Not Exactly The Revenant

... I guess it could be karma (?)

Virginia man dies after bear shot in tree falls on him

Lester C Harvey, 58, rushed to two different hospitals after being struck by fallen animal in unusual accident

A Virginia man has died after a bear in a tree shot by one of his hunting partners fell on him, state wildlife officials said.

The bizarre, accidental death occurred 9 December in Lunenburg county, which is between Richmond and Danville, Virginia’s department of wildlife resources said in a statement.

A hunting group was following the bear when it ran up the tree, the department said. As the group retreated from the tree, a hunter shot the bear. The animal fell on to another hunter who was standing about 10ft from the bottom of the tree.

The department identified the man as Lester C Harvey, 58, of Phenix, Virginia. A member of the group rendered first aid before Harvey was rushed to two different hospitals. He died from his injuries on Friday, the wildlife department stated.

An obituary for Harvey, a married father of five with eight grandchildren, said he was a self-employed contractor and avid outdoorsman.

Similar incidents have occurred in recent years.

In 2018, a man in Alaska was critically injured after his hunting partner shot a bear on a ridge. The animal tumbled down a slope into the man, who was also struck by rocks dislodged by the bear.

Another man was injured in 2019 after his hunting partner shot a bear in a tree in North Carolina. The bear fell out of the tree and began biting the hunter. The man and the animal then tumbled off a cliff. The hunter was taken to a hospital, while the bear was later found dead.

Who Knew?

In a country where people are

"hopelessly deeply divided",

it seems all it took

to get everybody on the same page

was a dead CEO?

Is It Fate?

Did somebody pick the wrong one out of that big box of chocolates?

Are we seeing our national karma play out?

I have no idea about any of that.

But I think it's a safe bet that without the money, life turns out a bit different for Donald Trump.

It's Karma, Bitch

The Karma Train Is Running

• DumFux News lost their defamation case to the tune of $800M
• Rudy got slapped with $148M assessment for defamation
• At least a handful of cronies have pleaded out or been sanctioned 

There are signs that we may soon add Mr D'Souza to the list.

Salem Apologizes, Retracts Dinesh D’Souza’s Debunked Election Fraud Movie ‘2000 Mules’

Dinesh D’Souza’s movie that sought to prove former President Donald Trump’s fantasy that the 2020 election was stolen from him by widespread fraud has been debunked time and time again. Now, years after its release, its executive producer is retracting the film entirely.

Following the 2020 election, D’Souza released 2000 Mules as an attempt to justify Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden. Trump famously held a screening of the movie at his Mar-a-Lago estate and MAGA supporters promoted the film during it’s release in May 2022.

The film was produced by Salem Media Group, a conservative radio juggernaut that airs the likes of Sebastian Gorka and Charlie Kirk.

In a new statement, Salem apologized for the film and said it would cease distributing it. The move came after a man featured in the movie sued Salem for defamation.

The movie featured video showing the man, Mark Andrews, putting five ballots in a drop box in Lawrenceville, Georgia in 2020. D’Souza falsely claimed in the film that Andrews’ actions were criminal, describing the votes as “fraudulent.”

The statement from Salem blamed D’Souza for the smear.

“In publishing the film and the book, we relied on representations made to us by Dinesh D’Souza and True the Vote, Inc. (‘TTV’) that the individuals depicted in the videos provided to us by TTV, including Mr. Andrews, illegally deposited ballots,” the company said in a statement. “We have learned that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has cleared Mr. Andrews of illegal voting activity in connection with the event depicted in 2000 Mules.”

The company added, “It was never our intent that the publication of the 2000 Mules film and book would harm Mr. Andrews. We apologize for the hurt the inclusion of Mr. Andrews’ image in the movie, book, and promotional materials have caused Mr. Andrews and his family.”

The statement concluded by noting, “We have removed the film from Salem’s platforms, and there will be no future distribution of the film or the book by Salem.”

Andrews filed a federal lawsuit against D’Souza, True the Vote and Salem back in October 2022 over the allegations promoted in the film. Salem settled the case with Andrews for a “significant” amount.

I Won't Say What I'm Dyin' To Say

Yes I will - Fuck your feelings, MAGA.

Uh-Oh

Breaking down the $148 million Giuliani verdict

Local reporter covering appellate courts in Washington and Richmond.
Here’s how a jury got to that number when deciding what Rudy Giuliani owes two Georgia poll workers for falsely accusing them of helping to steal the 2020 election:

Ruby Freeman was awarded $16,171,000 for the damage done to her reputation.

Her daughter, Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss, was awarded $16,998,000 for the damage to her reputation.

Each woman was awarded $20 million for the emotional distress caused by Giuliani’s defamation.

Finally, Giuliani was fined $75 million in punitive damages for defaming them.

It'll be appealed, and eventually, it'll prob'ly get whittled down considerably. But the numbers are generally based on estimates of the defendant's net wealth, and future earning potential.

I think the significance lies in the (apparent) fact that the jury had no patience with any of the bullshit stories of "fraud" and "stolen election".

This could bode very badly for whoever's next on the docket - whether it's a similar defamation trial in civil court, or the felonies the various bad actors are going to be tried for in criminal court(s).

And this is how this kinda crap usually ends - somebody gets sued and it just stops.

Juries of 12 regular everyday Americans look at it and say no - we're not putting up with any more of this shit.

Under The Radar

Having pled guilty in the fake electors scheme in Georgia, Ken Chesebro is apparently on tour, hitting all the hot venues, even though it's not been a big news item.

Exclusive:

Pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro cooperating in multiple state probes into 2020 fake electors plot

The pro-Trump lawyer who helped devise the 2020 fake electors plot and already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in Georgia is now cooperating with Michigan and Wisconsin state investigators in hopes of avoiding more criminal charges, multiple sources told CNN.

In a dramatic turnaround from 2020 – when the lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, was at the center of efforts by former President Donald Trump to subvert the Electoral College and overturn his defeat – Chesebro is now helping investigators in at least four states who are looking into the scheme.

Chesebro’s cooperation in Wisconsin is the first indication the state attorney general’s office has launched its own investigation into the false slates of pro-Trump electors. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, has not publicly announced that an investigation is underway.

Chesebro also recently testified to a grand jury in Nevada, where indictments against six fake electors were announced Wednesday by state prosecutors. Additionally, Chesebro has been in contact with prosecutors in Arizona, where he plans to sit for an interview as part of that state’s ongoing investigation into fake electors.

CNN has previously identified Chesebro as an unindicted co-conspirator in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment against Trump, where the former president is charged with organizing the fake electors scheme “to disenfranchise millions of voters” and unlawfully remain in power. There is no indication Chesebro is cooperating in the federal probe, or that Smith has ruled out charges against him.

The Trump campaign targeted seven states with the scheme in 2020. Charges have been filed against fake electors in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada. Investigations are underway in Arizona, New Mexico and now, apparently, Wisconsin. The seventh state in the plot was Pennsylvania.

The Michigan inquiry, led by state Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, was the first in the nation to produce criminal charges. It now appears that the scope of Nessel’s investigation may be broader than previously known, and is looking at other figures with ties to the scheme beyond the fake electors themselves.

The Michigan attorney general’s office confirmed to CNN in an email this week that their investigation is still active.

The Wisconsin attorney general’s office declined to comment, as did Chesebro’s lawyer.

Chesebro has entered into what’s known as proffer agreements in several states, which gives him some protection from prosecution, according to multiple sources. His cooperation with investigators in Michigan and Wisconsin has not been previously reported.

But cooperating with state prosecutors does not guarantee Chesebro will avoid criminal charges in one or all of the ongoing investigations, the sources cautioned.

Another pro-Trump lawyer in Michigan

Nessel’s ongoing investigation has already produced charges against the 16 fake electors in Michigan. One agreed to cooperate in exchange for his case being dropped. The rest pleaded not guilty, and there are key hearings this month in their bid to toss the case.

Sources told CNN that Nessel has scrutinized another pro-Trump lawyer, Ian Northon, who was in contact with top Trump allies after the 2020 election and accompanied the fake electors when they tried to enter the Michigan statehouse.

In charging documents against the Michigan fake electors, prosecutors highlighted how Northon tried to persuade a state trooper to let them into the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing – but they were rebuffed. This was a key part of the plan that Chesebro and others devised: Federal law and Michigan statutes require the electors to meet in the statehouse, and Chesebro hoped the pro-Trump slate would hew to the law as closely as possible.

An attorney for Northon did not comment for this story.

After the 2020 election, Northon participated in conference calls with then-Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman where they discussed how to contest the results, according to Northon’s testimony to the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

Northon also had a phone call with Sidney Powell, a right-wing attorney and conspiracy theorist who has pleaded guilty in the Georgia election subversion case. She asked him to join a lawsuit she was filing in Michigan about nullifying the election – he declined and filed a separate suit contesting the results. The meritless cases went nowhere.

According to his congressional testimony, Northon had no ties to Chesebro, except that a colleague forwarded to him one of Chesebro’s memos about the Electoral College after the 2020 election. Northon also said he learned from a pro-Trump state legislator that the fake electors would be meeting in Lansing.

“I was as disappointed, I think, as anybody to see what happened on January 6 at the Capitol,” Northon told the House committee in 2022. “My efforts in representing these private clients were to get people to follow the law, not to encourage people to break it.”

It's Starting To Rain Shoes

Mark Meadows sued by book publisher over false election claims

The publisher of Mark Meadows’s book is suing the former White House chief of staff, arguing in court filings Friday morning that he violated an agreement with All Seasons Press by including false statements about former President Trump’s claims surrounding the 2020 election.

“Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff under President Donald J. Trump, promised and represented that ‘all statements contained in the Work are true and based on reasonable research for accuracy’ and that he ‘has not made any misrepresentations to the Publisher about the Work,’” the publishing company writes in its suit, filed in court in Sarasota County, Fla.

“Meadows breached those warranties causing ASP to suffer significant monetary and reputational damage when the media widely reported … that he warned President Trump against claiming that election fraud corrupted the electoral votes cast in the 2020 Presidential Election and that neither he nor former President Trump actually believed such claims.”

The suit comes after ABC News reported that Meadows received immunity to testify before a grand jury convened to hear evidence from special counsel Jack Smith, reportedly contradicting statements he made in his book.

“Meadows’ reported statements to the Special Prosecutor and/or his staff and his reported grand jury testimony squarely contradict the statements in his Book, one central theme of which is that President Trump was the true winner of the 2020 Presidential Election and that election was ‘stolen’ and ‘rigged’ with the help from ‘allies in the liberal media,’ who ignored ‘actual evidence of fraud,’” the company writes in the filing.

According to Meadows’s testimony, as reported by ABC News, Trump was being “dishonest” with voters when he claimed victory on election night. ABC reported that Meadows admitted Trump lost the election when questioned by prosecutors.

He also told prosecutors he has yet to see any fraud in the 2020 election that would shift Trump’s loss to President Biden, ABC reported.

The suit notes that the opening sentence to one chapter in Meadows’s book was, “I KNEW HE DIDN’T LOSE.”

The company is asking for the $350,000 it paid Meadows as an advance for the book, $600,000 in out-of-pocket damages, and at least $1 million each for reputational damage suffered by the company and loss of expected profits for the book, which they argue plummeted given Meadows’s involvement in numerous investigations regarding Jan. 6.

The suit reveals a long and tense relationship between Meadows and his publisher, which has published a suite of books from conservative figures.

In December 2021, All Seasons Press sent a letter to Meadows saying it would withhold the final of three $116,666 advance payments over concerns his book may contain false information. The suit also notes it planned to continue with publication “pending an investigation.”

A few days later the company got a letter from attorney Blake Meadows, whom the suit says is Meadows’s son, demanding the final installment.

“Mr. Meadows is aware of the specious allegations that were published regarding a portion of the book which was taken out of context, and which have already been addressed by both Mr. Meadows and former President Trump in multiple press releases,” Blake Meadows wrote, according to the suit.

All Seasons Press said it decided to publish the book “after conducting the appropriate due diligence and based upon repeated assurances from Meadows that facts in the Book were true.”

But it argues that as “rumors circulated in the media” that Meadows could be a cooperating witness with prosecutors, the book’s bottom line was harmed.

“As a result, public interest in the Book, the truth of which was increasingly in doubt, precipitously declined, and ASP sold only approximately 60,000 of the 200,000 first printing of the Book,” the suit states.

A request for comment made to Meadow’s attorney in the election interference case was not immediately returned, nor was a message left with Blake Meadows.

Meadows has previously suggested portions of his book were inaccurate, including a detail about how Trump tested positive for COVID-19 days before his first debate against now-President Biden.

Trump denied the claim and called it “fake news,” which led Meadows to say during an interview in December 2021 that the claim from his own book was “fake news.”

Meadows has not been charged in the federal government’s election interference case, but he has been charged in a sprawling racketeering and election law case in Georgia.

Karma Takes A Hand

Or maybe it was just too damned hot - 'specially when you're kinda overdressed in jeans and boots and big hat on your small head, trying to stay cool under those lights, in a relatively confined space.

I hope he's OK. I'm not pulling for somebody to get sick or be hurt.

Do you suppose he's vaccinated?

What's Jason Aldean's position on Climate Change?

I'm S'posed To Care About This?

Not to be too much of a dick about it, but the good news is that a few ridiculously rich people may have been removed from the equation today.

If you've decided to blow a ¼ million dollars on a joy ride through a cemetery, don't expect me to mourn your passing. I promise not to be happy about it, but I'm not going to get all choked up either.

A buncha wealthy pukes - and the greedy fucks who obliged them - went two miles down to ogle a death scene, and apparently, they've become part of the tableau. Fuck 'em.

A search-and-rescue mission is underway in the North Atlantic, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

A submersible went missing in the area of the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic on Monday, setting off a search-and-rescue operation by the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the agency and the tourism company operating the craft.

Petty Officer Lourdes Putnam confirmed that Coast Guard officials were searching for the submersible, which is operated by OceanGate Expeditions. It was not clear how many people were on board the vessel, and Officer Putnam offered no further details. The company’s website said its submersibles carry five people.

OceanGate, a company that takes paying tourists in submersibles to shipwrecks and underwater canyons, said on its website on Monday that an expedition was “currently underway.”

In a statement after the submersible went missing, the company said that it was exploring all options to bring the crew back safely.

“Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families,” a statement said. “We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.”

The Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, on its maiden voyage from England to New York after hitting an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people. The wreckage was found in 1985, broken into two main sections, about 400 miles off Newfoundland, in eastern Canada, and has since attracted the attention of experts and amateurs alike.

The chief executive of OceanGate, which was founded in 2009, has compared its project to the burgeoning space tourism industry, and the company has offered tours of the Titanic in which guests paid $250,000 to travel to the wreckage on the seabed, more than two miles below the ocean’s surface.

The company’s website outlines an eight-day itinerary for the trip, setting out from the city of St. John’s in Canada to the site of the Titanic wreck. The site also outlines a degree of training for the company’s customers, saying they receive “a vessel orientation and safety briefing” and are familiarized with “the vessel’s safety procedures.”

The company said that customers do not require any previous diving experience, but that there are “a few physical requirements like being able to board small boats in active seas.”

A Reminder

In 2018, Trump signed a bill into law that changed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, increasing the penalties for mishandling secret documents to 5 years, and making it a felony.

It was a change he and the GOP clowns in congress intended to use to spank Hillary.

The law he was going to use to fuck Hillary is the one he's about to be indicted and put on trial for.

Glimmers

War is for losers.

I'm not talking about it the way Trump did. He took a giant dump on anybody who answered the call and served honorably in uniform. He actually called the dead and the wounded suckers and losers.

And while I'll continue to make the argument that the warriors are in fact ultimately responsible for the war (ie: you don't have much of a war if nobody shows up to fight), that's not my point.

When you're responsible for your own actions no matter the circumstances, we all need to be very careful, and not get fooled by the cynical manipulations of asshole politicians who'll never have to do any of the fighting and the bleeding and the dying in the name of some noble cause their PR team came up with.

When I say 'war is for losers', I mean it at the base level. Nobody wins a war. When the killing stops and the smoke clears, the "winner" is the side that lost the least, or was able to stand losing more than the other guys.

Nobody wins. Everybody loses. War is about loss. War is for losers.

There's no better example of that than what's going on in Ukraine, and the "good news" - for lack of a better way to say it - is that it kinda looks like the example of Putin getting his dick knocked in the dirt is making the Chinese a little more reasonable.

Opinion In Vienna, the U.S.-China relationship shows signs of hope

As the United States and China veered toward confrontation in recent years, both sides gave lip service to the idea that they seek cooperation on issues of mutual interest. Little came from that rhetoric until last week in Vienna, when top Chinese and U.S. officials actually seemed to be creating a framework for constructive engagement.

After two days of intense meetings Wednesday and Thursday between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, the two nations used identical language to describe the meetings: candid, substantive, constructive. For diplomats, that amounts to a rave review.

Talking about resets in foreign policy is always risky, and that’s especially true with Washington and Beijing. These two superpowers might be “destined for war,” as Harvard professor Graham Allison warned in a book with that title. What they’ve lacked, in their increasingly combative relationship, has been common ground. But some shared space seems to have emerged during the long, detailed discussions between Sullivan and Wang.

The U.S. and Chinese officials are said to have talked for hours about how to resolve the war in Ukraine short of a catastrophe that would be harmful for both countries. They discussed how each side perceives and misunderstands the other’s global ambitions. They spoke in detail about the supremely contentious issue of Taiwan.

The frank discussion in Vienna was important because both sides have been running hard in the opposite direction in recent years. The Biden administration has concentrated on rebuilding U.S. military alliances and partnerships but has had little constructive engagement with Beijing. China has proclaimed a “no limits” partnership with Russia and has fostered an alliance of the aggrieved but, in the process, has rebuffed the superpower that matters most to its future.

What was different in Vienna? From accounts that have emerged, it was partly a matter of chemistry. Sullivan and Wang are both confident enough to talk off script. Over nearly a dozen hours of discussion, they threw schedules aside. They have the confidence of their bosses, Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping, to engage in detailed discussion about sensitive issues. They appear to have found a language for superpower discussion, like what once existed between the United States and both Russia and China but has been lost.

Sullivan and Wang are said to have discussed the Ukraine war at length. China insists it won’t abandon Russia, its longtime partner. China seems to understand that this conflict won’t be resolved on the battlefield but through diplomacy. As Ukraine prepares a counteroffensive that could push back the Russian invasion, China fears a cascading series of Russian losses could destabilize President Vladimir Putin.

China has proposed a peace plan for Ukraine and is sending a special envoy this week to Kyiv, Moscow and other key capitals. U.S. officials expect that China’s role won’t be as a mediator but a check on Russia’s actions. If Xi decides it’s time for this war to end, Putin has few alternatives. That’s why the Kremlin is said to have viewed last week’s Sino-American engagement with dread.

In the background of the Vienna discussions were two ruthlessly pragmatic questions for China. These issues form the context for a new stage in the relationship in which, as China’s foreign ministry spokesman put it, “China-U.S. relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side outcompetes or thrives at the expense of the other.”

The first baseline issue might be described as the “inevitability” question. Is the United States in inevitable decline while China is moving toward inevitable ascendancy? Xi’s policies have been premised on both outcomes, but the past several years have raised questions in Beijing. The U.S. economy and social framework have shown surprising resilience, and its technology remains supreme.

China might have imagined that it was dominant in artificial intelligence, for example, until the explosive impact of GPT-4. China, meanwhile, has faced economic and political head winds. Its global dominance is far from certain.

The Chinese leadership appears to be debating, behind the scenes, this question of America’s staying power. U.S. officials noted a blog post this month by Fu Ying, a prominent Chinese former diplomat, questioning in veiled terms whether one country should question another’s power. The post was removed from the website of the university where she teaches, and U.S. officials say they believe Fu was reprimanded. What’s evident is that the issue is being debated.

A second essential question for China is whether prolongation of the Ukraine war is in Beijing’s interest. Some Chinese officials are said to have argued that a long war is good for China, because the United States is bogged down in the conflict and Russia’s ties to China are reinforced. But there’s apparently a growing counterargument that the war strengthens America’s alliances in Europe and Asia and creates long-term trouble for China. U.S. officials say they believe the latter argument is gaining force in Beijing.

For the Biden administration, the fundamental question has been whether it is in America’s interest to accept China’s growing global role and work with Chinese leaders to accomplish mutual goals. Sino-American engagement had been focused on “soft” issues such as health, food and climate change. But Biden encouraged Sullivan to engage on core security issues such as Ukraine.

The U.S. message in Vienna is said to have been an emphatic “yes” on engagement. Sullivan praised Wang’s mediation of the bitter rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, for example, explaining that the United States could not have played a similar role because of its mutual antipathy with Iran but welcoming China’s effort to de-escalate conflict in the region.

Biden’s opening to China has been motivated by one simple idea: The United States doesn’t want to start a new Cold War. Biden took too long to implement this insight, bowing to the new conventional wisdom in Washington that the more strident the confrontation with China, the better. But he seems to have found his voice.

A few green sprouts don’t guarantee blossoms in spring, let alone a ripe summer. But based on Chinese and American accounts, what happened last week in Vienna was the beginning of a process of regular, direct engagement that will benefit both sides.

Then throw in the stories coming out now about Prigozhin trying to make a deal with Kyiv to help him pull his own fat out of the fire, while fucking over Putin, and the picture gets pretty sharp.

"I don't care who wins or what it costs, I just don't wanna be the loser."

Wagner chief offered to give Russian troop locations to Ukraine, leak says

THE DISCORD LEAKS
Secret documents reveal that Yevgeniy Prigozhin said he would tell Ukraine where to attack Russian positions if it pulled back from Bakhmut, where Wagner mercenaries were taking heavy losses.

In late January, with his mercenary forces dying by the thousands in a fight for the ruined city of Bakhmut, Wagner Group owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin made Ukraine an extraordinary offer.

Prigozhin said that if Ukraine’s commanders withdrew their soldiers from the area around Bakhmut, he would give Kyiv information on Russian troop positions, which Ukraine could use to attack them. Prigozhin conveyed the proposal to his contacts in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, with whom he has maintained secret communications during the course of the war, according to previously unreported U.S. intelligence documents leaked on the group-chat platform Discord.

Prigozhin has publicly feuded with Russian military commanders, who he furiously claims have failed to equip and resupply his forces, which have provided vital support to Moscow’s war effort. But he is also an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who might well regard Prigozhin’s offer to trade the lives of Wagner fighters for Russian soldiers as a treasonous betrayal.

The leaked document does not make clear which Russian troop positions Prigozhin offered to disclose.

Two Ukrainian officials confirmed that Prigozhin has spoken several times to the Ukrainian intelligence directorate, known as HUR. One official said that Prigozhin extended the offer regarding Bakhmut more than once, but that Kyiv rejected it because officials don’t trust Prigozhin and thought his proposals could have been disingenuous.

A U.S. official also cautioned that there are similar doubts in Washington about Prigozhin’s intentions. The Ukrainian and U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

- more -

So in the midst of the madness, there can still be little rays of hope that we're nearing the part where assholes like Putin and Prigozhin end up as corpses smoldering in a ditch somewhere.

Couldn't happen to a nicer coupla guys.

Overheard

The dildo of consequences

hardly ever arrives lubed

Today's Burn

How it started

How it's going

Andrew Tate detained in Romania over rape and human trafficking case

Controversial online influencer Andrew Tate has been detained in Romania as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation.

Tate - who was detained alongside his brother Tristan - had his house raided in the capital, Bucharest.

A police spokesperson confirmed the arrests to the BBC.

The former kickboxer rose to fame in 2016 when he was removed from British TV show Big Brother over a video which appeared to show him attacking a woman.

He went on to gain notoriety online, with Twitter banning him for saying women should "bear responsibility" for being sexually assaulted. He has since been reinstated.

Despite social media bans he gained popularity, particularly among young men, by promoting an ultra-masculine, ultra-luxurious lifestyle.

He regularly appeared in videos with a fleet of expensive sports cars, on private jets, and enjoying expensive holidays.

Speaking to the BBC, a spokesperson for the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said prosecutors had applied to hold the influencer at a "detention centre" for an additional 30 days.

A judge will rule on the application on Friday, the spokesperson added. The brothers have been under investigation since April alongside two Romanian nationals.

During the detention hearing, the two brothers maintained their right to silence, their lawyer told the BBC.

"The four suspects... appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost," DIICOT said in a statement.

Video on social media showed Tate and his brother being led away from a luxury villa.

A spokesperson for Tate told the Daily Mirror that he could not provide details relating to the arrest. "However, Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can," he added.

Later, a tweet was sent from Andrew Tate's Twitter account alluding to the 1999 movie The Matrix, a film he regularly refers to in his posts.

"The Matrix sent their agents," the post said. The account also retweeted Matrix memes posted by Twitter owner Elon Musk.

On Thursday night, Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism issued a statement, but did not name the Tate brothers, stating that two British citizens and two Romanian citizens were suspected of being part of a human trafficking group.

The statement said officers had identified six people who were "sexually exploited" by what it called an "organised criminal group".

Police alleged the victims were "recruited" by the British citizens, who they said had misrepresented their intention to enter into a relationship with the victims - which it called "the loverboy method".

They were later forced to perform in pornographic content under threat of violence, the statement said.

Police also released a video of the raid, showing guns, knives, and money on display in one room.

Tate moved to Romania five years ago. Rumours swirled online that police were tipped off to Tate's presence in the country when he posted a video taking aim at the environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

In the footage he posted, he was handed a pizza box from a local restaurant, which some users suggested had inadvertently revealed his location.

However, the pizza box is not thought to be relevant.

ed note: And that won't matter. A meme is born and will live forever.

The row with the activist began earlier this week when Tate, 36, tagged the 19-year-old in a post boasting about the "enormous emissions" produced by his fleet of cars.

Following the arrest, she tweeted "this is what happens when you don't recycle your pizza boxes," referring to the online rumour.

In 2016, he entered the Big Brother house but was soon removed after a video appeared to show him hitting a woman with a belt.

At the time of his expulsion, Tate said the video had been edited, calling it "a total lie trying to make me look bad".

Mr Tate has been banned from social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, with TikTok also removing him, saying "misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated".

He had been banned from Twitter but was recently allowed back onto the platform following Elon Musk's takeover.

it was the fuck-around-iest of times

it was the find-out-iest of times

Oh, Alex

Sometimes, when I see a guy get really stomped - even if he's had it coming for a really long time - I can muster up a little sympathy for him.

But not for Alex Jones. Never for Alex Jones.

I wouldn't feel sorry for that prick for any reason ever. Not. Fucking. Ever.

Alex Jones ordered to pay $473 million in punitive damages in Sandy Hook defamation case

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay $473 million in punitive damages for his defamatory claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting, a Connecticut judge ruled on Thursday.

The ruling came a month after a jury in Waterbury, Connecticut, found that Jones and the parent company of his Infowars website must pay more than a dozen relatives of Sandy Hook victims nearly $1 billion in compensatory damages for falsely claiming they were actors who staged the shooting as part of a government plot to seize Americans’ guns.

In a separate order late Wednesday, the judge, Barbara Bellis, temporarily blocked Jones from moving any personal assets out of the country. The ruling came at the request of the plaintiffs, who claim Jones is trying to hide assets to avoid paying.

Jones is now on the hook for a total of $1.49 billion in damages in two Sandy Hook defamation cases that went to trial this year. A third case is pending in Texas.

- more -

$1,438,000,000

Today's Reddit

Payback

WCIV - Trenton SC

SC man suffers heart attack, dies while burying body of murdered wife: Officials

A man from a small town in South Carolina died of a heart attack while burying the body of his wife he had strangled inside of their home, according to officials in Edgefield County.

Augusta, Georgia-based ABC affiliate WJBF reports that the body of Joseph McKinnon, 60, was found in his Trenton yard Saturday morning.

Officials responded to the scene and found a second body -- that of 65-year-old Patricia Dent -- in a freshly dug pit.

Autopsies showed that McKinnon died of natural causes while Dent died by strangulation.

Investigators put together a timeline of events. They believe McKinnon attacked Dent while inside of their home, then wrapped her body in trash bags and put her in the pit.

While covering Dent's body with dirt, McKinnon is believed to have suffered a deadly heart attack.

Today's Stoopid

FUCK AROUND

AND FIND OUT

MSN:

State trooper who told off Washington Gov. Jay Inslee over vaccine mandate dies from COVID

TACOMA, Wash. — A former Washington State Patrol trooper who told off Gov. Jay Inslee over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, resigned and then became a sought-after media figure, has died, according to the State Patrol.

Trooper Robert LaMay's death was announced Friday. He was 50.

According to FOX News, KIRO News Radio, Newsweek and other media sources, LaMay died after contracting COVID-19.

His former boss, State Patrol Chief John Batiste, said he was deeply saddened to hear of LaMay's death Friday.

"Rob served honorably for over two decades and we were disappointed to see him leave the agency this past October," Batiste said. "His service to this state and agency will be long remembered and appreciated."

LaMay took early retirement in October rather than get vaccinated.

A video shows him giving his final radio call in which he tells Inslee to "kiss my a--." The video went viral and LaMay soon was appearing on numerous news outlets.

No statement from his family has been issued.

Last summer, LaMay had said he and his family did not "do" vaccines and he never received any as an adult. In August, on his Facebook account, he said vaccines go against his religious beliefs. His account is no longer visible.

While 73 other commissioned officers quit the State Patrol over the mandate, none received the media celebrity status LaMay did. On Jan. 12, Jerrod Sessler, a Prosser businessman running for Congress in Washington's 4th District, announced that LaMay had endorsed him.

"Mr. Lamay took the hearts of Americans by storm when he resigned from his position as a state trooper because he refused to succumb to the mandates enforced upon him by a constitutionally over-extended governor," Sessler said.

Sessler said he would appoint LaMay to head an anti-human-trafficking task force he would commission.

In the endorsement, LaMay accuses state politicians of ignoring human trafficking. He went on to say, "many of whom are involved in it themselves and do not want it to go away."

LaMay joined the State Patrol in 1999 as a trooper cadet. He was commissioned in 2001.

The trooper served in Poulsbo, Bremerton, Ellensburg and, most recently, Yakima. He worked as an armorer, collision reconstructionist and as a drug recognition expert.

LaMay's is the not the first high profile death to affect the State Patrol. Trooper Eric Gunderson died Sept. 26 after contracting COVID while on business for the agency six weeks earlier.

The trooper was 38 and unvaccinated but his family said he would have followed the mandate.

"It is important for everyone to know, he was not a part of any anti-vaccine or political movement," Gunderson's family said in a statement.

To date, 10,699 Washington residents have died of COVID.

And Another One Gone

Not too long ago, Washington State Trooper Robert Lamay gained a little notoriety by posting his resignation online, saying he was being forced out because of the vax mandate.

Mr Lamay has recently died of COVID-19.

BNO News:

Former Washington State Trooper Robert LaMay, who went viral when he chose to quit rather than get vaccinated against coronavirus, has died of COVID-19. He was 50 years old.

“I am deeply saddened over the news that our former friend and colleague Trooper Robert LaMay has passed away,” State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a statement on Friday. “This agency’s prayers and remembrances are with his family and loved ones.”

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I'm sorry the guy's dead.

I'm not sorry to call bullshit on his claim of being forced out.

Policies are changed &/or newly installed all the time. Rules change. New rules come in and old rules go out - it happens a lot. And every time, every employee decides whether or not the job is worth the trouble of compliance.

Yes, you have to be a little careful when considering what those rules are and how they impact people's lives - both from management's POV and from the perspective of the employee, and the community at large. But we're not talking about anything radical or unreasonable here, no matter the ridiculous claims of the Anti-Vax idiots.

He might as well try to convince me he was forced out because he refused to report for his physical, or for any number of things every officer is required to submit to, and that makes him the victim, and boo-fuckin'-hoo.

This poor poor pitiful me bullshit has to be called out. Buncha fuckin' crybabies.