[Ay Pee] Former Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson, the state's longest-serving chief executive, has died. He was 84.
"One of the things he will be most remembered for was getting away from making patronage appointments for top positions in state agencies and bringing in people based on their expertise," said Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois-Springfield. "He really helped shape the modernization and professionalism of state government." Until the Dems got control again.
After he was appointed U.S. attorney for the northern Illinois district by President Richard Nixon, Thompson and his staff uncovered massive voter fraud in 1972, an effort that led to 83 indictments and 66 convictions or guilty pleas. He headed prosecutions that led to the conviction of a powerful Chicago alderman and Democratic former Gov. Otto Kerner Jr., by then a federal appeals judge. He also took part in the investigation of Republican Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, who eventually pleaded no contest to tax evasion. Voter fraud? In 1972? I'm sure that's all gone now. But not in Illinois.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who issued a statement saying Thompson "was known to treat people he encountered with kindness and decency" and that he "set an example for public service of which Illinoisans should be proud." I believe Gov. Pritzker is under investigation for his toilet removal for tax purposes.
#2
He may have been 'honest', but he's the one who signed off on the 3% annual cost-of-living increase for Illinois government retirees in the late 1980's.
This little gesture has doomed the state's pension system.
Math be hard for politicians.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/16/2020 16:31 Comments ||
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#3
/\ All Illinois politicians bring "doom" to include Soetoro.
[Washington Examiner] President Trump's brother Robert has died at the age of 71.
He died on Saturday night, a day after the White House confirmed he had been hospitalized in New York.
"It is with [a] heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight," the president said in a statement about his brother's death. "He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace."
Trump visited his brother at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on Friday. When asked about his condition during a press briefing that day, the president declined to provide specifics. Officials did not release details regarding his brother's death.
Robert Trump was born in New York on Aug. 26, 1948. He was the youngest of five children.
He began his career working on Wall Street before later deciding to join the family business. He managed real estate holdings as part of the Trump Organization.
Ivanka Trump also paid tribute to her late uncle, saying, "Uncle Robert, we love you. You are in our hearts and prayers, always."
#2
The dead are beyond the cares of this world. Democrats try to counter that by making them vote.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2020 9:35 Comments ||
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#3
...Some years ago, when HRC's dad passed, Rush Limbaugh very quietly sent flowers and a note - which I gather she equally quietly and politely acknowledged.
I cannot, however, see any of today's crop of liberals behaving the same way.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/16/2020 10:45 Comments ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2020 00:00 ||
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August and September is fire season in the Amazon.
From the State of Para the Brazilian Military is moving into fire fighting roles and with emphasis on fire prevention during August and September in the Amazon Rain Forests:
From OLiberl
The Military Fire Brigade of Pará (CBMPA) will carry out, on Sunday (10), the launch of "Operation Phoenix Phoenix", which aims to combat fires in areas of forest with high rates of forest fires in several municipalities in Pará. The launching ceremony will take place from 8 am, at the headquarters of the General Command of the Fire Department, in the Val de Cans neighborhood, in Belém.
According to CBMPA, firefighters will move to territories with the highest rates of forest fires, according to data from the Environment and Sustainability Secretariat (Semas). The action aims to eliminate the outbreaks of fire and preserve the forest areas. The work will have the performance of firefighters specialized in fighting forest fires. The first phase of Operation Phoenix 2020 will be from August 10 to 25, 2020 (16 days); the second, from August 25 to September 9, 2020 (16 days). On August 31, a meeting will evaluate the results of the work to decide on the continuity of the Operation. In 2019, CBMPA carried out Operation Summer 2019 in conjunction with the Brazilian Army, in the months of August and September.
[NPR.ORG] Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, electrical providers instituted rolling blackouts Friday night — the first since 2001—as an intense and prolonged heat wave settled over much of the Western U.S.Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have experienced brief power outages through the evening, after the body that manages most of the state's electrical utilities declared a Stage 3 emergency to help reduce stress on the larger grid.
Electrical demand surged through the day as temperatures topped the triple digits in many parts of the state and people cranked up fans and air conditioning units to try and stay cool.
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08/16/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
Great job shoring up the grid Kamala. You are SO qualified to lead the rest of the 49 states into third world status. Just remember, no electricity, no running water either.
#4
Silly Californians. If they only went with 100% electric vehicles they could plug them into the grid and run the grid off all the extra electricity stored in the cars battery acquired by charging the cars overnight off the solar cells on the roof.
#7
Electrical demand surged through the day as temperatures topped the triple digits in many parts of the state and people cranked up fans and air conditioning units to try and stay cool.
So in NPR world it's a demand-side problem rather than a failure of California's gummint to anticipate the need for increased supply ("We see no reason why it should get hot this summer"). Swelter for Gaia.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/16/2020 11:34 Comments ||
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#8
The last time CA did this Gray Davis, a democrat, was governor. He lost his next election to Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Wouldn't it be nice if history repeated itself?
#10
Electrical demand surged through the day as temperatures topped the triple digits in many parts of the state and people cranked up fans and air conditioning units to try and stay cool.
This actually happens every summer in SC, and we have yet to experience any blackouts at all.
Posted by: Tom ||
08/16/2020 15:13 Comments ||
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#11
Maybe the problem is too many people (thanks immigrants) in Caliphate-ornia.
#12
Part of the problem is virtue-signalling electricity production via interstate grids out-of-state in Coal, Nat Gas, Solar, Wind.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2020 16:37 Comments ||
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#13
Don't forget, they got rid of all that icky nuclear power.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/16/2020 16:59 Comments ||
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#14
My daughter's family bought a house even more San Diego County rural than I. I gave them twin Honda Generators as a house-warming gift for when SDG&E shuts off powerlines for Santa Ana winds/temps
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/16/2020 17:07 Comments ||
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#15
So they hang them in serial (how?) for fueling change out?
[Al Ahram] A judge in Burundi has incarcerated You have the right to remain silent... more than a dozen coppers, local officials and members of the ruling party's violent mostly peaceful youth wing after finding them guilty of extorting migrant workers returning from Tanzania, sources told AFP Saturday.The verdict was a hopeful milestone in a country where violence connected to the government often goes unpunished, human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... groups said, and could be a sign that such impunity will be less pervasive under new President Evariste Ndayishimiye.
A court in the southern city of Makamba issued jail terms of up to 10 years against 13 defendants -- three coppers, two local officials, one official from the ruling CNDD-FDD political party and seven members of the party's youth wing, known as the Imbonerakure.
"Seven of the defendants... were sentenced to 10 years in prison for extortion accompanied by aggravating circumstances," said a judicial source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media on the verdict, which was issued Friday.
"Six other defendants were sentenced to five years in prison for extortion while three others, including a police officer, have been acquitted," the source said.
The verdict was confirmed by one of the defence lawyers in the case.
The accused were arrested in mid-July and accused of extorting money from Burundians who were returning from jobs on farms in neighbouring Tanzania.
Human Rights Watch and other organizations have accused the Imbonerakure -- which is often referred to as a militia -- of having killed, tortured and beaten dozens of people during the tumultuous tenure of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died in office in June.
The international community is hoping for a softening of the iron-fisted regime under Nkurunziza's ally and successor, Ndayishimiye.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2020 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Zim-bob-we's annual inflation rate soared to almost 840 percent in July, the statistics agency said Saturday, adding to the country's desperate economic woes even as the government refused to acknowledge a growing sense of crisis.The southern African nation has been grappling with more than a decade of hyperinflation triggered by economic mismanagement under former president Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case. Dumped in November 2017 when the Missus decided she wanted to be president, and opposed heer might against Crocodile Mnangawa Important safety tip: If your opponent goes by the name Crocodile andf your title is Shopper in Chief let him win.... , who was ousted by a military coup in 2017.
Many Zim-bob-weans have seen their savings evaporate and still struggle to afford basic commodities such as sugar and the staple cornmeal, with corruption and poverty rife.
The figures were published shortly after a government statement was issued saying that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had implemented policies "that result in a robust economy" and had kept the country "commendably stable", denying any crisis.
The July inflation rate of 837.53 percent, which was announced by the Zim-bob-we National Statistics Agency on Twitter, compares with 737.3 percent in June.
Month-on-month, inflation stood at 35.53 percent in July, up from 31.66 percent in June.
The government statement -- published by the state-owned Herald newspaper -- was a response to a letter by Zim-bob-we's Catholic Bishops on Friday that deplored a recent crackdown on dissent by Mnangagwa's administration and a deepening crisis in the country.
Last month, the authorities banned protests planned by an opposition politician and deployed the army and riot police in huge numbers to quell them.
Opposition figure Jacob Ngarivhume, who had called for the July 31 protests against alleged state corruption and worsening economic troubles, was arrested 12 days ahead of the strike.
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08/16/2020 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The United States is discussing the situation in Belarus with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... after last weekend's disputed election and subsequent crackdown on protesters, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday.
Speaking in Warsaw, his last stop on a tour of central Europe, Pompeo said Washington was tracking the situation in Belarus and the aim of the contacts with the EU was to "try to help as best we can the Belarusian people achieve illusory sovereignty and freedom".
Security forces have clashed with protesters in Minsk and other cities in recent days after President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election victory in a vote on Sunday that his opponents say was rigged.
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[Al Ahram] Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on state TV on Saturday that an air assault brigade would move to Belarus' Western border.
He also added that he agreed on cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... As the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... is gearing up to impose new sanctions on Belarus in response to a bloody crackdown in which at least two protesters have been killed, Lukashenko said earlier that he was concerned with the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... military exercises being conducted in Poland and Lithuania, which he sees as an arms build-up.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Where are the Belorussian Vindmans of yesteryear?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2020 4:41 Comments ||
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[Free Beacon] The Trump administration on Thursday designated one of China's central propaganda hubs in the United States as a Communist Party outpost, a move meant to limit its influence and crack down on the spread of Chinese disinformation on America's college campuses.
The Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS) will now be treated as an official mission of the People's Republic of China. For years, the CIUS has run a network of Chinese language learning centers that have spread Communist propaganda in U.S. classrooms, ranging from kindergarten to college. The decision follows a years-long pressure campaign from anti-China activists and hawks in Congress who view the Confucius Institutes as a tool for Beijing's influence operations in America.
The designation is meant to recognize "CIUS for what it is: An entity advancing Beijing's global propaganda and malign influence campaign on U.S. campuses and K-12 classrooms," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement announcing the decision. "Confucius Institutes are funded by the PRC and part of the Chinese Communist Party's global influence and propaganda apparatus."
The crackdown on these Confucius Institutes is one of several recent actions taken by the Trump administration to combat Chinese influence and espionage operations. It follows on the heels of a Trump administration order last month shuttering a CCP consulate office in Houston, which U.S. officials say was used as a hub for China's theft of American intellectual property and medical data.
Pompeo said American universities should take a hard look at the Confucius Institutes operating on their campuses. Universities will have to decide if they are comfortable permitting their students to be indoctrinated with Communist propaganda.
[Al Ahram] Taiwan finalized the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from US aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin on Friday, a source confirmed to AFP, in a $62 billion, 10-year deal sure to anger Beijing.
Underscoring the sensitivity of the transaction, the Pentagon announced the contract without specifying the buyer, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP that it was Taiwan.
The self-ruled island, which China considers part of its territory, last year obtained the green light from Washington for the purchase of 66 new generation F-16s, which will allow it to modernize its defenses.
Taiwan already has a fleet of F-16s purchased in 1992.
The new contract, which the Pentagon said is for an initial delivery order of 90 jets, provides for more modern aircraft with the newest technology and weaponry.
Beijing insists that Taiwan -- an island of 23 million people that has been self-ruled since 1949 -- is part of its territory and has vowed to respond with force if Taipei ever formally moves towards declaring independence.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
The "self-ruled island." Like that's a bad thing.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2020 9:37 Comments ||
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#3
That is a lot of money for less than 100 aircraft. There must be a bunch of other stuff in this deal, munitions, parts, support equipment, and more.
#5
Perhaps they need to contest any air superiority before invasion rather than assert an air supremacy campaign. As I recall, a communist save once remarked that quantity is its own form of quality.
#6
The 66 F-16s delivered w/ spares and support (usually 2 years) are $8 billion. The $62 billion is the max possible if all other equipment and support options are exercized. Don't know what else they are buying.
#1
Making work for Israeli viro-spreadsheet warriors, anyway.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2020 10:50 Comments ||
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#2
I don’t doubt that there are some Arabs who think that’s the height of cleverness, and are doing their best to accomplish it. “Door handle lickers and such, unite and throw off your chains!”
[FoxNews] The U.S. Air Force is preparing for a “stealth war” against advanced enemy air defenses with a group of integrated airplanes and drones. These include the B-2, F-35 and famous, yet mysterious “Beast of Kandahar,” the stealthy RQ-170 drone.
It was part of what an Air Report called a “Large Force Test Event” (LFTE) intended to explore “yet-to-be-deployed” technologies such as software, weapons and tactics in a warfare scenario.
“This LFTE assessed the tactics and viability of the F-35 to provide enhanced SEAD [Suppression of Enemy Air Defense] support to LO [Low Observability] platforms, including the B-2 and RQ-170, within an operationally realistic environment,” the service report states.
While it is not surprising that these stealth platforms would operate together in specific, high-risk tactical warfare scenarios, a distinguishing aspect of this appears to be its emphasis upon emerging technologies, prototypes and new-generation applications. Technically mature, promising new systems are often assessed or refined in these kinds of operations.
#3
I think human piloted "fighters" are obsolete already. But I also think AI is way oversold.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2020 5:36 Comments ||
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#4
The future is long range stand off weapons. It's stupid to think the resources needed to take down a distant launch platform wouldn't be better spent on knocking off the weapons themselves. On air-to-air, it's a given that the future is plentiful attritable airframes.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2020 5:40 Comments ||
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#5
Any G-limits on?
In the future Pilots will be AI and the guidance will be former pilots.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
