Friday, August 02, 2024

Jellyfish at the Mermaid-themed Parrty (grand turned 6)


 

33 comments:

  1. Got here a couple minutes too late, but left messages on the last thread.

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  2. WSJ: Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich [Click] Very long and outside the paywall.

    Excerpt via politicalwire.com:
    Kamala Harris Helped Secure Prisoner Release

    “Vice President Kamala Harris played a role in negotiations with allies to secure the prisoner-swap deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

    “Harris met with both German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob separately in intimate settings during the Munich Security Conference in February to urge both leaders to push the deal through.”

    “Harris’s meeting with Scholz was particularly critical to securing the exchange because releasing Krasikov was a key Russian demand. The two first had a normal bilateral meeting before Harris asked Scholz to stay back for a ‘restricted bilateral,’ the official said. Harris asked everyone to leave except Scholz and one aide on each side.”


    —Alan

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  3. Tesla facing charges of violating US and state anti-trust laws [Click] Refuses to sell replacement parts and fails to repair its cars [at least in a reasonable length of time].
    —Alan

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    Replies
    1. Glad to see the antitrust boys doing something, somewhere!

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  4. Trump Pushes Back on Debate With Harris
    [Click]
    Donald Trump dismissed pressure to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, saying he was leading in the polls and voters already knew where he and his Democratic rival stood on the issues, Bloomberg reports.

    Said Trump: “Well, I want to. Right now I say, ‘Why should I do a debate?’ I’m leading in the polls, and everybody knows her, everybody knows me.”


    I look forward to Harris debating an empty chair; or maybe a cardboard simulacrum of TFG.
    ——Alan

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  5. Cloudy this morning but predicted to partly clear, and our cold snap continues: predicted high 96F.
    ----Alan

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    1. Cold snap? Here in New England we call that a heat wave!

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    2. I call it subtle humor.
      -----Alan

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  6. Inside Russia: Putin Has Lost - Peace In Ukraine Is Coming [Click] I think it will take Russia a very long time to recover, if it ever does.
    —-Alan

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  7. Okay, I added Election Deniers to the lefthand sidebar linklist.

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  8. Ooh, Love Kamala Removes Stubborn Orange Stains! I bought one, as well as Make America Laugh Again. Thanks for the tip, Alan. Sis bought us each a cat ladies T.

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  9. AP is reporting that Harris is interviewing the following: Andy Beshear of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. --nordy

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    1. There's a lot of sentiment for Secretary Pete, at least in the corner of YouTube I frequent. I've also heard him suggested for State.

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    2. Pete would be great at either. --nordy

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    3. I think the AP report sounds a little out of date. One thing in favor of Kelly is that the Governor of Arizona would have to replace him as senator with another Democrat.
      ----Alan

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    4. Pritzker may be all very well, but I think his wealth could repulse a lot of Democratic voters.
      ------Alan

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    5. The Wikipedia entry for Pritzker [Click] sounds pretty good, actually. Not perfect, of course; who is? I wonder what Bill’s opinion of him is.
      ——Alan

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    6. W. A.'s opinion of Pritzker is favorable without being highly enthusiastic. Gerrymandering has left Democrats so firmly in control of Illinois that it would take somethng special to really stand out.

      Incidentally, W. A. is still in the US. The Thrusday flight was cancelled and the next available choice was tomorrow evening.

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  10. Hi Bill. Stay safe, my friend!

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  11. Daily Beast:
    A column resurfaced Friday from Josh Shapiro’s college days showed he once wrote about volunteering for the Israeli military. The column was resurfaced by the Philadelphia Inquirer, which uncovered a 1993 opinion article where Shapiro detailed his skepticism about the viability of a two-state solution in the Middle East. In it, Shapiro described Palestinians as “too battle-minded” to coexist with Israel.--nordy

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    1. I should hope that the VP vetters have discovered that.
      -----Alan

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    2. Good Lord, yes! If they haven't, someone had better point it out to them. While I cringe to think of some of the things I wrote in college, my basic worldview has not changed since then. Doubt Shapiro's either. Ideas of that kind run deep. And, such an attitude is distinctly unhelpful if America is going to continue to pursue peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis.

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  12. Hope you're not flying Delta, Bill. --nordy

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  13. My pleasure to be of assistance!
    ---Alan

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  14. Replies
    1. My favorite former prosecutor, with the possible exception of the one currently running for president.

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  15. No, this was United. Strted with mechanical problems that forced them to substitute another plane with a two-hour delay By the time that plane was loaded the weather had turned bad and, despite occasional hopeful signs, remaind bad until the flight crwe's duty limits were exceeded.

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  16. And BTW, I want to remind people i'm W. A. now.

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