Ukraine War: Russia warns Sweden and Finland
against Nato membership
Posted By: NorthernDog, 4/11/2022 9:12:54 AM
Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation". It comes as US defence officials said Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has been a "massive strategic blunder" which is likely to bring Nato enlargement. US officials expect the Nordic neighbours to bid for membership of the alliance, potentially as early as June. Washington is believed to support the move which would see the Western alliance grow to 32 members. US State Department officials said last week that
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NorthernDog"
SEATTLE – Seattle’s Link Light Rail is a freeloader’s paradise. There are no turnstiles, so passengers are supposed to either buy a ticket or tap their pre-paid card. But so few riders are paying, fares are currently covering just 5% of the system’s operating costs, a fraction of the 40% mark Sound Transit set as a requirement. At a recent Sound Transit Board meeting, the outgoing CEO summed up the situation. "Our fare collection system relies overwhelmingly on an honor system," Peter Rogoff said, "and our increasingly acute problem is that our riders aren’t honoring the system." By one measurement
A major Saudi government-owned broadcaster aired a sketch mocking President Joe Biden as US-Saudi relations plunge to a new low. In the comedy sketch on MBC's "Studio 22" show, which aired Monday, Biden's character appeared sleepy and forgetful, wandering offstage before being tugged back by a likeness of Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden is then seen confusing Spain and Africa, forgetting Russian President Vladimir Putin's name, and mistakenly calling Harris his "first lady." The sketch then ends with the Harris character dragging the sleeping Biden character off stage. (Snip) The Saudi government owns a majority stake in MBC and it
Portland sees first measurable April snow
in known history; High Desert also sees
late snow 11 replies
in known history; High Desert also sees
late snow 11 replies
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland received its first measurable April snowfall in recorded history on Monday as a spring storm brought rare late-season snow elsewhere and large amounts in the Cascades. One inch of snow fell at Portland International Airport, setting a record with the only measurable amount of snow there since official record-keeping for snowfall began there in 1940, the National Weather Service said. Schools across the region were closed and some areas about an hour west of Portland received up to several inches of snow. Portland General Electric reported more than 55,000 customers were without power in a six-county region
Russia is resupplying and reinforcing its invasion force in eastern Ukraine with a long convoy of vehicles heading to the region, indicating a new phase of the war is likely to occur there, according to a senior Pentagon officials. The convoy, exposed in commercial satellite imagery, stretches an estimated eight miles. It appears to contain vehicles to command and supply infantry units and possibly helicopters, said the official who provided intelligence assessments on condition of anonymity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending Russian offensive in his country's east and has urged civilians to flee the region. "The occupiers
Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation". It comes as US defence officials said Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has been a "massive strategic blunder" which is likely to bring Nato enlargement. US officials expect the Nordic neighbours to bid for membership of the alliance, potentially as early as June. Washington is believed to support the move which would see the Western alliance grow to 32 members. US State Department officials said last week that
A radical environmental group raised a few eyebrows on Twitter after encouraging people to let the tires out of SUVs in an apparent bid to combat climate change. The group, Adbusters, tweeted step-by-step instructions for the provocation on Wednesday, calling it a "gentle escalation" or ramping up the urgency about climate change. (Tweet) "Wedge gravel in the tire valves, leaflet the SUV to let them know the tires are flat and why it was done, and walk away. It’s that simple," the group tweeted. "If we organize, we can hit enough SUVs in particular neighborhoods to spark reporting and spread
NEWARK, Delaware – With the Bidens, it's all in the family .For better or worse. There's the "safehaven" President Joe Biden's sister Valerie provides in their regular late-night phone conversations, chitchat about nothing after a day that might have been dominated for him by Russian aggression and record inflation. But there's also the escalating furor around his son Hunter, the subject of a federal investigation and the likely target of Capitol Hill hearings if Republicans win control of Congress in November. (Snip) She was her brother's first campaign manager and decades later remains a voice he trusts. Dubbed "the Biden whisperer,"
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health warning about an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Florida, which the agency said is mainly affecting gay and bisexual men, including those living with HIV. The CDC urged gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men to get the MenACWY vaccine if they live in Florida. It also recommended that those planning to visit Florida talk with their healthcare provider about getting the vaccine. The agency added in the advisory that multiple meningococcal disease cases in college students have been reported in the state over
Ruy Teixeira is a liberal political scientist who has been sounding the alarm for the past decade about Democrats’ problems with Hispanic voters as well as working-class whites. And the state that most personifies the Democrats’ opportunities and challenges with these voters is Nevada. (Snip) But despite the state’s continued, rapid diversification, the margins for Democratic victories have been narrowing. But hidden in these facts are some troubling signs. Despite rapid diversification, the Democratic margin in Presidential elections from 2008 to 2016 declined sharply from 12.5 to 2.4 points. And in 2020, as the Democrats gained ground in the country
Disney family member calls on company
to ‘muster the courage’ to counter
conservative outrage 43 replies
to ‘muster the courage’ to counter
conservative outrage 43 replies
The granddaughter of Disney co-founder Roy E Disney has called on her family’s company to “muster the courage” when it comes to taking a stance on important issues. In opinion piece for The Washington Post published on Friday, Abigail Disney pointed to outrage over Disney’s response to Florida’s so-called “Dont Say Gay” bill as a reason why bosses should speak out on issues including LGBT+ rights. (Snip) “To find its way again, Disney needs to muster the courage to weather the momentary outrage of people who will not be satisfied until they have erased an entire class of human beings,”
On Wednesday, UBS warned investors that the March inflation read, set to come out on April 12, will likely be pretty ugly. That’s saying something considering the Consumer Price Index (CPI) already hit a four-decade high in February. The investment bank’s economists, led by Alan Detmeister, predict the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the CPI, will move to 8.5% in March. If they’re right, that would be the highest reading since December 1981, according to Federal Reserve data. While predictions of rising inflation aren’t uncommon these days, it may make sense to pay attention to UBS’s newly released
In the war for the hearts, minds and corporate relocations of businesses, Chicago has fired another shot across the bow at three Sun Belt rivals over recent legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, such as the Florida education law critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” World Business Chicago, the city’s public-private economic development arm, bought full-page ads Thursday in the Orlando Sentinel, Dallas Morning News and Phoenix Business Journal to launch a new marketing campaign and promote Chicago as a more inclusive business climate. “In Chicago, We Believe,” takes on a lightning rod issue that has led a growing number of
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Ted Cruz attacked his fellow Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee, during a taping of his podcast on Monday night hosted by a Yale University student group, accusing them of not going harder on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing because they did not want to be seen as 'modern-day Klansmen.'(Snip)While taping The Verdict with co-host Michael Knowles in New Haven on Monday night, Cruz claimed 'you’ll be called a racist, you’ll be called a sexist, you’ll be demonized' for criticizing a black female judicial nominee. 'Among the Republican senators, most went into this nomination afraid of their own shadow,' Cruz said
The majority of voters are blaming increased prices at the pump on Russian President Vladimir Putin and oil companies more than energy policies from President Biden and Democrats, according to a new poll. An ABC News/Ipsos survey released over the weekend showed that 71% of voters placed a great deal or good amount of blame on Mr. Putin for his invasion of Ukraine and 68% said the same for oil companies. The majority of respondents still placed some degree of blame on Mr. Biden (51%) and Democratic policies (52%). Although most voters still blamed the president and his party, the vast frustration among Americans toward Mr. Putin and energy companies
Thank Pence for Biden's Trainwreck
37 replies
There can be little doubt that former Vice President Mike Pence thought he was doing the right thing. There are certainly many pragmatic reasons for his decision to not intervene in the electoral processes during those fateful days in January 2020. We’re a year and a half into the geriatric Biden regime and those pragmatic reasons are quickly losing their luster. The nation is suffering—not from the constitutional crisis feared by the establishment
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) says he hasn’t decided whether to run for reelection in 2024, when he could be on the same ballot as Donald Trump if the former president seeks another bid for the White House.
Romney has cast several high-profile votes putting him at odds with the GOP base — including two votes to convict Trump on impeachment charges. He became the first senator in history to convict a president of his own party in an impeachment trial in 2020.
Just last week, Romney was one of only three Republicans to vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
SEATTLE – Seattle’s Link Light Rail is a freeloader’s paradise. There are no turnstiles, so passengers are supposed to either buy a ticket or tap their pre-paid card. But so few riders are paying, fares are currently covering just 5% of the system’s operating costs, a fraction of the 40% mark Sound Transit set as a requirement. At a recent Sound Transit Board meeting, the outgoing CEO summed up the situation. "Our fare collection system relies overwhelmingly on an honor system," Peter Rogoff said, "and our increasingly acute problem is that our riders aren’t honoring the system." By one measurement
President Joe Biden's administration tried to get ahead of more dire inflation news, as the March consumer price index report will be released Tuesday.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during Monday's briefing that the White House expected 'headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike.' Last month the same report showed a price incresae of 7.9 per cent in February, marking the highest spike in 40 years.
Atlanta—The National Urban League released its annual report on the State of Black America on Tuesday, and its findings are grim. This year’s Equality Index shows Black people still get only 73.9% of the American pie white people enjoy. While Black people have made economic and health gains, they’ve slipped further behind white people in education, social justice and civic engagement since this index was launched in 2005. A compendium of average outcomes by race in many aspects of life, it shows just how hard it is for people of color to overcome systemic racism, the civil rights organization says.(Snip)The index shows not only that the median household
California's Democratic-led Legislature wants to mandate a three-day weekend for all workers at large companies in the state. A new bill being discussed in the state assembly would see the official working week reduced from 40 hours to 32 for companies with 500 employees of more. Any work carried out beyond the 32-hour limit would run into overtime and be paid at time-and-a-half, while those working more than 12 hours a day or for more than seven days a week would be paid double their normal wage.(Snip)Employers would also be forbidden from reducing the workers' current salaries simply because they are working less.
Canceling Beethoven: Who's Relevant to Whom?
24 replies
“Joy, immortal incandescence
Daughter of Elysium!
Breathing fire from your presence
To your temple ground we come.”
This is the invocation of joy that begins Friedrich Schiller’s great Ode, whose first three stanzas were set by Beethoven in the final movement of his 9th Symphony. Baltimore Symphony conductor Marin Alsop has replaced them with doggerel from a local rapper. She explained to Baltimore magazine:
You know, the [Friedrich] Schiller poetry is phenomenal, but it’s not relevant for us today. (Snip) Alsop also inserted African drumming and a jazz ensemble between movements of Beethoven’s symphony.
This is idiotic in more ways
Pope Francis is at it again. Although it is traditional for papal podiums to depict the crucifix, during his recent visit to the island of Malta, Pope Francis ditched the cross lest he offend Muslim migrants. As the archdiocese of Malta openly admitted, “The podium will not be adorned with a crucifix, given that the majority of migrants are Muslim.”
Instead, the podium backdrop used by Francis consisted of recycled plastic bottles with red blobs meant to highlight the two primary reasons Francis was visiting Malta -- to defend migrants and the environment:
MSNBC contributor political professor Jason Johnson said Monday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that the MAGA movement is a “terrorist organization” that no longer believes in democracy.Johnson said, “I used to always say, Ari, with any sort of political conflict — I was saying this during Ferguson — the country can’t heal if we can’t agree on the diagnosis of what got us sick. At the end of the day, you have a certain segment of the population that has told the Republican Party we do not believe in a multicultural democracy. So anything that you have to do to make sure the country stays in the hands of straight
Juneteenth is now a paid city holiday in New York City.New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the decision on Monday, noting that it is "long overdue" and will take effect "immediately" this year on June 19. “Juneteenth is a time for reflection, assessment, and self-improvement," Adams said in a statement. "People across the country of all races, nationalities, and religions unite on this day to truthfully acknowledge the stain of slavery and celebrate the countless contributions of Black Americans. It’s time for our city to finally do what’s right and officially designate Juneteenth as a city holiday."
Comments:
Can the Finns still fight like in 1939?