58 thoughts on “Trapped”

  1. uk trek traps for twit

    the guardian:  Donald Trump to face ‘carnival of resistance’

    [….]
    While major protests have been prepared for London, the organisers said preparations had taken on “a life of their own” and would be carried out by dozens of groups and thousands of individuals across the country.
     
    Protests will start as Trump arrives from Brussels with pockets of protesters co-ordinating around the country to ensure that while the president may avoid the largest gatherings in the capital, they will not escape his notice.
    Trump is expected to be at the US ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park, London, overnight and at 5.30pm on Thursday protesters plan to greet him with a “wall of sound”. More demonstrations are planned for Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, later in the evening, when Trump and his wife, Melania, will be guests of honour at a dinner for 100 guests.

    [….]
    On Friday morning, a six-metre “angry Trump baby” balloon will fly over Westminster from Parliament Square after the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, gave permission for it, before mass marches begin at midday.
     
    Women’s March London – which brought 100,000 people to the streets of the capital in 2017 – will assemble at 11am outside the BBC offices in Portland Place before leaving at 12.30pm to move along Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and Whitehall, culminating in a rally at Parliament Square.
     
    For the Bring the Noise rally, organisers are encouraging marchers to take “pots and pans out of the kitchen … and on to the streets, banging to show our disapproval and claiming our political voice in public space”.
    [….]

    A second London demonstration led by Stop Trump – which includes members of the TUC, Stop the War and Friends of the Earth – will also start outside the BBC’s headquarters at 2pm, ending at 5pm in Trafalgar Square, where organisers hope “very large numbers” – in the tens of thousands – will attend.

    [….]

    There will also be demonstrations on Friday evening in Glasgow and on Saturday in Edinburgh at noon.

  2. imagine your teen self in this situation

    wapo:

    To get them out through the miles of submerged passages, they were each tethered to a diver, with another positioned behind them, as they made their way through the dark, murky waters that have filled the cave’s passageways. Each boy was fitted with a face mask connected to a compressed air tank. At especially narrow parts of the cave, the tanks had to be released from their backs and rolled through.

  3. also this morning in wapo:
    It’s pretty much an inviolable rule of journalism: Protect your sources.
     
    Reporters have gone to jail to keep that covenant.
     
    But Marcy Wheeler, who writes a well-regarded national security blog, not only revealed a source — she did so to the FBI, eventually becoming a witness in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of President Trump’s possible connections to Russia.
     
    “On its face, I broke one of the cardinal rules of journalism, but what he was doing should cause a source to lose protection,” Wheeler told me in a lengthy phone interview.
     
    “It’s not a decision I regret,” she added.
     
    That she did so, as detailed in a post last week on her emptywheel blog, stunned those who have followed her work because she has so frequently criticized American intelligence agencies and their penchant for surveilling U.S. citizens.
    [….]
    In addition to the knowledge of her source’s inside information, Wheeler said, she had reason to believe that the source was involved with efforts to compromise her website and other communications. And perhaps most important, that he was involved in cyberattacks — past and future — that had done and could do real harm to innocent people.

    […continues…]

  4. Catching-up on the trail, late with a mug shot.

    xrep, you said —

    “Driving home, I pondered about the wisdom of holding old guys, who can get pretty damned expensive for the tax payer.”

    Bill clinton said, to paraphrase, ‘the WH is the crown jewel of the penal system.’  We are housing trump and his entourage for at least a trillion dollars.

  5. (sky opal)

    It does amaze me, Craig, that the herculean effort to release the children in Thailand vs. the absolute lack of care and even disdain, from humans regarding the baby-napping here on the border?  Upsetting, too.   If central Americans, north Americans were the favored demographic of the gop, nazis or evilgelicals?  the alt right would be cooking-up conspiracies about the baby napping, dna testing — organ harvesting ring for rich kids who need transplants.   Hey, navy guys, come rescue the children on the border when you are done.

  6. Undocumented immigrant starts fires in Colorado.

    “An undocumented immigrant is accused of starting a devastating wildfire that has forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in Colorado.

    Investigators say Jesper Joergensen ignited the most active of about 10 blazes in Colorado, the state most impacted by the fires wreaking havoc in the Southwest.”
    I am sure the ‘J’s’ on this guy’s name is pronounced with an ‘H.’   How did he get across the pond?   It is our airports that are the gateways for criminals and rapists, not the southern border.   And we have troops here on the border — that was supposed to keep us safe.  What a mess the junta has created here on the border.  More decoy news to keep us from looking at the corruption in plain site.

    Same with the scotus pick…it is lost via 2016 election…when we were attacked?  The side that won?  Covered it up and is moving with alacrity, in the dark, sneaky, murky underworld.

  8. Holy Gangnam -style!  I told you the cheap CD would not work —

    More on the fizzled meeting over several courses — pompeo frustrated by lack of control, endless eating.

    North Korea accused the Trump administration on Saturday of pushing a “unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization” and called it “deeply regrettable,” hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his two days of talks in the North Korean capital were “productive.”

    Mr. Pompeo started his day by leaving the elaborate guesthouse where he was staying to make a secure phone call to Mr. Trump. Also on the call were John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, and John Kelly, the White House chief of staff. State Department officials have assumed that listening devices are planted throughout the guesthouse.

     

  9. Pompeo walks like a muppet, what with the floppy arms.  That is the only endearing thing about him.

    Who DIDN’T know North Korea/Lil Kim weren’t going to give up their nukes?  Everybody in the world except Trumpsky & those under his curse, that’s who.   Pyongyang Bob.

  10. Some diplomat with floppy, muppet arms!  He is not only rude, but also weak.

    More on diplomacy at the guesthouse and lack of control for pompeo.
    In the end, Pompeo stayed at neither of the hotels where he thought he’d be. The North Koreans took him, his staff and the six journalists traveling with the delegation to a gated guesthouse on the outskirts of the capital, just behind the mausoleum where the bodies of regime founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il lie embalmed and on occasional display.

    It was the start of a confused visit of less than 30 hours, marked by a pair of lavish banquets that the secretary and his staff appeared to dread for their length and the daunting number of courses presented by unfailingly polite waiters. He only learned of his own schedule hours ahead of time, and the meeting with Kim Jong Un never happened — despite strenuous efforts from his staff.
    In the guesthouse, each room had bowls of bananas, grapes, oranges and pears that were replenished whenever the occupant was out. The internet speed was fast in each room and the BBC played on flat-screen televisions. In a country laden with the iconography of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, there were no portraits of either man in the compound.
    The lack of U.S. control clearly rankled Pompeo. A former military officer accustomed to short, focused meetings, he was made to sit through multi-course meals with Kim and his staff, as waiters brought plate after plate of food — foie gras, turkey, pea soup, boiled oak mushrooms, kimchi, watermelon and ice cream, plus a drink branded “American Cola.”
    By the morning of his second day, Pompeo had enough. Instead of the elaborate breakfast prepared for him, he ate toast and slices of processed cheese.
     

  11. In sesame street muppet style, the letter ‘P’ is highlighted today — paranoid pompeo in pyongyang,

  12. Just to give you an idea of the numbers of accounts that were feeding false info and propaganda in to Twitter, the clean up has started.  Review the chart to see that almost 23% (as of now) accounts were fake.

     

  13. Jamie – so far today my follower count has increased instead of my expected decrease.  I expect my russian trolls to be tossed out though, they are very obvious.

  14. BW, from the Times article you linked:

    Distrust on both sides has led the Americans to insist on rapid, deep dismantlement and highly intrusive verification; the North Koreans want an early lifting of sanctions and a formal end to the Korean War, among other steps.

    This is Pompeo’s idea of negotiating?

  15. Good news about the Thai cave kids.

    MAE SAI, Thailand — Rescue missions to extract a Thai soccer team and its coach from a flooded cave sped up Monday as four more boys were brought to safety during the second day of one-by-one missions through the murky waters.

    Now only five members of the team remained in the cavern complex, where they became trapped more than two weeks ago. Four boys were taken out of the cave by divers on Sunday.

    * * *

    Mission chief Narongsak Osatanakorn, the former governor of Chiang Rai province, said before news of the rescues that restarting the mission went faster than they had expected. Conditions Monday, he added, were once again as perfect as could be hoped for to continue extracting the remaining boys and their 25-year old coach.

    Good news indeed.

  16. This report on effects of gerrymandering shows how much Dems need to energize midterm non-voters in November: “Because of maps designed to favor Republicans, Democrats would need to win by a nearly unprecedented nationwide margin in 2018 to gain control of the House of Representatives. To attain a bare majority, Democrats would likely have to win the national popular vote by nearly 11 points”

  21. More on babies, their moms, and their docs. The program the Gates advocate and that is supported by positive statistical results is KMC (Kangaroo Mother Care). It is a skin-skin bond between the baby and the mom until the baby achieves a weight of at least 2,500 grams. No incubators, no hospital stays, no bottles, and no outrageous mortality rates. Here is an excellent article:

    https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/kangaroo-care/515844/

  22. Ho-boy….I begin to think we’re gonna see a full-blowed Droolin’ Marius.

  23. And we don’t have to trudge down to the stupid forum…….it’s all gonna be on the Tee-Vee…….greatest ratings ever…….

  26. Cowabunga: a soft fresh lactic Holstein cow’s milk cheese filled with a delicious sweet cajeta (goat milk caramel) surprise and sealed with a milk bloomy candidum-geotrichum rind.  A low-fat miniature cheese cake-like surprise, Cowabunga offers a sweet, dessert richness to any meal. Average weight 1 pound per wheel.

    Our Cheeses

    This is a wonderful cheese — if you are ever in the area you should stop by the creamery  Sebastopol California

  27. While it would take about 47 acts of congress to get me to go west again, I’ll make a note of it in case congress does something weird…..

    I will tell the dottir though, she just left there and goes back every now and then……

  29. KC, it sounds divine.  I’m a big proponent of soft cheeses.  Put caramel with them and cowabunga, that’s good.

  32. “Buzz at the US courthouse in DC: Brett Kavanaugh spotted leaving in a black sedan accompanied by four black SUVs with security agents presumed to be Secret Service, per source.” — Peter Baker, NYT

  33. craig, craig, craig,

    first they’ll have the evening gown contest deciding who looks best in judicial robes

    next will be talent… banging gavel in timely manner

    then the suits

    and last the twit will ask the anxious contestants will they or won’t they questions with big points determined by how well they grovel

    at 9 he will march them all down the runway as he sings “there she/he is….” to big applause of all the sycophants assembled.   the twit will be in his glory and hold off announcement milking every breathtaking second.

  34. Pat – you’re so right.  The narcissist is going to try to make an Apprentice episode out of this.  I am not going to watch.  To me, it doesn’t matter whom he appoints.  They’re all the same.

  36. Yes, something about the DC Curcuit Court rushing out a ruling on something or other.   Kavanagh is the guy.

    Sorry, Donny.   Nobody needs to waste their life watching you bloviate about your ~great~ accomplishments ahead of your SCOTUS announcement.

    Move along.  Nothing to see here.

    * Leakers! I can hear him now. Would Donny pick someone else on the spur of the moment to spit in the face of the leakers?

  37. Ms Dallas, kavanaugh is a non-starter. The ‘freedom caucus’ would oppose, and joined by the Dems, would go down in flames.

    I think scott pruitt is also a non-starter, but he’s a proven sycophant and devout trump worshipper. And, you never can tell with a geriatric ivan the terrible such as trump.

    Under the circumstances, michael cohen is a probably more likely.

  38. New Twitter posts from Michael Moore:

    “TONIGHT! ON “THE ASSOCIATE”…

    Donald Trump has had one thing on his mind as he interviewed his four Supreme Court contestants for Associate Supreme Court Justice. While millions of Americans are concerned about their reproductive rights, their voting rights their jobs, & the kids who’ve been snatched from immigrant parents, this is what Donald Trump was asking his finalists:

    1. Can a President pardon himself?

    2. Can a President be indicted?

    3. Can elections be canceled or delayed if a President declares a state of emergency……

    4. How did FDR get more than two terms? Can I?

    5. In our democracy, the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment — so why not the Presidency?

    Tune-in tonight (9pm ET/8pm CT) to see who gave him the correct answers! “

  39. Mr Crawford, do the Democrats have an equivalent of the Federalist Society? Even a whiff?

    With the ghost of Merrick Garland resurrected, a fun fact to mention: he is a cousin of Terry Branstad, the current Ambassador to China, who was appointed by President Trump.

    This applies to lawyers & public servants of all political stripes, but who would honestly want to enter government with all the infantile whining & tearing down by one side or the other, depending on which way the political wind blows? Sad to think how many competent folks have passed on public service because of exploitive spectacles that have become the norm in our politics.

    Yowza Yowza Yowza.

  40. One of those conspiracy/prophecy things before the election stated that Obama would be the last, democratically elected president…and it was viewed as Obama declaring a state of emergency & refusing to step down.  They got it half right.

  41. I can’t shake the thought that USA 2018 has a lot in common with They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Not kidding.

    There’s something about this.

  43. Reading the opening words of “Red Dawn,” that seemed pretty close this weekend.  NATO has dissolved & the US stands alone.

    HEROES TV airing all Star Trek series.  You never know what will happen when you rescan your TV.  This antenna picks up more stuff every time.

    Live long & prosper.

     

  44. All the judge crap.
    I’ll see it tomorrow, on twitter. I’m sick of those people.

  46. little Donnie will listen to his big sis maryanne,  it will be Hardiman.

    ny times:

    [….]

    Mr. Trump had been going back and forth between Judge Kavanaugh, the favorite of the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, and Judge Hardiman, whom the president’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, a former colleague of Judge Hardiman’s, has pressed him to choose.

    [….]

    ….And Judge Hardiman, the first in his family to graduate from college, has the kind of personal story that appeals to many Trump supporters.

    [….continues…]

  48. pat, you forgot the part where he molests the contestants in the dressing room.

    boss, no way. he’ll grab at ’em right there on tv.   he’ll be kissing the spouse, the kids and the behinds of  whoever are there from RT and fox.

  50. I continue my minimal exposure to the SFB channel, which now has all channels including MSNBC, normalizing an old man who is showing all sorts of DSM symptoms.  I decided earlier this year to take weekends off just to calm myself.  Now I am going news free for weekends and minimal “news” during the week.  The MSM (the far right used to use that, now I can too) is so deep into normalizing and equivalencing SFB and the Dems it is not worth trying to follow this stuff.

    Local news is mostly murders and fires, so that is nothing worth watching for.  Sports, only on NBC Sports Gold can I follow bicycle racing, tomorrow is day four of the Tour de France, so I watch that.  Other sports I care little about, my cat does like basketball so that season is a few months off.

    Boating I catch up on various ways, such as the Annapolis Gazette, yes that place where five people were murdered and SFB, at first, refused to order the national flags to half staff.  Sailing is in it, as some fishing.

    The weather I can get through various ways, especially on a boat through the radio channel 1 or 2.

    Unfortunately, I still do come across stuff that happens in the SFB television show.  If the MSM stopped covering it he would go away.  But, they don’t and he will not.

  51. Nice speech by Mr Kavanaugh. Good optics: the interplay with family = points where it might matter.

     

     

  52. Interesting shoutout to DC’s Roman Catholic community, which has deep deep roots (hi Maryland.)

     

  53. Very personable indeed but plenty of opinions to look through and decide if he is indeed a judge or an ideologue

  54. Katherine Graham Cracker,

    That describes every nominee 😉

    (I hope you are feeling better – remember you mentioned you didn’t a few days ago.)

     

  55. Mrs Betty Bowers

    TRUMP’S  SPEECH IN A NUTSHELL: “[wheeze] [over-enunciate a syllable] [cocaine sniff] me [wheeze] [over-enunciate a syllable] [cocaine sniff] [over-enunciate a syllable] Scalia [wheeze] [over-enunciate a syllable] [cocaine sniff] [over-enunciate a syllable] Kavanaugh.”

  56. Oh wait when he was confirmed for his current job — extremely controversial many delays and people felt he was too partisan

    gee he must have a portrait in his closet

  57. He seems like a pleasant young man. Very young; I believe all my nieces and nephews as well as our kids are older than he is, He has a nice resume of community activities, his children seem charming. I didn’t like that his speech was waiting for him on the shared lectern. All of which says nothing about what really matters.

  58. It is done.  It is what we expected.  No reason for fanfare or accolades.

     

Comments are closed.