He speaks!

But not well. Not well at all. What he says is rather breathtaking.

Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the President, says the White House's Middle East plan is "a great deal" and if Palestinians reject it, “they’re going to screw up another opportunity, like they’ve screwed up every other opportunity that they’ve ever had in their existence.” pic.twitter.com/ABAI3gKjig

— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2020

He does say that, and before he says that, he says, starting at 2:29:

…when we talk about random individuals who don’t have a lot of say or maybe knowledge or who have tried and failed –

Yes, really, Jared Kushner, real estate hustler, called other people random individuals who don’t have a lot … Read the rest

A little excitement.

Earlier today, I passed a black woman in the store; we briefly made eye contact and smiled at one another before carrying on with our shopping. Nothing else happened.

Intersectionality insists that there were racial and gendered power dynamics that needed interrogating here.

— James Lindsay, one hit wonder (@ConceptualJames) January 28, 2020

I don’t know what “intersectionality” insists or thinks or says, because I don’t think it’s a person, but I do think it’s pretty weird to tell Twitter “I passed a black woman in the store today!!”… Read the rest

Oh look, a new way to torment women, and starve their babies while you’re at it.

Men drinking their partners’ breast milk is not uncommon in some areas of Uganda, and in parts of Tanzania and Kenya. It is now being linked to gender violence and coercive behaviour and there are concerns over the impact on babies’ nutrition. Little was known about the practice until Uganda’s minister of state for health, Sarah Opendi, broke the silence in parliament in 2018 and warned against “a growing culture of men demanding to suckle, which was becoming a problem for some breastfeeding mothers and their babies”.

Or, you know, all breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

The preliminary research suggested that men

They don’t have the votes.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Tuesday said he doesn’t have the votes to block a resolution to allow witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial, according to multiple reports.

McConnell made the admission in talks with Senate Republicans after President Trump’s defense team concluded its arguments.

If the Senate votes to summon witnesses, Democrats will likely attempt to call on former White House national security adviser John Bolton to give testimony in the trial…

Republicans may react to a subpoena of Bolton by summoning Hunter Biden and the government whistleblower, whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry, to testify.

Why yes, likely they will.

I still imagine a scenario in which several of them … Read the rest

First there was this:

The arrogance, the dismissiveness, the smug cackling, the accents.

If Donald Trump wins re-election this year, I’ll remember this brief CNN segment late one Saturday night in January as the perfect encapsulation for why it happened. pic.twitter.com/8kQ6zN9AZV

— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) January 28, 2020

Steve Krakauer is (or, rather, pretends to be) disgusted at the “elitism” and “arrogance” of three guys (two of whom are black, you might notice) mocking the ignorance of Trump and the evil of Pompeo, as if that’s more shocking and reprehensible than Trump’s ignorance and malevolence and Pompeo’s bullying and evil.

Then there was Act Two, when Princess Ivanka seconded the fake outrage of Steve Krakauer.

The president’s daughter said:

A good job on her.

Pres. Trump to Sec. of State Mike Pompeo: "That reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you yesterday, huh? I think you did a good job on her, actually." https://t.co/GJHB6Sx4Dt pic.twitter.com/eyxHU30j0M

— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) January 28, 2020

… Read the rest

This is nuts. The Guardian:

Anyone who films a partner during sex without their consent is committing the criminal offence of voyeurism, the court of appeal has ruled in a case that may affect the Crown Prosecution Service’s apparent reluctance to bring charges.

In other words the CPS thinks filming a partner during sex without their consent is and should be legal legal legal.

The ruling by three judges came at the end of an unsuccessful appeal by a man convicted of filming himself having sex with prostitutes. His lawyers argued that the voyeurism law allowed him to do so since even a bedroom is not a private place if he was there legitimately.

And he was totally there … Read the rest

Don’t mention the war.

Yesterday, Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez tweeted a link to a 2016 Daily Beast story about the rape allegations. The story recounts, in excruciating detail, the accuser’s version of events of what happened the night of June 30th at the Lodge and Spa at Coridellera in Colorado, where she worked as a hotel desk clerk. According to her version of events, after Bryant, then 24, invited her into his hotel room, where the two shared a consensual kiss. After that point, she told police, he allegedly barred her from leaving the room, held her by the neck and forced her to have sex with him, then told her not to tell anybody. A subsequent medical

Because Pompeo wasn’t looking childish and vindictive enough yet.

The State Department on Monday removed a National Public Radio reporter from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s upcoming trip following a days long spat with a different NPR reporter, who said Pompeo berated and cursed [her] after an interview.

It wasn’t a “spat” and it wasn’t “with” – it was Pompeo bullying a reporter. Period.

The State Department Correspondents’ Association in a statement confirmed the decision to remove NPR correspondent Michele Kelemen from Pompeo’s plane on his upcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia, calling the move “retaliation” after Pompeo’s public attack on NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.

In other words Pompeo publicly attacked Kelly and then in “retaliation” against Kelly … Read the rest

Oh yay, an award for service to gender equity.

Activist and author Bettina Arndt, who has dedicated the latter part of her career to what she sees as the unfair treatment of men in today’s society, has received an Australia Day honour for her work.

In a decision certain to outrage feminists and other community members, Ms Arndt was admitted as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for her “significant service to the community as a social commentator, and to gender equity through advocacy for men”.

Oh that kind of “equity.” The way a white person would be providing significant service to racial equity through advocacy for white people.

The citation for her honour mentions her 2018

Uh…what???

CNBC reports:

The Trump administration also employs the son of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney. The White House pays him nearly six figures to serve as a sports liaison. According to government documents, Giuliani’s son, Andrew H. Giuliani, makes $95,000 per year working for the White House. His official title is “Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison.”

Joe Biden should have told Hunter Biden he couldn’t take that 50k per month job with Burisma because the only reason he was offered it was the fact that Joe was Vice President.

By the same token, and several other tokens in addition, Rudy former prosecutor Giuliani should not be … Read the rest

Trump in 2014:

How dumb is our president to send thousands of poorly trained and ill-equipped soldiers over to West Africa to fight Ebola. Stop all flights

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2014

Tremendous pressure on President Obama to institute a travel ban on Ebola stricken West Africa. At some point this stubborn dope will fold!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2014

Trump’s administration in May 2018:

The top White House official responsible for leading the U.S. response in the event of a deadly pandemic has left the administration, and the global health security team he oversaw has been disbanded under a reorganization by national security adviser John Bolton.

The abrupt departure of Rear Adm.

Of all the people in all the world there is probably just one person who has the very least right to ask “how did we get here?” to what he calls “the age of impeachment.” Who is that one person?

Ken Starr, whose investigation led to Bill Clinton's impeachment, now says impeachment is happening "all too frequently": "We are living in what I think can aptly be described as the age of impeachment." https://t.co/iwYPRsRtGP pic.twitter.com/JO12w11rd9

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 27, 2020

… Read the rest

From a different corner of humanity, via Rosa Freedman:… Read the rest

So now the Senate Republicans are trying to figure out how they can possibly ignore what Bolton wrote.

Republican sources thought Saturday they were confident that they had the votes to defeat a motion for additional witnesses and documents, leading to an acquittal vote by the end of the week.

Pause a moment to absorb that – the fact that Senators wanted (and of course still want) to block all witnesses and documents that would show Trump’s criminal effort to weaken Ukraine and thereby the US for the sake of his own political gain. The Republican Senators wanted and still want to hide all that from us, so that Trump can continue doing things like that, and more and … Read the rest

From the Times scoop by Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt:

President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton.

The president’s statement as described by Mr. Bolton could undercut a key element of his impeachment defense: that the holdup in aid was separate from Mr. Trump’s requests that Ukraine announce investigations into his perceived enemies, including [the two Bidens].

So why hasn’t Bolton testified? The trumpies told him not to of course but they can’t stop him. He doesn’t work for them any … Read the rest

Well that’s interesting.

SCOOP: Bolton book draft, circulated to associates and sent to WH for review process, describes a convo w POTUS where he says he doesn't want to release withheld aid till Ukraine turned over material related to investigations @nytmike and me https://t.co/N3Tsce4gR7

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 26, 2020

So…the White House will say no, but it’s too late?

But the Republican Senators will look fixedly in the other direction so it still won’t matter.… Read the rest

I saw the news of the CPS “pack” via LGB Alliance, who have apparently read it (someone has a password).

The new CPS Guidance on “hate crime” in schools has been issued but only teachers and schools can request a password to receive it. Here’s an example of hate in the Guidance. Lesbians may not reject someone who asserts they are a trans woman. This is now officially “hate”: / 1of4

— LGB Alliance (@AllianceLGB) January 26, 2020

EXCUSE me? How are they defining “reject”?

This is just one example of undefined behaviour that can be classed as a hate incident if a victim or bystander asserts that it is so. The Guidance suggests that bullying trans kids is much

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued a new “schools pack” on ” LGBT+ Bullying and Hate Crime.”

Before we even get to the content, I have to say I don’t understand what prosecutors are doing issuing such things in the first place. Prosecutors prosecute, they don’t teach or preach or create content for schools (or hospitals or factories or any other institution). I don’t get it. Do UK schools have whole rows of “packs” that tell children what they can’t do if they want to stay out of the slammer?

So now for the content of this bizarre CPS news item:

“Hate incidents and hate crimes can have a devastating effect on the individuals and communities who are targeted for

Welllllll that’s scary.

“We command all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now” — Special Adviser to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative Paula White pic.twitter.com/gtdZyGfkxy

— Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons (@GuthrieGF) January 25, 2020

… Read the rest