>dough
Andy Cohen reveals he and John Mayer are ‘in love’
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/world/europe/nazi-symbols-ukraine.html
Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines Highlight Thorny Issues of History
Troops’ use of patches bearing Nazi emblems risks fueling Russian propaganda and spreading imagery that the West has spent a half-century trying to eliminate.
>Christine McCarthy, Disney's chief financial officer, will step down from that role
>exploiting people's sense that things are rigged
>things are rigged
https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2023/06/48-arrested-more-than-9-million-in-drugs-seized-in-finger-lakes-drug-bust.html
48 arrested, more than $9 million in drugs seized in Finger Lakes drug bust
https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2023/06/13/two-year-drug-trafficking-investigation-in-finger-lakes-nets-48-arrests-19-illegal-firearms-and-440k-in-cash-drugs-seized-worth-9m/
Two year drug trafficking investigation in Finger Lakes nets 48 arrests, 19 illegal firearms, and $440K in cash: Drugs seized worth $9M
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the takedown of a major narcotics trafficking ring that flooded communities in the Finger Lakes with fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other dangerous drugs. The takedown resulted in 177 charges against 48 defendants related to their participation in this trafficking network that operated in Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, and Yates counties. This operation resulted in the seizure of more than 10 kilograms of fentanyl and more than 10 kilograms of cocaine, with a total value of more than $9 million. Investigators also seized 19 firearms, including assault weapons and ghost guns, and more than $440,000 in cash.
Phase One: Wayne County
Phase Two: Avenue D, Rochester
Phase Three: The Rivera Family
https://nypost.com/2023/06/13/ny-drug-ring-peddled-fentanyl-to-unsuspecting-buyers-officials/
Violent NY drug ring peddled fentanyl to unsuspecting buyers, officials say
A violent upstate drug ring that peddled potentially deadly fentanyl to buyers who thought they were buying oxycodone has been busted, state authorities said Tuesday.
A group of 48 people were charged with various crimes for their involvement in helping to land illicit drugs, which also included heroin and cocaine, in five counties in the Finger Lakes region, New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a press conference in Rochester.
Law enforcement seized more than 10 kilograms of fentanyl, 10-plus kilograms of cocaine and more than a quarter pound of heroin totaling $9 million in the bust.
Some of the dealers, including a building super, “sold fentanyl in pill form, claiming that it was oxycodone, putting their buyers at even greater risk,” according to a press release from James’s office.
Authorities also netted 19 illegal firearms, including assault weapons and ghost guns, and $440,000 in cash during the ring’s bust-up, AG James said.
The arrests of the dozens of alleged drug peddlers were the culmination of a two-year investigation by James’ office that included covert surveillance and wiretaps in Wayne County.
The probe uncovered three interconnected rings that distributed drugs in Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca and Yates counties.
Michael Danzey, 38, and his brother, Terrance Raggs, 45, were the “primary source” of cocaine in Wayne County, the AG said.
Investigators also discovered that in June 2021, Danzey allegedly tried to kill a man who he thought was stealing from him by shooting him.
The man survived.
Danzey later roped his brother into helping him cover up the crime, James alleged.
Danzey is charged with attempted murder, and Raggs is charged with hindering prosecution — in addition to drug charges they both face, James said.
Investigators later discovered that Rochester was another major drug hub with a single block of Avenue D packed with multiple drug resellers, the AG said.
Buyers who came to the street were told to go to the “Green House,” “Blue House,” “Yellow House” and the “Camper” for drugs based on how they looked, the AG said.
The houses were run by Raymond Vega, 56, authorities said.
The Avenue D houses were supplied by Luis Rivera, 66, and his sons, who ran a “multi-kilogram level” scheme featuring fentanyl and cocaine out of a Rochester residential building where Luis was the superintendent, the AG said.
The Riveras put at least some of the fentanyl in pill form and claimed it was oxycodone, James’s office said.
Rivera arranged for drugs to be shipped from California to Rochester with the help of one of his sons, Jacob “J” Rivera, 32, who was running things from a Louisiana prison using smuggled cell phones, James said.
“The dozens of individuals arrested and charged as a result of this investigation were flooding local communities with drugs, and were armed with deadly weapons to support their illegal activities,” James said in a statement.
Allowing more migrants to cross the border into the U.S. was the only thing on the agenda for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when he entered power with President Biden's administration, former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott testified Wednesday.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12182899/Friends-say-pilot-plane-flew-DC-crashing-Virginia-frequently-took-Oxycontin.html
Friends say pilot of 'ghost' plane in which GOP donor's daughter, granddaughter and nanny died when it crashed in Virginia frequently took Oxycontin when flying and neglected repairs
Jeff Hefner was piloting the 'ghost plane' that crashed in Virginia on June 5 after flying over Washington, DC, on auto pilot
Former business partners have claimed Hefner was reckless and threatening
Hefner's family have said he was a good pilot known as 'Mr. Safety' denied the allegations he was reckless
https://www.the-sun.com/news/8329042/john-rumpel-pilot-jeff-hefner-crash-opioids-gun-threat/
'GRIM REAPER' John Rumpel’s pilot in fatal plane crash took opioids & left ex-business partner fearing for his life with gun threat
source
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12200675/JPMorgan-claims-former-Lady-U-S-Virgin-Islands-helped-Jeffrey-Epstein-traffic-women.html
JPMorgan claims former First Lady of U.S. Virgin Islands helped Jeffrey Epstein traffic women in bombshell new court filing: Cecile de Jongh allegedly arranged visas and English classes while working for convicted pedophile for $150,000 a year
Cecile de Jongh worked for Jeffrey Epstein from at least 2000, on $100,000-a-year with $50,000 to cover tuition for her children's schools
Her husband John de Jongh served as governor of the U.S. territory from 2007 to 2015: Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution with a minor in 2008
JPMorgan is accused by the USVI of facilitating Epstein's abuse of girls by continuing to be his bank: the bank now accuses de Jongh of helping him
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jpmorgan-says-ex-first-lady-of-u-s-virgin-islands-helped-epstein-traffic-women-509dd39d
JPMorgan Says Ex-First Lady of U.S. Virgin Islands Helped Epstein Traffic Women
Cecile de Jongh arranged visas for Epstein’s alleged victims and asked him for political donations, court filings show
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23848502-jpmorgan-614
A sophisticated, multinational financial organization like JPMorgan may not avoid the consequences of its actions by piecing emails together to concoct hyperbolic conspiracy theories regarding the Government’s conduct.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-War
The ability of Congress to authorize military action without a formal declaration of war was later confirmed by the Supreme Court and formed the basis of many similar actions since, including American participation in the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War.
https://nypost.com/2023/06/15/gavin-newsoms-wife-opens-up-about-accidentally-killing-sister/
Gavin Newsom’s wife opens up about ‘survivor’s guilt’ after accident killed older sister
https://nypost.com/2022/11/15/jennifer-siebel-newsom-wife-to-california-gov-asked-to-fake-an-orgasm-in-court-during-harvey-weinstein-trial/
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife to California gov, asked to fake an orgasm in court during Harvey Weinstein trial
https://nypost.com/2023/06/15/jeopardy-contestants-fail-to-answer-bible-clue-about-our-father/
‘Heathen’ ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants blasted by fans for missing obvious Bible answer
According to police, a bus carrying 25 people — most from the Dauphin area— collided with a semi-truck at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 5. A majority of the individuals aboard the bus were senior citizens, who were on route to a casino for a day trip.
https://twitter.com/rcmpmb/status/1669434024807354393
Russian soldiers capture a running Leopard and a running Bradley
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/us/politics/kaczynski-unabomber-suicide-prison.html
Kaczynski Is Said to Have Died by Suicide in Prison
The man known as the “Unabomber” had been transferred to a federal prison medical center in 2021 after more than 25 years at a maximum security facility.
>https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/casino-bus-crashes-in-us-attracting-more-safety-scrutiny/
>https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/Deadly-crashes-involving-US-casino-buses-since-10683926.php
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220810-derinkuyu-turkeys-underground-city-of-20000-people
Turkey's underground city of 20,000 people
https://www.the-sun.com/news/3942184/my-dad-shot-dead-paedophile-live-tv/
A MAN has spoken of the moment his dad shot dead a paedophile who had kidnapped and abused him during a horrifying ordeal.
Gary Plauche gunned down Jeff Doucet live on TV as the vile fiend was marched through Baton Rouge Airport in front of news cameras.
The judge ruled that sending him to prison would not help anyone - and that there was no risk in him ever committing another crime - so he was allowed to walk free.
Cops pleaded 'why, Gary, why?' as they arrested him
Karate teacher Doucet had snatched Plauche’s 11-year-old son Jody before inflicting a horrific campaign of sexual abuse and grooming as he took the boy nearly 2,000 miles from his home in Louisiana to a motel in California in March 1984 .
it is more important for a parent to be there to help support their child than put themselves in a place to be prosecuted
>https://apnews.com/article/germany-women-attacked-neuschwanstein-castle-5e8fc50d1aa17d81d6cd4b346a933850
A mountain rescue team reached both women. The 22-year-old was “responsive” and taken to a hospital, police said; a helicopter carried the 21-year-old with serious injuries to a different hospital, and she died there overnight.
The suspect left the scene but was quickly arrested nearby. Bystander video posted online showed police leading away a handcuffed man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.
Eric Abneri, a recent business graduate from the University of Pittsburgh who took the video, said the man appeared to have scratches across his face.
“He did not say a single word. He didn’t open his mouth; he didn’t mumble,” Abneri told The Associated Press. “He just walked with the police and that was it.”
Abneri said he and friends reached the scenic overlook as a helicopter arrived and they saw rescuers lower themselves down to the victims.
“I’m honestly absolutely stunned someone is still alive from this. It is like falling from the top of an absolute cliff,” he said.
Abneri described it as “a very, very difficult rescue because of those cliffs and because the helicopter came mere feet above the tree line at the top of the hill.”
“They did an unbelievable job,” he said.
Police said the man they arrested was American and described him as also a tourist; prosecutors said the women were fellow U.S. citizens. The 22-year-old remained hospitalized Thursday, according to prosecutors.
Authorities didn’t identify either the suspect or the victims or give any further details.
Police said a judge in nearby Kempten on Thursday ordered the suspect held pending a potential indictment — a process that can take months — and he was taken to jail. He is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and a sexual offense.
Police said they and prosecutors were focusing on trying to reconstruct exactly what happened and called for any witnesses to come forward.
Neuschwanstein, located in southern Bavaria close to Austria’s border, is one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions.
It is the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. Construction started in 1869 but was never completed. Ludwig died in 1886.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pope-francis-surgery-1.6878716
Pope Francis leaves Rome hospital 9 days after operation
Surgeon says Francis is 'better than before' following surgery to repair a hernia
Pope Francis on Friday was discharged from the Rome hospital where he had abdominal surgery nine days earlier to repair a hernia and remove painful scarring, with his surgeon saying the pontiff is now "better than before" the hospitalization.
Francis, 86, left through Gemelli Polyclinic's main exit in a wheelchair, smiling and waving and saying "thanks" to a crowd of well-wishers, then stood up so he could get into the small Vatican car awaiting him. In the brief distance before he could reach the white Fiat 500, reporters thrust microphones practically at his face, and the pontiff seemed to bat them away, good-naturedly.
"The Pope is well. He's better than before,'' Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who did the three-hour operation on June 7 told reporters as the Pope was driven away.
Following the surgery, Francis will be a "strong Pope,'' said Alfieri, who along with the crowd surged toward the exiting pontiff.
>Jack Teixeira indicted and accused of mishandling classified documents
https://justthenews.com/world/europe/greece-searches-hundreds-feared-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-leaving-78-confirmed
Greece searches for hundreds feared missing after migrant boat sinks leaving 78 confirmed dead
>Tenderloin’s poison pipeline
woof
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/sam-brinton-luggage-theft-arrest-doe-b2341647.html
The dimly lit hallways were intentionally built narrow and low so intruders would be forced to stoop and enter in single file.
The doors connecting each level were blocked by half-ton boulders only moveable from the inside that contained a small hole that allowed residents to spear the confined trespassers.
blow off steam
https://nypost.com/2023/06/15/finance-exec-54-accused-of-drugging-and-raping-young-teen-at-hotels-across-nyc/
Finance exec, 54, accused of drugging and raping young teen at hotels across NYC — even taking her on trips as his daughter: DA
A 54-year-old finance executive was indicted Thursday for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl – whom he met online – inside hotel rooms across New York City and feeding her drugs until she overdosed, prosecutors announced.
Michael Olson was hit with a 17-count indictment for the alleged months-long abuse that was uncovered May 26 when paramedics responded to a Manhattan hotel to find him and the girl, who had ingested a cocktail of ketamine, cocaine, and Xanax, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The girl was rushed to a hospital and survived, and Olson, of Manhattan, was arrested.
He was released after posting a $1 million bond.
While out on bail, Olson continued to try to contact underage girls — despite the slew of charges against him and the fact that he was being electronically monitored, according to prosecutors.
The young teen he was found with was not Olson’s only victim.
Still, one of many vulnerable young teens — specifically teenage Asian girls — the accused serial abuser allegedly preyed on, prosecutors said.
Olson first targeted the 14-year-old in December 2022, when he found her Instagram page and replied to a post she had made about clothing costing too much money, according to the DA’s office.
He then allegedly sent her a gift card and then began to pay her to spend time with him.
Over the next sixth months, he allegedly raped the young girl on several occasions — paying her $700 a week in exchange for sex at hotels in both Queens and Manhattan, the office said.
Olson also traveled with the child on trips to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Miami and pretended that she was his daughter by purchasing her boarding passes using her first name with his last name.
He was charged with one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance to a child, five counts of rape in the second degree, seven counts of aggravated patronizing of a minor for prostitution in the second degree, two counts of criminal sexual act in the second degree, one count of facilitating a sex offense with a controlled substance and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
The executive, who worked for Dwight Mortgage Trust but is no longer listed as an employee, is expected to be slapped with more charges as investigators discovered Olson had contacted numerous other young teens in addition to the 14-year-old victim.
Olson’s iPad, which was recovered from the Manhattan hotel room, revealed more victims, prosecutors said at his arraignment in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday.
“A search of an iPad that the defendant had with him that day revealed numerous other victims,” prosecutor John Fuller said at the hearing, according to the New York Times. “There were hundreds of screenshots of various Instagram accounts of young, Asian teenage girls that the defendant messaged.”
Fuller alleged that Olson targeted girls who posted images of self-harm or complained of money troubles on the social media platform.
Many of the girls listed their middle or high schools in their Instagram bios, making their age obvious to Olson, the prosecutor added, according to the publication.
Olson would allegedly message the teens with dollar amounts of how much he would pay them to have sex with him, while also asking about their schools and taking vacations together, the Times reported.
He is believed to have also supplied drugs to other minors he targeted.
He allegedly kept detailed spreadsheets of what drugs he fed to what girls and how much money he paid to each.
Additionally, he had screenshots of the New York City public school calendar and Uber receipts showing pickups from elementary and middle schools on his phone, prosecutors said.
The accused pedophile also kept a collection of nude photos of minors and underage girls performing sex acts on the iPad seized by investigators and is expected to face additional pornography charges, Fuller said.
Olson was remanded without bail at an arraignment in New York Supreme Court Thursday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg encouraged other victims to come forward.
https://forward.com/schmooze/391017/star-wars-the-last-jedi-not-a-judgment-on-reform-judasim/
The New ‘Star Wars’ Isn’t Pro-Reform Judaism. It’s Anti-Religious Inflexibility.
I watched “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” this weekend because the group I was with couldn’t decide between “Call Me By Your Name” and “I, Tonya.” I did not intend to write something Jewish about “Star Wars,” just as I have not previously intended to write about Jews and sports or Jews and sex-spaghetti.
Then I saw an article in Tablet by Liel Leibovitz, called “Reform Jediism,” which used the plot of the new “Star Wars” film as an allegory for the lack of seriousness in Reform Judaism, and I was drawn into the fray like Kylo Ren, conflicted villain of “The Last Jedi,” is drawn to the dark side.
In this newest episode of the “Star Wars” franchise, Leibovitz writes, “The Force is everywhere and for everyone, no study or observance necessary.” In addition: The ancient Jedi writings are “boring rubbish,” and the resistance fighters, laughably, believe that “to be a Jedi you just have to feel like a Jedi.”
Leibovitz argues that the resistance fighters and the version of Jediism they practice in “The Last Jedi” are the galactic version of Reform Jews, “a small community eager to trade in the old and onerous traditions for the glittery and airy creed of universalist kumbaya that, like so much sound and fury, signifies nothing.” Reform Jews, he posits, are a ragtag bunch of bagel-loving anti-intellectuals who, with a soft-hearted moral stupidity, pretend at social justice but do little to advance it. Also, they’re boring.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/reform-jediism
The Last Jedi, the story of a community that abandons its religion for an ephemeral universalist creed, can feel like a documentary about American Jews
At this point, attempting a critical review of the Star Wars franchise feels a lot like buzzing about in an X-wing and trying to blow up a Starkiller Base: You might succeed, but the imperial galactic force is likely to recover without too many scratches and return unharmed for the next installment. But watching The Last Jedi, the eighth episode in the saga, this weekend, I felt a torrent of anger I haven’t known since gazing at the calamity that was Jar-Jar Binks. That’s because the movie, while otherwise engaging and enjoyable, introduced a radical new take on the Jedi religion. Call it Reform Jediism.
Who is a Jedi? The question has been answered several times in divergent ways in the different Star Wars movies. According to one school of thought, Jedis are born, not made: They are the chosen ones whose blood is carbonated by midi-chlorians, magical microparticles that enable them to do things like wave their hands ever so slightly and convince you that these were not the droids you were looking for. Other explanations argue that the Force is a kabbalistic energy of creation, everywhere in existence but accessible only to those orthodox souls who are committed to studying its secrets and unlocking its mysteries. This being 2017, however, the latest Star Wars movie posits a different approach altogether: The Force is everywhere and for everyone, no study or observance necessary.
It wouldn’t be much of a spoiler to say that this new Jedi denomination comes to us courtesy of Luke Skywalker, whose haggard face, adorned with a rabbinic beard, you might’ve seen on every surface of the Earth that supports advertising. When Rey, the franchise’s current heroine, comes to Luke for guidance, the graying master brushes her off. The ancient sacred Jedi texts, we are told later in the film (though by whom will remain a surprise until you make your way to the multiplex), are boring rubbish, and the ancient Jedi practices—the very ones Luke himself had spent so much of the earlier films trying to master—are a waste of time. To be a Jedi, according to Reb Skywalker Ba’al HaNes, you only need to feel like a Jedi, because the old religion wasn’t about the ethics of the fathers but about tikkun olam, which everyone can achieve just by being, you know, a good person. Toss in a few bagels, and you can say that Jediism, really, isn’t a religion but a culture or something.
This bit of theological inanity also makes the movie sag. Instead of fighting the malicious First Order with skill and determination, the rebels—they frequently remind you that the correct nomenclature for their group is the #resistance—are busy bickering about the root causes of evil. Like some galactic fringe group—call them J(edi) Street, or, better yet, Jedi Voice for Peace—these would-be warriors worry that the homicidal maniacs who had just murdered everyone they love in cold blood may not be, you know, bad, but simply misunderstood or even oppressed. You won’t believe what happens next.
For American Jewish audiences, then, The Last Jedi can feel almost like a documentary, a sordid story about a small community eager to trade in the old and onerous traditions for the glittery and airy creed of universalist kumbaya that, like so much sound and fury, signifies nothing.
In part, it’s a question of evil. The new movie’s villain is a laughable lump of CGI and malice, with a name—Supreme Leader Snoke—that may as well belong to a second-rate Pokemon. Who is this Snoke, and what does he want? Why all the murder and the hate? And how did he get the gnarly sickle-shaped craterous scar on his forehead? We’re never told, because, frankly, it doesn’t matter: Snoke is here merely to embody evil in the abstract, like the caped, mustache-twirling baddies who once tied distressed damsels to the train tracks. He has no cause or depth or soul: Those are all reserved for the movie’s other bad guy, Kylo Ren, whose Zayde, you may recall, was one Darth Vader. Much of the movie’s drama stems from debating whether or not Ren, last seen murdering his own father, may yet be redeemed, which only makes moral sense if you believe that there are moderates among the dark Sith lords with whom you can negotiate some sort of a deal that would somehow prevent them from accumulating their weapons of mass destruction. In this morally sophomoric cinematic universe, where not even the genocidal Ren is exempt from relativism’s muddled misjudgment, it’s no wonder that the ultimate evil is a lanky caricature that hisses generic bad guy catchphrases without rhyme or reason. Anything else would require coming to terms with the harsh reality of having real enemies that wish you real ill and that ought to meet with real and swift and painful deaths.
Reform Jediism, of course, is capable of nothing so steely and resolved. Unlike that other cinematic hero of the moment, Gary Oldman’s superb Churchill in The Darkest Hour, the latest batch of Star Wars heroes shy away from the grim realities of war, instead trying to constantly sacrifice themselves for what they believe is some ephemeral and tender purity. At one point late in the movie, one character sabotages a crucial military strike and then, beaming beatifically, delivers a starry-eyed speech about how violence is never the answer and how only love can ever prevail. The imperial guys with the AT-ATs, needless to say, have a very different point of view.
But it’s hard to blame these sunken soldiers for bungling the fight. Instead of a concrete belief, a solid faith with specific rules and concrete decrees, they cling to a feeling, sweet and fleeting, that people are good and worth saving. It’s a noble idea, but unless it is rooted in the hard earth of nation or religion, it tends to melt into air. Untutored in the old ways of the Force, the young rebels have nothing to guide them in their struggle except their passions and their pride, both of which lead to disaster.
The old ways and the old texts still do matter—both in the here and now and in a galaxy far, far away.