Thursday, January 31, 2019

Let The Seagull Soar

There Is A Hell Below

January was Australia’s hottest month on record, with the country’s mean temperature exceeding 30C for the first time since records began in 1910.

The Bureau of Meteorology released its climate summary for January on Friday and said the widespread heatwave conditions and daily extremes were “unprecedented”.

“There’s been so many records it’s really hard to count,” said Andrew Watkins, a senior climatologist at the Bom.

January was Australia’s warmest month for mean, maximum and minimum temperatures.

Large parts of Australia received only 20% of their normal rainfall, particularly throughout the south-east in Victoria and parts of New South Wales and South Australia.

Tasmania, which has been battling bushfires throughout the past month, had its driest ever January.

Watkins said Borrona Downs in north-west NSW broke the record for hottest minimum temperature, registering one night at 36.6C.

Port Augusta recorded the country’s highest ever temperature in January, reaching 49.5C.

“We’ve also seen records in many states set including places like Victoria where Swan Hill and Kerang got up over 47.5C,” Watkins said.
[The Guardian]

This reporter sincerely hopes each & every last one of you dumb-ass mother-fuckers drowns in your own boiling piss.

Operation FLINTLOCK

MON 31 JAN 1944
Pacific
Marines and Army troops (Major General Holland M. Smith, USMC) land on atolls of Kwajalein and Majuro, in the Marshalls, in Operation FLINTLOCK. The operation is under the overall command of Commander Central Pacific force TF 50 (Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance) and is composed of Southern Attack force TF 51 (Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner), Northern Attack Force TF 53 (Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly), and Reserve Force and Majuro Attack Group TF 51.2 (Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill). Landings are supported by carrier-based aircraft TF 58 (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) and land-based aircraft TF 57 (Rear Admiral John H. Hoover).
Aircraft from fast carrier group TG 58.3 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) bomb aircraft and airfield facilities at Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls. Attacks by this carrier group continue on the first three days of February and afterward by Rear Admiral Samuel P. Ginder's carrier group TG 58.4 through 7 February. TG 58.3 aircraft and destroyer Harrison (DD-573) sink Japanese auxiliary netlayer Katsura Maru off Eniwetok.
U.S. air strike on Nauru, in support of the Marshalls operations, sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 25 and Cha 33.

Cargo ship Enceladus (AK-80) is damaged by storm, Solomons, 08°09'N, 157°38'E.

Submarine Trigger (SS-237) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine depot ship Yasukuni Maru northwest of Truk, 09°21'N, 147°02'E, and damages destroyer Michisio, 09°50'N, 147°06'E.

Submarine Tullibee (SS-284) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Hiro Maru north-northwest of Saipan, 15°23'N, 145°35'E.

USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese guardboat Seisho Maru off Celebes.

Japanese plane carries out high-level bombing raid on U.S. shipping in Langemak Bay, New Guinea; freighter Stephen Crane is damaged by bomb that glances off her stack and explodes in the water nearby. One Army passenger is killed; 22 men (including one merchant seaman and one of the 29-man Armed Guard) are injured.

Melting Snowflake Alert

It's not "bigotry" if you know the people involved are fucking assholes.
David French / National Review:
This Is What Anti-Christian Bigotry Looks Like

When Do We Start Burning
The Priests & Churches?

Get Out The Stakes!

Law Firm Names 84 Priests Accused Of Clergy Sex Abuse In San Bernardino, Calls For More Church Transparency

[SoCalPubRad]

Kwitcher "Polar Vortex" Bitchin' ...

... it's going to rain straight through early Mon. here!

Why are you wimps whining? Don't you have cold weather threads?

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Sack Of Schultz Shit

Kate Taylor / Business Insider:
Drugs and syringes have become such a problem in Starbucks bathrooms that the company is installing needle-disposal boxes in certain locations  — Starbucks is installing needle-disposal boxes in some bathrooms, as well as exploring other solutions to workers' concerns regarding improperly disposed …
"No Medicare for you, no safety net for you, no taxes for me!" That's a hell of a deal. I can see why "Dems" have the "jitters".

Traffickers In Human Misery

Wall Street Journal:
Family Behind OxyContin Maker Made Billions, Say Court Papers
Where's the outrage?
David Armstrong / ProPublica:
OxyContin Maker Explored Expansion Into “Attractive” Anti-Addiction Market
Srsly. Where are the torches & pitchforks, you chickenshits?

30th Kiwi Battalion Recce

SUN 30 JAN 1944
Pacific
PB2Ys (VP 13, VP 102) from Midway Island carry out nocturnal bombing raid on Wake Island to neutralize Japanese airfield installations there that could threaten the imminent Marshalls operations. Motor torpedo boats Gyoraitei No.5 and Gyoraitei No.6 are sunk during the raid. The strike marks the first time that Coronados are used as bombers, and strikes are repeated on the nights of 4, 8, and 9 February.

During preinvasion bombardment of Wotje, Marshalls, destroyer Anderson (DD-411) is damaged by shore battery, 09°33'N, 170°18'E.

SBDs and F6Fs from TG 52.8, comprising carriers Enterprise (CV-6), Yorktown (CV-10) and Bunker Hill (CV- 17) and small carrier Belleau Wood (CVL-24) sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 18 and Cha 21 at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshalls; auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 14, Cha 19, and Cha 28 at Mili; and damage cargo vessel Katsura Maru at Eniwetok. Destroyer Phelps (DD-360) subsequently finishes off the crippled enemy merchantman.

Carrier Planes Are Launched For Roi-Namur Island Strike, Marshall Island Invasion, 30 JAN 1944

Battleships Washington (BB 55), Indiana (BB 58) and Massachusetts (BB 59) and destroyers Ingersoll (DD- 652), Knapp (DD-653), Caperton (DD-650), and Cogswell (DD-651) bombard Japanese installations at Kwajalein.

Battleship North Carolina (BB 55) sinks transport Eiko Maru off west coast of Roi, 09°10'N, 167°20'E (see 14 February).

Destroyer Burns (DD-588) sinks Japanese transport Akibasan Maru and guardboat Nichiei Maru off Ujae Atoll, Marshalls.

Navy SBDs and TBFs, supported by Allied fighters, bomb Japanese shipping at Rabaul, sinking water supply ship Iwata Maru and damaging auxiliary vessel Juzan Maru, 04°12'S, 152°12'E.

TG 31.8 (four destroyers, three high-speed transports, and two motor torpedo boats) lands 30th New Zealand Battalion and U.S. Navy personnel on the Green Islands, north of Bougainville, to locate areas suitable for airstrips and landing beaches. The reconnoitering force is recovered the next day.

Submarine Seahorse (SS-304) attacks Japanese convoy on the Palau-Rabaul track, sinking army cargo ship Toko Maru southeast of Palau, 06°10'N, 138°14'E.

Submarine Spearfish (SS-190) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Tamashima Maru about 400 miles north-northeast of Saipan, 21°15'N, 149°18'E.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

K-Town Crepuscule

Can't Live W/o My Radio Waves

I.C.Y.M.I.
Deep space radio waves baffle astronomers; aliens not ruled out  —  Aliens!  —  Astronomers can't rule out that possibility after an exciting new discovery.  A team in Canada recently stumbled upon ultra-brief repeating waves from deep space for only the second time in history.

Attacks Continue Daily

SAT 29 JAN 1944
Pacific
Aircraft from fast carrier force TF 58 (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) begin series of strikes to destroy Japanese air power and shipping in the Marshalls. Aircraft from TG 58.1 sink Japanese auxiliary netlayer Uji Maru. Attacks continue daily until 6 February.

Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) lays mines off southeastern coast of Borneo.

Submarine Tambor (SS-198) attacks Japanese convoy in the Nansei Shoto, sinking merchant cargo ship Shuntai Maru north of Okinawa, 27°51'N, 128°24'E.

During Japanese bombing raid on U.S. shipping off Cape Cretin*, New Guinea, freighter George Sterling is damaged by near-miss, 06°41'S, 147°52'E. There are no fatalities among complement (including the 26-man Armed Guard).

Mediterranean
German planes bomb U.S. shipping off the invasion beaches at Anzio and Nettuno; off the former place, rescue tug ATR-1 is damaged by near-miss of bomb, 41°27'N, 12°40'E. freighter Alexander Martin is damaged by strafing but there are no fatalities among the ship's complement (including the 24-man Armed Guard). Off Nettuno, freighter Samuel Huntington is sunk by bombs; three merchant sailors die in the explosions, one will die of his wounds later. Her survivors are rescued by tank landing craft LCT-277. There are no casualties among the 39-man Armed Guard; the ship will later be written off as a total loss. LCT-198 rescues survivors from British light AA cruiser HMS Spartan [along with HMS Dido and HMS Delhi, among others.]

*Tee hee. Is there a Cape Moron somewhere?
†Not this jagoff. This one.

One Percenter Schultz Gives
Almost One Percent

Cheap fucking bastard.
TYT Network:
Howard Schultz Gave Less Than 1% of Fortune to Charity
Start heaving cobblestones at their store windows! Now!
Dan Primack / Axios:
If Howard Schultz decides to run in 2020, Starbucks might have a big problem
Upcoming EventsWhere to heckle this chickenshit asshole. If he's not man enough to run as a Democrat, he should go fuck himself. (Well, he should do that on general principles alone.)

MOMENTS LATER: Asshole is now the arbiter of "American", which gives Breitbart & The Daily Caller the chance to channel their inner McCarthy.
In conclusion, I say fuck everybody & everything to the hell they so richly deserve.

Trump The Tee Vee 'Tard

Respecting the White House:
If 2020 doesn't work out for President Trump, the next commander-in-chief may want [sic] keep him in the White House as a tour guide.

With an atypical yet "gregarious and charming" demeanor, the president spices up history-laden White House tours with some very colorful commentary that noticeably "acknowledge[s] his reputation as a television addict," former Trump staffer Cliff Sims details in his forthcoming book Team of Vipers.

Trump's first tour stop for "senators, New York friends, or other guests" is the Oval Office, quickly followed by a step through a side door, The Washington Post details from an advance copy of the book. That's where Trump frequently verges off into "lengthy, sometimes crass conversations" about former President Bill Clinton and ex-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the Post confirms. Next up is the Lincoln Bedroom, where Trump has questioned how former President Abraham Lincoln slept on such a short bed. "He was a really tall guy!," a tour attendee recalled Trump saying.

But the highlight of the trip is a private dining room, where Trump reportedly suggests former President Barack Obama "watched basketball all day," the Post writes. Trump also claimed there was a hole in the room's wall when he took over the White House — all of which a former Obama staffer denies. As the tour continues, Trump "brags about how many television sets there are in the West Wing," the Post writes. He also touts what he calls a "Super TiVo" channel-switching system made just for him, Sims' book and White House aides say.

Read more about Trump's TV tour at The Washington Post. Kathryn Krawczyk

Monday, January 28, 2019

Couldn't've Put It Better Myself

"Heckler"? Patriot!
Your coffee sucks too, elitist pig!

And when we say "No more C.E.O.s", we don't just mean no more businessdicks in politics, we mean no more Chief Executives of anything, anywhere.

Gen. Mark Clark Under Friendly Fire

FRI 28 JAN 1944
Pacific
Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) damages Japanese oiler Kamoi off Makassar, N.E.I., 03°25'S, 118°15'E.

USAAF B-24 (13th Air Force) and USN PBYs sink Japanese transport Neikai Maru south of Kavieng, 03°45'S, 150°38'E; midget submarine Ha.49, carried on board Neikai Maru, is lost as well.

Atlantic
PB4Y-1 (VB 103) sinks German submarine U-271 off Limerick, Eire, 53°15'N, 15°52'W.

Mediterranean
Off Anzio, motor torpedo boat PT-201--that has Lieutenant General Mark Clark, Commanding General of the U.S. Fifth Army, on board--is damaged by friendly fire from minesweeper Sway (AM-120); submarine chaser SC-534 is damaged by near-miss of bomb.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Anzio Opposition Increases

THU 27 JAN 1944
Pacific
Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), in attack on Japanese convoy about 130 miles south of Tokyo Bay, sinks gunboat Kasagi Maru, 33°31'N, 139°36'E.

Submarine Thresher (SS-200) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Kosei Maru and merchant cargo ship Kikuzuki Maru about 70 miles southwest of Formosa, 22°11'N, 119°12'E.

SBD & TBF Strike On Kwajalein Atoll, Invasion Of Marshall Islands, 27 JAN 1944

Mediterranean
German air opposition to landings at Anzio begins to increase; submarine chaser SC-534 is damaged by near-miss of bomb. Adverse weather conditions there cause damage to one large infantry landing craft (LCI[L]) and eleven tank landing craft (LCT).

Train Wreck Time

Lars Klove for The NYT
John Harwood / CNBC:
Americans fault Trump for chaotic government shutdown, as more believe US is ‘on the wrong track’: NBC-WSJ poll  — An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll showed that by 63 percent to 28 percent , a margin greater than two to one, Americans believe the country is “off on the wrong track” rather than “headed in the right direction.”
Mark Murray / NBC News:
‘Wrong track’: Public sours on nation's direction after shutdown  —  Sixty-three percent of Americans say the nation is on the wrong track, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.  —  WASHINGTON — After the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history …
Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Approval Rating Steady Despite Shutdown, WSJ/NBC News Poll Says
Amanda Sakuma / Vox:   Mick Mulvaney says Trump is actually prepared to let the government shut down again
Adam Smith / TheStreet:   Most Americans Blame Trump for Shutdown, Pessimistic About Nation, Finds Poll
Hope y'all get it good & hard, chump-ass American losers.

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Action Everywhere But The Atlantic, W/ Bad Seamanship

WED 26 JAN 1944
Pacific
TG 74.2 (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey), consisting of two light cruisers and three destroyers, bombards Japanese installations in Madang-Alexischafen area of New Guinea.

Motor torpedo boat PT-110 is sunk by depth charge explosion following collision with motor torpedo boat PT-114,Ablingi Harbor, New Britain, 06°17'S, 150°09'E; PT-114 is damaged.

Escort carriers Suwanee (CVE-27) and Sangamon (CVE-26) are damaged in collision while en route to the Marshalls.

Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) sinks Japanese gunboat Busho Maru in South China Sea, about 175 miles southeast of Cape St. Jacques, French Indochina, 08°30'N, 109°10'E.

Submarine Hake (SS-256) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Shuko Maru off Ambon, N.E.I., 05°50'N, 126°00'E.

Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) sinks Japanese destroyer Suzukaze 140 miles northwest of Ponape, Carolines, 09°00'N, 157°27'E, and transport Okitsu Maru 150 miles northwest of Ponape, 09°22'N, 157°26'E.

British submarine HMS Templar damages Japanese light cruiser Kitakami southwest of Penang, Malaya, 04°54'N, 98°28'E.

Mediterranean
Off Anzio, mines sink infantry landing craft LCI-32 and damage tank landing ship LST-422. During German air raid on shipping off the invasion beaches, U.S. freighter John Banyard is damaged by near-miss of aerial bomb. While there are no casualties to those on board (including the 27-man Armed Guard), the ship will later be written off as a total loss. Off Nettuno, a German fighter plane crashes into freighter Hilary A. Herbert shortly before the freighter is further damaged by the near-miss of a bomb. Beached to prevent her loss, Hilary A. Herbert is later repaired and returned to service.

Arctic
German submarines continue attacks against Murmansk- bound convoy JW 56A. U.S. freighter Andrew G. Curtin is torpedoed and sunk by U-716, 73°25'N, 25°16'E; two of the merchant crew and one Armed Guard sailor (of the 43-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard, respectively) perish. British destroyer HMS Inconstant rescues the survivors.

Indian Ocean
U.S. freighter Walter Camp is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-532 at 10°00'N, 71°40'E; all hands (40 merchant crew, 28 Armed Guards and one passenger) survive. British light cruiser HMS Danae rescues them four and a half days later.

NO. MORE. CEOS.
Not Even "Successful" Ones.

Fuck this guy to hell.
Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
Ex-Starbucks CEO Could Get Trump Re-elected  —  Before there was Jill Stein, there was Ralph Nader.  Before there was Nader, there was Ross Perot.  —  None won.  All argued that the Republican Party and the Democratic Party were basically the same, and the only way to make real change was to ditch them both.
Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:   Democrats Balk At Prospect Of Howard Schultz Running As An Independent
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:   Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Reportedly Thinking Seriously About 2020 Run as an Independent
Digby / Hullabaloo:   I had to give up coffee anyway
Stupid fucking businessman jerk. What makes him any more qualified than Trump?

A Tree Grows On Western

Or Doesn't

Friday, January 25, 2019

Digital Apocalypse? Whatever.

Things falling apart at an increased rate. Couldn't happen to a more deserving species. Shall we start w/ the digital publishers?
Ben Collins / NBC News:
4chan trolls flood laid off HuffPost, Buzzfeed reporters with death threats  —  The threats are part of a coordinated campaign organized on the far-right message board.  —  Shortly after he tweeted the news of his own layoff, Nick Wing checked his inbox at the Huffington Post and saw an email with a few pictures from a troll.
And in conclusion, fuck everybody & everything to Hell. Twice.

Things Calm Down

TUE 25 JAN 1944
Pacific
Escort carrier Sangamon (CVE-26) is damaged by fire following a TBM (VC 37) barrier crash, en route to the Marshalls.

Japanese cargo ship Nanshin Maru sinks after running aground on a shoal off Miyagiken peninsula, 35°31'N, 133°09'E.

Mediterranean
Off Anzio, motor minesweeper YMS-30 is sunk by mine, 41°23'N, 12°45'E; submarine chaser PC-676 is damaged by near-miss of bomb.

News From Space

Have Aliens Found Us? A Harvard Astronomer on the Mysterious Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua

REPEATED RADIO SIGNALS COMING FROM GALAXY 1.5 BILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY, SCIENTISTS ANNOUNCE

Scientists pick up large number of blasts over a few weeks

[The New Yorker/The Independent]

WHOOPS!! Roger Stone Indicted & Arrested: Shit Hitting Fan Or Other Shoe Dropping?

“Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to President Trump who has spent decades plying the dark arts of scandal-mongering and dirty tricks to help influence American political campaigns, was indicted Friday in the special counsel investigation,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Stone was charged with seven counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding, making false statements and witness tampering.”
That's all we have so far. Don't stay tuned, we're off to sleep.

[Political Wire]

Say, Whatever Happened To That Monroe Doctrine Deal?

Will Trump remind Pito Putin of it?
New York Times:
Venezuela's Military Backs Maduro, as Russia Warns U.S. Not to Intervene
Exactly whose freaking hemisphere do those K.G.B. bastards, oligarchs & patriarchs think this is?
Bigger question: Is Putin setting the stage for Trump to set the stage for a "Military Intervention"? (There's a euphemism.) "Venezuelan Missile Crisis", here we come.

Yesterday In Local Freeway Jumping

One lived, one died. What are the odds?

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Not "Grim" Enough For Me

The usual misleading headline
Davos is a microcosm of the world — and the outlook is grim
led to this Fareed Zakaria load, from which we excerpted this, to put in the "Ha ha ha. Fuck you." file. Shorter: More office drones to be made redundant. Bigger picture shorter: Whimper-not-a-bang grim. Incessant entropy & ennui, no end to any of it.
The one area of consistent optimism among the attendees remains technology. Executives from multinational corporations such as Novartis and Cargill spoke about the next great technological opportunity — leveraging artificial intelligence to make their companies far more efficient and productive. This is a trend that they see as inexorable, forcing them to adapt or watch the competition grow. Executives and experts alike foresee that another layer of white-collar jobs could be at risk — those involving routine analytic skills. But chief executives here voiced optimism that it will all work out.
No doubt everything will be fine for the chief executives. It always is. But don't you count on finding another job, disposable human resource.
Same shit, different day: A much longer version, from Oct. last.

Today In Family Values

The family is the foundation of Western Civilization. This should give you an idea of the shape of Western Civilization.

Woman Fatally Stabbed, Husband Wounded in Santa Monica; Adult Son Suspected

A woman was fatally stabbed Thursday morning and her husband wounded, allegedly at the hands
of their adult son, in a home in Santa Monica.

Officers responded about 6:20 a.m. to an assistance call in the 1200 block of Sunset Avenue and
upon arrival located two men and a woman, all suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to
Santa Monica Police Department Sgt. Roberto Villegas.

Firefighters arrived and treated the wounded, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, Villegas said.

Both men were taken to a hospital, one with critical stab wounds to the chest and the other with
stab wounds to the lower body, the sergeant said.

“The preliminary investigation revealed the three individuals are related: mother, father, and
adult son in his 40s,” Villegas said.

The son is considered a suspect but has not been booked because of his medical condition,
Villegas said, adding the violence “stems from a family issue.”

Anyone with information was urged to call (310) 458-8943 to speak with Detective Elias;
(310) 458-8992 to speak with Sgt. Skogh; or the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8491.

NO SNITCHING!!

Lotta War Goin' On

MON 24 JAN 1944
Pacific
USMC TBFs, supported by large concentration of USN, USMC, USAAF and RNZAF fighters, attack Japanese shipping at Rabaul, sinking water tanker Koan Maru, aircraft transport Lyon Maru (previously rendered unnavigable on 17 January) and army cargo ships Taisho Maru and Yamayuri Maru, 04°13'S, 152°11'E.

PB4Ys damage cargo ship Ogashima Maru south of Kwajalein, 08°14'N, 168°02'E; deemed beyond salvage, Ogashima Maru is scuttled by auxiliary minesweeper No.5 Tama Maru. PB4Ys also sink auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 14 70 miles east-southeast of Eniwetok, 11°10'N, 163°25'E.

USAAF B-25s bomb Japanese shipping and harbor installations at Manus, sinking transport Heiwa Maru and auxiliary minelayer Tatsu Maru, and damaging auxiliary minelayer Matsu Maru.

USAAF B-25s (14th Air Force) sink Japanese ship Liu Hsing in Lishen Bay, China, 26°58'N, 120°04'E.

Submarine Sturgeon (SS-187) attacks Japanese convoy in eastern approaches to Bungo Suido, sinking army cargo ship Chosen Maru, 32°28'N, 132°23'E.

Japanese planes bomb U.S. shipping in Dreger Bay, New Guinea, damaging freighter John Muir at 06°32'08"N, 147°53'05"E, with one direct hit and at least four near-misses that injure 2 of 42 merchant sailors, one of the 28-man Armed Guard and 13 of the 40 Construction Battalion stevedores embarked to work cargo.

Mediterranean
Tank landing craft LCT-185 founders and sinks in heavy weather off Bizerte, Tunisia.

German planes attack invasion shipping off the Anzio beachhead: bombs damage destroyer Plunkett (DD-431), 41°15'N, 12°37'E, and minesweeper Prevail (AM-107), 41°00'N, 12°00'E; aerial torpedo damages destroyer Mayo (DD-422), 41°24'N, 12°43'E;

During German air raid on Allied shipping at Naples, Italy, U.S. freighter F.A.C. Muhlenberg is damaged by bomb and by near-miss of bomb; ship's crew and port firefighting crews extinguish the fires thus started. Of the ship's complement, 6 of 46 merchant sailors die; 1 of the 31-man Armed Guard perishes in the blaze.

Arctic
German submarines attack Murmansk-bound convoy JW 56A. U.S. freighter Penelope Barker is torpedoed and sunk by U-278 about 115 miles from North Cape, Norway, 72°23'N, 23°10'E; 10 merchant sailors and 5 Armed Guard men (of the 43-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard, respectively) perish in the explosions. British destroyer HMS Savage rescues the survivors (see 26 January).

Urban Camping Update

Tracy Jan / Washington Post:
That Ross bastard is everywhere people are getting screwed, isn't he? Wretched little shit.

Führerprinzip

Shouldn't this objectively fascist son-of-a-bitch Kudlow still be doing hard time for all the drug crimes he committed, rather than getting a pass on his security clearance?

I Don't Understand Why Wilbur Ross "Needs" Oxygen; Let's See If He Really Needs It

By Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Now Can We Start Killing The Aristocrats?

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Wilbur Ross doesn't understand why furloughed federal workers need food banks  —  Commerce secretary suggests they should be able to take out bridge loans  —  Chuck Grassley reminds U.S. Olympic Committee about requirements for its tax exemption Senate sets up Thursday test votes on ending shutdown …
Tim Hains / RealClearPolitics:   Pelosi: Republicans Have “Let Them Eat Cake” Attitude Toward Federal Workers
Katelyn Marmon / ThinkProgress:   The shutdown exposes just how vulnerable federal workers are
Aaron Rupar / Vox:   Wilbur Ross on unpaid federal workers going to food banks: “I don't really quite understand why”
Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:   Super-Rich Commerce Secretary Questions Why Federal Workers Without Pay Need Food Banks
Melissa McEwan / Shakesville:   We Resist: Day 735  —  One of the difficulties in resisting …
The Democrats:   OUT OF TOUCH: Trump Admin Doesn't Understand Why Furloughed Workers Can't Afford To Eat
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:   ‘We will not cave!’: Trump declares hours after caving in to Nancy Pelosi
Joe Jervis / Joe.My.God.:   Pelosi Rips GOP's “Let Them Eat Cake Attitude” [VIDEO]
Kelly Faircloth / Jezebel:   Finally, a Government Shutdown Ramification Ivanka Can Understand
Marisa Fernandez / Axios:   Wilbur Ross doesn't “understand” why federal workers need food banks
Washington Post:   Federal workers affected by partial shutdown to be billed for dental, vision coverage
These people have declared war on us. It is time to start shooting back. Literally. Bullets, not ballots!

Best News Today

Of course, this doesn't apply if you render street justice to a policeman or an aristocrat, & who the hell else would you want to kill?
BuzzFeed News:
Shoot Someone In A Major US City, And Odds Are You'll Get Away With It  —  A shocking number of shootings go unsolved.  In some police departments, hundreds of cases aren't investigated at all.  A joint investigation by The Trace and BuzzFeed News. … Devon Little was shot …
No Humans Involved, in other words. Fuck or shoot the police. Now. It's kill or be killed.

Only In L.A.

Two men get Botox, then dash. L.A. day spa is out $4,000
Ha ha ha. Fuck you, morons.

[From the L.A. Times, who probably won't let you look at it, so fuck them too!!]

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Darwin Award Winners

Or: There Are No Accidents. What Was This Child's Mother Doing To Him?

Young Child Accidentally Shoots Mother in Car in Norwalk

Either way, your species sucks & it needs to die.

Socialize It!

After PG&E Folds, Let the State Supply Electricity

Planes, Subs, Pacific

SUN 23 JAN 1944
Pacific
PBY-5As and PV-1s, flying from Attu, bomb Japanese installations on the west and south coasts of Paramushiro.

Submarine Gar (SS-206), in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks transport Taian Maru about 75 miles south of Palau, 05°45'N, 134°45'E.

Submarine Snook (SS-279) sinks Japanese gunboat Magane Maru about 175 miles north-northwest of Chichi Jima, 29°49'N, 140°08'E.

USAAF B-25s (14th Air Force) attack Japanese convoy off Foochow, China, sinking army cargo ship Panama Maru, 27°15'N, 120°45'E.

USAAF B-24s (10th Air Force) sink Japanese cargo ship Seikai Maru in Mergui harbor, 12°26'N, 98°36'E.

A Promise, Not A Threat

 Washington Post:
White House seeks list of programs that would be hurt if shutdown lasts into March  —  White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has pressed agency leaders to provide him with a list of the highest-impact programs that will be jeopardized if the shutdown continues into March and April, people familiar with the directive said.
Taegan Goddard / Political Wire:   White House Preparing for Long Shutdown
Damian Paletta / Washington Post:   Trump's top economist says shutdown could stall the economy completely [Good. I hope you all suffer miserably before you die. — M.B.]
The Housing Authority of The City of Los Angeles claims to have money through February.
It is not clear at this time that HUD will have adequate resources for March payments should the current government shutdown stretch into March. HACLA receives most its funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is one of the federal branches directly affected by the shutdown.
I've typed it before & I'm typing it here, now: If I am evicted (again) I will be in full nothing-left-to-my-life-&-I'm-nothing-anyway mode, & blood will flow. My blood won't be the first to leave its container, either.

The national media, iNternet, yada, are not that concerned w/ my plight & that of the approximately two million other households that receive vouchers. One hand-wringer from one or two nat'l. outlets. Also of great concern: The "housing market" & how this will affect developers.

Hey, fuck us, right? We're nobodies, w/ neither money nor influence. Don't count, don't exist, will not be missed.

But do remember whence political power:

Did Somebody Say ...

Associated Press:
Giuliani's media blitz draws ire of Trump and some allies  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani's latest media blitz, which was filled with a dizzying array of misstatements and hurried clarifications, agitated President Donald Trump and some of his allies, who have raised the possibility …

... "Media Blitz"?

Can't wait for this one to happen.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Today In Scouting

4 arrested in plot to attack Muslim community in New York

Police in New York Tuesday announced the arrest of four suspects in an alleged terror plot. They described the plan to attack a group of Muslims in central New York state as serious and real.

Brian Colaneri, 20; Vincent Vetromile, 19; Andrew Crysel, 18; and a 16-year-old suspect whose name is being withheld, were arrested Friday in the town Greece.

"If they had carried out this plot, which every indication is that they were going to, people would've died," said Chief Patrick Phelan.

Investigators said the suspects, who knew each other from the Boy Scouts, were targeting Islamberg, a rural community that's home to several hundred Muslims and the headquarters for The Muslims of America organization.

According to court papers, the suspects had built three improvised explosive devices "in the shape of a mason jar wrapped in duct tape." Investigators said they had access to 23 rifles and shotguns.

"We found firearms in almost every location that we searched and once again the bombs were all in one location. That was the home of the 16-year-old," Phelan said.
CBS News
 CBS NEWS
The bombs are being sent to FBI labs in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis where investigators will try to determine if the devices were viable.

Islamberg was the target of another planned attack in 2015 when Robert Doggart, a former congressional candidate from Tennessee, was arrested. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting to burn down a mosque, a school and a cafeteria in the community.

In this case, the tip that led to the arrests came from a local school. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that there could be more arrests and that the suspects could face federal charges.

Police said the 16-year-old suspect was showing suspicious pictures on his phone and another student passed along the information. Police began the investigation, and quickly made the arrests.
Lessons learned: Trust no one; if they aren't idiots they're rats. The only people who'd want to conspire w/ me are obviously idiots or mental cases anyway. And how did I forgot the parts of the Scout Oath & Scout Law about killing ragheads?

[C.B.S. News]