C.R.E.A.M.

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Big News (If We Can Keep It)

by Anne Laurie| July 28, 20216:53 pm| 192 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Readership Capture

The largest investment in:

– Public transit in history
– Passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak
– Repairing our nation’s bridges since the construction of the interstate highway system
– Clean energy transmission in history

That’s the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. pic.twitter.com/Me8QypHNDW

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 28, 2021

I’ve always believed we’re at our best when we’re one America, coming together to get big things done.

The cynics said a bipartisan bill wasn’t possible. They doubted our ability to strike a bipartisan deal on infrastructure.

We proved them wrong.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 28, 2021

We’ve reached a historic deal on infrastructure, folks. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is the largest infrastructure bill in a century. It will grow the economy, create good-paying jobs, and set America on a path to win the future.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 28, 2021

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Big News (If We Can Keep It)Post + Comments (192)

Late Night Open Thread: Wu-Tang Clan Fans Are… INTENSE

by Anne Laurie| July 27, 202111:03 pm| 75 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Music, Open Threads

"Earlier today, the United States sold the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'" … forfeited by Martin Shkreli.

Photo of the album here. pic.twitter.com/fHcCjNuq88

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 27, 2021

Shkreli's forfeiture order was for $7.4 million.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 27, 2021

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Late Night Open Thread: Wu-Tang Clan Fans Are… INTENSEPost + Comments (75)

Late Night Open Thread: JD Vance Works Hard for Peter Thiel’s Money

by Anne Laurie| July 27, 202112:39 am| 63 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Grifters Gonna Grift, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Assholes

Not to be overly "woke," but this sucker is headed for Julius Streichertown. https://t.co/AYL6wbj9G9

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) July 26, 2021

the fact this isn't true aside, does it maybe tell you something that the ADL has so many conservatives to criticize?

— Aaron Schwartzbaum (@aaron_schwa) July 26, 2021

You know who else wrote one book before going into politics and then started ranting about the Jews?

— Eric Bravo (@boardgamebravo) July 26, 2021

Vance is no longer running for office; his full-time job is performative outrage against the people Peter Thiel dislikes. (Which, I’m sure some misfortunate Ohio residents would warn me, doesn’t mean he won’t end up in office… )

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Late Night Open Thread: JD Vance Works Hard for Peter Thiel’s MoneyPost + Comments (63)

Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: Will Tom Barrack Flip On His ‘Best Friend’?

by Anne Laurie| July 26, 20219:03 pm| 112 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel

Trump ally Tom Barrack was arraigned in a federal court in Brooklyn, NY, for illegal foreign lobbying charges on July 26, 2021. Barrack was allegedly acting as an agent of the United Arab Emirates and intended to influence the Trump administration’s foreign policy. pic.twitter.com/LUAdzXVltL

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 26, 2021

Barrack Pleads Not Guilty, Out Of Prison After Posting $250 Million Bond pic.twitter.com/36DxgTueOf

— Mo.bare. Michael. sta.ve. m.j r.b c.p .Jhn (@Maxamdbar88888) July 26, 2021

According to the indictment, Tom Barrack asked Emirati officials to create a “wish list” for the first 100 days, 6 months, year, and four years of the new Trump administration. Barrack pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court. https://t.co/xMAQpQlM4W

— Gothamist (@Gothamist) July 26, 2021

I wrote up a summary of some new details in the 2019 complaint here, which I hope you'll read. https://t.co/LzZeqoRtYJ

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 26, 2021

But then again: Bonesaws!

Some speculating that Barrack will flee. Though possible (he's also a citizen of Lebanon & has ties with UAE), I do not believe he will do so bc he has another viable option to resolve this case with a likely sentence of probation: cooperation, not spending life as fugitive.

— Richard Signorelli (@richsignorelli) July 26, 2021

There are two justice systems in America: one for the rich and powerful, and one for everyone else. https://t.co/BK3RueBPt2

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) July 24, 2021

Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: Will Tom Barrack Flip On His ‘Best Friend’?Post + Comments (112)

Tokyo 2020 Open Thread: Snippets from the Asterisk Games

by Anne Laurie| July 22, 202110:32 pm| 40 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Sports

(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)
.

Disclaimer: I am not much of a sports fan, but I read a lot of news media. I figure anybody who wants coverage or results from the endless stream of events will find them elsewhere (h/t NotMax for the link), so mine will be a random series of links for those human interest and WTF stories that might otherwise slip under your radar.

My favorite was the comment on a tweet from the news platform that just said, “That means there ARE spectators! ??”

— ????????/Elisabeth Kaseda (@elisabethkaseda) July 21, 2021

SRSLY —

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The Tokyo Olympics have barely started but that hasn’t stopped the games from experiencing more than its share of disturbances – including a roaming bear that cannot be contained https://t.co/273cnib6nn

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 22, 2021

About 950 people to watch opening event at stadium, official says https://t.co/4OPIuPgYzx pic.twitter.com/3lgYAaWKWk

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2021

IOC's Bach says he didn't know how complex it would be to stage the Games https://t.co/rDkeIW9oM8 pic.twitter.com/iuztFC3vdu

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 20, 2021

Reuters correspondent Mari Saito’s twitter feed is well worth following:

1/ NEW: It was bittersweet to write about Ted Adegawa, who helped built his town into the surfing destination it is today. First, his torch relay was canceled. Then they banned fans. Now, like everyone else, he'll have to watch the event on TV. #tokyo2020 https://t.co/NZYWyX9xqZ

— Mari Saito (@saitomri) July 21, 2021

3/ Ted decided to move his surf business to Isumi after he saw American soldiers surfing perfect swells there in 1970. It meant so much for him and other locals to host the Olympics' inaugural surfing event here. In anticipation of the Games, Ted even opened a tiny museum here pic.twitter.com/htd1S0Qh9w

— Mari Saito (@saitomri) July 21, 2021

7/ It's all very bizarre. Empty stands in towns that hoped for an Olympic boost with events only attended by dignitaries and athletes.

Many locals seemed hyper-aware of the optics of the event held during a pandemic and were extremely cautious about sounding at all critical

— Mari Saito (@saitomri) July 21, 2021

This year’s Olympics Games are like no other, and it’s apparent from the meticulous procedures people must go through just to get to Tokyohttps://t.co/gIkCZijpZp pic.twitter.com/BarvorHim8

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 22, 2021

Our @AFPFactCheck team debunks the no sex on Tokyo Olympics beds story.

I’ve even seen some proper media outlets run this too good to be true story, almost certainly ones that never bothered to hire a Japanese (or Japanese speaking) reporter ??https://t.co/wjqMSfzs9m

— Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) July 20, 2021

The International Olympic Committee added 18 new events in Japan in a push toward gender equity. There are an equal number of women and men for every sport, excluding baseball and softball because of differing roster sizes.

by @jennafryer #Tokyo2020
https://t.co/HBimIelN2S

— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) July 21, 2021

Olympics Athletes to suffer alongside Tokyoites as Japan's heat soars https://t.co/yUbm0rBddk pic.twitter.com/WkRT1oMyUh

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2021

Medal count: One prediction has the US winning the most mdeals and most golds in a a wide-open Olympics.

by @stephenwadeap #Tokyo2020
https://t.co/5qCmzoIx1p

— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) July 20, 2021

The Tokyo Olympics open Friday and predicting the overall medal count will be more difficult than usual because of the pandemic and the absence of many qualifying events over the last year.

In one forecast done by Gracenote, which supplies statistical analysis to sports leagues around the world, the United States is picked to win the most overall medals. The Americans are also picked to win the most gold medals. After that, the picking gets more difficult.

China is probably the next choice but many athletes from the country have appeared in few international events since the pandemic. This makes predictions difficult since Gracenote’s calculations are based on the most recent performances in top level events like world championships and so forth.

A team from Russia, host nation Japan and Britain are expected to be among the top five…

Gracenote has projected the United States to win 96 overall medals. This is down from the 121 the Untied States won five years ago in Rio de Janeiro. Gracenote has the United States winning 40 gold medals, 27 silver and 29 bronze…

Just yesterday!

Tokyo 2020 chief does not rule out cancelling Olympic Games https://t.co/RXRkdlkYSO

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 21, 2021

Tokyo 2020 Open Thread: Snippets from the Asterisk GamesPost + Comments (40)

Thursday Morning Open Thread: The Daily Grind

by Anne Laurie| July 22, 20217:01 am| 152 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

(Jeff Danziger via GoComics.com)

larry summers hardest hit https://t.co/AP6KLdp1qw

— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) July 21, 2021

Opinion: The GOP’s favorite spin about Biden’s plans just took a big hit https://t.co/40B2FJnXHE

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 22, 2021

Biden on polling showing voters strongly support infrastructure legislation: "I think they're a little tired of infrastructure week for four years in a row." pic.twitter.com/kG1HQC1Olb

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 20, 2021

Fifty-one senators voted against opening debate on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure https://t.co/BcTjygHl9K pic.twitter.com/L6VozljL32

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 22, 2021

This is a dumb move on his part which just ups the likelihood that Dems pass reconciliation, because no Democrat is gonna let us default on the debt that Republicans left for us. https://t.co/0v87FrB2MR

— What Biden Has Done (@What46HasDone) July 21, 2021

Opinion: Pelosi calls the GOP’s bluff on the Jan. 6 committee https://t.co/mjOIZI4ojV

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 22, 2021

Thursday Morning Open Thread: The Daily GrindPost + Comments (152)

Sunday Evening Open Thread: Some Things Never Change

by Anne Laurie| July 18, 20215:40 pm| 97 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Sports

The bid is just going to be oil tankers filled with bribe money https://t.co/ROeQRtTn8E

— Palantir Enjoyer (@lib_crusher) July 16, 2021

As Jack Douglas once said, When you are rich with money, it’s okay to smell like last year’s ape. Per the NYTimes:

Nothing is off the table. Not a bid to buy one of England’s biggest soccer clubs. Not rich offers for multimillion-dollar broadcast packages. Not even an improbable bid to secure the hosting rights to the 2030 World Cup.

As Saudi Arabia sets course to spend its way to the top table of global soccer, the heart of those efforts is a bid to land the sport’s biggest prize. To accomplish its goal, Saudi Arabia has hired Boston Consulting Group to analyze how it could land the quadrennial tournament — one of the most watched events in sports — only eight years after Qatar will become the first country in the Middle East to stage the event.

Several other Western consultants have been asked to help with the project, according to one of the advisers exploring the feasibility of a Saudi bid, and acknowledge that it will require “out of the box thinking” — including, potentially, an agreement to share the hosting rights with a European partner. And despite Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in soccer, the bid, particularly in its current form, is considered a long shot…

But perhaps the most pressing difficulty to bring a World Cup to Saudi Arabia is a technical one. Since Qatar will stage the first Mideast World Cup next winter, any Saudi Arabian bid would require soccer’s global governing body, FIFA, which runs the tournament, to change its policy of continental rotation in order to bring the event back to the region…

For a Saudi bid to be successful, organizers could once again have to be persuaded to shift the dates of the tournament from their traditional June-July window to November-December to account for hot weather in the Gulf. The global soccer schedule had to be upended to ensure Qatar could stage the tournament safely, and European leagues whose schedules would be upended might be reluctant to repeat the interruption.

Saudi Arabian hopes, though, are boosted by its close links to FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, who recently drew criticism from human rights groups after playing a starring role in a promotional video for the Saudi ministry of sport.

In January, Infantino held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the architect of Vision 2030. And FIFA’s membership agreed last month to a motion offered by Saudi Arabia’s soccer federation to study the possibility of holding the World Cup every two years instead of its current quadrennial format…

Sunday Evening Open Thread: Some Things Never ChangePost + Comments (97)

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

They are all Michael Cohen now.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

I don’t care how fun he is after a few whiskies. fuck that guy.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

I did not have this on my fuck 2020 bingo card.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The willow is too close to the house.

… makes me wish i had hoarded more linguine

I’m only here for the duck photos.

It was down to kool-aid drinkers and next of kin at the trump White House

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

How does anyone do Gilligan’s Island as trump world and not cast Jared as Gilligan?

Don’t bother to argue with people harriet tubman would have shot.

I’m going back to the respite thread.

I really should read my own blog.

Too inconsequential to be sued

Where tasty lettuce and good mustard aren’t elitist.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

There will be lawyers.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Big News (If We Can Keep It)

Late Night Open Thread: Wu-Tang Clan Fans Are… INTENSE

Late Night Open Thread: JD Vance Works Hard for Peter Thiel’s Money

Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: Will Tom Barrack Flip On His ‘Best Friend’?

Tokyo 2020 Open Thread: Snippets from the Asterisk Games

Thursday Morning Open Thread: The Daily Grind

Sunday Evening Open Thread: Some Things Never Change