AdamSmith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSyfpUyzQGU

P.S. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Pepin

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine

Well, here we go. About time! Axios: Comey compared Trump to a 'mob boss' https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/11/politics/james-comey-donald-trump-mob-boss/index.html

Seriously: short of that, how to lay the groundwork for (or indeed enact on the spot) falling in love with each other, for life? Which I have found, gloriously, three or four times. Thus far. Surely these deeply human, and humane, engagements should lead us to take their deepest potential, if it turns out to be present? Regardless of how we met.

In the U.S.? I swam in those waters, and never encountered an underage provider. (And I know fairly well the warning lights.)

[very bad pun deleted ]

Green-haired turtle that breathes through its genitals added to endangered list With its punky green mohican the striking Mary river turtle joins a new ZSL list of the world’s most vulnerable reptiles Patrick Barkhamand agencies @patrick_barkham Wed 11 Apr 2018 14.00 EDTLast modified on Wed 11 Apr 2018 19.28 EDT The Mary River turtle, found in Queensland, Australia, features on a new list of the most vulnerable reptile species on the planet. Photograph: Chris Van Wyk/ZSL/PA It sports a green mohican, fleshy finger-like growths under its chin and can breathe through its genitals. The Mary river turtle is one of the most striking creatures on the planet, and it is also one of the most endangered. The 40cm long turtle, which is only found on the Mary river in Queensland, features in a new list of the most vulnerable reptile species compiled by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Despite the turtle’s punk appearance – derived from vertical strands of algae that also grow on its body – its docile nature made it historically popular as a pet. Gill-like organs within its cloaca – an orifice used by reptiles for excretion and mating – enable it to stay underwater for up to three days, but it was unable to hide from the pet collectors who raided its nests during the 1960s and 1970s. Sign up to the Green Light email to get the planet's most important stories Read more The turtle is placed at 30th on ZSL’s Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (Edge) list for reptiles. First established in 2007, Edge lists have previously been published for amphibians, birds, corals and mammals, helping guide conservation priorities for 100 most at-risk species. Each species is given a score which combines extinction risk with its evolutionary isolation or uniqueness, with the latest list supported by a study in the journal Plos One. Top of the list is the Madagascar big-headed turtle, which has an Edge score higher than that of any other amphibian, bird or mammal, and is still taken for food and global trade. Other unusual and endangered species include the Round Island keel-scaled boa from Mauritius, a snake which is the only terrestrial vertebrate known to have a hinged upper jaw; the minute leaf chameleon from Madagascar which is the size of a human thumbnail; and the gharial, a slender-snouted fish-eating freshwater crocodile. Less than 235 gharial survive in the rivers of northern India and Nepal. [I researched & wrote a, to me, fascinating report on this animal for 8th-grade science class. Alas... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gharial] FacebookTwitterPinterest The Mary Rriver turtle is one of the most striking creatures on the planet, and it is also one of the most endangered. Rikki Gumbs, co-ordinator of Edge reptiles, said: “Reptiles often receive the short end of the stick in conservation terms, compared with the likes of birds and mammals. However, the Edge reptiles list highlights just how unique, vulnerable and amazing these creatures really are.” He added: “Just as with tigers, rhinos and elephants, it is vital we do our utmost to save these unique and too often overlooked animals. Many Edge reptiles are the sole survivors of ancient lineages, whose branches of the tree of life stretch back to the age of the dinosaurs. If we lose these species there will be nothing like them left on Earth.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/11/green-haired-turtle-that-breathes-through-its-genitals-added-to-endangered-list

The press is finally starting to line up in defense of sex workers. Only a beginning, but at least that. Sex workers fear violence as US cracks down on online ads: 'Girls will die' https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/10/sex-workers-fear-violence-as-us-cracks-down-on-online-ads-girls-will-die

'You will drink the black sperm of my vengeance!'

woops. errant post.

Also: Just wait til we get the money together to get K Street on our side. Ze battle haz just begun!

How Robert Mueller could finesse his endgame By Mark Osler Updated 11:36 PM ET, Wed April 4, 2018 Mark Osler is a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minnesota and is a former federal prosecutor. He is the author of "Jesus on Death Row," a book about capital punishment. Follow him on Twitter @Oslerguy. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. (CNN)If you want everyone to like you, don't become a prosecutor. The job ensures that, in almost every case, at least one person will be unhappy with you, regardless of your choices. The best prosecutors tend not to care too much about popularity. That's good because public outcry, the wishes of defendants, and political pressures don't always run in the same direction as justice. Mark Osler In that sense, Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, appears to be a consummately good prosecutor. As his investigation has advanced, there have been few leaks and he avoids the media. When tidbits of information do emerge, he does nothing to address the questions raised. Most recently, those tidbits included a report by the Washington Post that revealed two seemingly contradictory pieces of information: that Mueller's team is "continuing to investigate" President Donald Trump, but "does not consider him a criminal target at this point." How can both things be true? The answer probably lies in the rules governing the special counsel. They tell us that Mueller is charged with preparing a confidential report to the attorney general "upon conclusion of the special counsel's investigation," and that the attorney general then is to prepare his own report to Congress. The special counsel rules were changed after Kenneth Starr's 1998 report on Bill Clinton, with the express purpose of avoiding the problems associated with that very public publication. If Trump is not a criminal target, that does not necessarily mean that Mueller has insufficient evidence to charge Trump; rather, it may indicate that Mueller reads the Constitution to mean that impeachment rather than indictment is the appropriate remedy for any serious presidential malfeasance. He could be preparing a report that recommends impeachment even while he refrains from indictment -- and, thus, Trump could be under investigation while not a criminal target. As special counsel, Mueller's role is defined and limited by federal regulations: the mundane-sounding 28 C.F.R. §600.3-8. Those rules give Mueller the powers of a United States attorney, meaning that he can direct a criminal investigation, seek charges from a grand jury, negotiate pleas, and prosecute cases through to sentencing. He has done exactly that in charging some Trump associates and Russian operatives. Beyond that, 28 C.F.R. §600.8 makes a very specific demand of Mueller: that "at the conclusion of the special counsel's work, he or she shall provide the attorney general with a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the special counsel." In other words, there will be no blockbuster news conference. Rather, Mueller will finish his task by reporting privately to his boss (which, given the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, would be Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein). Conceivably, such a report could include a recommendation of impeachment. Those same regulations tell us what happens next, too. Once Mueller reports to (in this case) the deputy attorney general, Rosenstein is then to report to the chair and ranking minority member of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, possibly while rejecting the special counsel's advice. To a strategist like Mueller, timing is going to be very important. His "final report" needs to come at the end of his work, and that means completing his prosecution tasks. Therein lies the rub -- and the possibility of another option. It seems quite possible that Mueller could end up indicting some of those in Trump's inner circle. Those charges might trigger one or both of two things: Mueller being fired, and some or all of these defendants receiving pardons. Both actions would be hugely controversial and would rattle the already-shaken faith of the American people in our political structures. To finesse that situation, Mueller might try to seek indictments and file his final report at once. That isn't true to his mission, though, which includes prosecuting to conclusion the cases he brings -- meaning that he is unlikely to submit a "concluding" report recommending impeachment (or not) until all of the defendants are -- potentially -- sentenced. There is another possibility, and it might be the most likely: Mueller might try to submit a confidential impeachment recommendation prior to concluding his work, in the form of a "notification of significant events." The federal regulation, 28 C.F.R. §600.8, allows for that, noting that such a report needs to be "in conformity with the departmental guidelines with respect to urgent reports." "Urgent reports" are just as exciting as you might expect, too -- they are required when there is a law enforcement emergency, when national media attention is anticipated, or where there are "major developments in significant investigations and litigation." The finding of evidence supporting an impeachment recommendation certainly seems to fit this last description, and this route would allow Mueller to take the risky step of indicting the inner circle, making his recommendation, and going forward as long as he can. No matter what Mueller chooses, in action or inaction, some will be upset. Mueller, the good prosecutor, knows this well. Hopefully, he just doesn't care. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/opinions/robert-muellers-endgame-osler/

She should self-immolate.

More on B. Franklin's grande dame... Salonnière Madame Helvétius August 19, 2014 Kristen O'Brien Allow us to tell you about a gorgeous woman who had great panache, lived life to the fullest, and threw a heckuva party. Madame Helvétius was her name, but let’s call her “Minette” (which means pussycat en français) as all of her close friends did. Not only did Minette have a very successful 18th-century salon—even Napoléon was a guest!—but she set prominent tongues wagging across the pond by capturing the heart of one of our own Founding Fathers. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Anne-Catherine de Ligniville d’Autricourt was born in France on July 23, 1722, one of 21 children of Jean-Jacques de Ligniville and his wife Charlotte de Saureau. At the relatively late age of 29, Minette married the French philosopher and poet Claude Adrien Helvétius, who had amassed quite a fortune as a tax collector. The couple settled in the tony Paris suburb of Auteuil, where Minette’s salon included some of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment. Claude Adrien Helvétius Among the habitués of Madame Helvétius’ salon were our salonnière friends, Julie de Lespinasse and Suzanne Necker (both of whom you’ve met), great writers like Diderot and Volney, thinkers like Condorcet, d’Holbach, Turgot, and Buffon, and scientists like d’Alembert, Lavoisier, Cuvier, and Cabanis. It was a veritable who’s who of Paris society. Others who dropped by included politicians like Malesherbes, Talleyrand, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, who was quite the ladies’ man, but we’ll get to that. Madame’s salons imparted such éclat and whimsy that it was not surprising to see in attendance all 18 of Minette’s prized Angora cats, dressed to the nines in their silk ribbons. It was also not unusual, évidemment, for Madame’s dogs and canaries to attend—because everyone should get into the salon spirit, according to Minette. Monsieur Helvétius died in 1771 after 20 years of marriage, and Minette carried on with her salons, choosing never to remarry. But she had no shortage of suitors. Madame was said to have been so beautiful that a 100-year-old man paid one of the most famous compliments of the era: “Ah, Madame, if I were only 80 again.” An old postcard of Auteuil, which was also home to Victor Hugo and Molière In her 60s, Minette made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, who was serving as the U.S. ambassador to France, and it was not long before he became smitten. Rumor has it he even proposed marriage. They were avid letter writers and Franklin, who affectionately called our gal “Notre Dame,” once wrote this to her: “If Notre Dame is pleased to spend her days with Franklin, he would be just as pleased to spend his nights with her; and since he has already given her so many of his days, although he has so few left to give, she seems ungrateful in never giving him one of her nights.” Benjamin Franklin Quite saucy, n’est ce pas? But not everyone succumbed to Minette’s charms. Abigail Adams, the rather prim wife of John Adams, was shocked by Minette’s behavior when she met her at a dinner in France following the successful negotiation of the Treaty of Paris. In correspondence, Abigail noted scathingly that our gal kissed Franklin on the cheeks and forehead when she greeted him, held his hand during dinner, and occasionally threw her arm around his neck: “I should have set her down for a very bad one altho 60 years of age and a widow. I own I was highly disgusted and never wish for an acquaintance with any ladies of this cast.” Madame Helvétius died at Auteuil in August of 1800. But what a life she lived, so full of exuberance. Bravo, Madame! https://thesalonniere.com/madame-helvetius/

Repost. But still one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

'Movements' like this one, and countless others throughout history, get most violent and extreme as they are just entering what turn out to be their own death throes. See, for example, how all the polling data indicate the Gen X-through-Millenials voter base will never let another Trump or anything like him happen again in their lifetimes. Yes, the sky HAS fallen today. This happens from time to time in our turbulent, conflicted world. Then we fight back, recover and go forward again.