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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Saturday
Mar092024

The Conversation -- March 9, 2024

When I took office..., I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas. That's where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped. The cartels put her on a mattress in a shoebox of a room, and they sent men through that door over and over again for hours and hours on end. We wouldn't be ok with this happening in a third world country. This is the United States of America, and it is past time, in my opinion, that we start acting like it. President Biden's border policies are a disgrace. -- Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), rebuttal to the SOTU speech ~~~

~~~ ** Rapes that Occurred 20 Years Ago (during the Bush II Administration) are Biden's Fault. Rebecca Picciotto of CNBC: "In her Thursday rebuttal to [President] Biden's State of the Union, Britt referenced a visit to the Del Rio sector of the Texas border where she had a seemingly private conversation with someone who had survived sex trafficking by groups in the U.S.... The woman in question was later found out to be Karla Jacinto Romero, an activist who has publicly testified about her experience with sex trafficking, which took place from 2004 to 2008 in Guadalajara and other Mexican cities. Britt seemingly attempted to present the anecdote as a damning example of Biden's border management.... But Jacinto Romero did not experience sex trafficking in the U.S. as a result of Biden's border policy -- because he was not president from 2004 to 2008 and because she was sex trafficked in Mexico. Britt visited the Del Rio area in January 2023 on a joint trip with Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss. During that trip, Jacinto Romero appeared at a press conference with Britt, Blackburn and Hyde-Smith where she publicly relayed her grueling sex-trafficking story. Jacinto Romero is an advocate for sex-trafficking victims and has repeatedly shared her story in testimony to U.S. Congress, the Mexican House of Representatives and the Vatican.... Journalist Jonathan Katz first pieced together Britt's presentation of Jacinto Romero's experience in a TikTok video on Friday." Thank to laura h. for the link to Katz's TikTok video. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is the kind of emotional manipulation and truth-twisting that really pisses me off. In fairness to Britt, perhaps it's the best a powerless housewife, bound to the kitchen, can do.

~~~~~~~~~~

No Way to Run a Country. Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate gave final approval on Friday to a $460 billion spending bill to fund about half the federal government through the fall, sending the legislation to President Biden's desk with just hours to spare to avert a partial shutdown. The lopsided 75-to-22 vote cemented a resolution to at least part of a spending stalemate that consumed Congress for months and has repeatedly pushed the government to the edge of shutdown. Funding had been set to lapse at midnight, but the White House said that the executive branch was halting shutdown preparations and that Mr. Biden would sign the bill on Saturday. Top lawmakers were still negotiating spending bills for the other half of the government over the same period, including for the Pentagon, which Congress must pass by March 22 to avert a shutdown. Several thorny issues, including funding for the Department of Homeland Security, have yet to be resolved."

Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) laid into Republicans for their 'political stunts' at Thursday night's State of the Union address, calling them 'a complete embarrassment!' During his weekly press briefing on Friday, Jeffries brought visual aids to illustrate his point that 'Extreme MAGA Republicans' had no 'decorum.' Two enlarged photos were set up on easels beside Jeffries; one of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wearing a red MAGA hat sporting the number '45' [MB: House rules forbit wearing hats in the chamber] and shouting while the president spoke, and the other of disgraced Rep. George Santos (D-NY) sitting next to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) before he was asked to give up his spot so that 'current members would have a seat.'"

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Katie Britt's Republican response to Joe Biden's State of the Union address drew responses ranging from the baffled to the satirical to the appalled, even among fellow right-wingers.... 'It's one of our biggest disasters ever,' [an] unnamed Republican strategist told the Daily Beast.... Britt's speech, delivered with overt theatricality, oscillating in tone between the wholesome and the wholly horrific, did not land well even in her own party." Oh, read on for some takes on Britt's kitchen-table performance. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: BUT the whole Katie Kaper was a great ploy to get the female vote. First, you nominate a mob-boss type who admits to and laughs about sexually assaulting women and who has been found liable for sexual assault/rape. Then, you send out an attractive younger woman to use her scary voices to remind Americans just how terrifying rape is and how mob bosses traffic young women as unpaid prostitutes and subject them to rape many times a day. See also commentary is yesterday's Comments about Breathless Alabama Housewife Katie Britt. ~~~

~~~ Mr. Potato Head Liked It! Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post: "Asked if he had concerns with the setting of Britt's speech ― she delivered it in her home kitchen in Alabama, which some on the left and right found in poor taste ― [fellow Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy] Tuberville said he didn't, because 'she was picked as a housewife, not just a senator.'" MB: I'm wondering why, if Katie is such a great example of a housewife, she wasn't doing anything useful in the kitchen. As I pointed out in yesterday's thread, she could have been slicing up Mr. Potato Head. Or at the very least least, she could have got her husband a beer out of the fridge & popped the top. Akhilleus speculated yesterday that Britt might be barefoot and pregnant, but I don't think those are excuses for a housewife's shirking KP duty.

Benjamin Weiser & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump on Friday posted a nearly $92 million bond in a defamation case he recently lost to the writer E. Jean Carroll, a move that will allow him to appeal the verdict without having to pay Ms. Carroll. A federal jury awarded Ms. Carroll $83.3 million in January, and Mr. Trump recently asked that the judgment be paused. The judge presiding over the case, Lewis A. Kaplan, denied Mr. Trump's request for a preliminary reprieve, putting pressure on Mr. Trump to either come up with the money himself or secure a bond from an outside company. With a Monday deadline looming, Mr. Trump secured the $91.6 million bond, which is higher than the $83.3 million judgment because the former president is also responsible for interest" At 11:30 am ET, this is a developing story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kara Scannell of CNN: "Insurance company Chubb underwrote the bond for Trump, which the former president signed on Tuesday. Under the terms of the bond, Chubb will only secure the appeal of the $83.3 million judgment, not any future appeals." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Julia Mueller of the Hill: "President Biden is not ruling out debating former President Trump, as the pair prepare for a likely head-to-head match-up in November's presidential election. 'It depends on his behavior,' Biden said when asked Friday whether he'd commit to a debate with the former president. Trump, who skipped every Republican presidential primary debate held this cycle, even as the race winnowed to just two top GOP contenders, renewed calls this week for Biden to debate him ahead of Election Day." MB: If you stop throwing catsup at the wall, Donnie, we might let you sit at the grownups' table next time.

Jones Hayden of Politico: "Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán traveled to Florida on Friday to visit Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, in a meeting blasted by U.S. President Joe Biden.... The meeting continued Trump's embrace of autocratic leaders pushing back against democratic traditions.... Biden said of Trump: 'You know who he's meeting with today down in Mar-a-Lago? Orbán of Hungary, who's stated flatly that he doesn't thinks democracy works, he's looking for dictatorship.... I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it,' Biden added, during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Friday.... Trump praised Orbán in a video post. 'There's nobody that's better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. He's fantastic,' Trump said. 'He's a noncontroversial figure because he said "This is the way it's gonna be," and that's the end of it. He's the boss.'"

Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "The Republican National Committee formally elected Trump's choices of Michael Whatley and Lara Trump -- the former president's daughter-in-law, who was accompanied at the meeting by her husband, Eric -- as its two highest-ranking officers at a meeting here Friday. The RNC's operations will be run by a top adviser to Trump's campaign, Chris LaCivita."

Alayna Treene, et al., of CNN: "Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, stepped down from her role Friday as Donald Trump looks to reshape the party now that he is its presumptive presidential nominee." MB: I wonder if Ronna Romney McDaniel will get her whole name back now -- not that she'll be invited to the Romney family picnic anytime soon. (Also linked yesterday.)


Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration won a major legal victory Friday in its effort to reduce illegal immigration at the southern border, when a federal judge in Texas ruled the government may continue a program that accepts 360,000 migrants a year from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, who has ruled against other Biden administration immigration policies, said Republican opponents of the program, known as parole, for those countries failed to prove that their states were being harmed by it. The parole expansion is a key part of President Biden's border policy...."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al.

CNN's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The EU hopes to launch a new maritime corridor this weekend to bring much needed aid to Gaza.... Israel welcomed the move but has been criticized for not allowing in enough aid. A road being built by the Israeli military splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows. It's part of a security plan to control the territory for months and possibly years to come, Israeli officials have said.... At least five people were killed Friday when airdropped aid packages fell on them at a camp west of Gaza City, a journalist there said."

Hot Mic Moment. Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Thursday that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel were headed toward a 'come-to-Jesus meeting' over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to an audio clip of the president's remarks posted on social media on Friday.... The president's ... comments were captured on a hot microphone during what Mr. Biden thought was a private exchange with Senator Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado, after the State of the Union address. According to a recording of the conversation, Mr. Bennet encouraged the president to 'keep pushing' on the issue of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.... 'I told him, "Bibi" -- don't repeat this -- I said, "You and I are going to = have a come-to-Jesus meeting,"' Mr. Biden said.... Mr. Biden was informed by an aide that his microphone was still on and that the conversation was being recorded. 'I'm on a hot mic here?' Mr. Biden said. 'Good. That's good.'"

Comments Off

Reader Comments (12)

Tried to find out this AM what posting a 90 million dollar bond is likely to cost the Pretender (or more likely, his supporters), but not sure I found the answer.

It seems bail bond ( I wish this one were) fees vary state to state; they run from 10 percent upwards to a high of 20 in Utah. Don't know if the Pretender wrote a check for the fee or just pledged assets as collateral, but it seems he's out 8-10 million.

What I would hope is that his appeal will fail and when he pays the judgement, he will be out the complete judgment, the cost of his appeal and the bond fee, whatever that is.

Another words, another great business deal arranged by the master of the art.

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@Ken Winkes: My guess is that the fee for carrying a $92-million-dollar bond is negotiated and depends upon a number of factors. For instance, I see where Chubb placed a limitation on the length of the surety: for only one appeal. It would be kinda fun to see the contract.

March 9, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Jonathan Katz, on tic tok, provides background on the horrific story Katie Britt told about the victim of sex-trafficking. a horrific story of sex-trafficking that happened 20 years ago

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered Commenterlaura hunter

It doesn’t much matter what a contract says. If it’s signed (in that giant, looping “Look at me, Ma, I can write” childish scrawl) by Donald J. Trump, it’s worthless. He won’t honor that contract. He doesn’t honor any contracts. He HAS no honor. He didn’t honor his contract-oath with US citizens, what makes anyone think he’s gonna honor a contract with some stupid insurance company? They sign a contract with that crooked con man they deserve what they (don’t) get.

No. Contracts, like oaths, promises, assurances, honesty, truth, ethical behavior, even common human decency mean nothing to the Orange Monster. They’re just words that bind the suckers. He’s SMART. He doesn’t pay taxes, honor the will of American voters, or leave women alone who would rather not be groped, assaulted, or raped. He can steal top secret documents and show them off to anyone he pleases. He can threaten foreign leaders to help him win an election.. He can tell a foreign dictator invade America’s allies if they piss him off. He can do whatever he wants. He’s got an Article II that sez so, even if he’s never actually read it.

So a contract with some insurance company stupid enough to pay his bills doesn’t mean shit to him.

He’s Donald J. Trump! Honor means nothing to him. It never has.

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Akhilleus,

So you're saying the Chubbs are chumps...

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Did Donald choose Chubbs because he's so chubby?

Chubbs is what I used for bait down on the farm to snag crawfish,
but I think they were chubs, not chubbs.

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

It appears that Chubbs and Donald have a lot in common. Both have
connections to Russia, Chubbs financially, and Donald worships
Putin. Is there an overlap there?
Chubbs insures infrastructure in Russia that is bankrolling Putin's war
on Ukraine.
https://new.deepleftfield.info/insurance-company-guaranteeing-trumps-
91-million-bond-appears-to-have-ties-to-the-kremlin/

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

Donald is always talking about the disclaimer that he adds to his contracts that says he is probably lying. Therefore is it truly lying if you already warned the other party that you are a liar?

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

I assume that Chubb secured its bond with unencumbered Trump properties. Even though Trump almost certainly lied about the value and/or status of the properties he offered as security, Chubb would have obtained title searches that would have revealed any liens against the properties, so they are probably in the clear. Nonetheless, if Trump burned Chubb and the title companies, it would take a while for the insurers to get their money back from him.

March 9, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Presume the cross Katie so prominently displayed absolved her from all sin...or since she's a fundie, she might believe that since we're all sinners in the eyes of God anyway, what the hell...

Would be entertaining to discuss lying with a MAGA who proclaims Christianity of any stripe.

The contortions would be epic.

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

As the monetary claims against Trump continue to pile up. is anyone else wondering how hard Mrs "I really don't care" is going through the fine print in that pre-nup agreement?

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterBobby Lee

Listening to Britt's cartel story I couldn't help but think how she would be at the front line of people trying to keep that woman from being allowed to stay in this country even after hearing her heartbreaking story.

March 9, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS
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