MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled he remains open to a diplomatic resolution to the Russia-NATO crisis over Ukraine, and some troops were pulling back from the Ukrainian border, even though other major military maneuvers were continuing and U.S. concerns remained high that a full-scale attack could come within days.
Russia’s military said Tuesday more than 30 of its naval vessels were carrying out a live fire exercise in the Black Sea with aircraft taking part, in preparation for a “major” naval exercise that would be supervised by Russia’s naval commander.
But it also announced that some units from Russia’s Western Military District and Southern Military District were loading equipment onto rail cars to return to base after completing military exercises, in line with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s report to Putin on Monday that some drills were ending and others would end soon.
U.S. and NATO officials have repeatedly called on Russia to draw down its 130,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, warning that Russia has all the pieces in place for a major attack on Ukraine.
After Putin left the door open Monday to continued dialogue over his demands for an end to NATO expansion, including barring Ukraine from the alliance, State Department spokesman Ned Price called for Russian de-escalation first.
“We have not seen any meaningful, real sign of de-escalation,” he told reporters Monday.
Questions remain about Moscow’s intentions, with Kremlin officials, diplomats and military officials sending contradictory messages and keeping Western leaders off balance in trying to gauge whether Putin will give the order to invade Ukraine and when it might happen.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine would wait to see whether Russia was serious about drawing down its forces before concluding that Russia was moving to de-escalate.
“Russia keeps making statements of various kinds, so we have a rule: We believe it when we see it, not when we hear about it. We will believe de-escalation when we see their withdrawal,” Kuleba told journalists in Kyiv.
How good are (or are there any) inroads to the Russian populace via the interwebs with regard to what Vlad is really doing? Is Vlad just helping his friends play the market?
“If Russia invades Ukraine, global stock markets could be in for a rough ride…”
“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is likely to push crude oil prices above $100 a barrel sooner than earlier projected,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst with AvaTrade, in a report Monday. “The potential jump in oil prices depends on what sort of sanctions the United States of America and its allies are likely to impose on Russia if it actually invades its neighbor.”
“Given that Russia is a major oil and grain supplier and is a key producer of palladium, used in catalytic converters, fears of price rises are very real…”
The question shouldn’t be whether companies gather unnecessary amounts of sensitive information about their users sneakily — it should be whether companies amass these troves at all. Until Congress ensures that’s true for the whole country, Americans will be clicking through policies and prompts that do little to protect them.
“Paxton filed the suit, which he said could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in civil penalties, in state court in Harrison County on Monday, the first day of early voting in the March 2022 primary. He announced the suit at a press conference…”
“The lawsuit accuses Facebook of violating a 2009 state law that requires people to obtain consent before capturing “a biometric identifier of an individual.” State law imposes a $25,000 penalty for each unlawful capturing of an identifier, Paxton said…”
“Facebook ended its use of facial recognition last November and said it would delete more than a billion users’ facial templates. The state is asking for Facebook to maintain relevant data for the investigation.”
“Last week, he opened an investigation into GoFundMe after it pulled down an online fundraiser for the “Freedom Convoy” of Canadian truckers, a group protesting pandemic restrictions.”
“Paxton is seeking to avoid a runoff in his bid for reelection as his opponents question his fitness for office. He was indicted in 2015 on state securities fraud and faces an FBI investigation into allegations of bribery made in 2020 by several of his former top lieutenants.“
What an odd way to campaign and deflect attention from his problems. Evil genius? Nah, just evil. Kenny, Kenny, Kenny.
Sounding like SFB might finally be facing more than talking heads wringing hands and rending clothes. When your accountant says you, the client, are not trustworthy to the prosecutor you be in deep doodoo. It will be funny and good.
In the last few weeks, anti-vaxxers have raised $8 million for the so-called “Freedom Convoy” — first on GoFundMe and now on GiveSendGo, the Christian crowdfunding site popular among right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis. It’s not clear what’s being done with the money given that these (mother)truckers showed up at an Ottawa soup kitchen to assault and harass workers, scream racial slurs at security guards and demand to be fed.
Around 10pm Sunday night, Daily Dot reporter Mikael Thalen reported on Twitter that GiveSendGo had been frozen and hacked — and initially redirected to the url GiveSendGone.wtf, which featured a picture from the Disney movie Frozen, with the following text superimposed over it.
Attention GiveSendGo grifters and hatriots.
The Canadian government has informed you that the money you assholes raised to fund an insurrection is frozen.
The bank has frozen several accounts.
You helped fund the January 6th insurrection in the US.
You helped fund an insurrection in Ottawa.
In fact, you are committed to funding anything that keeps the raging fire of misinformation going until it burns the world’s collective democracies down.
On behalf of sane people worldwide who wish to continue living in a democracy, I am now telling you that GiveSendGo itself is frozen.
That’s nice! While the redirect is no longer there, the site now features a blank white screen and a bullshit message in which they try to pretend they’re only down for maintenance and to improve their platform, not because they just got hacked.
[…]
The hack also included a massive data leak of information about tens of thousands of people who donated to the Freedom Convoy, including their names, emails. Some of the special little messages they left for the Truckers, such as “I look forward to the day you tyrants are swinging from a noose” and “death to all liberal traitors,” were flagged by Monmouth University extremism researcher Sara Aniano.
Notably, many of the emails came from .gov and .mil addresses and one with a Department of Justice email address.
[…]
It’s not really too surprising that this happened. Early last week, TechCrunch reported that researchers had found 50GB of files containing sensitive user information “including passports and driver licenses that were collected during the donation process,” and the user data was still visible on Thursday, according to The Daily Dot, despite the company saying that they had fixed the issue, but also that there was no issue and this was all “fake news.”
Guess it wasn’t!
While the leak is no longer publicly available, it has been sent to DDoSecrets, which is hosting it but only providing access to journalists and researchers. Wonkette has requested access to the data leak from DDoSecrets and will update if we get it.
Republicans are very concerned — like an army of Susan Collinses — about President Joe Biden’s cognitive health. Yes, these are people who’d willingly vote again for Donald Trump, who can’t even correctly name the winner of the last presidential election. That’s a far more disturbing disconnect from reality than Biden’s occasional gaffes.
Sunday, Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas previewed for Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo some of the politically motivated sham investigations Republicans plan to unleash on their enemies if they regain the majority. Top of the list is Dr. Anthony Fauci, an 81-year-old public servant who aptly described Marshall as a “moron.”
Then they moved to what Republicans assume is Biden’s obvious senility. Here’s the sickening video.
[shows more conversation here]
Yeah, this painful subject has her all choked up. It’s true that Marshall is a medical doctor, but as even a casual “Grey’s Anatomy” viewer could tell you, medicine is a broad field with many specialities. “Doc Marshall,” as his official Senate bio refers to him, was an obstetrician and a gynecologist. Joe Biden hasn’t been a baby for decades now and hasn’t given birth for even longer.
[…]
Republicans and their buddies in state media have a clear game plan for 2024: Keep smearing Biden as mentally incompetent with zero evidence. A few months ago, Nikki Haley suggested that politicians of a certain age should submit to regular cognitive tests, which is both ageist and unconstitutional.
There is currently no law mandating that presidents issue public health disclosures. Republicans are shady AF about revealing their vaccination status, so it’s rich that they think Biden should let his political opponents get all up in his cerebellum. But, hey, if Biden sometimes has trouble keeping names straight, that’s obviously a sign of dementia. Bartiromo claimed that Biden’s deteriorating mental condition, which she’s made up, is a national security issue and Marshall agreed. We should note that Doc Marshall is not a neurologist and has never personally examined the president.
“We write to advise that the Statements of Financial Condition for Donald J. Trump for the years ending June 30, 2011 – June 30, 2020, should no longer be relied upon and you should inform any recipients thereof who are currently relying upon one or more of those documents that those documents should not be relied upon,” the letter to Trump’s namesake company said.
“We have come to this conclusion based, in part, upon the filings made by the New York Attorney General on January 18, 2022, our own investigation, and information received from internal and external sources,” said the letter. “While we have not concluded that the various financial statements, as a whole, contain material discrepancies, based upon the totality of the circumstances, we believe our advice to you to no longer rely upon those financial statements is appropriate.”
Mazars effectively resigned as the Trump Organization’s accountant, saying, “Due in part to our decision regarding the financial statements, as well as the totality of the circumstances, we have also reached the point such that there is a non-waivable conflict of interest with the Trump Organization. As a result, we are not able to provide any new work product to the Trump Organization.”
The letter indicated that the former president and his wife still have tax returns to file by Feb. 15.
“We believe the only information left to complete those returns is the information regarding the Matt Calimari Jr. apartment,” said the letter. “As you know, Donald Bender has been asking for this information for several months but has not received it. Once that information is provided to your new tax preparers, the returns can be completed.”
Some new polling from Democrats underscores the point. The findings are rough for Democrats, but they also suggest room for improvement, if that balance is struck in an effective way.
The polling from Global Strategy Group finds that among registered voters, Republicans hold an advantage over President Biden and Democrats on numerous economic metrics:
– Republicans are more trusted to handle economic growth by 47 percent to 41 percent.
– Republicans are more trusted on getting everyday rising costs under control by 45 percent to 40 percent.
– Republicans are more trusted to handle inflation by 44 percent to 40 percent.
– Republicans are more trusted to handle rebuilding the economy by 46 percent to 42 percent.
What’s brutal about this for Democrats is that early in 2021, they passed the covid-19 recovery act, which helped drive an economic recovery that, by many measures, has been surprisingly robust. Not a single Republican voted for it.
Obviously this fact isn’t reflected in numbers showing Republicans with an advantage on economic growth and rebuilding the economy. It’s often suggested that views of the economy are clouded by inflation and overloaded supply chains, and the GOP edge on inflation seems to confirm this.
* * * but …
That new polling hints at a way forward. The survey tested something novel: It asked voters about a series of specific economic metrics, and asked whether they see these as “indicators that the economy is recovering.”
The result: When asked this way, sizable majorities of voters see many of these metrics — the creation of 6 million jobs last year, GDP growth of 5.7 percent, the 4 percent unemployment rate — as indicators that the economy is indeed recovering.
What’s more, after voters answer those questions, the percentages on the initial questions flip around, with voters trusting Democrats over Republicans on job creation by 48 percent to 40 percent, and on economic growth by 47 percent to 42 percent.
So are groundhogs. Looking at the forecast for the next 10 days (including today) there are 2 days in the 40s, two days in the 50s and 6 days in the 60s with below freezing temps in 4 of the 10 overnights. No snow predicted. This is February.
“…a Tennessee couple, were denied access to a state-sponsored foster parent certification program because they are Jewish. The rationale? The foster agency they applied to claims that they should be allowed to turn away Jewish people because they are a Christian adoption agency.”
“The agency, though it is a religious organization, receives taxpayer funding and assists families (on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services…”
“Despite the fact that they are, in part, being funded by the state to care for all children and serve all prospective parents, the agency asserts that such discrimination is part of their religious freedom.”
Soooo, in theory, they would also turn away Mary and Joseph.
Rick and I are saddened by the passing of P.j. O Rourke. He lived in the town next to us. He worked with Rick to help clear hiking trails. I’ve met him many times. He was a really great guy. R.I.P. P. j….
This Colorado chick Tina Peters is a FUCKING NUT. Is Colorado stupid enough to elect this moron? Never mind – stupid question.
OK, I seldom agreed politically with PJ, but I liked him. Funny bastard and I liked him in his stint at NPR’s. Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. There are a few smart RWers out there, one less tonight.
Yeah I liked PJ from the old days at the Lampoon and he stayed funny though not staying liberal so it’s now just another case of someone I liked and is my age going away. Que lástima, and the bell tolls for thee and me again.
“Rapidly rising prices have caused economic hardship for millions of Americans. But drastic action to rein in prices could lead to even more pain, including job losses.”
https://youtu.be/t1aSG1ACJz4
better version by duke danger, but not by much
“If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another” – Bing video
Russia says some troops withdrawing from Ukraine’s border, even as other major military exercises continue – The Washington Post
How good are (or are there any) inroads to the Russian populace via the interwebs with regard to what Vlad is really doing? Is Vlad just helping his friends play the market?
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/14/investing/russia-ukraine-oil-prices-inflation/index.html
“If Russia invades Ukraine, global stock markets could be in for a rough ride…”
“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is likely to push crude oil prices above $100 a barrel sooner than earlier projected,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst with AvaTrade, in a report Monday. “The potential jump in oil prices depends on what sort of sanctions the United States of America and its allies are likely to impose on Russia if it actually invades its neighbor.”
“Given that Russia is a major oil and grain supplier and is a key producer of palladium, used in catalytic converters, fears of price rises are very real…”
wapo’s editorial board makes good point today on another problem constantly facing us
Opinion | A lawsuit against Google points out a much bigger privacy problem – The Washington Post
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/14/paxton-facebook-privacy-lawsuit/
“Paxton filed the suit, which he said could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in civil penalties, in state court in Harrison County on Monday, the first day of early voting in the March 2022 primary. He announced the suit at a press conference…”
“The lawsuit accuses Facebook of violating a 2009 state law that requires people to obtain consent before capturing “a biometric identifier of an individual.” State law imposes a $25,000 penalty for each unlawful capturing of an identifier, Paxton said…”
“Facebook ended its use of facial recognition last November and said it would delete more than a billion users’ facial templates. The state is asking for Facebook to maintain relevant data for the investigation.”
“Last week, he opened an investigation into GoFundMe after it pulled down an online fundraiser for the “Freedom Convoy” of Canadian truckers, a group protesting pandemic restrictions.”
“Paxton is seeking to avoid a runoff in his bid for reelection as his opponents question his fitness for office. He was indicted in 2015 on state securities fraud and faces an FBI investigation into allegations of bribery made in 2020 by several of his former top lieutenants.“
What an odd way to campaign and deflect attention from his problems. Evil genius? Nah, just evil. Kenny, Kenny, Kenny.
he’s been there done that six or seven times, george, so what’s new?
Conway explains why he thinks Trump’s accounting firm cutting ties is worse than impeachment – Bing video
“this could lead to going bankrupt”
Sounding like SFB might finally be facing more than talking heads wringing hands and rending clothes. When your accountant says you, the client, are not trustworthy to the prosecutor you be in deep doodoo. It will be funny and good.
https://youtu.be/ouQbYjBlXA4
from wonkette:
also at wonkette today
excerpts from mazars letter according to ABC News (go.com):
Like an Army of Susan Collinses
lol
Today, “Concerned”………Tomorrow–the WORLD!
Poor little barracuda…….sliding inexorably toward the inescapable black hole of irrelevancy.
The Goobers have yet to realize that EVERYBODY is on to them. lol
Sturg, maybe, but then again …
People are stupid.
So are groundhogs. Looking at the forecast for the next 10 days (including today) there are 2 days in the 40s, two days in the 50s and 6 days in the 60s with below freezing temps in 4 of the 10 overnights. No snow predicted. This is February.
Ukraine reports cyber attack on defence ministry website, banks
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/opinions/tennessee-adoption-struggle-religious-freedom-graves-fitzsimmons-siddiqi/index.html
“…a Tennessee couple, were denied access to a state-sponsored foster parent certification program because they are Jewish. The rationale? The foster agency they applied to claims that they should be allowed to turn away Jewish people because they are a Christian adoption agency.”
“The agency, though it is a religious organization, receives taxpayer funding and assists families (on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services…”
“Despite the fact that they are, in part, being funded by the state to care for all children and serve all prospective parents, the agency asserts that such discrimination is part of their religious freedom.”
Soooo, in theory, they would also turn away Mary and Joseph.
Jesus wept.
P. J. O’Rourke has passed away at 74
Why now? Is Vlad trying to impact the midterm primaries? Why now?
Rick and I are saddened by the passing of P.j. O Rourke. He lived in the town next to us. He worked with Rick to help clear hiking trails. I’ve met him many times. He was a really great guy. R.I.P. P. j….
This Colorado chick Tina Peters is a FUCKING NUT. Is Colorado stupid enough to elect this moron? Never mind – stupid question.
OK, I seldom agreed politically with PJ, but I liked him. Funny bastard and I liked him in his stint at NPR’s. Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. There are a few smart RWers out there, one less tonight.
Yeah I liked PJ from the old days at the Lampoon and he stayed funny though not staying liberal so it’s now just another case of someone I liked and is my age going away. Que lástima, and the bell tolls for thee and me again.
NEW THREAD
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/politics/donald-trump-joe-biden-january-6-white-house-visitor-logs/index.html
“Biden rejects Trump’s attempt to shield White House visitor logs, including for day of January 6 attack”
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/economy/inflation-fight-pain/index.html
“Rapidly rising prices have caused economic hardship for millions of Americans. But drastic action to rein in prices could lead to even more pain, including job losses.”
This would be good news for Republicans.