Battery Replacement of Family’s EV Ford Focus Would Cost More Than Car Itself

A Florida family who just a few months ago purchased a battery-powered vehicle learned an unforgettable lesson after their car suddenly stopped working.

The parents of Avery Siwinski, a 17-year-old of St. Petersburg, spent $11,000 on a used 2014 Ford Focus Electric that had 60,000 miles at the time it was bought, WTSP-TV reported.

“In March, it started giving an alert,” Siwinski told the network. “And then we took it to the shop and it stopped running.”

After taking the car to a local Ford dealership, the family learned that the mechanical issues were linked to the vehicle’s battery, which apparently needed to be replaced.

The repair bill for the battery was a whopping $14,000, said Siwinski’s grandfather, who stepped in to help her with the car problems because her father passed away in June due to cancer.

He also noted that the figure presented by mechanics wasn’t even the total, as it didn’t include labor costs.

https://www.ntd.com/battery-replacement-of-familys-ev-ford-focus-would-cost-more-than-car-itself_811083.html

Former Sydney councillor tells ICAC inquiry Chinese developer paid for his escort

A former Sydney councillor has told a corruption inquiry a Chinese property developer paid for his escort in China and secretly filmed him with the woman to "blackmail" him.

Key points:

The videos were secretly recorded by a Chinese property developer

Mr Badalati believes the videos would be used as a "blackmail tool"

He previously admitted taking bribes from the property developer

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry is investigating whether former Hurstville and Georges River councillors Vincenzo Badalati, Philip Sansom and Constantine Hindi accepted kickbacks to favour developments between 2014 and 2021.

The inquiry on Tuesday was shown videos of Mr Badalati and Mr Sansom at a dinner with escorts in China in March 2013.

The videos were secretly recorded by property developer Ching Wah (Philip) Uy, whose company was the builder of a $29 million Treacy Street project in Hurstville — an 11-storey mixed-use apartment block.

In the video, Mr Badalati is seen holding hands with a woman in green pants as they enter a restaurant.

The councillor told the inquiry he believed Mr Uy paid for the escort as he could not recall paying himself.

He said he believed the developer recorded the videos to use against him in future.

"Having seen [the videos] I believe it was a blackmail tool," he said.

"And possibly used against you to influence your vote in planning decisions?" Counsel Assisting the Commission Zelie Heger said.

"Yes," he responded.

"I take it that … if this video had been shown to your family you would've been embarrassed about that," Ms Heger said.

"Absolutely," he responded.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-19/icac-sydney-councillor-escort-paid-by-chinese-developer/101251486

Grayzone challenges Guardian reporter on US state-funded Syria smears

The Guardian parroted an evidence-free report from the US state-funded Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the Syria Campaign that The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté is “the most prolific spreader of disinformation” about Syria. Aaron phoned The Guardian’s Mark Townsend to challenge him to substantiate his defamatory article.

A recent article in The Guardian parroted a US state-funded group’s evidence-free claim that The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté, who has reported extensively on the OPCW’s Syria cover-up scandal, is “the most prolific spreader of disinformation” about Syria among a “network” of “conspiracy theorists.”

Aaron called Guardian reporter Mark Townsend on the phone to ask him to substantiate these defamatory allegations, and why he didn’t reach out before printing them. Townsend refused to offer a substantive response.

Guest: Mark Townsend. Reporter for The Guardian who wrote the story, “Network of Syria conspiracy theorists identified” — now updated with Aaron Maté’s response.

Note: To reduce repetition, the recording of the phone call between Aaron and Mark Townsend has been shortened. Townsend was contacted for comment prior to publication of this segment, but did not respond.

https://youtu.be/I0L7LvsiyzE

https://thegrayzone.com/2022/07/19/grayzone-challenges-guardian-reporter-over-us-state-funded-syria-smears/

Raisi Says US Must Leave Syria ASAP as Putin Lambasts Washington's 'Destructive Policy'

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is hosting the 7th Summit of Astana guarantor-states in Tehran, with the participation of Russian and Turkish leaders, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The three leaders are discussing ways to end the decades-old Syrian conflict.

Speaking on Tuesday in Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called on the United States to immediately remove its military forces from eastern Syria, as well as the entire Middle East region.

Raisi also condemned the regular Israeli air strikes on Syria, saying they "violate the territorial integrity of Syria, destroy peace and international security." The Iranian president stressed that the security of the Syrian borders should be ensured by Syrian forces.

"The only possible way to establish a stable and secure situation on the borders of Syria with neighboring countries is the full presence of the forces of that country on the borders, as well as cooperation with neighboring countries," he said at the beginning of the trilateral summit on the Syrian settlement.

The comments came amid a trilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The three nations fall on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, with Moscow and Tehran supporting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey supporting Islamist terrorist groups in Syria's northern Idlib Province, including Hay'at Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS)*.

Putin said that the US is pursuing a destructive policy in Syria, where it supports Kurdish groups in the eastern oil-rich provinces and denied Damascus control over one-third of the country, and supports Israel's airstrikes.

"We see that real threats of crime, extremism, separatism emanate from these regions," Putin said. " The destructive line of Western states led by the United States largely contributes to this.

The Russian president said Syria has seen a noticeable decrease in violence and that a political-diplomatic process has been launched. He said that Daesh** and other terrorists should be eliminated for good.

"The joint work of Russia, Iran and Turkey to promote a comprehensive resolution of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic is very effective. Thanks to the help and support of our countries, the level of violence in Syria has noticeably decreased, peaceful life is being revived, the economy and the social sphere are gradually being restored. And no less importantly, a real political and diplomatic settlement process has been launched on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254," Putin told his Iranian and Turkish counterparts.

https://sputniknews.com/20220719/irans-raisi-us-must-leave-syria-entire-region-asap-1097593096.html

>>16764144

Jim posted about this on Gab too

https://gab.com/JimWatkins