Previously posted on my Facebook Page.
New York Times: “In Legal Peril, Trump Tries to Shift the Spotlight to Biden.” Still confounds me. An ex-President kept top secret documents in his house. Unlawful, unconstitutional. Yet I also assume that heads of state are aware of sensitive government materials. Docs that hackers easily get access to. Then let’s align this with $113 billion in aid or taxpayer money to another head of state whose gargantuan corruption was massively documented. No basis of comparison.
News adds: “Donald J. Trump, who is under indictment, is trying to undermine the American justice system by lashing out at his successor.” If only Mr Trump is able to speak his mind in calm coolness (sic) but that ain’t his mojo. Anyhow, I can also talk of other issues, mostly foreign policy, that shudder America’s once-vaunted stature as world’s most powerful due to President Biden’s risky hawkish playbook. 🏦🗽🏦
New York Times: “Hoping to Avert Nuclear Crisis, U.S. Seeks Informal Agreement With Iran.” The talks reflect a resumption of diplomacy between Washington and Tehran after the collapse of negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.” If we really want to avert a nuclear crisis, why don’t we instead end the Ukraine war via peace negotiations? Stop the supply of arms to Ukraine. Russia, like the U.S., has more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, with 1,600+ deployed.
Other countries with nuclear weapons, aside from the United States and Russia: China, The U.K., France, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and Israel. China has 410 nuclear warheads but none has been deployed. Russia, China, and Iran are political buddies and business partners. ☮️☮️☮️
New York Times: “Mayor Adams and the Brooklyn Apartment He Just Can’t Quit.” And adds: “Despite Mayor Eric Adams’s multiple claims that he had sold an apartment to an ex-girlfriend, he filed financial disclosure forms showing he still owns it.” Wazzup, New York? Adams’ mishaps don’t seem to end. Gov. Kathy Hochul allegedly used her power to advance hubby’s business agenda. It’d seem the lying shenanigans of Rep. George Santos are mere intermission fodders. AOC? She only works when her mouth works. 🗽🗽🗽
Time: “7 Ways to Get Better at Small Talk—And Why You Should.” Small talk, polite conversation about unimportant or uncontroversial matters, especially as engaged in on social occasions. Nope, I am not good at small talk. Little chats as I walk the dogs, wassup in a grocery store, blahblah in a party (I don’t even like parties). I am weird, aloof, impatient. A smile and a hello would be fine. If we really want to talk? Let’s arrange it, 4 PM in the neighborhood cafe, Friday. 🗣🗣👀
New York Times: “The Politics of Delusion Have Taken Hold.” And adds: “The irrational element of partisan hostility has seemingly created a political culture resistant to correction or reform.” Everybody’s correct. In fact, you are already wrong once you toss an opinion or insight that seems to lean Left or Right. Or somewhere in the middle. A new YouGov poll says two-thirds or 65 percent of Americans think the country is more divided than usual. I think, 95 percent. 🏦🛖🏦
Time: “Tucker Carlson Hit with 'Cease-and-Desist' Letter From Fox Over Twitter Series.” Of course Tucker brought his loyal minions to Twitter. Although Fox is still #1, its ratings fell by around 50 percent since its top draw left. As the legal battle plays out, Fox is still paying the massively influential voice in conservative politics his $20 million annual salary. The dude’s worth before his termination was $380 million. And now he works for a man who is worth $320 billion. Ha! 📺🗣📺
New York Times: “House Passes Resolution Calling on Russia to Free U.S. Prisoners.” And adds: “The measure urging Moscow to release Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested on assignment, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine, earned the unanimous backing of the House.” Until the war ends, Evan and Paul’s fate stays in the dark. Or the U.S. will have to give up another high-end chip in the mold of arms dealer Viktor Bout.
The “Merchant of Death” is a shrewd arms smuggler with wide-reaching operations, extensive clientele, and willingness to bypass embargoes from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East. The Kremlin got him back; the U.S. brought home a basketball player. History: The first major prisoner exchange between Russia and the U.S. was in 1962, with the then-Soviet Union. KGB spy Rudolf Abel for Air Force pilot Capt. Francis Gary Powers. 🇺🇸☮️🇷🇺
New York Times: “A $528 billion plan to clean up 54 million gallons of radioactive bomb-making waste (from the Cold War) may never be achieved.” How’d we suppose to achieve such as quixotic resolve when war is still ongoing? This: From fire in military infrastructures, smoke clouds of toxic gas spread. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas creates pollution from building materials including asbestos, metals, and combustion products. ☮️☮️☮️
New York Times: “German Court Convicts 4 Leftists in Attacks vs Neo-Nazis.” A 28-year-old woman and three others were sentenced to prison for their roles in a series of attacks on people they considered neo-Nazis. Vigilantism is illegal. No matter that the Joker and Bane, or in real life, Schutzstaffel remnants are the targets. Yet Batman-wannabes are many. In Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Germany and the UK, vigilante groups number more than 3 million citizens. 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
New York Times: “Paul McCartney Says A.I. Helped Complete ‘Last’ Beatles Song.” And adds: “The song was made using a demo with John Lennon’s voice and will be released later this year, McCartney said.” So what if that song is the last Beatles song? Sure, it’d sell for intrigue’s sake. But I don’t buy the AI trick. Fix the demo? Different from the sheer intimacy of Natalie Cole on a “virtual duet” of “Unforgettable” with dad Nat King Cole in 1991. 🤖🎼🤖
