On the making of a #simulacrum who then becomes #President: "While on location, he [#Trump] could barely put a sentence together regarding how a task would work. Listen now, and he speaks directly to what needs to happen while the camera conveniently cuts away to the contestants, who are listening and nodding. He sounds articulate and concise through some editing sleight of hand."
#Taiwan's military mobilised forces & said it was confident it could protect the island, after #China started 2 days of #punishment drills around Taiwan in what it said was a response to "separatist acts".
The exercises in #TaiwanStrait & around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands…,come 3 days after #Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan's new #president, a man Beijing detests as a #separatist.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018 pledging to cut down on gang violence, but killings last month reached the same historic highs as when he first started his presidency. With his tenure set to end and elections set for June 2, cartels have stepped up their bloody turf wars against one another, and residents are caught in the crossfire. Read more from the Associated Press.
"As of today, the situation in Kharkiv Oblast is generally under control, our soldiers are inflicting significant losses" on Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump have agreed to debate in two televised broadcasts. These events are usually organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, but the Biden and Trump teams directly negotiated the terms of the showdowns. The Biden campaign says the Commission “is out of step with changes in the structure of our elections and the interests of voters.” But there’s some strategic thinking involved in the move, too. Yahoo! News has more about the changes and why they’re important.
At 5 a.m. #Russian forces tried to break through #Ukraine defensive line in #Kharkiv region using armored vehicles, the first attempt to invade this area in 2 years.
#Zelenskyy fired the head of personal security, Serhiy Rud, yesterday, following reports of an attempted assassination of the the #President by men in his inner circle acting under directions from the #fsb There was no reason stated publicly for his removal.
Today is the anniversary of the Kent State shootings, or more appropriately the "May 4th Massacre". In the wake of recent events and our consideration of gun control laws I think this day deserves a great deal of reflection. Four Americans were murdered, and nine more wounded, by our own national guard simply for participating in an anti-war demonstration. If we want to consider limiting access to guns on american soil lets start with our own national guard and police, not our citizens. The last thing I want to see is an unarmed populace needing to deal with a well-armed police and military force. Lets focus on securing the rights of the citizen, not giving them up
Counterpoint; maybe #police would never have been able to justify being so heavily armed in the first place, if it wasn't EASIER to get a #Gun in the #USA than to get a #Degree, a #Home, or a #Job.
The "defence against tyranny" #rhetoric LOST ANY and ALL water it may have held once the #NRA got in bed with the most tyrannical #President elected to date.
Presidential immunity and the ‘Dark Age Ahead’
By Kurt Cobb, originally published by Resource Insights April 28, 2024
"...For those at the highest reaches of commerce, (corporatized) science, and major professions—as well as for politicians elected from hopelessly gerrymandered districts—accountability & transparency has all but disappeared. In this environment, the ethics-challenged Supreme Court is inviting presidents, past, current & future, to join a club that members of the court are already in, an elite club of leaders in American society who are almost entirely unaccountable. If the Supreme Court can be in the club, why shouldn’t the president? The fact that some members of the court cannot see that this is what is happening is a testament to how accustomed those members have become to being unaccountable. These self-styled philosopher-kings believe it was ever thus ordained to be this way..."
Zelensky in Kharkiv: Situation 'difficult' but 'under control,' Russia suffers losses (kyivindependent.com)
"As of today, the situation in Kharkiv Oblast is generally under control, our soldiers are inflicting significant losses" on Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.