Now I know what they do at faculty meetings on the humanities/social sciences side of campus » « They never learn

Infinite Thread XXXIX

It’s almost spring-like outside — the skies are clear, we’ve got cool breezes on a comfortable day, the plants are coming back… I know it can’t last but I’ll make the most of it. I’ve opened windows to let birdsong in and to drive the cat crazy.

Let the pleasant conversations flow!

Previous Thread

Now I know what they do at faculty meetings on the humanities/social sciences side of campus » « They never learn

Comments

  2. Reginald Selkirk says

    Sen. Rand Paul’s son confronted Rep. Mike Lawler in drunken, antisemitic rant

    Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said he was approached at a bar by GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s “inebriated” son, who made antisemitic comments toward him.

    Lawler said he was at the Tune Inn in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night having dinner with a friend and a reporter for the news outlet NOTUS, who first reported the interaction, when he was approached by William Paul.

    “Paul decided to interject into the conversation and start accosting me about if Thomas Massie loses, it’s because of my people,” Lawler recounted Wednesday, referring to a Kentucky Republican who is in a tight primary against a Trump-backed challenger. Rand Paul and his son are also from Kentucky.

    Lawler said he asked Paul, “Who is ‘my people’?”

    “And he yelled out, ‘Jews,'” Lawler told reporters. “And I asked him, ‘You think I’m Jewish?’ And he said, ‘Yes.'”

    Lawler said he told Paul he was not Jewish and that Paul responded, “Oh, I’m sorry to accuse you of that.”

    The congressman said Paul then went on a “10-minute diatribe about Israel, about Jews, about [Jewish GOP megadonor] Paul Singer and accusing Jews of being responsible for so many things, playing right into the typical antisemitic tropes that so many people rely on.” Paul also said he “hates Jews, hates gays and doesn’t care if they die,” according to Lawler…

  3. says

    SHANGHAI (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J. Trump accomplished what he called “the main goal” of his trip to China on Thursday by inspecting the printing plant where his $60 Trump Bibles are printed.

    Accompanied by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he wanted “to be sure that the Chinese printed the lyrics to ‘God Bless the USA’ right, because those are Jesus’s most important words.”

    President Xi praised his American counterpart, telling him, “You have created more Chinese jobs than I have.”

    Trump cancelled plans to visit the factory that manufactures gold Trump Mobile phones after learning that it did not exist.

    https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/trump-tours-chinese-factory-that

    Satire

  4. says

    For the convenience of readers, here are a few links back to the previous set of 500 comments on The Infinite Thread.

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/03/30/infinite-thread-xxxix/comment-page-3/#comment-2300668
    Chevron Seeks Huge Tax Break to Build a Power Plant for a Texas Data Center

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/03/30/infinite-thread-xxxix/comment-page-3/#comment-2300666
    Wes Streeting has resigned his position as Health Secretary.
    Through the withdrawal of puberty blockers for trans youth, which has left vulnerable young people feeling that being dead would be preferrable to being alive, Streeting has been responsible for the deaths of several children and the maiming, by forcing their bodies to go unwanted, irreversible yet preventable damage, of many others.

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/03/30/infinite-thread-xxxix/comment-page-3/#comment-2300665
    Surprise! Trump’s ‘diplomatic’ China visit is just another grift.

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/03/30/infinite-thread-xxxix/comment-page-3/#comment-2300651
    Congresswoman Accuses 10-Year-Old Of Being Indoctrinated By Propaganda After He Sends Her A Letter About The Benefits Of EVs For A Class Assignment

    https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2026/03/30/infinite-thread-xxxix/comment-page-3/#comment-2300635
    Silicon carbide (SiC) dust is one of the most important ingredients in cosmic dust

  5. Reginald Selkirk says

    Judge probes whether Musk settlement with Trump admin is tainted by corruption

    A federal judge reportedly said she will not rubber-stamp a settlement between Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the deal raises red flags and needs scrutiny over whether Musk is getting special treatment from the Trump administration.

    As we reported last week, the Trump administration agreed to let Musk pay a $1.5 million fine to settle a lawsuit that originally sought at least $150 million. In 2022, before buying Twitter outright, Musk purchased a 9 percent stake in the social network and failed to disclose it within 10 days as required under US law. The SEC lawsuit filed during the Biden administration said the late disclosure allowed Musk to keep buying shares at artificially low prices and underpay shareholders by at least $150 million.

    Under the settlement with the SEC, a trust in Musk’s name would pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the government and not admit that Musk committed any violation. The deal requires court approval, and Judge Sparkle Sooknanan expressed skepticism at a hearing yesterday in US District Court for the District of Columbia…

  6. says

    Trump’s DOJ files suit against the DC Bar, tries to protect key lawyer in 2020 plot

    Those looking for accountability for those who plotted against the 2020 presidential election have limited options. Donald Trump’s Justice Department, for example, certainly won’t punish lawyers who tried to overturn the will of the voters, and congressional Republicans won’t take an interest in holding them responsible, either.

    But bar associations are another matter entirely. In fact, Jeffrey Clark, a key figure in Trump’s 2020 crusade to remain in the White House, is facing possible disbarment in the nation’s capital as a result of an investigation from the District of Columbia Bar.

    […] Trump’s DOJ this week filed a lawsuit against the D.C. Bar — not because it did something wrong, but because of its efforts to discipline Trump administration lawyers, including Clark. The New York Times reported:

    The lawsuit defends Jeffrey Clark, a government lawyer in the first Trump administration who sought to undo the results of the 2020 presidential race, and Ed Martin, a current senior Justice Department official. The suit was filed by Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, and Stanley E. Woodward Jr., the No. 3 official at the Justice Department.

    In accompanying statements, Mr. Blanche accused the D.C. Bar of acting as a “blatantly partisan arm of leftist causes.”

    The same lawsuit goes so far as to say lawyers who work for the administration should necessarily be considered above scrutiny by legal ethics officials.

    In case that weren’t quite enough, Benjamin Weiss at CourtHouse News noticed the same lawsuit against the D.C. Bar references the Supreme Court’s ruling that extended immunity to presidential “official acts,” suggesting Blanche and his team believe lawyers in Trump’s employ are also protected from punishments.

    […] the fact that Blanche is pursuing such a case at all is a timely reminder that this guy really wants to be nominated for attorney general. [I snipped details regarding Blanche’s other unsubtle moves.]

    [Trump] did say earlier this week, “We have a man who’s doing a great job, I’ll tell you. I knew it because he kept me out of jail for years. Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, he kept me out of jail.”

  8. says

    The list of problems at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department could fill a lengthy book, but his personnel problems are among the most endemic.

    During his yearlong tenure leading the Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary managed to bother various constituencies, including pharmaceutical companies and anti-abortion activists, but it was fruit-flavored vapes that apparently sealed his fate.

    Tobacco industry executives and lobbyists leaned on Donald Trump and his team to expand access to the flavored vaping products to consumers 21 and older, a move that Makary had been slow to approve. By some accounts, the president, convinced that young MAGA voters care about the issue, ended up personally “upbraiding” the FDA commissioner on the matter.

    The agency ultimately did what the White House wanted and authorized the fruit-flavored vapes, soon after Trump’s intervention, but the damage to Makary’s role at the FDA proved too much. He and the administration parted ways days later.

    As it turns out, however, he wasn’t the only one to exit as a result of the fight. The New York Times reported:

    The chief spokesman for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resigned on Wednesday in protest over the administration’s push to allow major tobacco companies to begin selling flavored vapes that appeal to children. His departure came one day after the head of the Food and Drug Administration quit for the same reason.

    In a letter to Mr. Trump, obtained by The New York Times, the spokesman, Rich Danker, did not blame the president. … But he warned that authorizing flavored e-cigarettes would draw more children into vaping and increase their risk for a number of health issues, from addiction to cancer. [True!]

    The Times’ report added that Danker is the second assistant secretary for public affairs to quit during Kennedy’s tenure: The first, Thomas Corry, resigned last year, in part to protest the secretary’s handling of a measles outbreak in Texas.

    […] other vacancies the department is dealing with right now.
    – FDA commissioner
    – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director
    – surgeon general
    – Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research director

    While we’re at it, the CDC’s principal deputy director also recently resigned, as did Kennedy’s choice to help lead the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

    The list of problems at Kennedy’s HHS could fill a lengthy book, but his personnel problems are among the most endemic

  9. says

    Associated Press report, as summarized by Steve Benen:

    Louisiana Republicans are moving forward with a new congressional map that will eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts. The next step is a vote in the state Senate, which could come as early as Thursday.

    New York Times report, as summarized by Steve Benen:

    Similarly, in South Carolina, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to call a legislative special session focused specifically on erasing the state’s only majority-Black district.

    Atlanta Journal constitution report, as summarized by Steve Benen:

    […] in Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is also calling the state legislature back for a special session, also focused on redistricting, though unlike South Carolina and Louisiana, this plan would not take effect until after this year’s election cycle.

    New York Times:

    The biggest donor in the midterm elections is not Elon Musk, or George Soros, or any of the other billionaires who are often thought to wield the fattest wallets in politics. It is a venture capital firm: Andreessen Horowitz.

  10. says

    Even the Initially Hesitant Southern States Have Now Joined GOP Race to Eliminate Black Political Representation

    In the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that struck down Louisiana’s second Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana v. Callais, red states across the South jumped at the new opportunity to gerrymander away the majority-minority districts in their states, in a blatant scramble to severely cut back Black electoral power. This week the Republican race to redistrict ahead of the midterms continues at a dizzying pace, with some states that initially appeared hesitant now jumping into the fray.

    Here’s the latest.

    In Alabama, the Supreme Court vacated a lower court’s decision this week that had, up until this point, blocked the state from using a 2023 map that had only one majority-Black district. The state’s current map has two majority-Black districts, which became a requirement when the lower court blocked the GOP-drawn 2023 map.

    The state can use the 2023 map for now, though there is ongoing litigation and it might be blocked again. Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is pushing ahead under the assumption that Alabama will be allowed to use it and called a special election for August 11, which will serve as a primary for the districts it redraws.

    Primaries are already scheduled for May 19, but Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said that the regular May primaries will still take place, but votes in the four congressional districts impacted by the 2023 maps will be tossed and replaced with the votes from the additional special primary in August. [“Votes will be tossed.” Sheesh!]

    Meanwhile in South Carolina … Earlier this week, the state Senate rejected a new gerrymandered map proposal with five Republicans voting with state Dems to defy Trump’s calls for them to redistrict ahead of the midterms [good news]. The defiance was, for a moment, a brief brightspot in the distressing news cycle. South Carolina’s Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey defended his vote against redistricting by saying that many in power have “lost their way.”

    But, as of Wednesday, redistricting is back on the table [bad news] after reports surfaced that the state’s GOP Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to call a special session on redistricting, leaving open the possibility for the state to approve a map that specifically targets Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D-SC) district.

    Louisiana is also on track to approve a new gerrymandered map. The Louisiana Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee moved forward a proposal that would give Republicans a 5-1 advantage in the state. The proposal now heads to the state Senate floor for approval.

    Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves said this week that he is canceling a special session on judicial redistricting on May 20, but emphasized that the state would redraw congressional districts prior to the 2027 election.

    And, finally, in Georgia, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp announced a special session on redistricting for June 17, which will allow him to sign off on new gerrymandered maps for 2028 before he leaves office. Kemp always wanted to redraw maps for 2028, but he initially said the state would not redistrict ahead of the 2026 midterms. However, it appears someone may have convinced him of the riskiness of waiting with a gubernatorial race with no incumbent ahead of the state this fall.

    […] Trump Admin Expands its 2020 Redux Probe to Wisconsin [details of concerning the Wisconsin probe; the investigations in Fulton County, Georgia, Maricopa County, Arizona, and Wayne County, Michigan are available at the link. There’s also a note concerning the Trump administration’s directions to the FBI to seize voter data and voting records.]

  11. says

    Vance cuts off Medicaid funding to California families out of spite

    On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that $1.3 billion in vital Medicaid funding would be deferred for six months for unspecified “fraud,” a significant financial punishment to the residents of a state that have voted overwhelmingly against President Donald Trump in every election he has run in.

    Vice President JD Vance made the announcement at a White House event, insinuating that money sent to the state has been used for people committing fraud who are “getting rich.” The decision came after Trump appointed Vance to lead an “anti-fraud” task force, which has been the administration’s cover for attacks on states led by Democrats.

    California officials immediately called out the partisan attack.

    “We hate fraud. But that’s NOT what this is,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a post. “Vance and [Dr. Mehmet] Oz are attacking programs that keep seniors and people with disabilities OUT of nursing homes. Pretty sick.”

    Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was even more blunt, writing, “The Trump Administration is attacking California over claims that they can’t back up. Let’s be real, this isn’t about fraud—it’s about punishing a state that didn’t vote for him. Political retribution plain and simple.”

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that “California appears to be targeted solely for political reasons.” Bonta said his team would be reviewing the action and that “we have not hesitated to challenge unlawful actions by the Trump Administration, and we will continue to act whenever Californians’ rights or access to critical services are threatened.”

    The accusation of fraud in California’s Medicaid program is a distinct echo of the debunked claims Trump made about the use of federal money in Minnesota. Trump, basing his claims on edited video from a racist YouTube content creator, used those claims as an excuse for his armed federal invasion of the state while making a series of racist comments about Somali immigrants. […]

    Yes, there is evidence of fraud in California. However, California is already addressing that problem, just as Minnesota was doing before Trump barged in with ICE thugs and made things much, much worse. Also, both Trump and Vance lied about the extent of fraud in Minnesota, about the Somali community, and about the effectiveness of Minnesota’s efforts to combat fraud. Trump and Vance are looking for excuses to withhold funds from Democratic-leaning states.

  12. says

    Supreme Court allows abortion pill to remain available by mail nationwide

    “The decision indefinitely blocks an appeals court ruling that would have restricted availability of the drug, especially in states with strict anti-abortion laws.”

    The Supreme Court on Thursday ensured that the abortion pill mifepristone can continue to be available by mail without an in-person appointment with a clinician.

    A ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 had imperiled widespread access to the pill. Now, the Supreme Court has granted emergency requests brought by drugmakers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro seeking to block that ruling.

    The decision, a loss for the state of Louisiana, ensures there will not be any disruption to the availability of the drug as litigation continues. […]

    Two conservative members of the court, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito, dissented.

    […] The FDA is currently reviewing the safety protocols for mifepristone, meaning that availability by mail could still be overturned. Louisiana’s lawsuit “not only would disrupt FDA’s ongoing review, and usurp FDA’s scientific role, but would also threaten chaos,” the Justice Department told the appeals court. […]

    Good news for now … could still turn into bad news later.

  13. says

    MS NOW:

    Chinese leader Xi Jinping offered stark warnings about avoiding possible clashes between his nation and the U.S. on Thursday, and even cautioned visiting President Donald Trump that Washington’s handling of its relations with Taiwan could lead to ‘conflicts.’

    Meanwhile, Trump was basically obsequious. He repeatedly told Xi that he was “a great leader.” Trump’s body language was also subservient, with Trump almost bowing toward Xi as he leaned in to talk and to press Xi’s hands.

    Trump’s whole approach was more person-to person friendship and less serious than Xi. For example, Xi did not bring along an entourage of rich businessmen and family members. Trump did. Trump called Xi his friend [repeatedly and effusively]. Xi did not return the compliment.

    Video

    Trump want’s to come back to the USA with a claim that China will buy Boeing’s planes, American beef, and American soy beans. He wants deals that benefit Apple, etc.

    Trump looks weak.

  14. says

    Washington Post:

    The Trump administration planned to start work at the site of the president’s proposed triumphal arch by piggybacking on an existing, unrelated contract for engineering services at the White House grounds more than a mile away, emails obtained by The Washington Post show.

  15. says

    MS NOW:

    Miami residents sued President Donald Trump, Miami Dade College and Florida state officials on Wednesday, alleging that the decision to donate an iconic stretch of downtown Miami property for Trump’s future presidential library — which might also house a hotel — is unconstitutional.

  16. says

    ‘No idea it was coming’: Pentagon officials stunned by Hegseth decision on troops in Poland

    “It wasn’t clear why the Defense secretary issued the order not to send troops on a routine mission to a country the administration refers to as a’“model ally.’ ”

    Pete Hegseth’s last-minute decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland caught Pentagon staff and European allies by surprise — the latest example of an abrupt personnel move from the Defense secretary that blindsided both sides of the Atlantic.

    It wasn’t clear exactly why Hegseth issued the order, according to three defense officials familiar with the matter. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed anger and frustration with European allies for their failure to help with the Iran war, although Trump has labeled Poland a “model ally” for its high defense spending.

    The decision was even more surprising because troops and equipment had already started to arrive in the country. It sent fresh waves of anxiety through European capitals and inside the Pentagon on Thursday about whether such moves could embolden Russia — and which ally might turn into the next target.

    “We had no idea this was coming,” said one of the U.S. officials, adding that European and American officials have spent the last 24 hours on the phone trying to understand the decision and figure out if more surprises are coming.

    […] The 4,000 Texas-based troops were preparing to leave on a long-planned nine month rotation to Poland that includes training with NATO allies when the order to halt came through. The cancellation of this routine mission is especially unusual given that American troops stationed on the continent are a key deterrent to Russia.

    […]

  17. says

    Streeting quits Starmer’s Cabinet as Burnham finds a way back — as it happened

    “The besieged British prime minister’s rivals spent the day clearing major hurdles to a run against him.”

    Keir Starmer’s potential rivals for the Labour leadership took leaps forward Thursday — but none yet has a clear path to oust the struggling prime minister.

    Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from Starmer’s government with a blast at the leadership “vacuum” from the current PM — yet he is keeping his powder dry on a direct leadership challenge to the embattled British prime minister amid speculation he does not yet have the backers required to launch.

    In a further twist Thursday, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has now found a route back into parliament that would let him challenge Starmer: Makerfield MP Josh Simons is standing aside to trigger a by-election in his seat. Burnham will have to contest it — and could still be blocked from running by Labour higher-ups.

    And Angela Rayner, another potential leadership hopeful popular on the party’s left-win, announced that a probe into her tax affairs had concluded — removing a significant barrier for any run at the top job. […]

    More at the link.

  18. JM says

    AP News: Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial

    When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.
    Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.

    This is just so stupidly bizarre I had to check multiple times that it wasn’t The Onion. It’s blindly offensive on a vast scale, using a war memorial as an adventure vacation spot. The combination of stupidity, alcohol and obliviousness that could produce this is just nuts and certainly shouldn’t be allowed in a government official. It’s what you expect from a bad tasteless influencer that has been drinking during their glamorous vacation tour.

  19. Militant Agnostic says

    Lynna @16

    ‘No idea it was coming’: Pentagon officials stunned by Hegseth decision on troops in Poland

    I suspect the girl that took Hegseth’s GI Joe doll away from him when he was a child was of Polish descent.

  20. says

    Militant Agnostic @19, LOL

    In other humorous interpretations of the news:

    BEIJING (The Borowitz Report)—President Xi Jinping’s humiliation of Donald J. Trump peaked on Thursday when the Chinese leader used a joint appearance to read aloud from the Epstein Files.

    Standing at a podium barely three feet away from his American counterpart, a stony-faced Xi recited a series of damning allegations about Trump that the DOJ’s redaction team had somehow missed.

    While the assembled press listened with rapt attention, Trump appeared oblivious to Xi’s audacious effort to embarrass him.

    “He’s a true friend,” Trump later said of Xi. “He said my name many, many times.”

    https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/xi-humiliates-trump-by-reading-aloud

    Satire

  22. birgerjohansson says

    Lynna @ 17
    Streeting is very pro-Israeli, I hope the other one replaces Starmer.

  27. StevoR says

    Whilst here in Adelaide, SA, in our Parklands on unceded Kaurna land today :

    … eight people (peaceful protesters -ed) have been arrested at the North Adelaide Golf Course redevelopment site (Pirltawardli – Possum Park – Public Park land & indigenous Kaurna land – ed) this morning. Officers were called to the premises on War Memorial Drive, North Adelaide at about 6.45am to reports of trespassers (peaceful protesters – ed) on the site. (Where nearly 600 trees including ancient giants older than any human now alive and full of tree hollows providing vital shelter for naive fauna inluding endnageered species -ed.)

    SAPOL said four people allegedly found inside the site were arrested and charged with being unlawfully on premises.(Whicha r epublic klands scared o the Kaurna People and meant to open to everyone. -ed.)

    A 27-year-old woman who allegedly chained herself to the outside of the site was arrested and charged with obstructing a public place and resisting arrest. A further three women, including a 78-year-old woman with a walker, were arrested at about 9.30am after also allegedly entering the site.

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-15/eight-arrested-north-adelaide-golf-course-police-say/106684474

  29. StevoR says

    @27. “premises” – Its our parklands! Public lands! For .. pities sake!

    Fix :

    “”…unlawfully on “premises.” (Which are public lands sacred to the Kaurna People and meant to open to everyone. -ed.)

  33. birgerjohansson says

    The Youtuber Ziroch tech has posted some interesting videos but I lack the depth of understanding to judge if the description of technology is overly optimistic. With this caveat here is a link.
    .
    “This Genius Drill Could Change Geothermal Forever”
    .https://youtube.com/watch?v=KlbfBrVAEH8

  40. says

    ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES: Trump reportedly to launch $1.7B ‘slush fund’ for ‘weaponization’ victims

    According to ABC News, Trump wants to drop his IRS lawsuit in exchange for a $1.7 billion fund for victims of government “weaponization.”

    WTF? Chris Hayes explains it all. Also, Trump’s entourage for his China trip raises corruption charges. Chris Hayes explores the issues.
    Video is 9:03 minutes.

    ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES: Chris Hayes answers questions about AI from MS NOW newsletter readers

    Chris Hayes talks about the biggest threats and potential benefits of artificial intelligence, as well as what inspired him to work on his new “Why Is This Happening” podcast series: “The AI End Game: Power, Profit, and Progress.”

    Video is 16:06 minutes.

  42. says

    Followup to the Chris Hayes video in comment 40.

    Democrats condemn ‘slush fund’ as Trump eyes possible settlement with the IRS

    “Sen. Elizabeth Warren characterized the purported deal as an ‘insane level of corruption — even for Trump.’ ”

    During Donald Trump’s first term, a former IRS contractor named Charles Littlejohn gained access to the president’s tax returns and shared the documents the Republican had been desperate to hide. Littlejohn was caught, charged, convicted and sent to prison.

    Earlier this year, however, Trump decided the criminal penalty wasn’t enough. [Trump] filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the federal tax agency in February, setting up an unprecedented situation in which a president sought a massive payout from the same executive branch he leads.

    […] (by any fair measure, frivolous) lawsuit, he told reporters that he assumed “nobody would care” if he received a giant check from the government because he and his team were “thinking about doing something for charity.”

    More than three months later, as settlement talks between the agency and the Republican’s lawyers continue, money for “charity” doesn’t appear to be the principal goal. ABC News reported:

    […] Trump is expected to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration […]

    The commission overseeing the compensation fund would have the total authority to hand out approximately $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who alleges they were harmed by the Biden administration’s “weaponization” of the legal system, including the nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack as well as potentially entities associated with President Trump himself.

    The arrangement, ABC News noted, “would be an unprecedented use of taxpayer dollars with little oversight.”

    […] (a) the deal would create a pool of money for his team to use at its discretion; and (b) “entities associated with Trump” would not be “explicitly barred” under the deal from seeking funds.

    While the structure of the proposed compensation fund is not yet clear, it would apparently resemble a victim compensation fund — despite the absence of any actual victims. Moreover, the suggestion that the Biden administration “weaponized” federal law enforcement is a conspiracy theory for which there is no evidence. [True]

    […] Sen. Elizabeth Warren characterized the purported deal on social media as an “insane level of corruption — even for Trump.” The Massachusetts Democrat said the agreement would create a “slush fund for Trump’s hand-picked stooges to hand money to January 6th insurrectionists and his political allies.” [!]

    Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, issued a related statement, saying, “Donald Trump is orchestrating a $1,700,000,000 fraud on the American taxpayer to line the pockets of his MAGA political allies, another installment in his ongoing effort to turn the federal government into a personal cash machine for his unpopular extremist movement. This is a massive and unprecedented presidential plunder of the American people.”

    Raskin’s statement went on, “The President has no authority to conjure up billion-dollar compensation schemes or raid the Judgment Fund which exists to settle valid lawsuits. Trump is systematically converting neutral government mechanisms into a presidential slush fund to build his army of political dependents. … This is a giant affront to the rule of law and a danger to the American system of justice.” [Yep]

    It’s easy to forget, but just two months into his second term, the president endorsed the idea of a possible “compensation fund” for rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol in his name. Trump didn’t elaborate on the details, but taken at face value, he appeared to describe what would effectively be financial rewards for the criminals he pardoned.

    It wasn’t clear at the time where exactly he expected to get the money. Fourteen months later, the answer appears to be coming into focus: Trump would get the money from taxpayers, in the form of a settlement agreement that results in a giant pool of money his team could use to reward his allies.

  43. says

    […] In Trump’s latest interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, [he boasted] that he has successfully lowered prices “incredibly.” [social media post, with video]

    “When they talk about high prices, I inherited the high prices. I’ve gotten them down incredibly. In fact, if I did not make the little excursion to the country of Iran, I had to do it.”

    This comes a week after the president also bragged about a “very substantial” drop in gas prices that did not happen in reality.

    What Trump continues to make clear is that he just doesn’t have anything coherent left in the tank. The president is peddling a combination of ignorance and self-defeating lies [all too true!] that the public recognizes as nonsense, not because of fact-checkers but because of their own life experiences.

    This underscores the potency of Trump expressing public indifference to the economic effects of the unnecessary war he launched in the Middle East. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” he declared this week when asked about negotiations with Iran. “I don’t think about anybody.”

    Yeah, we’ve noticed.

    As inflation gets worse, Trump has nothing to offer but ignorance and incoherence

  44. says

    Trump Officials, Billionaires and the Quiet Reshaping of America’s Public Lands

    “A land swap orchestrated by the mega rich could be ‘a harbinger of what’s to come’ for public lands under Trump.”

    At the end of a dirt road along the northeastern edge of Montana’s Crazy Mountains, a simple sign warns visitors they are now entering private property.

    For fifth-generation Montanan Brad Wilson, the notice marks a defeat with implications far beyond the Crazies.

    “The fate of our public lands and our rights are in jeopardy right now,” Wilson told Floodlight.

    [I snipped some of Wilson’s personal story.]

    “The loss of this access means a lot to me and everybody else,” he said beside the gate, looking down and hiding the wet corners of his eyes.

    The road beyond the gate next to Wilson leads into what was, for more than a century, one of two historic public trails into the east side of the Crazies. The U.S. Forest Service relinquished the public’s access to the trail early last year as part of a land swap with the Yellowstone Club — an exclusive mountaintop retreat for the megarich […] [Related video]

    For many Montanans, the swap has come to symbolize the growing influence of wealthy private interests spreading across America’s public lands […]

    There are more than 600 million acres of federally owned public lands across America — from iconic national parks and monuments to forests, grasslands and seashores. But now, nearly 90 million of those acres are at risk of some kind of development due to what critics describe as an unprecedented shift in policies under the first and second Trump administrations.

    In Arizona, a sacred Indigenous site was handed over earlier this year to a copper-mining company. In Utah, Republican Sen. Mike Lee attached a provision last summer to the federal budget that would have sold up to 3.2 million acres of public land across the West. And just last month, the U.S. Senate voted to overturn a 20-year-old mining ban on federal lands in Minnesota, clearing the way for a foreign-owned copper mine.

    […] “This is a really simple issue,” said Andrew Posewitz, a Montana public lands advocate and the son of a renowned conservationist. “The public had some really good land and some really good access in the Crazy Mountains. Some really rich people decided they liked the Crazy Mountains a lot … And now the public doesn’t have that access.” [True.] […]

    “[…] it is very much a harbinger of potentially what could come.”

    Perched more than 7,000 feet above sea level, the Yellowstone Club was built atop former public lands acquired through land exchanges with the U.S. Forest Service in the 1990s. It has since converted more than 15,000 acres […] into one of the most exclusive communities on the planet. [!]

    The club’s membership has included familiar names: celebrities like Justin Timberlake, Tom Brady and Paris Hilton; tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt; and financial elites like Bill Ackman, Warren Buffett and Robert Herjavec.

    Inside its gates, the Yellowstone Club has an 18-hole golf course, a concert venue, a movie theater, a dedicated fire department, hundreds of luxury homes and nearly 3,000 acres of private ski slopes. Initiation runs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and an undeveloped lot inside the gate has sold for as much as $10 million, according to Forbes.

    [I snipped the history of management and ownership.]

    “They’re gobbling up mass swaths of Montana,” said Erik Nylund, who served as a staffer for former Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester and met often with club representatives. “They will throw money around at anybody and everybody to get what they want.”

    In 2016, the Yellowstone Club drew criticism after more than 30 million gallons of its sewage overflowed into the headwaters of the Gallatin River, drawing over $300,000 in penalties and financial commitments from the company — and outraging locals.

    […] The club has also become a favorite refuge among high-level Trump administration officials: Energy Secretary Chris Wright owns a home there; Vice President JD Vance reportedly spent Christmas at the club; and Trump himself hosted a campaign fundraiser there in 2024.

    And the man in charge of most of America’s public lands is also a member.

    Interior Secretary Doug Burgum oversees 500 million acres of federal land in the U.S., and has referred multiple times to these parcels as “assets on America’s balance sheet.”

    Since early 2025, Burgum — along with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins — has helped the Trump administration pursue major overhauls of public lands management, including a $1 billion cut to the National Park Service budget, opening the Arctic to potential oil and gas drilling and repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule, the safeguard that has kept new roads and clearcuts out of nearly 60 million acres.

    […] Burgum owns a $22 million condo at the Yellowstone Club […] It’s held through an entity called Lone View, LLC. [I snipped the records of Burgum renting the property for enormous sums of money.]

    Burgum’s latest financial disclosure form shows he did not divest from any of these interests upon taking office. […]

    “He shouldn’t be involved in residential development on public lands while he owns that,” said Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer to the George W. Bush administration. […]

    […] In the past, Burgum has argued his policies aim to lower the national debt and address the nation’s housing crisis.

    “They’ll say the words ‘affordable housing’ and there’s not going to be anything affordable about it,” said Nylund, arguing that only luxury home builders and private resorts would be interested in developing America’s largely remote and inaccessible public lands. [All too true. “Affordable housing” … scoff.]

    [I snipped the personal story of fifth-generation Montanan Brad Wilson.]

    The Crazies resemble a mountain fortress — an island of jagged peaks rising more than 7,000 feet above the surrounding high plains, complete with secluded river valleys and alpine lakes. […]

    In the late 1800s, Congress paid the transcontinental railroads for their work by giving them every other square mile of federal land across whole regions of the West, which resulted in a checkerboard pattern of private and public land ownership.

    Anyone could continue to use public roads and trails that crossed through these newly minted private parcels, according to congressional acts and court rulings. Over time, however, those parcels in the Crazies were bought up by some of the richest people in the state, some of whom objected to the public crossing through their land.

    […] a U.S. forest ranger began to defend public access in the range by putting up Forest Service signs along contested trails. The big landowners weren’t happy. They reached out to Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Trump’s then-Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue. It wasn’t long before the ranger was reassigned.

    […] The ranger was eventually reinstated in 2017 after being cleared of any wrongdoing. Around the same time, Nylund said he was approached by a high-end consultant for an unnamed client seeking to swap land in the Crazies with the U.S. Forest Service.

    The unnamed client?

    “That was the Yellowstone Club,” Nylund said.

    Nylund later learned that in order to get the land they needed for an “expert ski run” in Big Sky, the club agreed to help the Forest Service solve access disputes in the Crazies by organizing a land exchange. […]

    Multiple people involved with early discussions around the land swap said the Yellowstone Club’s involvement in the exchange was kept secret and only revealed years into the process. Once the information did get out, the club’s representatives worked to reassure locals that they had no intention of developing the Crazies.

    “Then out of nowhere, it’s announced that they are purchasing the Crazy Mountain Ranch,” said Emily Cleveland, a program director at Wild Montana — a conservation group that works to protect public lands and wildlife in the state.

    Crazy Mountain Ranch is an 18,000-acre former dude ranch located at the foot of the range’s southern end. Cleveland called the club’s move a “bait and switch.”

    […] The Yellowstone Club is now converting the ranch into what it describes as “a private membership experience” featuring a luxury spa and a new 18-hole golf course.

    […] the ranch began illegally drawing water to irrigate its golf course in 2024 and Montana regulators sued them the following year. […]

    Fears surrounding the luxury developer’s potential impact on the Crazies reached a fever pitch after the Forest Service authorized the landswap the club helped orchestrate in January 2025.

    The deal, called the East Crazy Inspiration Divide Land Exchange, moved nearly 4,000 acres of public lands into private ownership. […] “All of the sort of prime habitat, that all went into private ownership, and then the tops of the mountains all went into public ownership,” said Posewitz. A person “would have to be a skilled rock climber” to navigate it, she wrote.

    The land swap also solved the checkerboard issue that has plagued the Crazies for decades by consolidating public lands in the center of the range.

    “What it’s resulting in is a ring of private ownership around a chunk of public land that has very limited access,” said Posewitz. [Unethical tactics]

    [I snipped details describing benefits to rich land owners.]

    The most contested piece of the deal was the trail network. Two historic public trails had appeared on Forest Service maps for more than a century. The exchange abandoned the public’s claim to both. […]

    [I snipped details describing unethical treatment of the Crow tribal people.]

    […] The proliferation of high-end private resorts, combined with the Trump administration’s pro-development policies, have only increased alarm among advocates across the country who say America’s public lands are now entering a very different era. […]

  47. says

    Exclusive: Cuba’s top diplomat outlines red lines to Trump as it braces for US invasion

    Cuba’s top diplomat in the U.S. said the country is sticking to its red lines amid faltering negotiations it says have made “no progress” and a looming threat from President Trump to invade the nation.

    Lianys Torres Rivera sat down with The Hill at a critical 24-hour period for Cuba. The island’s energy minister announced Thursday the country had completely exhausted its fuel supplies amid a U.S. blockade, leading to widespread protests in the streets of Havana after weeks of extended blackouts.

    The U.S. also publicly acknowledged what it called “numerous private offers” previously made to Cuba for $100 million in aid.

    CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba on Thursday, meeting with officials as the agency warned the window for negotiations “will not stay open indefinitely” […]

    Torres Rivera repeated that Cuba’s independence was not up for negotiation.

    And while she said protests over the power outages are understandable, she cautioned against taking a “wrong reading” that they were a sign of weakening Cuban resolve.

    “When they are enduring 20 hours of blackouts, they have grievances, and they express it,” she told The Hill of her country’s citizens. But she added that the U.S. should not mistake that to mean “the Cuban people won’t defend [themselves] from a U.S. aggression, won’t defend our homeland from an invasion.”

    […] CBS News reported Thursday night that the Trump administration was preparing to indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro on charges in connection with shooting down planes 30 years ago, a move that would mirror the process for indicting deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro before his capture. [!!]

    Negotiations were launched after Trump floated a “friendly takeover” of what he called a “failed nation,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the country would need to change not just its economic policies but move away from the current regime, which he has called “incompetent.”

    “It’s in our national interest, and to have a prosperous Cuba, not to have a failed state 90 miles from our shores,” Rubio told NBC News during a trip to China.

    […] Cuba has repeatedly said it is open to negotiations with the U.S., particularly on matters involving drugs and human trafficking.

    “The only exception,” she [Torres Rivera] said, is “our sovereignty, independence and right to self determination.”

    “We don’t see the need for a war or any military action from the U.S. towards Cuba, simply because we are not a threat to the U.S. in any way,” she said.

    […] The aid package proposed by the State Department would also include free satellite internet for all Cubans, something The Associated Press reported Elon Musk’s Starlink would provide for two years, as well as other aid that would be distributed through the Catholic Church.

    “There’s $100 million of food and medicine available for them right now,” Rubio told NBC News on Thursday. […] Torres Rivera said, however, that few details had been communicated to the Cuban government.

    […] Castro’s grandson, Raulito Rodríguez Castro, a great-nephew of Fidel Castro, has been playing a leading role in the process.

    It’s a surprising role for the younger Castro, as he holds no government or communist party title.
    His involvement has raised questions over whether the U.S. might be looking to install Rodríguez Castro in the same fashion it turned to Delcy Rodríguez, the Venezuelan vice president now serving as the leader of the country.

    […] Venezuela, long a critical ally of Cuba, has cut off a key source of fuel for Havana since it was invaded by the United States in early January, while Mexico also stopped shipments under threat of U.S. tariffs. [!]

    United Nations experts earlier this month said the blockage amounted to “energy starvation” — a move they say has devastated essential services and is “undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation.” […]

    Basically, Trump is bullying Cuba.

  50. says

    […] I’m reminded of William Faulkner’s line, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

    Five years after Trump summoned a mob, filled them with lies and pointed them at the Capitol, the significance of the political violence hasn’t changed at all. Five years later, pardoned Jan. 6 rioters continue to get arrested and, in many instances, convicted of additional crimes. Five years later, the president continues to look for ways to reward those who targeted our seat of government in his name.

    Five years later, Republicans are still trying to rewrite the story of the attack. Five years later, Trump’s Justice Department is still eager to erase the convictions of those responsible for the violence. Five years later, parts of the GOP base still treat rioters like celebrities. Five years later, the Republican Party still rejects the very idea of Jan. 6 accountability. […]

    Link

  51. says

    Despite the hype, Trump leaves China empty-handed and no better off than he was before

    “The president’s first trip to China was largely a flop. Nearly a decade later, his second excursion was worse.”

    Before Donald Trump arrived in China, some of his supporters expressed confidence in his ability to deliver real results during the trip. Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, for example, emphasized Trump’s ghostwritten book “The Art of the Deal” and said the president had “what he needs” to reach breakthroughs with Xi Jinping.

    Around the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also cited the president’s book before telling Fox News viewers, “He’s the strongest leader of your and I’s time, period.”

    Apparently, officials in Beijing were less impressed. Reuters reported:

    U.S. President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from ​Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping.

    Trump’s visit to America’s main strategic and economic rival, the first by a U.S. president since his last trip in 2017, had ‌aimed for tangible results to lift his sagging approval ratings before midterm elections in November. Xi will visit the U.S. in the fall at Trump’s invitation, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

    […] the White House had nothing of substance to point to after the trip wrapped up.

    A related report from the Financial Times added that Xi “conceded little” to Trump and said that their discussions “yielded no clear breakthroughs on the big foreign policy and economic fissures between the two countries and fell short of delivering the sort of big business deals the White House covets from international summits.”

    [Trump], who arrived in China in a position of weakness was no better off upon exiting the country. If anything, Trump established a new equilibrium that elevated the U.S. rival. As a New York Times analysis explained:

    Mr. Xi arrived highly scripted, leaving no doubt that for all of China’s problems — deflation, depopulation, the bursting of the real estate bubble — the moment when China acts as a peer superpower had arrived.

    At every turn, at least as he began his two-day trip to China, Mr. Trump sounded conciliatory, the exact opposite of his portrayals of China in public appearances back home, where during his presidential campaigns he has talked about the country as a job-stealer and national security threat. Mr. Xi, while smiling and welcoming to Mr. Trump, was quietly more confrontational — especially on Taiwan, where he delivered an unequivocal warning.

    […] After the trip wrapped up, Trump apparently felt compelled to respond to a rather brutal claim from the Chinese leader that the public hadn’t heard. “When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,” Trump argued by way of his social media platform. [Scoff. Laughable.]

    So to recap, Trump who traveled around the planet to make headway with China left empty-handed, though he was inclined to endorse the Chinese president’s unheard insult regarding the United States — amid reports that Beijing actually sees Trump as evidence of American decline.

    Trump’s first trip to China, in November 2017, was largely a flop. Nearly a decade later, his second excursion was worse

  54. says

    On Iran’s enriched uranium, Trump abandons the position he claimed to take seriously

    “I don’t think it’s necessary except from a public-relations standpoint,” the president said about Iran’s stockpiles.

    About a month after Donald Trump launched the war with Iran, he did something unexpected: The president suggested he was largely indifferent to one of the foundational reasons for the conflict.

    After countless comments about the importance of addressing Iran’s nuclear program, when asked about the country’s enriched uranium, he told Reuters, “That’s so far ⁠underground, I ​don’t care about that.” He went on to say Iran was “incapable” of developing a nuclear weapon in light of the damage it has suffered, fueling his passive attitude about its stockpiles.

    In the days and weeks since that April 1 interview, the president has not just shifted his focus back to the purported Iranian nuclear threat, he has also raised the possibility of some kind of invasion to seize the enriched uranium that he claimed not to “care about,” creating uncertainty about whether Trump was confused or has changed his mind.

    During his latest interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, however, [Trump] once again made it sound as if Iran’s enriched uranium just isn’t that important.

    “I don’t think it’s necessary except from a public relations standpoint,” Trump said about Iran’s stockpiles. He added that the issue is only important “for the fake news.”

    To be sure, it’s difficult to know whether the president believed what he said, whether he will change his mind at any given moment or whether he might pretend that he didn’t say what he clearly said.

    But if his on-air comments reflect his actual position, it has the potential to be quite important: After months of bold assertions about the importance of Iran’s enriched uranium, Trump appears to have told the world that he sees this as little more than a public relations annoyance, not a foundational priority for his administration’s national security policy.

    With this in mind, it’s an open question where Trump’s red lines are, or whether they exist at all. For that matter, there’s also new uncertainty about how and to what extent he’s undermined his administration’s own negotiating position, which continues to shift in erratic ways.

  55. says

    NAACP Files Brief with SCOTUS, Asking to Reinstate Virginia Redistricting Proposal

    In an amicus brief filed on Wednesday, the NAACP asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Virginia State Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down a Democratic-led, voter-approved redistricting proposal this month. [It’s good to see that the NAACP is fighting back.]

    “The majority’s ruling broadens the definition of ‘election’ to include the entire early voting period and ignoring a score of federal and state statutes that compel a contrary conclusion,” the brief argues. “The Virginia Supreme Court’s expansive definition of ‘election’ not only does violence to Virginia law, but also conflicts with all relevant federal election statutes and risks creating unintended harms with respect to their future implementation.”

    “The NAACP will not stand by idly in the face of this blatant attempt to overrule the will of Virginia voters,” Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our volunteers made calls to 80,000 voters, knocked on doors across the Commonwealth to ensure Virginians have the right to elect who they’d like to represent them. The people have spoken, and we’ll fight to make sure they’re heard.”

  56. Reginald Selkirk says

    Canadian, U.S. fascist fight clubs joining forces south of the border, CBC investigation finds

    Members of Canada’s biggest white nationalist group trained this spring with U.S. counterparts south of the border and met with the founder of a global movement of fascist fight clubs, a CBC visual investigation has found.

    One expert called it a “very significant” signal of closer co-ordination between white supremacist groups on both sides of the border.

    A Telegram post with blurred faces shows Second Sons Canada members posing with an individual CBC identified as Robert Rundo, an American neo-Nazi who founded the “active club” movement. Other posts show them training and meeting with active club groups in Texas and South Carolina in late March…

    By border they mean the USA-Canada border; i.e. in the USA.

  58. says

    JD Vance makes ‘solemn promise’

    Vice President JD Vance delivered the keynote address Friday at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, held on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to honor law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. The speech went down like a cement balloon.

    “You’re always going to have terrible people who want to do the worst things,” Vance said. “But allowing so many of those people free reign, allowing so many of them to strike at our law enforcement officers, ladies and gentlemen, that was a policy choice, and I make this solemn promise to every single person here, that so long as Donald J. Trump is the president and so long as I am the vice president, we will never again let policymakers in the building behind us allow violent criminals to tee off on our police officers.” [eyebrows raised]

    [Video]

    The solemnity of that “promise” might have sounded hollow considering more than a thousand Jan. 6 insurrectionists, many of whom were convicted of assaulting law enforcement, received pardons from Trump. [Understatement!]

    And it wasn’t just his abject hypocrisy that failed to inspire. Vance’s attempts to peddle clichéd tough-on-crime platitudes landed with all of the energy of a mandatory HR seminar at TGI Friday’s.

    By the time he finished speaking and stood behind a wall of bulletproof glass with the rest of Trump’s security team, it sounded as if only six people were left in the audience. [More videos, with one plainly revealing the underwhelming smattering of applause.]
    […]

  62. Reginald Selkirk says

    @57:

    …
    An outdated hallmark of pseudoscience is that its adherents are no fans of peer review. Scientific papers get published after being revised and commented upon by other scientists (the “peers” in “peer review”); but you wouldn’t want an actual scientist criticizing your paper on a nonsensical intervention and highlighting all the holes in it. This is why pseudoscientific services tended not to have papers published about them in the past.

    But this has changed. With the rise of predatory journals that will publish anything for a fee and the emergence of journals dedicated to a particular pseudoscience like homeopathy, ill-scrutinized papers can be weaponized to give credence to nonsense.
    …

  63. says

    In northern Ukraine, it was boy vs. Russian drone. The boy won.

    “A soldier taught a 12-year-old how to disable the fiber-optic drones that Russia has been using to hunt Ukrainian civilians in a campaign the U.N. has labeled a war crime.”

    […] 2-year-old Anatolii Prokhorenko was up in a pear tree, cutting off a damaged branch for a neighbor, when he heard the buzz of a drone.

    That sound often means death in Ukraine, and not just for soldiers on the front lines. Increasingly, civilians are tracked, chased and attacked by small, commercially available drones equipped with cameras, rigged with explosives and steered by fingers-on-joysticks […]

    Ukrainians, darkly, have dubbed this Xbox-inflected hunting of civilians as Russia’s “human safari” — a terror campaign that started in the once-occupied southern city of Kherson. In recent months, it has evolved with new technology and spread to border areas around the country.

    Anatolii knew it had recently reached the small farming village where he and his family live in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, seven miles from the Russian border. Tractors, like the one his father frequently drove, had been hit in the fields. In March, a drone blew up a car next to a shop. Another had exploded on Anatolii’s street just the day before.

    Now, the one he spotted was heading right for his house.

    As he clung to the tree trunk, the black quadcopter buzzed past, flying just off the ground and bearing down on a cluster of buildings where three of his younger siblings were playing with other kids in their yard.

    He watched as unseen eyes seemed to zero in on the structures and the drone began to climb, apparently rearing to strike.

    […] “That’s when I realized something was about to happen.”

    What Anatolii did next — something he had rehearsed, something few civilians in Ukraine have been taught — might have saved the lives of those children […]

    His story — and the fact that a 12-year-old in a pear tree knows how to fight back against a Russian drone — illustrates how deeply a tactic that the United Nations calls a war crime has dissolved the line between soldier and civilian in the fifth year of Russia’s war.

    Within drone range of Russian territory, survival itself has become a military skill.

    “It’s a really horrible problem the Russians are imposing on Ukrainian civilians in these towns where they’re using the human safari tactic,” said Robert Tollast, a military sciences researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

    The attacks demoralize by design. And they force Ukrainian commanders to spread their drone defenses […]

    By April 2025, the attacks were killing 42 civilians a month and injuring nearly 300, according to report by an independent U.N. human rights commission.

    Investigators determined that the campaign was ordered by Moscow to systematically terrorize the populace and amounted to “murder as a crime against humanity.”

    Ukraine’s first response was jamming — flooding the frequencies the drones depend on with empty radio noise. For a time, it helped.

    But Russia’s answer was to equip drones with fiber-optic filament: a hair-thin tether that unspools in flight like a spiderweb for 12 miles — or twice that with smaller payloads — carrying video to the operator and commands back. Bypassing radio signals entirely, these drones can’t be jammed.

    […] Although the filament can tangle or break as it’s draped across miles of countryside, units often deploy two or three drones on each mission to provide backup and better targeting reconnaissance.

    […] Ukraine is catching up, and last year used long-range strikes to knock out Russia’s only domestic fiber-optic factory in Saransk, leaving the Russians dependent on Chinese imports. Both sides are dealing with rising costs of the hair-thin cable as more of it is gobbled up by the global boom in AI data centers.

    That hasn’t stopped Russia from adapting the same technology for attacks on civilians in border areas […]

    Anatolii and his father, Volodymyr Poltoratskyi, 49, had started noticing the glinting gossamer threads a few months earlier.

    “In winter, it’s actually beautiful in its own way,” Poltoratskyi said. “They hang across the road and on the trees like garlands, and frost forms on them.”

    One day in autumn, as father and son were cutting firewood in a nearby forest, Anatolii saw a soldier they knew handling some of the filaments. The boy asked what he was doing.

    The soldier — an explosives specialist who goes by the call sign “Dynamo” — showed him how the fiber-optic material, like a fishing line, was almost impossible to pull apart without slicing the skin. Then he demonstrated three techniques the soldiers had found to break it, a combination of loops and pinches. Best to count to 15 after a drone passes before trying it, Dynamo had said, so you’re out of the drone’s view and don’t become the target.

    […] The soldier — an explosives specialist who goes by the call sign “Dynamo” — showed him how the fiber-optic material, like a fishing line, was almost impossible to pull apart without slicing the skin. Then he demonstrated three techniques the soldiers had found to break it, a combination of loops and pinches. Best to count to 15 after a drone passes before trying it, Dynamo had said, so you’re out of the drone’s view and don’t become the target.

    […] Which is why when Anatolii heard the buzz from his tree, he looked up and saw nothing. It was below him, just a few feet above the ground.

    And he saw something else, glinting in the low evening sun: the very fine fiber-optic contrail behind it.

    As the drone moved toward his family, Anatolii dropped to the ground. He ran 20 yards and got his fingers around a hairlike umbilical running all the way to Russia. He made a loop, pulled it slightly, and remembered the soldier’s instruction: Count to 15.

    “I didn’t have time,” he said. “So I counted to 10 and I broke it.”

    The line snapped. The drone abruptly veered upward, banked away from the children and the houses, and spiraled into a section of wild ground next to the neighborhood.

    “I waited for an explosion, but there was nothing,” Anatolii said. He wondered if it landed on its back. Later, he would learn that it crashed in a dense, swampy thicket.

    […] Anatolii was feted as a hero in Ukraine, but more as a target by commenters on Russian Telegram channels, so his family of seven have moved for now to a borrowed two-room apartment in Chernihiv, the regional capital, two hours south.

    They travel back and forth to tend their potato crop and still find fiber-optic tracks. One of their neighbors, a 47-year-old woman, was injured Sunday when a drone struck her car.

    These high-tech hunters, the family knows, are now a regular part of rural life — and death.

  64. Reginald Selkirk says

    Colorado’s Democratic governor will let Trump ally Tina Peters out of prison early

    Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has reduced the state prison sentence of Tina Peters, a former county clerk convicted of tampering with election equipment, allowing her to be eligible for parole on June 1.

    The controversial decision follows a months-long pressure campaign from President Trump and his administration to free Peters from state custody…

    Unrepentant, undeserving.

  65. Reginald Selkirk says

    DOJ pushing to indict Raúl Castro over 1996 downing of civilian planes, officials say

    The Justice Department is pushing to indict 94-year-old Raúl Castro, the former president of Cuba, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
    The potential criminal charges concern two civilian planes on a volunteer mission that were downed by Cuba in 1996, killing four Cuban Americans, one of the officials said…

    If T-Rump as president is immune to all prosecution, why does this logic not apply to other heads of state?

  67. StevoR says

    Latham being former ALP opposition leader and then a One Neuron (racist far reichwing) party MP and now sits as an independent.

    Contempt proceedings have been launched against Mark Latham after he attacked a tribunal that found he unlawfully vilified and sexually harassed another state MP. Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich alleged Mr Latham scandalised the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) in a social media post, calling it “grossly political and incompetent”.

    Yesterday, Mr Greenwich asked NCAT to refer the upper house crossbencher to the Supreme Court, which has the power to jail anyone it finds guilty of contempt.

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-16/contempt-proceedings-launched-against-nsw-mp-mark-latham/106686454

  68. StevoR says

    NASA’s asteroid-bound Psyche mission is headed for an encounter with Mars today (May 15). The spacecraft, which is on its way to an asteroid also called Psyche, will come within around 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) of the Red Planet during the flyby.

    …(Snip)…

    …the Psyche spacecraft won’t just use the gravity of Mars to get a boost that will help it save its xenon gas propellant; the Red Planet flyby will also offer Psyche a chance to test and calibrate the instruments it will be using when it gets to the main asteroid belt. In order to do that, Psyche’s multispectral imager will be used to capture thousands of observations of Mars. This process began earlier this month.

    Source : https://www.space.com/space-exploration/asteroid-comet-missions/nasas-psyche-asteroid-probe-will-fly-within-3-000-miles-of-mars-on-may-15-heres-what-to-expect

  69. CompulsoryAccount7746, Sky Captain says

    The Guardian – 13 men killed by US military boat strikes identified

    a joint effort by 20 journalists led by the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) this week published the identities of 13 of those killed […] all the victims identified so far, including those who may have had some involvement in drug trafficking, came from extremely poor communities across Latin America and the Caribbean.

    “Despite the US claim that the strikes are fighting narco-terrorism, what is actually happening is that young people living in extremely precarious conditions, doing whatever work they can to support their families, are being targeted,” said María Teresa Ronderos, director and co-founder of the CLIP. “The US is not taking down any Pablo Escobar or Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán,” […]

    The investigation also underlined what other reports and security analysts have concluded: that the strikes have not reduced the flow of drugs to the US, but have instead torn apart communities already fractured and weakened by organised crime and state neglect. “There are communities where they stopped fishing for several weeks—and if they do that, people go hungry—because they were terrified of being bombed,”
    […]
    In several cases, the victims were fishers with no indication of involvement in the drug trade […] Ronderos said that even if all those killed had been transporting drugs, “there is no death penalty for cocaine trafficking. So the fact that they were killed without even having the chance to defend themselves is deeply troubling.”

  70. KG says

    amid reports that Beijing actually sees Trump as evidence of American decline. – Lynna, OM@51 quoting maddowshow.

    Rumour has it that Beijing also believes the Pope to be Catholic, and that pandas shit in the woods.

  71. KG says

    Basically, Trump is bullying Cuba. – Lynna, OM@47

    And murdering ordinary Cubans.

  73. StevoR says

    No surprise but the LNP opposition leader is a transphobic piece of shit :

    Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has vowed to amend the Sex Discrimination Act, after the Federal Court upheld a landmark ruling that the exclusion of a transgender woman from a female-only app was discriminatory.

    Yesterday Roxanne Tickle was awarded $20,000 in damages in the case against the Giggle for Girls app and its CEO, Sall Grover. A judge previously ruled Ms Tickle was discriminated against due to her gender identity after her access to the social media platform was restricted in 2021. In a statement posted to social media today, Mr Taylor said the outcome “confirmed that Australian law does not properly protect single sex spaces for women and girls”.

    “A Coalition government I lead will fix this. We will amend the Sex Discrimination Act to ensure that women and girls (and men and boys) have protections based on biological sex,” he said. “We will define biological sex in the Act. Male or female. The sex you are born. And we will protect single-sex spaces across Australian life.” The opposition leader described the proposal as “common sense” and denied the pledge is about targeting transgender Australians.

    Source : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-16/opposition-leader-angus-taylor-vows-amend-sex-discrimination-act/106688258

Leave a Reply