Comments on: Open thread 7/3/23 https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/ A blog about political change, among other things Tue, 04 Jul 2023 08:09:10 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 By: Barry Meislin https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687468 Tue, 04 Jul 2023 08:09:10 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687468 Even when the Paper of Record takes a break from reporting the really important stuff, it’s still right on target!
“People astonished to learn what SPAM actually stands for after decades”—
https://nypost.com/2023/07/03/people-astonished-to-learn-what-spam-actually-stands-for/

]]> By: AesopFan https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687465 Tue, 04 Jul 2023 07:40:57 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687465 @ David Foster on July 3, 2023 at 11:13 am said:
Recent post: Society, Social Media, and Human Nature

An interesting account – obviously human nature remains the same, regardless of the technology available.

NOTE: your second Roth quote, about his reaction to photography, is the same as the one about radio.

]]> By: AesopFan https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687464 Tue, 04 Jul 2023 07:22:19 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687464 I have not seen this mentioned before, and it’s a wrinkle I had never considered, because it’s so blatant, as the post points out.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/07/03/new-hunter-biden-prosecutor-has-staggering-conflict-of-interest-n770833

United States Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss’ top lieutenant is Derek Hines, who serves as the Assistant United States Attorney in the same office. According to the report, Hines signed off on the charging Documents that ended up being such a boon for the president’s son.

That’s where the conflict of interest comes in. Hines once worked directly for Louis Freeh. Who is Freeh? He’s a former FBI director that was in business with Hunter Biden to the tune of a $3 million deal. Hines wasn’t just some random FBI employee either. He served as special counsel to Freeh, meaning that would have had a very close professional relationship.

This story is just astonishing to me. Even if one is to assume that Hines’ connections to Hunter Biden didn’t influence the deal, is there really any excuse for the federal government to be this incestuous? Am I really to believe that the DOJ couldn’t manage to put a full team of prosecutors on such a contentious case without one of them having a connection to Hunter Biden’s business dealings? AG Merrick Garland could have appointed a special counsel years ago to ensure none of this was an issue, and for that matter, so could both of Donald Trump’s attorneys general.

No one did, though, because this is all seen as normal in Washington. Backslaps, winks, and nods are the name of the game. Everyone knows everyone and has worked with everyone, and in some cases, that includes the people they are supposed to be prosecuting. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to just “trust” that nothing untoward is going on as these social circles continually cross paths. Perhaps something should be done about that, regardless of what the aforementioned conflict of interest may or may not have amounted to.

I searched for some stories about the Freeh-Biden connection that predated this recent revelation, and found several, although I don’t remember reading any of them at the time they were published. The connection was well known; it’s impossible to believe that Weiss didn’t know that Hines had worked for Freeh; also implausible that Hines was not influenced by that relationship.

No wonder Hunter was able to get 51 spooks to write a letter of recommendation for him.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/20/ex-fbi-chief-gave-100k-to-biden-grandkid-trust-as-he-sought-future-work-hunter-emails/
“Former FBI Director Louis Freeh gave $100,000 to a trust for two of President Biden’s grandchildren as he sought to pursue “some very good and profitable matters” with him, newly surfaced emails revealed Thursday.
Freeh apparently made the gift in April 2016 — when Biden was the outgoing vice president — and shortly before he told Biden’s son Hunter, “I would be delighted to do future work with you,” according to the emails.”

https://nypost.com/2021/06/07/romanian-tycoon-hired-hunter-biden-ex-fbi-chief-to-avoid-jail-emails/
“Hunter Biden and his colleagues at a high-powered law firm tried to leverage their government connections in the final months of the Obama administration in a failed bid to help a Romanian real estate tycoon avoid a conviction on bribery charges.
Emails obtained from Hunter’s abandoned laptop show the younger Biden — then working as a counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP — reached out to former FBI Director Louis Freeh in June 2016 about the case of Gabriel Popoviciu, who was accused of acquiring land to build a Bucharest mall at a below-market price, the Daily Mail reported.”

https://nypost.com/2022/08/13/hunter-biden-met-with-dad-immediately-after-romanian-business-meetings/
“A person familiar with the arrangements told The Post the president’s son had a side pocket agreement directly with Popoviciu that raked in “millions” for himself and associates.
Popoviciu also hired former FBI director Louis Freeh to help the embattled businessman avoid jail time. Freeh called Hunter Biden directly in July 2015, just two hours before Hunter was scheduled to meet with his dad at the Naval Observatory — the vice-president’s official residence — emails from the laptop show. It’s unclear what was discussed on the call.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hunter-biden-is-now-in-some-serious-trouble/ar-AA19kztC
2023-03-31
“Some have speculated that “One Eye” is former Clinton FBI Director Louis Freeh, who had a business relationship with Hunter Biden and received a seat on the board of the Beau Biden Foundation after giving a $100,000 donation to Joe Biden’s grandchildren. Freeh only has one eye, but no confirmation of this speculation has emerged.”

]]> By: Le Mot Juste https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687437 Tue, 04 Jul 2023 01:09:08 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687437 PA+Cat –

I like that story. You’re educating me. Fighting fire with firearms, as it were. How prescient that has turned out!

From what I read, Canada le perdu, so mindlessly keen to cite climate fairytales over arson (and lax forestry) for its air-fogging fires, might borrow a page.

]]> By: miguel cervantes https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687435 Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:27:08 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687435 well he got a light saber through him, in force awakens, but he had a cameo in the last film,

lucas own short lived series, had a aged harrison wiling away his days, waller bridge deepsixed bond, so naturally,…

]]> By: huxley https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687431 Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:22:31 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687431 I suppose I shouldn’t be, but I am disappointed that Harrison Ford allowed his ultimate signature character to be flushed down the toilet in the farewell appearance.

Ford had already seen what happened to Mark Hamill/Luke Skywalker portrayed as a loser in “The Last Jedi.” Hamill was given a cameo in “The Mandalorian.” He thanked the director:
_____________________________

I am so grateful to have been given the unexpected opportunity to revisit my character when he was still a symbol of hope & optimism.

–Mark Hammill
_____________________________

Obviously Hamill’s left-handed slam at “The Last Jedi.”

Is Ford woke? Is it just a last paycheck? Do they have something on him?

]]> By: miguel cervantes https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687410 Mon, 03 Jul 2023 23:03:25 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687410 likewise from the emerald isle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe-tUr5jwaM&t=216s

we admit that battlestar galactica ended in 1979, the reboot was not canon

]]> By: om https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687408 Mon, 03 Jul 2023 22:57:40 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687408 huxley:

The CriticalDrinker on you tube has an assessment of Indana Jones V

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8KG-SfghRJE&pp=ygUQY3JpdGljYWwgZHJpbmtlcg%3D%3D

He also has an assessment on the Kennedy (godzilla-like) destruction of the StarWars and Lucas Films franchise/legacy.

]]> By: miguel cervantes https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687405 Mon, 03 Jul 2023 22:48:54 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687405 she is the alison hamersheid, thirty years later,

]]> By: huxley https://thenewneo.com/2023/07/03/open-thread-7-3-23/#comment-2687404 Mon, 03 Jul 2023 22:47:04 +0000 https://www.thenewneo.com/?p=126957#comment-2687404 Re: Sapper

PA+Cat, miguel cervantes

Several years ago I was admiring Barbour jackets and noticed this nifty item:

–“Barbour Men’s Sapper Waxed Jacket”
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71QEPhEJFGL._AC_UY606_.jpg

Yes, that’s what I would wear to dig a tunnel to undermine the enemy!

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