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It was only a matter of time after Xi Jinping became China’s president for life that Putin would try the same. Now he’s making his move.
Russian government resigns as Putin seeks constitutional shakeup
Trump was mightily impressed when Xi Jinping did it. This is what we face. This is what Trump dreams of. Remember that.
Russian prime minister submits resignation to Putin
This en masse resignation isn’t one of protest; it’s designed to allow Putin to step in and twist the Russian Constitution into the shape he desires.
Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev is just another Putin flunky who has made billions in Putin’s corrupt regime.
In other news:
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Virginia lawmakers pass Equal Rights Amendment in historic vote
My wife’s mother fought all her life for equality. She was the chair of her county YWCA for 30 years and one of 9 women who forged their current national mission statement. We lost her in 2016, after the primary, before she could vote for Hillary. We know this day she is smiling.
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Oh fuck yeah! That’s why I marched.
I grew up in the seattle area in the 90’s, the riot grrrl movement got to me early. I remember the day I found out they never ratified the ERA. I was 14, I had been working on a essay at the library about the feminist movement in the 60’s and 70’s. I went home and cried my eyes out listening to my only Bikini Kill album on repeat for hours.
Today I will do the same. If it wasn’t for Kathleen Hanna, I wouldn’t be the feminist I am today.
My favorite lyric
You’re a big girl now
You’ve got no reason not to fight
You’ve got to know what they are
'Fore you can stand up for your rights
Rights, rights?
You do have rights
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It would seem the misogynists are intent on not going down without a fight!!
Virginia Declares State of Emergency After Armed Militias Threaten to Storm the Capitol
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Putin Launches Overhaul That May Extend His 20-Year Russian Rule
Medvedev moves to new post on Russian security council
Putin nominates tax chief Mishustin as new prime minister
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Glenn Greenwald is awful but this is bad for journalism.
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This coat design isn’t just saving lives. It’s launching new careers for homeless people
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Jared Kushner reportedly used WhatsApp to chat with Mohammed bin Salman, who may have used the same app to hack Jeff Bezos
New reporting suggests that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hacked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ phone through WhatsApp.
The news reignites concerns about the top White House aide Jared Kushner’s reported WhatsApp communications with the crown prince. There is no reporting to suggest Kushner’s phone was hacked.
Kushner’s lawyer Abbe Lowell told the House oversight committee in December 2018 that Kushner was using WhatsApp for official government communications, including with people outside the US.
Reports that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the senior White House aide Jared Kushner, communicated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the messaging app WhatsApp caused a stir when they first emerged almost two years ago.
But a new bombshell report from The Guardian suggesting that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ phone was hacked by a malicious link sent by the de facto Saudi ruler’s number on WhatsApp raises new concerns that Kushner could be vulnerable to similar hacking by the Saudi government.
The Guardian described a forensic analysis that concluded Bezos’ phone was most likely infiltrated after he opened a video file sent to him from the crown prince’s number in May 2018. After Bezos opened the file, data was rapidly extracted from his personal phone, the report said.
…
The Intercept first reported in March 2018 that Kushner had messaged with the crown prince on WhatsApp, a popular encrypted communication app owned by Facebook. CNN reported the same in October 2018.Kushner’s lawyer Abbe Lowell told the House oversight committee in December 2018 that Kushner was using WhatsApp for official government communications, including with individuals outside the US.
The committee’s chairman at the time, Rep. Elijah Cummings, made Lowell’s admission public last March in a letter alleging that Kushner may have broken federal records laws. Democratic lawmakers and cybersecurity experts have criticized Kushner’s use of WhatsApp.
Daniel Schuman, the chair of the nonprofit Congressional Data Coalition, told CNN last year that Kushner’s practice was “a recipe for disaster.”
…
There is no reporting to suggest Kushner’s phone was hacked. The White House didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. Facebook previously declined to comment to Business Insider about the hacking report.
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Jake Tapper has choice words for the Saudi Embassy’s denial of this.
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Steve Mnuchin promises next round of tax cuts for middle class Americans just as Trump faces the consequences of his tax cuts for the rich in an election.
Does anybody else believe this base bit of attempted bribery? I don’t.
Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia
This site pays Americans to write ‘news’ articles. Signs indicate it originates in Iran
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Crazy story! Just completely bonkers. At least they’ve been exposed.
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This infuriates me. This is a direct damn result of Trump hiding the numbers after that Iran attack.
Some reports are putting the number of injured as high as 34.
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The Pentagon is now confirming the rumor that 34 US troops had brain injuries from Iran’s strike
Pentagon says 34 US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injury in Iran strike
34 US service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after Iranian missile strike
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Oh my…
The “business genius” ruining our economy thinks America invented the wheel and we need to protect that. Also, Thomas Edison. We have to protect Thomas Edison.
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Gahtdamn, Coming to America: the horror sequel ffs!
[emphasis mine]
Abdulrahman Almutairi is a 27-year-old comedian and former student at the University of San Diego with a big social-media presence. After Almutairi used social media to criticize the powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman over the October 2018 murder and dismemberment of Washington Post contributor Khashoggi, an unidentified Saudi man accompanied Almutairi’s father on a flight to collect Almutairi against his will and bring him back to Saudi Arabia, according to The Daily Beast’s sources.
Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, has investigated the Khashoggi killing. She drew attention this week by calling for an inquiry into allegations that MBS hacked Jeff Bezos’ phone. Callamard is familiar with Almutairi’s story, although they haven’t spoken, and considers it credible. She told The Daily Beast that it’s part of an ominous trend, particularly now that MBS has skated for Khashoggi’s murder.
Then someone he describes only as a source in Saudi Arabia told him that his life was in danger—and that living in California did not mean he was safe. It prompted Almutairi to call the police during the week of Oct. 25, 2018.
What happened next he would only learn from an FBI official he said he spoke with: Without Almutairi’s knowledge, his father flew to Los Angeles, and he wasn’t alone. Accompanying his father was someone Almutairi does not know.
But they never arrived in San Diego. The FBI was waiting for them at LAX. According to two additional sources familiar with the incident, the FBI intercepted both the senior Almutairi and the unidentified Saudi man and sent them back on a subsequent flight. The FBI declined to comment for this story.
He is sure that his father was coerced into boarding the plane to Los Angeles.
“Abduction is part and parcel of the way the Saudi government has operated for many years,” said Callamard, the UN special rapporteur. But until MBS became crown prince two years ago, “most victims were part of the royal family. It appears now that their kidnapping attempts are expanding.”
Being a Saudi dissident living in America is no protection, she warned: “Absolutely, they will keep trying to lure people in the United States. The only reason why they haven’t succeeded is because the U.S. intelligence agencies are doing their job.”
It’s so awesome that our current administration is awestruck and inspired by this dictatorship.
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Obama’s 2016 Warning: Trump Is a ‘Fascist’
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/01/obama-2016-trump-fascist/605488/
Barack Obama’s private assessment of Donald Trump: He’s a fascist.
That is, at least, according to Tim Kaine, the Democratic senator from Virginia and a friend of the former president. In a video clip from October 2016, Kaine is seen relaying Obama’s comment to Hillary Clinton. The footage is part of the new Hulu documentary Hillary , which was obtained by The Atlantic ahead of its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival today.
“President Obama called me last night and said, ‘Tim, this is no time to be a purist,’” Kaine tells his then–running mate. “‘You’ve got to keep a fascist out of the White House.’”
Clinton replies: “I echo that sentiment.”
yup
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“Your head will be on a Pike” is language that T uses…see this excerpt as remembered by James Comey in his note:
On reading a memo written by former FBI Director James Comey in which Comey describes President Trump’s reaction to stories Miller wrote
As I read this memo, I realize [Trump’s] talking about me. He’s talking about the stories that I had written for The Post . Comey is talking about, ‘Yes, I agree with you. Sometimes it’s great to put somebody’s head on a pike,’ as an example. Trump goes on to joke to say he believes a reporter should be put in jail, and jokes about how once a reporter spends a little time in jail they make a new friend suddenly they’re willing to talk.
It’s a really disconcerting moment for anybody in journalism — or anybody who cares about journalism — but for me it was just eerie to think that he’s talking specifically about stories I had written for The Washington Post . They’re talking about heads on pikes, reporters in jail chasing down sources. It was unnerving.
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Louise Linton, wife of Steve Mnuchin went out on a limb today and supported Greta Thurnberg, after Steve berated Greta and told her to go study economics before she continues to bash the fossil fuel industry. Louise did take down her tweet.
So much for voicing your own opinion in that union.
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