Republicans notch surprise win in Maine House special election after Dem resigns seat over forgery charges

Republicans in Maine scored a surprising victory this week after their candidate won a special election for the state House in a traditionally blue district.

On Tuesday night, Republican Abden Simmons, who formerly represented another district in the Maine House from 2016 until 2018, defeated Democrat Wendy Pieh, who also formerly served in the state House, 52% to 48% for a special election for state district 45. While four percentage points might represent a comfortable margin in some federal elections, in this case, it meant the difference of just 121 votes. Simmons earned 1,438 to Pieh's 1,317.

The Republican pickup will not affect the chamber too drastically, as Democrats still hold at least a 13-seat majority there. They also control the state Senate and the governor's mansion, currently occupied by Gov. Janet Mills. Still, the Republican Party is celebrating this modest victory since district 45, which covers some areas along the state's mid-Atlantic coast, has not voted for a Republican for president in more than two decades, and a neighboring district hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since George H. W. Bush in 1988.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/republicans-notch-surprise-win-in-maine-house-special-election-after-dem-resigns-seat-over-forgery-charges

>>19008642

My bad didn't check if bread was just being baked

Asian Central Banks To Adopt Iran's SWIFT Alternative As De-Dollarization Accelerates

In the latest shot fired in the growing rebellion against US dollar dominance, the nine-nation Asian Clearing Union (ACU) has agreed to use Iran's financial messaging system as an alternative to the dollar-denominated SWIFT system that has long served as the globe's financial nervous system.

"The secretary general of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) says Iran’s financial messaging system SEPAM will replace SWIFT, a dollar-based international system, in trade exchanges between ACU members beginning next month," Iran's IRNA News Agency reported.

At a Tehran summit in May, ACU members agreed to establish a SWIFT alternative within a month. The adoption of Iran's SEPAM will be an interim measure, as the ACU will develop its own messaging system over the next several months.

Established in 1974, the ACU now comprises the central banks of India, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Belarus and Mauritius applied for ACU membership at the May summit meeting.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/asian-central-banks-adopt-irans-swift-alternative-de-dollarization-accelerates

Government to terminate lease for new Russian embassy

A lease held by the Russian Federation for an embassy adjacent to Parliament House will be cancelled by the federal government.

Key points:

Russia planned to build a new embassy on land very close to the federal parliament

The prime minister said the planned embassy posed a national security threat

The Coalition has offered the government support to terminate the lease

The Australian government introduced a bill to parliament on Thursday morning that would terminate the Russian embassy's lease — a move which has the support of the opposition.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the lease was directly adjacent to parliament and the government had received advice that having Russia lease the land presented a clear security risk.

"We're acting quickly to ensure the leased site does not become a formal diplomatic presence," Mr Albanese said.

The legislation gets around a Federal Court decision last month that invalidated an eviction order by the National Capital Authority.

Mr Albanese said the decision was made at a meeting of the government's national security committee at the end of last month, and that Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil would introduce the bill today to force the lease cancellation.

"This action is absolutely necessary to protect Australia's national security interests — something that this parliament and our government will never shy away from," Ms O'Neil told the parliament.

She said the termination of the lease would have no impact on Russia's existing embassy in the ACT.

It took just four and a half minutes for the bill to be introduced and passed through the House of Representatives. It still needs to pass the Senate to become law.

"There is a real risk to our national interest here," Shadow Defence Minster Andrew Hastie said.

"The security advice is that this lease must be terminated and therefore we support this bill."

Mr Albanese said the National Security Committee of Cabinet signed off on the cancellation on May 31 and he briefed the opposition and crossbench politicians prior to announcing the decision.

"We're dealing with this very specifically and it's based upon very specific advice as well about the nature of the construction that's proposed for this site, about the location of this site, and about the capability that that would present in terms of potential interference with activity that occurs in this Parliament House," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-15/government-to-terminate-lease-for-new-russian-embassy/102482098

This fuck'n movie

REP. NADLER: "When we have a pandemic like COVID-19 pandemic that we had, 2-year-olds should've been required to wear masks. It would be child abuse for parents not to do that because there was no vaccination available for 2-year-olds."

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1669099294962462726

SoCal: Orange County Bans Pride Flags From Being Flown on County Properties

California – The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to ban pride flags from being flown outside county property, including public parks.

“The motion passed by a slim margin of 3-2 with Supervisors Vicente Sarmiento and Katrina Foley being the two dissenters.” CBS News reported.

Republican Vice Chairman Andrew Do introduced the bill to stop ‘divisive flags’ from being flown on county property.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

Pride flags will not fly at Orange County government-owned properties after a vote Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.

Supervisors voted to permit only U.S. government and military-related flags to be flown at county properties, effectively barring Pride flags.

The policy, proposed by Supervisor Andrew Do, stipulates that only flags representing the U.S., state and county, as well as the flag for prisoners of war and military members missing in action, will be raised at county properties, including parks.

Supervisor Katrina Foley, who was against the measure, told The Times on Tuesday that the vote was “part of a larger picture of trying to coalesce a viewpoint together that is not about progress, not about a diverse, inclusive community, but holding on to some remnant of the past that isn’t really reflective of mainstream America.”

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/o-c-supervisors-vote-pride-015112465.html

Former Colstrip police officer sentenced eight years in prison for receiving child pornography

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/former-colstrip-police-officer-sentenced-eight-years-prison-receiving-child-pornography

40 Members of a Violent Gang Charged With Drug Trafficking and Firearms Violations in San Juan, Puerto Rico

https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/40-members-violent-gang-charged-drug-trafficking-and-firearms-violations-san-juan-puerto

>>19009353

Does killnet translate to Mossad?

asking for a friend!