All Purpose Politics and News Thread

[Darth Penguin]

I've always had a soft spot for the elder President and Mrs Bush..

[Natalka]

RIP Mrs. Bush, such a lovely lady

Former first lady Barbara Bush dies at 92

Bush, the wife of former President George H.W. Bush, had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure



As first lady from 1989 to 1993, she was known for her work on early childhood education. In 1989, she established the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, with the goal of raising awareness about the importance of reading and writing at a young age. She was also recognized for her work on AIDS awareness and cancer research.

more on her life here

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/...b0cf0ae8819fd9

[Darth Penguin]

Requiescat in pace First Lady Barbara Bush.

[Darth Penguin]

Woman dies following jet engine 'explosion'

A woman has been killed and seven others needed medical treatment after an engine on a US passenger jet apparently exploded in midair.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 made an emergency landing in Philadelphia after a window, wings and fuselage were damaged in the incident, officials say.
In an air traffic control recording, one of the pilots can be heard saying "there is a hole and someone went out".
The last passenger death on a US commercial flight was in 2009.
The Boeing 737-700 had been en route from New York's La Guardia airport to Dallas, Texas, with 143 passengers and five crew when the incident happened on Tuesday morning.
Witnesses say an engine on the plane's left side blew, smashing a window and causing cabin depressurisation that nearly sucked a woman out of the aircraft.
She was pulled back in by other passengers.

[Darth Penguin]

'We are truly sorry' ETA apologises for four decades of deadly violence

The Basque terrorist group Eta, which killed more than 800 people during its four-decade armed campaign, has apologised for the suffering it caused and asked for the forgiveness of victims and their families as it prepares to dissolve.
In a statement released on Friday morning, the group made a full and unambiguous apology for its actions, accepting that it bore “direct responsibility” for years of bloodshed and misery.
“We know that we caused a lot of pain during that long period of armed struggle, including damage that can never be put right,” it said. “We wish to show our respect for those who were killed or wounded by Eta and those who were affected by the conflict. We are truly sorry.”
The statement also recognised that Eta’s “mistakes or mistaken decisions” had led to the deaths of people who had nothing to do with the conflict, both in the Basque country and beyond.
“We know that, owing to the necessities of all kinds of armed struggle, our actions have hurt people who bore no responsibility whatsoever. We have also caused damage that can’t be undone.
“We apologise to those people and their families. These words won’t make up for what happened nor will they lessen the pain, but we speak to them respectfully and without wanting to provoke further suffering.”

[Darth Penguin]

Prince Charles to be next head of Commonwealth

Commonwealth leaders have agreed that Prince Charles will become the next head of the organisation after the Queen, it has emerged, in one of the less surprising diplomatic developments of recent months.
The role is not hereditary, but the Queen, who turns 92 on Saturday, used the ongoing Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) gathering in London to say it was her “sincere wish” to be succeeded by her son.

Commonwealth leaders, who were meeting at Windsor Castle on the second and final day of the formal Chogm programme, had agreed to her wish, sources told the Press Association and others.
After the Queen made her wishes known, there would have been little prospect of the 53 Commonwealth leaders and foreign ministers, who met at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, not endorsing the plan.
Addressing what is most likely her last Chogm summit – she no longer flies long distances and it is not due to return to the UK for some years – the monarch said: “It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day the Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949.”

[Natalka]

Queen Elizabeth II Celebrates 92nd Birthday April 21



The Queen took to the stage at her own star-studded 92nd birthday during an action-packed showbiz extravaganza at the Royal Albert Hall.





The Queen celebrates two birthdays every year: Her actual birthday on Apr. 21, which she usually marks privately with her family, and her “official birthday” in the summer. That usually falls on the second Saturday in June, when she joins the Trooping the Color military parade in central London.

[heartgirl99]

Kensington Palace says Prince William's wife, the Duchess of Cambridge has entered a London hospital to give birth to the couple's third child.
The former Kate Middleton travelled by car on Monday morning to the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in central London. The palace says she was in ``the early stages of labour.''

[heartgirl99]

It's a boy

[walkonby]

Take a listen to Sean Hannity denying that Michael Cohen ever represented him as a lawyer.....ha ha ha

he begins speaking at the 20 send mark and stops at the 1:00 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjGQMM9-YVg


o.k. now read this headline from today......lol!!!

https://therealdeal.com/2018/04/23/s...hen-case-show/

[Lynn49]

Take a listen to Sean Hannity denying that Michael Cohen ever represented him as a lawyer.....ha ha ha

he begins speaking at the 20 send mark and stops at the 1:00 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjGQMM9-YVg


o.k. now read this headline from today......lol!!!

https://therealdeal.com/2018/04/23/s...hen-case-show/

@walkonby , are he and the president so stupid as to believe that no one will ever check their remarks on a truth scale?? These guys are off the charts! Oh, I hope Cohen sings like a birdie and that his taped conversations with the president brings him down!
Then there's Comey......oops, I let that slip out!! Anyway, I have such respect for that man, and according to so many "on the hill", they do, also....calling him a 'very honest' man. Unfortunately HE didn't tape his convos with the president. I'll be taping his 'townhall meeting' tonight.

[walkonby]

@walkonby , are he and the president so stupid as to believe that no one will ever check their remarks on a truth scale?? These guys are off the charts! Oh, I hope Cohen sings like a birdie and that his taped conversations with the president brings him down!
Then there's Comey......oops, I let that slip out!! Anyway, I have such respect for that man, and according to so many "on the hill", they do, also....calling him a 'very honest' man. Unfortunately HE didn't tape his convos with the president. I'll be taping his 'town hall meeting' tonight.

ha ha! We're birds of a feather @Lynn49 ..... I set my pvr up to tape the Comey Town Hall a week ago.

I just Googled some more about Cohen and family connections which seem tainted with shady dealings.

For example, his FIL ( a Ukrainian immigrant ) loaned 20 million to a Chicago taxi cab mogul and spouse.
This couple, ( also Ukrainian immigrants ) were mentioned in the search warrant for Michael.

Now you need to know that Cohen owns 32 taxi medallions in NY which were worth plenty, well...until the ride sharing business took off, now they are worth less I guess.
But....in 1993 Michael's FIL was charged along with 2 other men with conspiring to defraud the IRS in connection with his own New York taxi business. He pleaded guilty to a related charge that same year, and was placed on probation for 2 yrs.

I am just scratching the surface with tidbits of news articles.....everything will eventually be revealed when the Mueller Investigation is done.

[Lynn49]

ha ha! We're birds of a feather @Lynn49 ..... I set my pvr up to tape the Comey Town Hall a week ago.

I just Googled some more about Cohen and family connections which seem tainted with shady dealings.

For example, his FIL ( a Ukrainian immigrant ) loaned 20 million to a Chicago taxi cab mogul and spouse.
This couple, ( also Ukrainian immigrants ) were mentioned in the search warrant for Michael.

Now you need to know that Cohen owns 32 taxi medallions in NY which were worth plenty, well...until the ride sharing business took off, now they are worth less I guess.
But....in 1993 Michael's FIL was charged along with 2 other men with conspiring to defraud the IRS in connection with his own New York taxi business. He pleaded guilty to a related charge that same year, and was placed on probation for 2 yrs.

I am just scratching the surface with tidbits of news articles.....everything will eventually be revealed when the Mueller Investigation is done.

Yes, I read about those taxi medallions, @walkonby ....seems like the acorn didn't fall far from the tree.
I cannot wait until Meuller's investigations wrt Cohen are revealed, and what charges he'll be facing. Although he once said he'd take a bullet for the president, the reality of it all may hit him squarely in the head when the time comes for him to do that. He's a lawyer, he knows what he's facing...sing, birdie, sing!!!
Or it'll be Sing-Sing! bwahahahahaha!!!

Be careful what you ASK for, #45!! Don't you just love Meuller?!! hahaha!!

[Lynn49]

Interesting how the bloodhound has turned into a kitty-kat...



From an article..


Cohen also doesn’t come across as someone willing to spend time in jail. People close to Trump know this:

“That’s what they’ll threaten him with: life imprisonment,” said Alan Dershowitz, the liberal lawyer and frequent Trump defender who met with the president and his staff over two days at the White House last week. “They’re going to threaten him with a long prison term and try to turn him into a canary that sings.”
In an interview with CNN last week, Cohen called the raid “unsettling to say the least.” But he also said in the same interview that the federal agents were “extremely professional, courteous and respectful” — a dramatic departure from his usual combative style.
Those comments raised eyebrows among some in Trump’s inner circle, who noted that one of the president’s most ferocious attack dogs seemed unusually taciturn.
“When anybody is faced with spending a long time in jail, they start to re-evaluate their priorities, and cooperation can’t be ruled out,” said one Trump ally who knows Cohen.

Then there’s this nugget, courtesy of White House press secretary Sarah Sanders:

The White House appears to be creating some distance from Cohen. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters earlier this week that though Trump and Cohen have “still got some ongoing things,” the president “has a large number of attorneys, as you know.”

We’re heading in the direction where “has a large number of attorneys” turns into, “This guy barely did any work for President Trump.” Then Trump will take to Twitter, exclaiming that while Cohen is a “good guy,” he didn’t know much about Trump or his businesses, etc. etc. It will be the usual crap-storm.
Once it gets to that point and once prosecutors say to Cohen, “You’ll spend your retirement years in a federal penitentiary,” is when the fireworks will start.

https://www.redstate.com/arbogast/20...s-prison-time/

[walkonby]

Thursday night it was reported that Cohen has said he is pleading the 5th in the Stormy Daniels court case. lol!!!!!