Feb 20, 2021: @CatsChocolates@clearing_fog@TeresaCCarter2 1/ Merrick Garland's opening statement prepared for confirmation hearing on Monday [Feb 22] before the Senate Judiciary Cmte:
'If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others... (con't)
2/ ...who stormed the Capitol on January 6 -- a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.” (more...)
3/ "Garland also said in the testimony that the department’s civil rights mission is 'urgent because we do not yet have equal justice.' 'Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system; (con't)
4/ ...and bear the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution, and climate change,' he said."
Merrick Garland's opening statement prepared remarks were released late today; likely will hear more tomorrow. /end
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1/ Salon suggests that Cruz may have used Reagan Investments LLC (the one in Missouri, which @ultralite001 nailed) as a pass-through to buy his doorstop... er book to pocket royalties. But this caught my eye:
Cruz' leadership PAC, Jobs, Freedom and Security PAC... (con't)
2/ "reported that it 👉paid $615,000 to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed for credit card processing fees🧐 on Jan. 12, a week after the Reagan Investments advertising payout, after having paid WinRed only a few thousand dollars for all of 2020. (con't) @ThomasS4217
3/ ...The [Jobs, Freedom and Security leadership] PAC's receipts total 👉more than $758,000 in January alone, about 50% more than it raised from 2019 to 2020 combined🧐."
"If Reagan Investments is a means for Cruz to collect publishing royalties... (con't)
2/ My interpretation of WSJ article⤵️ is different, though.
The property Shane Smith offered to buy with "a blank check" was "Locusts-on-Hudson, a 76-acre estate just outside Rhinebeck where he and his wife got married in 2009," not Santa Monica.
Thread⤵️:
3/ Apparently Balazs dated Katherine Keating, daughter of former Australia Prime Minister (1991-96) Paul Keating. @mopeng see thread⤵️h/t @CatsChocolates. (more...)
2/ Feb 19, 2021:
"It is the first time that a commercial vessel sails across the Northern Sea Route in February. The voyage of the Christophe de Margerie from Jiangsu🇨🇳 in China to the remote Arctic terminal of Sabetta🇷🇺... (con't) @DemopJ thebarentsobserver.com/en/2021/02/arc…
3/ ...was made in the Arctic winter dark & through thick sea-ice. Glimpses of the voyage are now put on display by shipping company Sovcomflot🇷🇺 and its partner Rosatom🇷🇺. As previously reported by the Barents Observer, the 299 meter long LNG carrier operated by Sovcomflot🇷🇺...
@clearing_fog@TeresaCCarter2@escapedacult Saudi spymaster Saad Aljabri🇸🇦 <thread>: 1/ "The previously secret Interpol statements surfaced in a lawsuit filed Thursday [Aug 6, 2020] in a federal district court in Washington by Saad Aljabri, a former top Saudi intelligence official. (con't) washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-s…
@clearing_fog@TeresaCCarter2@escapedacult 2/ ...Aljabri was the closest adviser to MBS’s chief rival, former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, known as MBN. After the Saudis’ extradition request to Interpol and other escalating pressure tactics had failed, the suit alleges, MBS sent a 'Tiger Squad' team to kill Aljabri...
Recap thread: h/t @unclenate
Dec 3, 2020: 1/ "The U.S. president-elect and his top advisors have made the fight against dirty money one of their early priorities."
"Biden, who as vice president spearheaded the Obama administration’s fight against corruption and kleptocracy...
2/ ...has repeatedly vowed to make it a focus as president. Two years ago, Biden and his former advisor @mikercarpenter warned in Politico about the threat posed by foreign money of unknown origins to the integrity of U.S. elections."
Nov 27, 2018: (more) politico.com/magazine/story…
3/ "The lack of transparency in our campaign finance system combined with extensive foreign money laundering creates a significant vulnerability for our democracy. We don’t know how much illicit money enters the United States from abroad... (con't)