El Máster Edwin

Arsenic was found to be widespread in the taxidermy collection, creating a raging debate about whether the more than 150 animals should be destroyed. An exhibit at the Delbridge Museum of Natural History in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 2012. The fate of the mounted lion, tiger, polar bear and gorilla that have long greeted visitors entering South Dakota’s largest zoo is grim after arsenic was found to be widespread in the taxidermy collection, creating a raging debate about whether the more than 150 animals should be destroyed. Some locals who grew up around the menagerie, which used to fill a hardware store, are fighting the mayor and zoo officials to keep the collection, marshaling activism online and in the Sioux Falls City Council. They are buoyed by experts who say the arsenic risk is overblown, the mounts nothing short of art. “They’re not stuffed animals. These were sculptures,” said John Janelli, a former president of the National Taxidermists Association, likening destroying them to scraping off the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The arsenic, he adds, is a heavy metal, not something that wafts through the air. “Just don’t lick the taxidermy,” says Fran Ritchie, the chair of the conservation committee of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. “You’ll be fine.” Most institutions with older collections take safety protocols, like using special vacuums and wearing personal protective equipment while cleaning the taxidermy, said Gretchen Anderson, a conservator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. But for Sioux Falls, there is “there is no acceptable level of risk when you are dealing with a known carcinogen,” City Attorney Dave Pfeifle told reporters last week. The mayor and zoo officials believe reason and safety are on their side. But even if they can convince the town to get rid of the animals, they’ll have to navigate a web of federal and state laws to do so. The Endangered Species Act protects animals even in death, so the collection can’t be sold. Under federal law, they could be given to another museum. But state law sti[CENSORED]tes that exhibits like this must remain within the state. It wasn’t this messy 80 years ago when a Sioux Falls businessman embarked upon a series of international hunting expeditions chronicled in his eponymous book, “A True Safari Hunter: Henry Brockhouse.” “For walrus, you have to go out and travel the sea. If you see a head poppin’— one or two miles away — wherever it may be, you start shootin,’” one passage reads. He proudly displayed some of his prize kills at his West Sioux Hardware store. But by the time he died in 1978, international laws and the Endangered Species Act were cracking down. There was a growing concern that hunters were pushing some exotic animals to the brink of extinction. When the hardware store closed, Brockhouse’s friend, C.J. Delbridge, snapped up the collection and donated it to the city. The natural history museum that bore Delbridge’s name opened in 1984. An African elephant that was mounted after Brockhouse’s death added to the display. China also donated a mounted giant panda. In recent years the mounted animals showed their age, including some tears, said Great Plains Zoo CEO Becky Dewitz. As it considered what to do with them, her team had them tested. In August, the results came back: 79% of specimens tested positive for detectable levels of arsenic, the city said. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, showed that the contaminated mounts included a jungle cat and monitor lizard. With protective gear, taxidermy can be moved safely despite arsenic, said Jennifer Menken, the public collections manager at the Bell Museum of Natural History. Her institution moved 10 historic taxidermy dioramas to its new space at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus about five years ago. Other steps can be taken to keep the public safe, she said, including encasing taxidermy in glass. That protects them against temperature, humidity and, of course, visitors licking them. But in Sioux Falls, cost was a barrier, said Dewitz. So now the animals are hidden behind barricades as the city considers its options. Some items are earmarked for the National Wildlife Property Repository near Denver, which stores a massive collection of seized wildlife items, including elephant tusks and crocodile skin purses. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates it, won’t take any with arsenic, said spokeswoman Christina Meister. Dewitz said she’s had a hard time finding other takers, and Mayor Paul TenHaken said he fears the city could still face liability even if it gives them away. “I know that’s a po[CENSORED]r narrative to say that we would just take artifacts like this and treat it like a Papa John’s pizza box,” the mayor said, insisting that is not the case. He was critical of what he described as “misinformation.” Critics claim that the city and the zoo found the arsenic on purpose, as part of a ploy to replace the space with a butterfly garden and aquarium. Brockhouse’s granddaughter, Barbara Philips, suspects as much. “I am sick to my stomach,” she said. She wants the specimens to be repaired, and kept behind glass as her grandfather did. The 1981 donation agreement, which the AP obtained through a records request, said the mounts “shall be behind a partition of glass or other suitable material.” The mayor is fed up with the whole thing, and has chastised City Council members who opposed the closure. “There’s a million things I’d rather be working on right now than this,” the mayor said. A Facebook group marshaling fans of the exhibit has more than 1,400 followers. Group creator Jason Haack sells and displays a collection of “unique weird odd items” at his family-run Abby Normal’s Museum of the Strange south of Sioux Falls. He said three business area owners offered $170,000 to fight the closure. His attorney thinks it will be an uphill battle. “What they’re doing could cause a ripple effect throughout the whole world of natural history museums, and people now questioning the safety of them,” Haack lamented. The ultimate decision rests with the City Council, which is scheduled to hear a report and then vote at a pair of September meetings. Link: Click

The “Century for the next century” is here, complete with a 3.5-litre V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain Up until its first properly luxurious car landed in 1967, Toyota says “the Japanese chauffeur car market was dominated by Western luxury brands". And though the 2018 Century is a masterpiece, Rolls-Royce now has the Cullinan, Bentley has the Bentayga and BMW has the X7. Welcome then - somewhat inevitably - to the all-new Toyota Century SUV. Designed to be driven by chauffeurs and solely for the Japanese market, we’re told that this is the “Century for the next century". Nice. It’ll be sold alongside the saloon but features an all-new construction and powertrain. There's imposing bodywork featuring, in Toyota's words, ‘stately grandeur’ design language, quad set-back lights and an ‘exquisitely engraved phoenix emblem’. Beneath that resides a 3.5-litre V6 and an electric motor at each end for a plug-in hybrid powertrain that sends 406bhp to all four wheels through an e-CVT gearbox. The all-electric range is 43 miles on a single charge. There’s four-wheel steering to tighten the turning circle and then stabilise things at speed, plus a ‘Rear Comfort’ drive mode that smoothes out acceleration and braking to allow those in the back a comfortable nap or non-shakey Zoom meeting. Inside there are only four seats and we’re told that the space was designed to be ‘human-centred’ with an “unrivalled spirit of omotenashi, or hospitality". The rear doors open to a wide 75 degree angle to allow easy access and in the back you get two fully reclining seats that are heated and cooled, although it looks as though leather is your only trim option. Shame, because the Century saloon’s wool seats are delightful. You do get lots of nice classic Century touches though, including reading lights, a shoehorn, retractable tables, optional seat doilies and an 11.6-inch screen mounted on the back of the front seats, which in turn is controlled by a 5.5-inch removable touch display housed in the centre console. Behind those all-important rear seat passengers is a 340-litre boot (big enough for three golf bags, apparently) that’s separated from the cabin by a sheet of noise-reducing laminated glass to provide maximum refinement, while the onboard audio system is made up of 18 speakers and was apparently tuned by “the finely honed auditory sensibilities and exemplary techniques of a musical instrument manufacturing master". Up front it’s all about supporting professional drivers, so there’s an array of proper buttons (surely that’s an admission that they’re just better?) plus a digital rear-view mirror and a 12.3-inch digital dial display. Toyota claims a hefty 2,570kg weight, and prices will start from an equally hefty 25,000,000 Japanese yen (around £135,000). Looks like there will be plenty of exterior colour options, and Toyota says that sales will take place through ‘Century Meisters’ – essentially specially trained salespeople and engineers who work at select Toyota dealerships and know the cars and customers inside-out. So, fancy a new-age Century SUV over the old-school saloon? Best get in quick, Toyota only plans to sell 30 cars per month in its home market. Link: Click

Judge Scott McAfee also said he will ask prosecutors to estimate how long a joint trial for all 19 defendants in the Georgia election interference case would take and how many witnesses they might call. Former Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell are seeking to sever their cases from their co-defendants. A Georgia judge has scheduled a hearing Wednesday to consider motions from former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro’s to sever their cases after they pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges in the battleground state’s election interference case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he plans to ask prosecutors at the hearing for a “good-faith estimate of the time reasonably anticipated to present the State’s case during a joint trial of all 19 co-defendants, and alternatively any divisions thereof, including the number of witnesses likely to be called and the number and size of exhibits likely to be introduced.” The sprawling 41-count indictment in the case charged former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, including Powell and Chesebro, with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged all 19 defendants participated in schemes designed to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia and unlawfully name Trump the winner of the election. All defendants have pleaded not guilty and waived their arraignments as of Tuesday. Powell, who was part of Trump’s legal team that boosted his claims of widespread election fraud after his loss to Biden, is charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to commit computer theft, trespass and invasion of privacy and conspiracy to defraud the state. The computer theft charge is related to an effort to improperly access voting machines in rural Coffee County, prosecutors allege. Powell filed a motion last month to sever her case from the other co-defendants, saying she “has no substantive connection with any other defendant regarding the charges in the Indictment.” “Contrary to widely publicized false statements in the media, Sidney Powell did not represent President Trump or the Trump campaign. She had no engagement agreement with either,” Powell’s defense attorney Brian Rafferty said in a filing last month. “It cannot be disputed that Ms. Powell went her own way following the election, and she never reached an agreement on a course of action with any indicted or unindicted coconspirator — and certainly not any illegal course of action. She was not part of any group ‘associated in fact’, or an ‘ongoing organization’ that functioned as a ‘continuing unit’, for any purpose.” Rafferty denied Powell’s involvement in the Coffee County elections data breach, saying there was no contract to conduct forensic imaging of the systems and that she did not organize the trip to Coffee County. “Ms. Powell can receive a fair trial only if she is tried alone. The prejudice that would inure to her from a lengthy trial with any of those she was not involved and about the vast number of events she had no knowledge of or connection with would deny her Due Process,” Rafferty said in a filing last month, explaining that her trial would last three days at most and would result in acquittal. “The simple fact that Ms. Powell would be forced to sit in a courtroom for weeks or months with co-defendants will cause tremendous prejudice to Ms. Powell.” Chesebro, a former Trump campaign attorney who helped craft the fringe legal theory behind the so-called “fake electors” scheme to overturn the 2020 election, pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges in the case last week. Chesebro has argued that he was merely sharing legal advice and did not commit any unlawful actions. He filed motions last month calling for a speedy trial, which McAfee has approved and scheduled for Oct. 23. Chesebro last week also asked the judge to sever his case from the other co-defendants. His attorneys said he doesn’t want to be tried with Powell because the allegations levied against him are completely unrelated to Powell’s charges. “Entirely separate, and completely unrelated from the allegations levied against Mr. Chesebro, the allegations related to Ms. Powell center around her alleged belief, and alleged work in furtherance of that belief, that voting machines were erroneously tabulating votes,” the attorneys said in a filing last week. Chesebro’s attorneys said he has never directly communicated with Powell nor been to Coffee County, where much of her alleged involvement was centered. They argued that trying their client with Powell would be potentially prejudicial. “In order to achieve a fair determination of the guilt or innocence of Mr. Chesebro, he must be severed from the trial," the filing said. "The fact that Mr. Chesebro is implicated with Ms. Powell will inextricably link them together and has the potential to cause a tremendous prejudice." Wednesday’s hearing also comes a day after attorneys for Chesebro asked McAfee to dismiss the RICO indictment, citing the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. In the Tuesday filing, Chesebro’s attorneys said that most of the conduct he’s charged with occurred after the 2020 election’s “safe harbor” date for states to resolve disputes and certify their results, and thus would be in violation of federal law, not Georgia law. “Under the Supremacy Clause, the State cannot prosecute or otherwise regulate conduct that was entirely within the ambit of federal authority. Therefore, the State has no power to prosecute any post-December 8th conduct,” they wrote. They noted a Dec. 6, 2020, memo that Chesebro authored detailing the fake electors scheme in the filing, arguing that even if it was improper for Chesebro to draft the memo, “this memo in no way touched or concerned Georgia or its rules, processes, or procedures it had implemented as a result of its congressional delegation via the [Electoral Count Act].” “Therefore, the charges against Mr. Chesebro are wholly invalid as drafted in the indictment and should be struck accordingly,” they wrote. Link: Click

Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was described the prosecutors as the riot's "primary organiser" The Proud Boys' former leader Enrique Tarrio has been jailed for 22 years for orchestrating the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. It is the longest sentence handed down so far over the attack, which happened as lawmakers were certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Tarrio, 39, was not in Washington during the riot, but helped organise the far-right group's involvement. As he was led from court, he flashed the two-fingered peace or victory sign. The Department of Justice's sprawling investigation into the riot has so far seen more than 1,100 people arrested and charged. The rioters turned out in support of then-president Donald Trump, who continues to deny that he lost the 2020 election. He has promised to pardon most or all of the rioters if he is re-elected president in 2024. Tarrio was convicted in May of seditious conspiracy, a rarely used charge of planning to overthrow the government, and multiple other counts. He has been in jail since his arrest last year. In their sentencing recommendation, prosecutors described Tarrio as a "naturally charismatic leader" and "a savvy propagandist" who was the "primary organiser" of the conspiracy he and his co-defendants were convicted of. They also said he condoned and promoted violence from others. "He was a general rather than a soldier," prosecutors wrote. They argued he helped rally members of the far-right group to come to Washington DC and, while he was not in the city at the time, prosecutors said he monitored their movements and encouraged them as the attack unfolded. As Trump supporters laid siege to the congressional complex, Tarrio posted online that he was "enjoying the show". "Do what must be done," he wrote, urging on the rioters. US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump nominee who presided over the sentencing hearing, concluded that Tarrio began planning an attack on the Capitol in December 2020 and instituted a rigid command structure. "Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organised, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal," Judge Kelly said. "I don't have any indication that he is remorseful for the actual things that he was convicted of." Key moments from inside court Where do prison terms leave the Proud Boys? However, Judge Kelly noted that Tarrio had on many previous occasions expressed no remorse for his actions. Tarrio was also found guilty in May of obstruction and conspiracy charges, civil disorder and destruction of government property. Prosecutors had called his actions "a calculated act of terrorism", meriting a sentence of 33 years in prison. The defence wanted no more than 15 years. Tarrio stood silently while the judge handed down the penalty. As he was led from court, Tarrio waved to his family in the public gallery and raised the two-fingered salute. His lawyers said he plans to appeal. The Capitol rioters who are sorry, not sorry Before he learned his fate on Tuesday, an emotional Tarrio apologised to police and residents of Washington DC for his role in the riot. "I am extremely ashamed and disappointed that they were caused grief and suffering," he said. "I will have to live with that shame for the rest of my life." Tarrio, who wore an orange jail uniform, added: "I was my own worst enemy. My hubris convinced me that I was a victim and targeted unfairly." Acknowledging that Mr Trump had lost the November 2020 presidential election, Tarrio said: "I am not a political zealot. I didn't think it was even possible to change the results of the election. "Please show me mercy," Tarrio asked the judge. "I ask you that you not take my 40s from me." Tarrio was national chairman of the Proud Boys. Founded in New York City in 2016, members of the far-right group have described themselves as an all-male drinking club. They regarded themselves as Mr Trump's foot-soldiers and have often been involved in street clashes with far-left anti-fascist activists. Tarrio's lawyer argued in court on Tuesday that his client was a "keyboard ninja" and "misguided patriot" who tended to "talk trash", but had no intention of overthrowing the government. The siege of the US Capitol stunned the world Tuesday's was the last in a series of sentencing hearings for the ringleaders of the Capitol riot. Until now, the longest sentences were the 18-year terms handed down last week to another Proud Boy, Ethan Nordean, and in May to Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia. Three other Proud Boys received prison sentences last week for their roles in the riot. Former US Marines Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl received 10 and 15 years respectively. Joe Biggs, a US Army veteran, got 17 years. The charges against the rioters have varied - from relatively minor crimes like entering a restricted area, to destruction of government property, assault and conspiracy. Around 200 have pleaded guilty to felony charges. The investigation is ongoing and the FBI is still trying to locate 14 rioters captured on video assaulting police officers or members of the media. Link: Click

You are just beginning, but I see you are very enthusiastic, I will give you PRO!

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Yes @tomatto??

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Nick movie: Batman Begins Time: May 31, 2005 Netflix / Amazon / HBO: HBO Duration of the movie: 140 M Trailer:

New concept car shines a path for Vauxhall and Opel's shiny new electric age Not a very imaginative name, but a striking car. This is Opel Experimental, a concept that's supposed to take Vauxhall-Opel's design into the electric age. It appeared today at the Munich motor show. The Experimental shows how they can take advantage of the long wheelbase and short chin that a pure-electric platform allows. Head of design Mark Adams points to the newly shaped front visor, home to the sensors for assisted driving. A lit line down the bonnet's centre intersects with another horizontal one across the nose – he calls it the compass – and the same illuminated cross appears at the pert rear end. The flat-top wheel-arches "push the car onto the road", quoth Adams. Air outlets behind the front wheels point to careful aero work, as do wheels with moving air flaps. He also promises the interior will be "de-materialised", meaning airy and shorn of bulky structures, because the dash will use projected displays instead of hardware screens. However, the Experimental concept's cabin is literally dematerialised: it has blacked-out windows and no furniture. No doubt it'll be lovely when it's finished. Designers come and go, but if Adams sees this into production it'll be the third full generation of Vauxhall-Opels he's had charge of. So is it a preview of a specific model – a new Manta maybe? Opel won't be drawn. CEO Florian Huettl says only that "it's a guiding light for Opel", and that you'll see elements of the design on "a generation" of future Opels and Vauxhalls. They start to arrive in 2025. Opel-Vauxhall is of course part of the sprawling Stellantis conglomerate (see also Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Alfa). And it uses the Group's upcoming medium-sized EV platform capable of about 430 miles WLTP range and ultra-fast recharging via 800V internal components. The concept is two-motor AWD. Huettl says the hotted-up GSe line won't die with the electric-car takeover. "We will continue to do sporty, dynamic, luxury versions." But he specifically rules out madcap stuff like the old OPC – which was VXR in the UK. There will be no new Vauxhall or Opel launched after 2025 with an engine option – they'll all be pure EV. But he emphasises that current combustion cars will continue after that date. Huettl needs to make electric cars cheaper if there are no petrol ones. For the all-electric Corsa replacement, due in 2027, that means a car below £22k in today's money. "That means we can't over-size the car or over-spec it. We have to use the manufacturing economies of the Group. We must use cheap battery chemistry, and accept that 250 miles range is enough. "We're confident we can get there." If it looks even a bit like the the Experimental, d'you fancy its chances? Comments below. Link: Click

In 2020, Trump depicted Biden as a feeble old man. Now, facing criminal charges and eyeing a rematch, he's recasting Biden as a nefarious mastermind mani[CENSORED]ting the justice system. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Tuesday. WASHINGTON — In 2020, the moniker was “Sleepy Joe.” Now, it has been revised to “Crooked Joe.” During their first showdown, Donald Trump disparaged Joe Biden as “a sleepy guy in the basement of a house” who was barely aware of his surroundings. Now, facing four criminal indictments and gearing up for a 2024 rematch, the former president is changing course to depict his successor as a nefarious mastermind who is pulling the strings of a complex justice system without leaving any fingerprints. In a social media post Tuesday, Trump wrote: “These Indictments and lawsuits are all part of my political opponents campaign plan. It is Election Interference, and they are going to use the DOJ/FBI to help them, which is illegal. Crooked Joe pushed this litigation hard to get it done. This is a new low in Presidential Politics.” Trump has deployed the term “Crooked Joe” in a wave of recent posts and interviews, making repeated and baseless claims that Biden is at the helm of a conspiracy to target him using law enforcement. But even as he attempts an etch-a-sketch to redraw his portrait of Biden, Trump sometimes slips back into old habits by portraying the man who defeated him as a confused and feeble old fellow who may not even make it to 2024. “Crooked Joe Biden is so bad. He’s the worst president in the history of our country. I don’t think he’s going to make it to the gate, but you never know,” Trump told right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson in an interview released last week. “I think he’s worse mentally than he is physically. And physically, he’s not exactly a triathlete or any kind of an athlete. You look at him, he can’t walk to the helicopter. He walks — he can’t lift his feet out of the grass.” Trump mocked Biden's health in his recent interview with Tucker Carlson. But with the "Crooked Joe" persona, Trump routinely implies that a man he has suggested is not mentally fit has secretly been mani[CENSORED]ting the Justice Department — as well as state prosecutors he has no authority over, and even secretive grand juries who were legally required to approve the indictments — while covering his tracks so well that House Republican investigators with subpoena power struggle to uncover proof. “I’m confused. Is dementia-riddled Joe Biden also controlling the people in all of these separate grand juries in four different jurisdictions in four states?” quipped former GOP operative-turned-Trump-critic Tim Miller on Bulwark's “The Next Level Podcast.” There is no evidence that Biden is behind Trump’s indictments — two from special counsel Jack Smith, and one each from prosecutors in New York and Georgia who don’t answer to Washington. Yet the claims have been echoed by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and many congressional Republicans. Biden has declined to comment on Trump’s cases, saying the Justice Department operates independently from his White House. He has also stayed silent on criminal charges against his son Hunter Biden, who is the subject of a special counsel investigation. “Donald Trump is running on the same, unpo[CENSORED]r agenda that lost him the election in 2020. No name-calling that he shouts into his MAGA echo chamber changes that fact,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said. “These are the same type of projections we’ve seen before from the person who led one of the most corrupt administrations in history. Donald Trump may come up with a lot of nicknames for President Biden, but we have a better one: winner.” Sleepy and confused, or ruthless and effective? At 80, Biden is already the oldest sitting president in American history. Trump, now 77, was the oldest president to assume office when he took the oath in January 2017. Trump would usurp Biden for the title of oldest president if he is elected and completes another four-year term. From the early days of Biden's general election campaign in the 2020 cycle, the “Sleepy Joe” moniker took off in right-wing media, turning Biden into a punchline with Trump supporters on Republican-friendly political panels and social media. Over the last three years, every Biden slip-up or meandering comment has fed into the party's image of a befuddled old man who is overwhelmed by the job, drawing glee and mockery among the “MAGA” faithful. Now, Trump is trying to turn that image upside down. At times, Biden’s political team has co-opted the updated narrative, blending it with an anti-Biden rallying cry to create a “Dark Brandon” meme that shows a red laser-eyed Biden who is ruthlessly, and successfully, facing down critics to pass his agenda. Of the two contrasting critiques that Republicans are presenting, surveys show independent voters mostly don't buy the claim that Biden is weaponizing law enforcement for political reasons, but they are worried about his age. A Politico/Ipsos survey found that 64% of independents agree that the Justice Department’s decision to indict Trump for election subversion in 2020 “was based on a fair evaluation of the evidence and the law.” (Overall, 59% of American adults said they agree.) And just 40% of independents said they agree with the statement that the Justice Department's indictment of Trump in the 2020 case "was based on trying to gain a political advantage for Joe Biden." (Overall, 44% of U.S. adults said they agree with that viewpoint.) Meanwhile, according to an Associated Press-NORC poll, 77% of U.S. adults say Biden is too old to serve effectively for another term, including 69% of Democrats and 74% of independents. By contrast, 51% of U.S. adults say Trump is too old. A conflicting Republican portrait of Biden The GOP's internal conflict on how to portray Biden — senile and incompetent, or corrupt and merciless — is also on display in the 2024 presidential primary, where a series of long-shot Republican candidates are promoting Trump’s grievances while hoping his front-running candidacy collapses. In the first debate, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy accused the Democratic Party in power of using a “police force to indict its political opponents.” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., inveighed against “the weaponization of the Department of Justice” under Biden. On the contrary, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is running with the claim that Biden is too weak and frail to survive another four-year term and warning that Vice President Kamala Harris would become president if he’s re-elected. “If you vote for Joe Biden you really are counting on a President Harris,” Haley said this year. “Because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely.” Trump, for his part, explained that he’s repurposing his nickname for his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. “He’s a corrupt person. So corrupt that I took the name off Hillary,” the former president told Carlson. “I don’t do two people at one time. I took the Crooked Hillary and I made it, I retired the name. That was a good day for her. I bet she was very happy. And I used it for Joe because it’s Crooked Joe.” Link: Click

Hundreds attended Bilal Kissi's funeral in Saidia on Thursday The Algerian authorities have said a group of tourists who strayed into their waters from Morocco on jet skis were warned before they were shot at. Two men were killed last week after an altercation with the Algerian coastguard. In its first comment on the incident, the Algerian defence ministry said on Sunday that the tourists defied an order to stop "several times". However, a survivor has disputed this - saying they were never cautioned. "I only heard gunshots directly that killed my brother Bilal," Mohamed Kissim told the Reuters news agency. The group had set off on jet skis from the Moroccan resort of Saidia on Tuesday when they were shot. In an earlier interview with French television network BFM, Mr Kissi described how they had got lost as night fell, and realised they had strayed into Algerian territory when they saw coastguard boats approach. "They charged into us," he said - adding that his brother, Bilal, signalled for them to turn back before the coastguard started shooting at them. Mr Kissi also said that they had been able to get out of the firing line because they had run out of fuel. Algeria's defence ministry insisted in Sunday's statement that it had issued an "audible warning" to the group but the suspects had "refused to comply and fled". It referenced "intense activity by drug smuggling gangs and organised crime" at its borders as the reason for firing the warning shots. Morocco and Algeria have a long history of tension, tied to Morocco's claims to the disputed Western Sahara. The border between them was closed in 1994, with Algiers severing ties two years ago. It accused Morocco of hostile acts - an allegation rejected by Rabat. Read more about Western Sahara 'My frustration at the closed Morocco-Algeria border' Algerian officials also confirmed that the body of a man was found after last week's incident, and was taken for an autopsy in the city of Tlemcen, close to the countries' shared border. This is thought to be the second man who was killed in the incident, named in Moroccan media as Abdelali Mechouar - a cousin of the Kissi brothers. His family have yet to receive his remains. The other man who died, Bilal Kissi, was buried on Thursday after his body washed up on Saidia beach. A fourth man, Smail Snabe, was arrested by the Algerian authorities and has now been sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to Morocco's National Human Rights Council (CNDH). The CNDH has demanded he be released and handed over to the Moroccan authorities. The council has also condemned the Algerian coastguard's actions, saying that its failure to help people lost at sea was in "gross violation of international standards and international human rights law", especially given the victims were on an "unclear border line". The Moroccan authorities have already said they would not comment on the incident, calling it a judicial matter. However, the prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, the AFP news agency has reported that the families of Bilal Kissi and Smail Snabe, who are both hold joint-French nationality, intend to launch legal action in France. France's foreign ministry said on Friday it was aware of the death of one of its citizens and the arrest of another French national in Algeria. It said it was in contact with their families and the authorities in both countries. Morocco-Algeria dispute: The basics What is the dispute about? The two countries have border disputes which date back to the era of French colonisation - and even fought a war in 1963. And since then? Relations have never recovered. Algeria backs the Polisario Front, which is fighting for Western Sahara's independence from Morocco. What are the effects? The long border through the Sahara Desert remains tightly closed - there is no direct legal trade between the two neighbours. Link: Click

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Happy Birthday Seuong!!

Nick movie: Get Out Time: January 23, 2017 Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 104 M Trailer:

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Oh, and it starts at less than $30k as promised. And seats up to six people... The Fisker PEAR is now ready to reserve. We knew from mutterings last year that the planned ‘agile urban EV’ would target a suspiciously affordable price point of $29,900 (£23,572). But that’s not the coolest thing. What the first-look pictures didn't let on is that the boot of the PEAR disappears. Apparently, this urban-centric crossover – not quite a true SUV nor a larger city supermini – doesn’t want you to have the faff of opening the tailgate out in tight spots (or smashing your head on the way back down). So? The aptly-named ‘Houdini trunk’ rolls down and disappears somewhere under the vehicle. Yeah, yeah... it does take a beat or two longer than it would to operate manually, but stay in the moment. There’s also a fancy front boot: Fisker calls a ‘froot’… on the PEAR! Oh, our giddy aunt. Gimmicks or genius features aside, the car looks pretty conventional from the outside. At least, judging the limited imagery. Fisker tells us it uses a new light steel body structure, minimising the number of parts by 35 per cent. Inside, the optional 17in rotating screen couples with “Lounge Mode” where the seats fold flat to create additional space. Camping trip movie night, anyone? Use of recycled and bio-based materials aplenty pads out the brand’s sustainability smarts (Fisker has the noble goal of making the PEAR carbon-neutral by 2027). Bearing in mind that the brand’s hit the bullseye for that sub-$30k price tag, the PEAR can also cleverly seat six – if you option that. Three up front on a bench-style seat (the centre console is done away with) and three in the back. Whether that’s six full-sized humans is yet to be seen. The PEAR is the second model for the start-up, following up the 440-mile Ocean SUV. Range-wise there’ll be a choice of two batteries, ready to deliver 198 miles or 348 miles respectively, according to WLTP estimates. There’ll be rear- and all-wheel drive options on standard 20s or optional 22in wheels. And Fisker also tells us the PEAR Extreme will be a high-performance variant. Ooh, hello. The PEAR is also the first to make use of the brand’s in-house ‘Fisker Blade’ suite, a computer platform designed for ‘software-defined’ vehicles ready to be used for two more forthcoming Fisker models. Fisker says it 'will offer a completely new connected and digital customer experience for the era of software-defined vehicles, and the 5G/Wi-Fi6 wireless network turns the car into a ‘cloud-connected mini data center’. Meanwhile, production and deliveries will start in July 2025. A real-life version will be showcased at next week’s motor show in Munich and our curiosity is most definitely piqued. Is yours? Link: Click

Biden rarely utters Trump's name and declines to punch back when given the opportunity. It has some Democrats worried. Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. When Donald Trump was arrested a little more than a week ago in Georgia on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election, he journeyed to Atlanta's Fulton County jail in a flashy motorcade, submitted to a mug shot that made worldwide news, then proclaimed election interference by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department. The next day, Biden’s campaign released a video to run in battleground states. It was about abortion. The president’s seeming disconnect from a major, consequential day in politics was as purposeful as it was predictable. It follows a long-held practice for Biden — one he adhered to after three previous indictments of the GOP front-runner: Stay quiet while Trump tries to convince Americans that Biden has abused the power of the presidency to sideline his likely 2024 election opponent. But it’s not just a muted approach to Trump’s criminal charges, which Biden aides say is intended to demonstrate that his Justice Department acts independently from the White House. Biden has taken an overall gloves-on strategy to Trump, rarely uttering his name and declining to punch back when given the opportunity. Biden’s closest political aides decided that he would not engage in day-to-day political combat until next spring — mirroring the tack taken by former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign — even though that affords the former president months of largely unanswered attacks. It’s a political gamble that some Biden allies worry could have potentially perilous consequences. “What Trump has done is so egregious, so beyond the pale that I think we all have to take a very firm and aggressive and hostile stand against him,” former Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio said, because Trump and 18 others charged with him in Georgia “literally tried to end the United States as we know it.” “There needs to be a unifying approach here,” Ryan added. “It’s natural the president would lead that.” Without forceful pushback, Ryan said, Trump’s incessant attacks on Biden over his four indictments could seep into the public consciousness. Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who served as a senior aide on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, was among the Democrats who praised Biden’s messaging strategy but also pointed out the risk of the calculation at play. “You need to be able to draw a distinct contrast, and they’re banking on Trump making his own contrast,” Rocha said of Biden and his aides. The president’s team has a plan for him to shift his messaging after Labor Day to make a more “direct contrast” with Trump, a Biden adviser told NBC News. Biden has often leaned in on the message of defending democracy — including in his re-election launch video, which opened with images from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol but did not name Trump specifically. His first campaign focused on reclaiming the “soul of America.” The effort comes as polls show Trump and Biden effectively tied in a hypothetical general election matchup, and after some Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, have cautioned Biden not to underestimate Trump’s political strengths. So far, Biden has stuck to broadly criticizing “extreme MAGA Republicans” and mentioning the former president obliquely at off-camera campaign fundraisers. The Biden campaign also recently made a $25 million ad buy in battleground states. The ads focus on such issues as abortion and the economy. Trump was among the imagery that appeared in the ads, which were widely praised by Democrats. “One thing I’m heartened by is they are spending money now. They are up on the air,” said one Democratic strategist who asked for anonymity to speak more candidly about the campaign. What’s potentially troublesome at this stage in the race, the strategist said, is the campaign’s lack of hiring in key states. “That’s more worrisome than not getting out of the Rose Garden,” the strategist said. A key aspect of the president’s strategy is to try to change voters’ perception of the economy, aides say. Polls show Biden getting little credit from voters on the economy, and his approval rating remains stubbornly low. Biden doesn’t dwell on Trump, even when he’s talking to donors. At one fundraising event this summer, the former president’s name never fell from Biden’s lips, according to one attendee. “He never mentioned 'T,'” the donor said in a text message. “And no one asked him about 'T.'” On the South Lawn of the White House on the last day of March, as he made his way to Marine One, Biden dodged several questions about Trump’s first indictment — and then made it clear he had no inclination to talk about his likely opponent at all. “I have no comment on Trump,” he said. And in early August, when Trump was indicted on federal charges of attempting to steal the 2020 election, Biden, on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, went for a bike ride, then went to see the movie “Oppenheimer.” Both the White House and his campaign declined to comment on the charges. The White House and Biden’s campaign have been guided by the belief that Biden first needs to tell his own story, particularly on the economy. From their perspective, Biden can best do that as president by holding official events, such as the one last week about lowering drug prices for Americans battling cancer or diabetes. The plan has been for him to take this approach through 2023, then lean in more to being a candidate in 2024. “He’s being present this year. He’s talking about his accomplishments and his vision,” a Biden adviser said. “That’s the main focus.” The adviser said it’s the role of the campaign — rather than the White House — to push back on Trump. They are designed to work in tandem. Biden campaign surrogates bracketed the first Republican debate last week on the ground in Milwaukee, while the president traveled to the city the week before to talk about his agenda. Biden, without a primary, had only four staff members in his campaign through June, but the campaign now numbers up to several dozen staffers, according to a spokesperson. All along, the campaign worked in concert with the Democratic National Committee, which built an infrastructure during the 2022 midterms that it said was still intact. Since then, the DNC has already added seven figures’ worth of staffing and operations to battleground states, according to Ammar Moussa, a DNC spokesperson. The DNC has also stayed involved in voter outreach, including through texts and calls, using Biden’s volunteer network to contact voters ahead of special elections in battleground states this year. Trump and his allies, meanwhile, relentlessly, and increasingly, push the narrative that Biden abused his position as vice president to enrich his family, namely his son Hunter. They’ve argued that Hunter Biden, who’s been under federal investigation for tax evasion and gun possession, has received special treatment by his father’s Justice Department. And they’ve tried to stoke concerns among voters about the 80-year-old Biden serving a second term by casting him as mentally unfit and raising the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris having to take over. Part of the Biden team’s rationale for silence on Trump’s legal troubles is the view that talking about the indictments, in addition to suggesting a link between the president and the Justice Department’s actions, could diminish the serious nature of the cases. Matt Bartlett, a Republican strategist and Trump State Department appointee who resigned on Jan. 6, 2021, over Trump’s response to the attack on the Capital, likened some of the former president’s rhetoric about Biden to the "swift boating" of then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in the 2004 election. That controversial effort, in arguing that Kerry had misrepresented his military service, “defined and cemented a bogus sentiment, went unchallenged for too long, and then could not be righted,” Bartlett said. He noted the architect of the swift boat attack on Kerry, Chris LaCivita, currently works on Trump’s re-election campaign. “The White House should have a more professional and pronounced approach to this that can also explain how and why these charges are not political and are independent,” Bartlett said. “Right now the Trump campaign is creating confusion about the details and creating controversy about being a victim. It is a deliberate plan that once again seems to be going unanswered in the public domain.” For now, Biden’s approach on messaging is not all that different from the one Republicans have taken against Trump. No one got into the primary to challenge Trump until months after he declared, leaving his candidacy unanswered and allowing him to solidify his support within the party. Since then, Trump has cannibalized media coverage and strengthened his position in the Republican field. A slew of Democrats said Biden’s decision not to comment on Trump’s criminal charges is the right one. “When a train wreck is occurring, you don’t need someone standing off to the side saying, ‘Look at that train wreck.’ It’s obvious,” said Democratic strategist Tom Bonier, CEO of Target Smart. Democrats are right, Bonier said, to focus on the issues and criticizing “Republican extremists,” rather than get tangled in Trump’s legal drama. Data lends some credence to the path, with polling showing Americans are taking the indictments against Trump seriously. In a poll earlier this month from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 53% of those surveyed approved of the Justice Department prosecuting Trump over attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Those numbers are part of the reason it’s risky for Biden to attack Trump at this point rather than allow the legal system to play out, said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “You know that there’s a small group in the middle that you’re going to want to win if you’re the Biden campaign, particularly in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania,” Murray said. “There’s no need to give Trump’s attacks more oxygen now so that opinions on the economy harden when you think that there’s a chance down the road that you’re going to be able to soften that opinion a little more.” But Ryan, the former Democratic congressman from Ohio, said, “People in the middle want strength and they want strong leaders, and they need leaders who say no.” Amanda Loveday, a senior adviser to the pro-Biden super PAC Unite the Country, doubted Democrats would look back in six months and regret not talking about Trump right now. “The only people who will regret not talking about the negative attributes of Donald Trump are going to be the people in the Republican primary — not Joe Biden,” she said. As for polls showing Trump and Biden close right now in a hypothetical general election matchup, Loveday pointed to the 2020 election dynamics. "At this time in 2019, the same polls would have told you there’s no way that Joe Biden would have been president," she said. Jim Messina, who managed Obama’s re-election campaign, said he’s “thought long and hard” about whether the strategy he executed in 2012 is the right one for 2024, and he believes it is. “Even if Trump was hammering Biden daily, who cares?” Messina said in a text message. “Swing voters are still a year away from waking up and comparing the two likely nominees. “I truly believe Biden is doing this exactly right,” he continued. “Focus on economic messaging, raise money and let the Republicans feed on each other.” Link: Click