BRITNEY SPEARS EXPECTED IN COURT FOR 'FIREWORKS SHOW' ... Battle Over Conservatorshi

Britney Spears is expected to show up in court Wednesday for a conservatorship battle that multiple sources have described as "a fireworks show."

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney's mom, Lynne, will ask the judge to terminate Jamie as Britney's conservator. Currently, Britney's care manager, Jodi Montgomery, is the temporary conservator per Jamie's wishes, and he's expected to retake the reins on January 20. But, we're told Lynne thinks Jamie is no longer fit to continue in that role.

A critical piece of evidence is expected to be unveiled during the hearing -- the report by a court-appointed evaluator who spent months gathering evidence on the care Britney has received. The evaluator looked at Britney's primary doctor, Dr. Timothy Benson, who died unexpectedly on August 24, suddenly at age 48. We're told the evaluator put Dr. Benson and Jamie under a microscope, but so far it appears only the judge knows what's in the report.

The good news for Jamie ... the D.A. just rejected a child abuse case against him for the August 24 altercation he had with Britney's eldest son, 14-year-old Sean.

The bad news for Jamie ... he's still under a restraining order that prohibits him from having any contact with either of Britney's 2 children.

And, there's more bad news for Jamie ... we're told Britney's furious at him over his confrontation with Sean where he allegedly laid hands on him. Our sources say Britney hasn't spoken to Jamie since the incident. And, we're told there's a "strong likelihood" Britney will show up in court and support Lynne, with whom she's gotten close with over the last 6 months.

But, there's this ... we're told Lynne will not ask to become Britney's conservator. We know Lynne did not object to Jodi Montgomery as the temporary conservator, but we don't know how she would feel about making it permanent.

Someone involved in the case tells TMZ, there will be "major surprises" in court.

Stay tuned.

From: https://www.tmz.com/2019/09/18/britney-spears-court-conservatorship-jamie-lynne/

HP's new ultrawide monitor can show two device's screens at once

In addition to a super light laptop, HP also unveiled an intriguing new ultrawide curved monitor today. Creatively named S430c, the 43.4-inch screen isn't the sharpest or most attractive external display I've seen, but it has some compelling features. You can hook up two devices to the S430c at once (via USB-C) and power both their screens side by side, so it's like you have two 24-inch monitors in one. Not only that, thanks to the display's processor and software called HP DeviceBridge, you can also transfer files between the two machines by drag and drop.

Read more: https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/18/hp-s430c-ultrawide-curved-monitor/

SpaceX Starhopper Launches on 500-Foot Test Flight

The Electoral College Really Does Give Republicans a Massive Advantage in Close Elections, a New Paper Finds

Exhibit A.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Democrats are not fond of the Electoral College these days, for obvious reasons. Two Republicans, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, have won the presidency in the past 20 years, and both of them galumphed into the Oval Office after losing the popular vote. In this era of tight national races, the system has clearly given Republicans a built-in advantage that allows them to govern with a minority of the public’s support.

And now, a new working paper by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin has quantified just how big that edge might have been in recent decades.

In their baseline results, the authors find that during the past 30 years, a hypothetical Republican who earned 49 percent of the two-party popular vote—that is, the vote total won by Democrats and Republicans, excluding third parties—could expect to win the Electoral College about 27 percent of the time. A Democrat with that share of the vote would have just an 11 percent chance of winning. At 49.5 percent of the popular vote, a Republican would have enjoyed a 46 percent probability of walking away with the presidency, versus a 21 percent chance for a Democrat. In a photo finish where the two parties split the vote about 50-50, a Republican would have had a 65 percent chance of spending the next four years in office.

Read more: https://slate.com/business/2019/09/electoral-college-republican-advantage-texas-economics-paper.html

‘He’s not going to have Hillary Clinton sitting on her hands’: Trump’s uphill battle to hold Wisconsin

Pro-Trump campaign buttons. Wisconsin's Republican suburban voters will likely to determine the president’s fate in the state. | (AP Photo/Sara Burnett)

They hate Donald Trump’s tweets. They worry about his temperament. They’re still uncomfortable with the name-calling.

But many voters in Milwaukee’s Republican suburbs like his court appointments. And they approve of his stewardship of the economy.

How those suburban voters square those feelings is likely to determine the president’s fate in Wisconsin, according to interviews with more than two dozen organizers, operatives, and party leaders from both sides in a state that proved crucial to Trump’s upset victory in 2016.

Few expect the three key counties that surround the state’s largest city to vote Democratic next year. But they say the level of enthusiasm for Trump in Wisconsin’s so-called WOW counties — Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington — matters a great deal in a state where three of the last five presidential elections were decided by less than one percent.

In the state’s political equation, they serve as a conservative counterweight to the big Democratic margins traditionally delivered by Milwaukee and Madison. Unless that suburban GOP engine delivers it’s own blowout win for Trump next year, it will be difficult for him to capture the state a second time.

“For the president to win Wisconsin again, he’s not going to have the free ride he had last time. He’s not going to have Hillary Clinton sitting on her hands,” said Brandon Scholz, former executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party. “He’s going to have a completely engaged opposition party on the ground.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/18/trump-wisconsin-suburbs-milwaukee-1501805

Samurai sword-wielding man killed in police-involved shooting in Nassau County home: officials

OCEANSIDE, NY — A man with multiple knives, including a samurai sword, was killed in a police-involved shooting in an Oceanside home on Tuesday, police said.

A man was fatally shot by police in an Oceanside home on Sept. 17, 2019. (Keith Lopez/PIX11)

The homeowner had called 911 around 6 p.m. and told police his son was unstable and acting erratically, officials said.

Two officers entered the Columbus Avenue house and faced off with the knife-wielding son, who's believed to be in his 30s. They told the man to drop his weapons, but he refused.

At least one officer opened fire in the home, officials said.

Officers performed CPR on the man at the scene, police said. The man was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The name of the knife-wielding man has not yet been released.

An officer was also injured in an accident on the way to the scene. The extent of the officers' injuries was not immediately clear.

From: https://pix11.com/2019/09/17/man-with-samurai-swords-killed-in-police-involved-shooting-in-nassau-county-home/

Police: Teens took video instead of helping fatally stabbed youth in Oceanside

By Nicole Fullernicole.fuller@newsday.com  @NicoleFullerUpdated September 17, 2019 8:59 PM

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A 16-year-old high school student fatally stabbed in a fight with other youths over a girl in an Oceanside strip mall lay dying on the sidewalk as dozens of teens recorded the stabbing on their smartphones instead of helping, Nassau police said Tuesday.

The slain boy, identified as Khaseen Morris, was stabbed once in the chest on Monday afternoon in the parking lot of the mall, where students from nearby Oceanside High School congregated before and after school. Morris, who would have turned 17 next month, died just before midnight Monday at South Nassau Communities Hospital, police said.

"Kids stood here and didn't help Khaseen," said Nassau Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the department's Homicide Squad. "They'd rather video. They videoed his death instead of helping him."

Read more: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/crime/fatal-teen-stabbing-oceanside-1.36442975

A South Milwaukee man has been charged in the vandalizing of Da Crusher statue

From JSOnline:

James Dudgeon (Photo: Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office)

An 18-year-old South Milwaukee man has been charged with vandalizing Da Crusher statue.

James C. Dudgeon was charged with criminal damage to property. A 21-year-old man has also been identified but has not been arrested. 

The statue, which honors South Milwaukee wrestling legend Reggie Lisowski, has stood tall over his hometown since June. Two months after the bronze attraction was unveiled during a joyous ceremony, it was vandalized.

The family of Lisowski noticed the damage Aug. 29 and reported it to the South Milwaukee Police Department.

Police discovered via surveillance video that two men approached the statue Aug. 24 and repeatedly struck it with a concrete block. They caused $1,200 in damage, police said.  

The surveillance video was "instrumental in determining the time frame for the damage and helping police identify the people responsible," police wrote in a news release.

The damage was repaired over the weekend by Beth Sahagian, the South Milwaukee native who built the statue.

The statue was unveiled during a two-day festival called Crusherfest in June near 11th and Milwaukee avenues. It weighs more than 600 pounds.

The statue was the brainchild of area wrestling fan Chris Smith, an attorney for South Milwaukee. He launched a GoFundMe campaign in 2017 and raised $40,000. 

Smith said he wanted "to thank the South Milwaukee Police Department for their hard work in bringing these turkeynecks to justice. Da Crusher Foundation will aggressively pursue criminal charges against any person who attempts to damage or deface the statue. The statue, like the man himself, will stand strong.”

Lisowski wrestled for about 40 years, beginning in 1949. He earned many championships during his run. 

He died in 2005.

Dudgeon made his initial court appearance Saturday and pleaded not guilty. The court set a $200 signature bond. He is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail.

See more:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/crime/2019/09/17/da-crusher-statue-damaged-south-milwaukee-arrest-made/2357679001/

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my friends and enemies!  How are you?  It's getting cooler out and the children are back in school.  Fall is on its way.  Unfortunately, not all of the children are getting to school on time because the new bus service, First Student, does not have enough qualified drivers.  They promise to improve, but promises are nothing more than words to most companies.  First Student doesn't have humans answering telephone calls and doesn't call back those who wish to speak with them.  In other words, parents are out of luck when it comes to busing.  Oh my!

The standings of the Irregular Fantasy Football League have not changed for me or Mr. OrbsCorbs, although they have changed for others.  Here they are:

Click the standings to enlarge them.  Like last year, the Half-Astrophysicists have taken first place.  We'll see if this trend continues.

The Common Council has deferred a decision on healthcare for city employees.  Why am I not surprised?  This has been a sore point for most city employees.  The increase in deductibles and other costs are massive.  Many city employees say they can't afford the new costs which Mayor Butterball Mason has proposed.  Mayor Butterball says there are no other options that are tolerable.  As usual, he did not propose changes in the number of assistants which he has, nor has he proposed cutting the fat in the administrative positions in city departments.  It's enlightening to note that City Administrator Palenick has run the Department of Public Works since spring.  If he can do that, while also doing Butterball's job, how difficult can it be?  Cut the fat from city departments, Mayor Butterball.  Start with your own staff.  The taxpayers are sick and tired of paying for so much waste.  Stop threatening to cut out entire departments if city employees can't afford the changes in their healthcare.

I personally know a worker from City Hall who has recently retired.  This employee speaks of chaos and extremely low morale in the ranks of City Hall employees.  This employee ended up doing the job of three employees, without an increase in compensation.  She was nearly driven mad by her job.  Her gratitude at retiring has been enormous.  I'm sure there is even more chaos due to her retiring.  Good luck, City Hall employees, in doing more and more with less and less.  Meanwhile, the Mayor and City Administrator and department heads get more pay.  CUT THE FAT, Mayor Butterball.  Start with your chauffeur, Butterball.

I'm also interested in what the District Attorney will have to say today about the police shooting of Ty' Rese West, 96 days after the incident.  I'm pretty sure that the officer involved will not be charged.  One person posting on the Journal Times site claims that Ty' Rese was shot five times, at least once  in the back and once in the head.  I don't know if that's accurate, but if it is, then this is definitely a case of overkill.  No one is claiming that Ty' Rese shot at the officer, so such a large number of wounds would not be appropriate.  We shall see.

Thank you for reading my blog today.  I love all of my readers, irregardless of how they feel about me.  Love makes the world go round.  It's also what powers this blog.

madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

If you have any plans that require fair weather, you should do them soon.  It will only get colder as time passes.  In a few more months, we'll see the s-word.  That I can't stand.

Treat each other with love and respect.  I'll be back next week.
 ________________________ 
Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelis  If you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order.  Thank you.

Open Blog - Wednesday

So darn cheery so early in the day.

Marijuana Licenses Awarded in Illinois, But Not All Cities Welcome Dispensaries

From The Shepherd Express:

by Jean-Gabriel Fernandez

Sep. 03, 2019

1:51 p.m.

Illinois awarded the first recreational marijuana licenses on Thursday, Aug. 29, which allows businesses to sell weed freely. According to the Chicago Tribune, the first shops to receive licenses to sell are located in Naperville, Mundelein, Joliet, Effingham and Canton.

Earlier this year, Illinois made history by becoming the first state to legalize recreational marijuana through legislative action. This landmark decision, taking effect on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, will allow all adults to possess cannabis and permit medical marijuana patients to grow up to five cannabis plants at home legally. However, the legal status of marijuana shops is still somewhat uncertain.

Now that the sale of marijuana has been legalized statewide, the battle to decide where it will be sold is left to local governments. The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act includes provisions for “restricted cannabis zones,” where home cultivation and some cannabis businesses can be banned. It is left up to municipalities to decide whether they want to allow cannabis businesses or not. Local communities can choose to ask for the establishment of such a restricted zone if at least 25% of the registered voters of a precinct petition their alderperson to introduce a local ordinance.
 

Open Blog - Tuesday

It's Tuesday, all day long.

DA to announce decision in Ty' Rese West shooting on Wednesday, 96 days after incident

From The Journal Times.com:

RACINE — On Wednesday night, Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson will announce her decision whether or not charges will be issued against Mount Pleasant Police Sgt. Eric Giese in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Ty’ Rese West.

Hanson confirmed the announcement after meeting with members of West’s family Monday morning. She said she will meet with West’s family and their attorneys at 6 p.m. Wednesday and announce her decision afterward, Hanson said in a Monday email.

The decision — which Hanson said would be posted online by the Racine Police Department, which conducted the investigation — will come 96 days after the shooting.

Giese stopped West early on June 15 because West was reportedly riding his bike without a light.

Police said West fled and Giese saw that West had a gun; Giese shot West an undisclosed number of times after “less-lethal” methods failed.

Investigators said a handgun was recovered on the scene, but questions have remained as to whether West drew the gun he reportedly had, where the gun was discovered and whether Giese was wearing a body camera during the incident.

West’s family says he was not the type of person who would have drawn a gun on police.

“Ty’ Rese is terrified of the police,” said Monique West, Ty’ Rese’s mother. “The only thing he is going to do is run. That’s it."

Protest

Monique West sent a letter to Racine and Mount Pleasant officials last week pleading for more information to be released. It led to a protest Monday morning outside the Racine County Courthouse, in which about 15 protesters stood with signs and demanded a meeting with Hanson.

“It’s unbelievably frustrating, stressful,” said Dwight Person, West’s father. “Ever since it happened, I haven’t been able to get any sleep. I haven’t been to sleep at all.”

As Person spoke, he held a sign that contained a previously released photo of his son’s corpse that shows what appear to be two bullet holes in his head. Under the photo were the words “son, brother, friend.” Opposite the photo of West was a picture of Giese, underscored by the words “bad cop.”

The top of the sign read: “This is murder.”

“He’s a monster,” Person said of Giese. “He’s a monster.”

About 40 minutes into the protest, Person; Monique West; Barbara West, Ty’ Rese’s grandmother; and Jillian Rodriguez, Monique’s cousin, were invited to speak with Hanson. They emerged from the courthouse about 15 minutes later.

Hanson’s office said she will not be speaking with media after the meeting. West’s family said they will hold a press conference outside of the courthouse after the decision is announced.

Even after the meeting Monday, protesters remained, chanting, "No justice, no peace."

From:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/da-to-announce-decision-in-ty-rese-west-shooting-on/article_096aa95c-88c1-5487-a1b7-37db2d5960f1.html#1

Justice for Tyrese West

Dear City of Racine Alderpersons,

From Racine Uncensored:

This Monday the family of Tyrese West will be holding a rally outside
the Racine County Courthouse. The family and friends of Tyrese West
will be gathering at 10 am to request a meeting with DA Patricia J.
Hanson. We are asking that the whole community come out and join the
family at 5:30 pm and stand in solidarity requesting charges for Mt.
Pleasant police officer Eric Giese.

Officer Eric Giese shot and killed 18-year-old Tyrese West June 15,
2019, after stopping him for riding a bike without a headlight.
Tyrese’s body was shot multiple times including two shoots to the head
execution-style. Also, officer, Eric Giese has a known past of being
accused of unlawful behavior. Please share this post and come out and
support #JusticeforTyreseWest.

👑: What would you do if it was your son.?? Join Us

From:  https://www.facebook.com/tory.lowe1/posts/10217407565194031


And I will also be there - after 5:30 pm. You will know me by my long
white hair. Please show your support - and also be there. As well as
Mayor Cory Mason and Police Chief Art Howell, as well as Members from
the Interfaith Coalition.

This City Poisons Stray Dogs to Make It More "Pleasant" for Visitors. Sign to Demand a Stop to This Cruelty.

Uzbek and foreign animal lovers alike have been enraged to find out that city officials in Samarkand,had initiated a campaign to poison street dogs and cats in order to make the city more "pleasant for visitors" at a music festival. A local news outlet, Repost.uz, posted a video on social media that showed a man leaving what appears to be poisoned bait out for the city's animals. What's worse is that he was leaving the poisoned bits near people's homes. That means, not just strays but neighborhood pets could easily fall victim to this cruel plot.

Demand an end to cruel stray pet poisonings in Samarkand.

Fighting back against accusations of the widespread animal cruelty, the Samarkand Mayor's Office says the city had initiated a rabies vaccine program, but one of their employees had "gone rogue" and started poisoning animals. The explanation is laughable, and it hasn't quelled the public anger — especially because sick and dead animals are popping up all over the city. Even children are turning up ill after supposedly coming into contact with these "vaccines."

This isn't the first time governments have initiated these types of mass poisoning campaigns against stray animals. Both Russia and Turkmenistan have also raised the ire of the international community in recent years for similar culls. These animal control methods are inhumane and ineffective. If they want to get to the root of the problem they must institute spay and neuter programs not kill operations.

Please join animal lovers from all over the world and tell the city of Samarkand to stop their poisoning animals and implement a humane system of animal control instead.

Government Rules by Monopoly

"The only ID needed is called a Green Card"!

And moving that up a notch - what sort of ID do I need to prove that I
exist? Or do I even exist at all? I live here - On the Creator's Green
Earth. I move around from place to place - and transact with various
People. I object to criminal activity - which has been very actively
on-going in Racine County - and those criminals demand that I pay for
- and carry - for display at their Officers demand - a card issued and
approved by them which evidences who I REALLY AM. Because I may not be
who I say I an. Government is operated by hypocrites

Could Racine have municipal ID's? One group hopes so

https://timstoyymore.wordpress.com/2019/09/16/tierra-del-fuego/

Open Blog - Monday

Me neither.

New AI fake text generator may be too dangerous to release, say creators

The AI wrote a new passage of fiction set in China after being fed the opening line of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (pictured). Photograph: Mondadori/Getty Images

The creators of a revolutionary AI system that can write news stories and works of fiction – dubbed “deepfakes for text” – have taken the unusual step of not releasing their research publicly, for fear of potential misuse.

OpenAI, an nonprofit research company backed by Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Sam Altman, and others, says its new AI model, called GPT2 is so good and the risk of malicious use so high that it is breaking from its normal practice of releasing the full research to the public in order to allow more time to discuss the ramifications of the technological breakthrough.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/14/elon-musk-backed-ai-writes-convincing-news-fiction

Most Americans say climate change should be addressed now – CBS News poll

A majority of Americans think action needs to be taken right now to address climate change. Most consider it at least to be a serious problem — including more than a quarter who say it is a crisis. Seven in 10 think human activity contributes a lot or some to climate change, and most feel they have a personal responsibility to do something about it, although many say they cannot afford to.

Opinions on the subject are marked by partisan divisions.

Most – 67% - think humans can do something about climate change – though more say we can only slow climate change (48%) than believe we can stop it entirely (19%). Those who believe humans don't contribute much to climate change are less likely to think humanity can do something about it.

Read more:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-most-americans-say-climate-change-should-be-addressed-now-2019-09-15/

Ex-NFL star charged with destroying his own restaurants after claiming hate crime

Former NFL star Edawn Coughman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of vandalizing his own restaurants.

Coughman, 31, was reportedly discovered as the perpetrator of two attacks on local restaurants in Gwinette County, Georgia, owned by the former NFL offensive tackle.

After witnesses described an act of vandalism at one of his restaurants, Coughman was reportedly arrested in a suspicious vehicle with a crowbar and other items consistent with the crime for which he was being charged.

Police alleged that Coughman scrawled "MAGA" and racial epithets on the walls of his businesses, alleging that he was trying to collect on an insurance scam by staging a hate crime.

"It's possible he was trying to stage this as a hate crime," one investigator said. "We don't know if he was trying to get attention for this. What we do know is, if that witness had not called us and if those officers had not responded as quickly as they did, we would probably be sitting here talking about a completely different crime in which Mr. Coughman would be trying to say he's a victim."

"The case does not fit the mold of our typical criminal investigations," an official said. "So we have to look outside of the box to see how many victims we truly have."

From:  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ex-nfl-star-charged-with-destroying-his-own-restaurants-after-claiming-hate-crime

How much money you have to make to be upper-class

'We're Tightening Our Belt': Trump's Midwest Support Tested As Farmers Struggle

An Iowa farmer loads corn seeds into the tanks on a planter near Luxemburg, Iowa. Forty percent of the United States' corn crop goes to ethanol production.

Mark Hirsch/Getty Images

September 15, 20197:00 AM ET

Clay Masters 

Farmers in the rural Midwest say they are struggling because of President Trump's ongoing trade war and a recent decision the president made on renewable fuels made from corn and soybeans that benefits the oil industry.

"We're tightening our belt," farmer Aaron Lehman says while driving his tractor down a rural road near his farm north of Des Moines, Iowa. "We're talking to our lenders, our landlords [and] our input suppliers."

Lehman, the president of the Iowa Farmers Union, says his members say they're trying to find any way to cut costs just to make ends meet. He says they're concerned about the escalating trade war.

"Instead we chose to insult our trade allies, pick all sorts of fights with our trade allies," Lehman says. "And then go to China and make outrageous demands that we knew were not going to be met."

The Trump administration has doled out billions of dollars in relief to farmers for taking the brunt of the trade war. It's an economic short-term positive deal to fill a gap, but it doesn't fix a long-term problem of not having access to foreign markets.

Back in June, Trump came to Council Bluffs, Iowa, with an announcement meant to calm those concerns. His administration cleared the way for higher blends of corn-based ethanol. Forty percent of the United States' corn crop goes to ethanol production.

"We lifted the restrictions on E-15 just in time to fuel America's summer vacations," Trump said to cheers in Council Bluffs. "We just made it."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/15/760588429/we-re-tightening-our-belt-trump-s-midwest-support-tested-as-farmers-struggle

‘People Actively Hate Us’: Inside the Border Patrol’s Morale Crisis

Overwhelmed by desperate migrants and criticized for mistreating the people in their care, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter.

By Manny Fernandez, Miriam Jordan, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Caitlin Dickerson

Photographs by Kendrick Brinson

• Sept. 15, 2019Updated 8:48 a.m. ET

One Border Patrol agent in Tucson said he had been called a “sellout” and a “kid killer.” In El Paso, an agent said he and his colleagues in uniform had avoided eating lunch together except at certain “BP friendly” restaurants because “there’s always the possibility of them spitting in your food.” An agent in Arizona quit last year out of frustration. “Caging people for a nonviolent activity,” he said, “started to eat away at me.”

For decades, the Border Patrol was a largely invisible security force. Along the southwestern border, its work was dusty and lonely. Between adrenaline-fueled chases, the shells of sunflower seeds piled up outside the windows of their idling pickup trucks. Agents called their slow-motion specialty “laying in” — hiding in the desert and brush for hours, to wait and watch, and watch and wait.

Two years ago, when President Trump entered the White House with a pledge to close the door on illegal immigration, all that changed. The nearly 20,000 agents of the Border Patrol became the leading edge of one of the most aggressive immigration crackdowns ever imposed in the United States.

No longer were they a quasi-military organization tasked primarily with intercepting drug runners and chasing smugglers. Their new focus was to block and detain hundreds of thousands of migrant families fleeing violence and extreme poverty — herding people into tents and cages, seizing children and sending their parents to jail, trying to spot those too sick to survive in the densely packed processing facilities along the border.

Ten migrants have died since September in the custody of the Border Patrol and its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection.

In recent months, the extreme overcrowding on the border has begun to ease, with migrants turned away and made to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are processed. Last week, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to close the door further, at least for now, by requiring migrants from countries outside Mexico to show they have already been denied refuge in another country before applying for asylum.

Read more:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/15/us/border-patrol-culture.html

Y & T Summertime Girls

Picture taken down by Reefpoint Marina!

Medical Marijuana: Your Questions Answered and What We Know Today

En español | Medical marijuana has been legalized in 33 states, and many medical experts now approve of its use for particular conditions that affect Americans over the age of 50. This year, the AARP Board of Directors considered the emerging evidence suggesting that marijuana is helpful in treating such conditions and symptoms, then approved a policy supporting the use of medical marijuana in the states that have legalized it, and supporting further research on medical use of cannabinoids to help alleviate the symptoms of diseases and the side effects of the treatment for diseases. Here are seven basic facts you need to know:

Read more:  https://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-2019/basics-on-medical-marijuana.html

Solid gold toilet stolen from Winston Churchill’s birthplace

FILE - This Sept. 16, 2016 file image made from a video shows the 18-karat toilet, titled "America," by Maurizio Cattelan in the restroom of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Thieves have stolen the solid gold toilet worth up to 1 million pounds from Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The toilet, the work of Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been installed only two days earlier at Blenheim Palace, west of London, after previously being on show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. (AP Photo, File)

 

LONDON (AP) — A unique solid gold toilet that was part of an art exhibit was stolen early Saturday from the magnificent home in England where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.

The toilet, valued at roughly 1 million pounds ($1.25 million), was the work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It had been installed only two days earlier at Blenheim Palace, west of London, after previously being shown to appreciative audiences at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Police said the toilet was taken early Saturday by thieves who used at least two vehicles. Because it had been connected to the palace’s plumbing system, police said the toilet’s removal caused “significant damage and flooding” to the building, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture.

A 66-year-old man was arrested in the case, but he has not been identified or charged.

Inspector Richard Nicholls from Thames Valley Police said police believe the thieves left the spacious property about 4:50 a.m. and that the toilet was the only item taken. Closed circuit TV footage is being studied in the investigation.

Prior to the theft, visitors to the Cattelan exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use the toilet. This had proved popular when the toilet was on display at the Guggenheim.

The artist intended the golden toilet to be a pointed satire about excessive wealth. Cattelan has previously said: “Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise.”

Last year, the chief curator at the Guggenheim offered to lend the golden toilet to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump when they asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting for their private White House quarters. Curator Nancy Spector had been critical of Trump in social media.

Saturday’s theft also comes after Edward Spencer-Churchill told The Times newspaper that the golden toilet would not be very easy to steal since it was connected to the palace’s plumbing.

“So no, I don’t plan to be guarding it,” he said.

Thames Valley Police Detective Inspector Jess Milne said: “The artwork has not been recovered at this time but we are conducting a thorough investigation to find it and bring those responsible to justice.”

Blenheim Palace said officials are “saddened” by the theft but “relieved no one was hurt.”

“We knew there was huge interest in the Maurizio Cattelan contemporary art exhibition, with many set to come and enjoy the installations,” the palace said in a tweet. “It’s therefore a great shame an item so precious has been taken, but we still have so many fascinating treasures in the Palace and the remaining items of the exhibition to share.”

The building was closed to the public Saturday but the palace said normal operations will resume Sunday.

The stately home in Oxfordshire, 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of London, is popular with visitors and is occasionally used for special events including fashion shows and art exhibits.

From: https://www.apnews.com/c4c24d249db443fdb33a9fe6405d71ce


Probably John Dickert's toilet.

Oil To Hit $100? Pompeo Blames Iran For "Unprecedented" Drone Attack That Crippled Largest Saudi Oil Processing Facility

by Tyler Durden

Sat, 09/14/2019 - 09:41

 

Update 2: In a sharp, if perhaps not unexpected, escalation, US Secretary of State - now without John Bolton by his side - tweeted at 4pm on Saturday, that contrary to earlier reports, "there is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen" and instead accused Iran of launching today's "unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply" which has now indefinitely taken offline as much as 5mmb/d in Saudi crude production.

In a follow up tweet, Pompeo said that he calls "on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks" which is odd as not even Saudi Arabia accused Iran of today's aggression (which many speculated could have been a Saudi false flag in hopes of sending the price of oil soaring ahead of the Aramco IPO). Pompeo concluded that "the United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression."

Will this pivot away from Houthis to Iran as the "origin" of the attack be sufficient grounds to re-inflame tensions between the US and Iran, especially following last week's news that one of the reasons Bolton was fired was due to his hard-line stance on Iran even as Trump was willing to sit down with the Tehran regime for negotiations. Since the deep state stands to make much more money from war rather than peace, our guess is that the answer is a resounding "yes."

Secretary Pompeo ✔ @SecPompeo

 · 14h

Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy. Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.

Secretary Pompeo ✔ @SecPompeo

We call on all nations to publicly and unequivocally condemn Iran’s attacks. The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression

8,939

2:59 PM - Sep 14, 2019

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Update: The WSJ is out with an update hinting at just how much the price of oil is set to soar when trading reopens late on Sunday after the Saudi Houthi false-flag drone attack on the largest Saudi oil processing plant:

Saudi Arabia is shutting down about half of its oil output after apparently coordinated drone strikes hit Saudi production facilities, people familiar with the matter said, in what Yemen’s Houthi rebels described as one of their largest-ever attacks inside the kingdom.

The production shutdown amounts to a loss of about five million barrels a day, the people said, roughly 5% of the world’s daily production of crude oil. The kingdom produces 9.8 million barrels a day.

And while Aramco is assuring it can restore output quickly, in case it can't the world is looking at a production shortfall of as much as 150MM barrels monthly, which - all else equal - could send oil soaring into the triple digits. Just what the Aramco IPO ordered.

 

Krishnan Viswanathan @kxviswan123

Supply loss from KSA may be as high as 150 MM barrels/month. Oil may hit $100.

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10:15 AM - Sep 14, 2019

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What appears to be the most devastating Yemen Houthi rebel attack on Saudi Arabia to date, took place overnight on the world's largest oil processing facility as stunning videos emerged of massive explosions rocking the major Aramco Buqyaq facility.

Read and see more: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/massive-fire-after-drone-strike-hits-worlds-largest-oil-processing-facility-saudi