Also, Flynn.

Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, got a harsh warning from a federal judge on Tuesday that he could face prison for lying to federal investigators about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition and his role lobbying for Turkey.

At Mr. Flynn’s sentencing hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan called Mr. Flynn’s crimes “a very serious offense” and said he was not hiding his “disgust” at what Mr. Flynn had done.

“All along you were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the national security adviser,” the judge told Mr. Flynn. “Arguably that undermines everything that this flag over here stands for.

Don’t worry, it’s just kink, just BDSM, just “rough sex.” Don’t kink-shame the nice man.

A multi-millionaire who left his injured and bleeding partner to die after “rough sex” has been jailed for three years and eight months.

Seeing as how she died, “rough sex” seems just a tad euphemistic.

Natalie Connolly had suffered more than 40 separate injuries, the court heard.

Broadhurst, 40, told a 999 operator he found his partner “dead as a doughnut” at their home in Kinver, Staffordshire, in December 2016.

At least he kept his sense of humor.

Ms Connolly was pronounced dead on 18 December 2016 after Broadhurst called paramedics to their rented home. She died from acute alcohol intoxication and blunt force

He mad.

… Read the rest

Russia isn’t messing around with the disinformation campaign.

Our report, announced by the committee on Monday, concludes that Russia was able to masquerade successfully as a collection of American media entities, managing fake personas and developing communities of hundreds of thousands, building influence over a period of years and using it to manipulate and exploit existing political and societal divisions.

…

In official statements to Congress, tech executives have said that they found it beyond their capabilities to assess whether Russia created content intended to discourage anyone from voting. We have determined that Russia did create such content. It propagated lies about voting rules and processes, attempted to steer voters toward third-party candidates[,] and created stories that advocated not

Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on There must be reprisals.

Questioning their claims is not questioning their existence.

But refuting their claims to womanhood, allowing questions to even be asked, is tantamount to saying the Emperor is naked. The charade ends, the parade is over and those who praised the elegance and refinement of His Majesty’s raiment are shown to be a frauds and liars The little boy in the story who did not get the memo to bow and scrape and oooh and aaah is not to blame for the monarch’s nudity or embarassment. He only pointed out the truth as he saw it, the facts on the ground. Trans extremists’ claim to womanhood disappears … Read the rest

https://youtu.be/GaB5AVNg14c

H/t Sackbut… Read the rest

Another Elinor Lipman gem:

It rained all weekend—very SAD!
When I can’t golf, I’m boiling mad.
No Caesar salad; no parade.
Plus ICE removed my favorite maid.
Hate-tweeting while I watched TV,
…And wondered “Can I pardon me?”

— Elinor Lipman (@ElinorLipman) December 17, 2018

… Read the rest

People; honestly.

A guy asked this question on Facebook (public post):

I usually run at night so don’t encounter many people. However, when I run during the day (as I did early this morning) I always find walkers to be inconsiderate. Runners coming in the opposite direction will usually move to the left. Walkers rarely do. Pairs of runners change position to free up the pavement. Pairs of walkers don’t – they expect me to get off the pavement.

Why would that be? I don’t think it’s a personality problem. I’m pretty sure that the normal variety of human kindness is present among the individuals I encounter. I am guessing it’s something about the activity, but can’t think what it

UKIP guy is upset.

STOP THIS MADNESS! The Scottish Parliament has banned gingerbread men in case they cause offence, declaring they must be called 'gingerbread people' instead. https://t.co/qiaclO5uPN

— David Kurten (@davidkurten) December 16, 2018

Oh no! Without gingerbread men, who will impregnate the strawberry shortcake?… Read the rest

Still not getting it. Aaron Hughes says life is tough for trans and gender nonconforming students at Oxford, then moves on to the more entertaining part about blaming feminist women for the tough life problem.

In spite of its public commitments, Oxford has failed to protect trans people from harassment and discrimination. Its refusal to act when transphobic speakers are invited to talk in its colleges and faculties is damning. Indeed, its willingness to condone the invitation of people who deny the existence of trans people entirely undermines its commitment to trans inclusivity.

Notice the instant and unargued jump from “harassment and discrimination” to “transphobic speakers invited to talk in its colleges and faculties.” That’s a massive jump. We … Read the rest

The state of academic “gender” studies these days.

Very much looking forward to a lovely lazy Xmas break and then to cracking on with my article about why ‘sex’ (as in ‘biological’ not desire) is no longer applicable to contemporary feminist theory and activism.

— Sally Hines (@sally_hines) December 15, 2018

… Read the rest

How about a little nostalgia trip back to 2002 courtesy of the NY Times:

Within weeks of the death of John J. Gotti and the indictment of his eldest brother, Peter, the new reputed chief of the Gambino crime family, federal prosecutors in Manhattan yesterday announced charges against 14 more people who they said were Gambino family members or associates.

The crimes listed in the indictments seemed familiar — murder, loan-sharking, extortion, robbery and bookmaking — and they served as a reminder, federal officials said, that the mob is not dead in the city, only trying to reshape itself in the face of constant pressure from law enforcement.

”Folks who think that organized crime is a thing of the past