This just takes it all into Adobe and I can edit on the fly. Not bad for $300.
But enough of my crap… Let’s get on with the news today..
We wouldn’t want any of that getting out now, would we?
Donald Trump’s legal team revealed that the special prosecutor’s final report alleges Trump “engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort” with regard to his mishandling of classified documents.
President-elect Donald Trump’s legal team has launched a last-ditch effort to block special counsel Jack Smith from releasing his final report on two dismissed criminal cases against Trump.
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland sent Monday, Trump’s lawyers said they were allowed to review Smith’s report in the criminal case in which Trump was charged with conspiring to keep classified documents after he left office.
They threatened legal action if it is released, noting Smith’s findings include strongly worded allegations that Trump “engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort” and describe him as “the head of the criminal conspiracies.”
Trump’s lawyers argued Smith’s report amounts to little more than a “politically-motivated attack” and that making public his findings in the classified documents case or an election interference case Smith also pursue would illegally interfere with Trump’s presidential transition.
To that end, they said Smith’s findings contain “baseless attacks on other anticipated members of President Trump’s incoming administration, which are an obvious effort to interfere with upcoming confirmation hearings.”
With the cases against Trump dismissed, the final report constitutes Smith’s last chance to lay out the details of what he found during his investigation.Special counsels have to submit reports on their findings, according to Justice Department rules, and attorneys general from both parties have released them to the public in recent years—Robert Mueller’s report that alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia being a notable example.
MY TAKE:
I see that before I had a chance to finish posting all of the news, the Judge in the documents case put the release of the report on hold, until the appellate court decides.
I knew this was going to happen, because this judge is unable to make a decision for herself, because when she does, it’s always overruled by the Circuit Court. So she chooses to drag her feet while the Trump lawyers walk all over her.
This doesn’t happen in other courts. The Trump lawyers wind up getting their asses handed to them. But in Judge Cannon’s court?
But then, this is what you should expect when you elevate an attorney who has never tried a case in court to the federal bench. Not only has she not tried a case in court, she has never really appeared in court before her appointment.
What fact checkers?
Meta to get rid of factcheckers and recommend more political content
Mark Zuckerberg says company will ‘dramatically reduce censorship’ across Facebook, Instagram and Threads
Meta will get rid of factcheckers, “dramatically reduce the amount of censorship” and recommend more political content on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Threads, founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced.
In a video message, Zuckerberg vowed to prioritise free speech after the return of Donald Trump to the White House and said that, starting in the US, he would “get rid of factcheckers and replace them with community notes similar to X”.
X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, relies on other users to add caveats and context to contentious posts.
Zuckerberg said Meta’s “factcheckers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created”. The tech firm’s content moderation teams will be moved from California to Texas “where there is less concern about the bias of our teams”, he said. He admitted that changes to the way Meta filters content would mean “we’re going to catch less bad stuff”.
Meta has more than 3 billion users globally. In a wide-ranging statement, Zuckerberg said Meta would also “get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse” and “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more”.
MY TAKE:
Does this mean Zuck-the-Cuck is shutting down those irritating AI bots that find the meme you posted way back in 2009 and locks your account down for ten days because the meme said something that wasn’t true — back in 2009?
Or is he going to operate the same way Elon Musk is using Twitter as his own broadcast channel? Is he going to randomly change the algorithms a bit whenever someone says something crosswise about him?
You are not supposed to notice any of this.
Musk’s Campaign Against Sex Trafficking Culminates in Him Backing Alleged Sex Trafficker
Musk’s obsession with sex trafficking in the U.K. has now come full circle.
Elon Musk’s moral crusade concerning U.K. rape gangs has taken a strange turn, as he appears to have offered his backing to a misogynist former kickboxer accused of sex trafficking who wants to be the country’s next Prime Minister.
The tech billionaire has recently become interested in British politics, most notably calling for King Charles III to dissolve parliament and hold a general election to replace the current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. (This is absolutely impossible under the British political system.) Musk has expressed apprehension at the ruling Labour party leader’s failure to carry out an inquest into child grooming gangs across England, despite the fact that there has already been a national inquiry.
And now, he has taken to X to agree that Andrew Tate’s entry into British politics is the answer. Musk replied to a post that said what Tate is doing “will be studied for many years. Even if he doesn’t win and become Prime Minister, his involvement will transform British politics & create an army of men demanding change.”
Tate, a controversial right-wing figure and self-proclaimed “misogynist” was once banned from Twitter for saying women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. The ex-professional kick boxer was born in the U.S. and raised in the U.K. and he recently announced that he intends to run to be the next Prime Minister of the latter, asking his 10.5 million X followers in an “ultra serious post” if he should do so to save “Britan.”
And despite the spelling error and basic lack of understanding of British politics (you cannot simply run to be PM, you must first win local elections and become a member of parliament—and also head up the main political party) his post gained traction.
MY TAKE:
You know what? Most people would never make this kind of connection. Most have probably never heard of the Brothers Tate or their alleged sex trafficking. Or just don’t give a fuck.
I’m leaning towards the second one, because I know a lot of y’all. You just don’t give a fuck because it’s not front and center to you. “Not my circus, not my monkeys”. And to a large extent, I feel the same way.
I would like to say that the likelihood of Tate ever becoming PM of the UK is about as likely as Donald Trump becoming president — oh wait… Never mind. I forgot which version of reality we are in.
X users claim Musk created ‘burner account’ to praise himself
A bizarre conspiracy claiming Elon Musk uses an alias to praise himself on his own social media network took an unexpected turn when a journalist who debunked the theory was banned from the platform.
Jacqueline Sweet appeared to be restricted on X after she published an investigation that proved Adrian Dittmann was an actual person living in Fiji – and not Musk operating under the pseudonym in order to praise himself.
Shortly after Sweet’s article – outing Dittmann as a German entrepreneur – was published in The Spectator World, Musk responded a predictably cryptic post on X.
‘I am Adrian Dittmann. It’s time the world knew,’ Musk deadpanned.
His response, of course, only increased the intrigue surrounding the superfan.
Meanwhile, according to Sweet’s managing editor, the reporter’s account was suspended for 30 days. In addition, links to her article about Dittmann have been hit with a warning label, alleging ‘violent or misleading content.’
For years, Dittmann’s X account has drawn attention for its effusive praise of Musk, sparking rumors that the Tesla CEO had been using the account to defend himself and promote his views.
I am Adrian Dittmann. It’s time the world knew.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2025
I am NOT Adrian Dittman.
— Gorknik Fuzulgrut (@djallyn) January 7, 2025
MY TAKE:
So he has an alter identity. So does Trump — several of them, if I recall. We all know that Elon is just like Trump in the sense that both like to keep their names and antics at the top of every news cycle, 24/7/365, and it doesn’t really matter if the story is good or bad, just as long as we are all talking about them.
I don’t need to spell that out to anyone — I think you’ve reached the same conclusion.
But here’s what I DO think about:
If Elon Musk hadn’t gotten all that money from Daddy’s diamond mines in South Africa, where do you suppose Elon Musk would be right now? What would he be doing? You can bet he wouldn’t be the richest twat in the world., he’d probably be delivering food in South Africa.
Donald Trump, the same thing. Where do you think Donald would be if Fred Sr hadn’t left a pile of cash to him? He’d probably be a retired NY City utility worker, if he was still alive.
Elon Musk has toilet tissue-thin skin
Elon Musk Cusses Out Student Who Called Him a Fake News Machine
Elon Musk launched into a foul-mouthed X tirade directed at a student who called him out for allegedly spreading disinformation.
“Elon Musk is rapidly becoming the largest spreader of disinformation in human history, hijacking political debates in the process,” wrote Joni Askola, a Finnish graduate student and activist for defense of Ukraine. “The EU must take action!”
“F u retard,” came Musk’s response, containing a slur used against people who have mental disabilities. He then replied saying “yes” to another person who said: “We could have avoided a lot of disasters by simply telling leftist retards to stfu.”
Musk appears to have made a conscious choice to reintroduce the word into right-wing parlance of late, often using it on his X platform.
An analysis of his X posts and replies shows that he has used the term or a variant of it 15 times since Dec. 20, having never used it before that.
This is despite his Dec. 29 plea for more “positivity” on the platform. “Please post a bit more positive, beautiful or informative content on this platform,” he said.
That post came just days after he used his new favorite slur against Americans during a wild meltdown over H-1B visas.
In a weird few days for the DOGE co-star, he agreed with a post that used the slur to say Americans could not exclusively fill the U.S. tech workforce and urged detractors to “take a big step back and F— YOURSELF in the face.”
MY TAKE:
Same take as above…
“It’s alright, come home, we only want to dismember you…”
Saudi Arabia presses Florida man to give up US citizenship over critical tweets, family says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Saudi Arabia has forced a Florida retiree to try to renounce his American citizenship after jailing him over social media posts critical of the kingdom’s crown prince, according to the man’s son.
The retiree, 74-year-old Saad Almadi, is one of at least four dual Saudi-American nationals who accuse Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s government of pressuring them to give up their U.S. citizenship, a U.S.-based Middle East human rights group said.
The alleged tactic by a key strategic partner of the U.S., which has not been previously reported, tracks with similar efforts to silence even mild criticism, including the threat of imprisonment and exit bans like the one that has kept Almadi from returning to the U.S. after being released from more than a year in a Saudi prison.
“There are Saudi princes that come to the U.S. for routine medical checkups, so why can’t an American citizen return home for his health?” Ibrahim Almadi said of his father.
“It’s all because we don’t want to upset our ally’s feelings,” he said in an interview from Washington. “If this were Russia, Iran or North Korea, he would’ve been declared wrongfully detained months ago.”
MY TAKE:
Well, if he doesn’t go voluntarily, they will just come and steal him away when nobody’s looking. They’ve done it before.
Does a chicken have lips?
Could fandom cause jury nullification in Luigi Mangione trial?
• Some legal experts say public support could sway jury
• Defense lawyers may lean into possible ‘nullifiers’
• Other experts say evidence is too high for jury to ignore
Increasing public sympathy for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, could pose the possibility of jury nullification despite the overwhelming evidence mounted against him, some legal experts say.
Mangione faces multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism under federal and state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, after allegedly gunning down Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan on Dec 4.
The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
Increasing public sympathy for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, could pose the possibility of jury nullification despite the overwhelming evidence mounted against him, some legal experts say.
Mangione faces multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism under federal and state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, after allegedly gunning down Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan on Dec 4.
The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
Mangione’s fandom could lead to jury nullification
Since his arrest, Mangione’s online fandom has rapidly grown, with supporters posting sympathetic messages, creating fan accounts and even raising thousands on crowdfunding sites to pay for his legal defense fund.
To these sympathizers, Mangione’s alleged crime symbolizes a rejection of the American health care system. That, coupled with him being easy on the eyes, has turned the suspect into a “modern-day Robin Hood,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told NewsNation.
“I have never seen a criminal defendant, much less an accused murderer, receive as much sympathy both on traditional media and social media,” he said. “He is a folk hero of sorts to many.”
Rahmani said there is a “very high possibility” of jury nullification in his case where a sympathetic juror could hold out for Mangione.
MY TAKE: The answer to both questions above is YES.
Yes, a chicken has lips. Where do you think the egg comes from?
and
Yes, it is quite possible for the Luigi Mangione trial to end by jury nullification.
If a criminal defendant takes his case to trial, he or she has the choice of a bench trial, where there is no jury and the judge decides on guilt or innocence.
If the defendant wants a jury trial, they can chose to have a 6- or 12-man jury. In the case of both, it takes a unanimous vote to convict and only one person holding out to force either a hung jury or an acquittal.
It’s different in a civil trial, where it only takes a simple majority to decide a case.
With Luigi Mangione, there are quite a few people who have latched onto this guy as some kind of hero or something.
There is a way reduce the chances of a jury nullification by extending the size of the jury pool, and increasing the number of challenges each side can make.
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