EARLY EDITION: Five Fast News Stories For The Water Cooler (Mon. Mar 27)
TODAY: Nuclear Sabre rattling; McConnell's Health; Priest Framed; Banksy Seized; Renner Walks; Kanye changes tune on Jews
TODAY: Nuclear Sabre rattling; McConnell’s Health; Priest Framed; Banksy Seized; Renner Walks; Kanye changes tune on Jews
1. Russia uses British Ukraine support to justify escalating nuclear rhetoric
The UK has pledged an effective armor-penetrating anti-tank round in support of Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the Russian military advancing on Ukraine. The shells are made of a subtance called depleted uranium.
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Depleted uranium is what is left over after natural uranium has been enriched, either for weapons-making or for reactor fuel.
It is mildly radioactive in its solid form. But it is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, and it is used to harden rounds so that they can penetrate armour and steel.
When a weapon made with a depleted uranium tip or core strikes a solid object, like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it and then erupts in a burning cloud of vapour.
The vapour settles as dust, which is poisonous and also weakly radioactive. –BBC
Putin is using this ‘provocation’ and supposedly use of nuclear weapons as justification to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over the ones it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.
Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian conflict by placing them closer to Russian aircraft and missiles already stationed there. –GlobalNews
2. Sen. McConnell home from rehab after serious concussion
The Senate Minority leader is 81 years old and survived polio. It’s hardly surprising that he might stumble and hit his head hard on the way down. On March 8th, he fell. On the 13th he was released to an inpatient rehab center. On the 25th, he was back at home, looking forward to resuming his duties in the Senate.
There are unconfirmed rumors that McConnel is now considering retirement in light of his injury.
By way of comparison, Sen Fetterman checked himself in on Feb 8. Recent reports from his staff suggest that he might be returning to work ‘soon’. The intentional ambiguity of the word ‘soon’ is not lost on this writer.
3. Terror evidence against Catholic priest who died in custody planted by Indian Government, audit shows
Father Stan Swamy, (Stanislaus Lourduswamy) died in prison at 84, awaiting trial on terror charges. He was a Catholic priest and an activist for the rights of tribal minorities.
Forensic evidence now shows that the evidence against him was planted there by his own government.
“Multiple findings” link India’s government to the hacking, according to a report by Massachusetts-based Arsenal Consulting, which found that the laptop of Jesuit priest Stan Swamy was infected beginning in 2014 with a commercially available malware, NetWire, which can “upload and download files from a target’s computer, log keystrokes and access emails and passwords,” according to The Washington Post.
The finding raises concerns that such malware could be illicitly employed by governments around the globe for political persecution.
After what Arsenal reported was a five-year-long malware campaign during which “dozens of files” were dropped into a “hidden folder” unbeknown to Swamy, his device was seized by police in 2019, and he was arrested and charged under the “anti-terror” Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence, which resulted in one death and five injuries.
Swamy was additionally accused of being a “sympathizer” of the Maoists, that is, the Communist Party of India, which aims to overthrow the government and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the state. The Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee (PPSC) Swamy co-founded “to fight for the release of around 3,000 … who have been labeled as Maoists and imprisoned” was accused of being a front for Maoist fundraising. –LifeSiteNews
4. Italian Coast Guard seizes Banksy’s migrant rescue ship after defying orders
Smuggling people into Europe is a big business. Big enough that people are willing to cut corners on safety to make a few extra bucks in ferrying them over the Mediterranean. Inevitably, that leads to mishaps and deaths.
Banksy has a ship patrolling the waters to save people in the little boats that get in trouble while making the trip. But Italy is enforcing new rules on how to run such operations without becoming the next ship needing rescuing. That includes passenger limits and an obligation to bring rescuees to land.
The 30-metre long, pink and white Louise Michel, named after a French feminist anarchist, eventually docked in Lampedusa late on Saturday with 178 migrants on board.
The coast guard said it wanted to prevent the ship from taking too many people on board, thereby putting their safety at risk. Local authorities on Lampedusa said their reception facilities are now full.
The coast guard said that in the last 48 hours it had coordinated rescue operations for 58 boats, helping a total of more than 3,300 people.
The NGO Louise Michel said on its Twitter account that it was told that its ship was being seized due to a violation of the new Italian legislation and that it was ready to fight against the decision. –Reuters
5. Jeremy Renner on road to recovery — walking on a treadmill
Renner suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries after trying to rush into the cab of his 14,330lb snowplow to stop it from sliding and endangering someone else’s life. He slid under the massive tracks and his legs were shattered.
Now, only a few months later, video has been posted of the actor progressing down the long road to recover while walking on a special treadmill in which his body only carries 40% of his weight. He may not be supporting the full weight yet, but the fact that he has been doing the walking motions is a fantastic sign.
I now have to find OTHER things to occupy my time so my body can recover from my will. #minduful #intended #recovery pic.twitter.com/TuDFSMVJHY
— Jeremy Renner (@JeremyRenner) March 26, 2023
News of the Weird:
Kanye watches TV show — likes Jewish people again.
We all remember Kanye’s weird meltdown when he went on Alex Jones and dropped some creepy and conspiracy-theory takes that even made Jones visibly uncomfortable, right? Hating Jews and loving Hitler, and then following up with a symbol used by Raëlism (a UFO sex cult) that looks like a mash-up between a Swastika and a Star of David is the express lane to becoming socially ostracized.
He now realizes that he doesn’t actually hate all Jewish people. He was just really pissed off about how a couple of specific Jewish people had stung him, and spiraled out of control. (Theoretically plausible, seeing that his mental health was already a known issue.)
Who was he upset with? Pete Davidson publicly cuckolding him didn’t help. He was one of the two mentioned by name. The other was Dov Charney, who refused to print his brand.
What changed his mind?
“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street made me like Jewish people again,” wrote West, who also goes by Ye.
“No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people.” — JPost
And that’s why we call that bonus story ‘news of the weird.
Sources Cited
BBC;
GlobalNews;
LifeSiteNews;
Reuters
