Hijack This Thread

[Estiveo]

[raison de arizona]

Wow, passenger volume is really up in the last month.

[bill_g]

Attack flamingos are the worst!

[bill_g]

[raison de arizona]

[raison de arizona]

[raison de arizona]

Right Wing Low-Lifes are all aflutter that US bases are on a heightened state of alert. Just saying.

[raison de arizona]

A great thread, worth the click.
https://twitter.com/timecaptales/status ... 1769976143

A thread on the passage of time

1. The Arctic, 100 years ago & today

[raison de arizona]

Did you know?

Plants do actually move: we just don't live in the same time reference frame.

This is a 24 hour timelapse of a Maranta leuconeura

[ Rula]

[sugar magnolia]

Evening primrose, mimosa, kudzu......

[raison de arizona]

It started in the crazy people channels, but I'm seeing more and more talk in respectable channels about conditions and signals being ripe for an imminent terror attack.

[Frater I*I]

Evening primrose, mimosa, kudzu......

I would commit genocide upon that tree if I could...

[keith]

https:// twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1807402262601269668

Did you know?

Plants do actually move: we just don't live in the same time reference frame.

This is a 24 hour timelapse of a Maranta leuconeura

[ Rula]

Did you know... Fourth grade science class in 1961:

Teacher (T) : the definition of "what is life" has changed over the centuries as scientists have learned more and gained experience with diverse life forms. It now says that for something to be alive it must have the following characteristics:

• able to reproduce
• able to move
• ...

Student (S) : But Miss, plants don't move! Have you ever seen a tree walking? What's up with that? Leaves blowing in the wind can't possibly count as the plant moving.

T : Plants move a lot, and not just the wind. The seek the sun, they adjust themselves to the environment. Here is a film that proves it.

What's happened to our educational system? This is the 21st century for crying out loud.

[RTH10260]

US expels more than 100 Chinese migrants in rare mass deportation
Department of Homeland Security says it plans more such ‘large charter flights’, sparking concerns for safety of migrants escaping poverty or repression

Associated Press
Wed 3 Jul 2024 04.49 CEST

The US has sent back 116 Chinese migrants in the first such “large charter flight” in five years, the Department of Homeland Security has said.

“We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

The flight, which happened over the weekend, comes amid intense political debate ahead of the US presidential election over the issue of Chinese immigration.

The department said it was working with China to “reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt illicit human smuggling through expanded law enforcement efforts”. It did not respond to questions about how long the migrants had been in the US.

The department said it was working with China on more removal flights in the future but did not give a timeline for when the next one would happen.

In recent years, the US has had a difficult time returning Chinese nationals who do not have the right to stay in America because China has resisted taking them back. Last year, the US saw a surge in the number of Chinese immigrants entering the country illegally from Mexico.

US border officials arrested more than 37,000 Chinese nationals on the southern border in 2023, 10 times the number during the previous year.

Chinese migration has increasingly become a rallying cry for Republicans and former president Donald Trump who have raised suspicions about why Chinese migrants are coming to the US.

Asian advocacy organisations are concerned the rhetoric could encourage harassment of Asians, while migrants themselves have said they’re coming to escape poverty and repression.

Earlier this year, the US and China resumed cooperation on migration issues. The Chinese government has said it is firmly opposed to “all forms of illegal immigration”. In a statement in May, China’s US embassy said the country’s law enforcement was cracking down “hard on crimes that harm the tranquility of national border, and maintained a high pressure against all kinds of smuggling organisations and offenders”.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/artic ... ion-flight

[RTH10260]

Panama to shut down Darién Gap route in deal that will see US pay to repatriate migrants
New president José Raúl Mulino has vowed to close the route through which thousands of migrants travel to the US every year

Guardian staff and agencies
Tue 2 Jul 2024 05.04 CEST

The US will cover the costs of repatriating migrants who enter Panama illegally, under a deal agreed with the Central American country’s new president who has vowed to shut down the treacherous Darién Gap used by people travelling north to the United States.

In his first address as president, José Raúl Mulino promised to seek international assistance to find solutions to what he described as a costly “humanitarian and environmental crisis”.

Last year, a record 520,000 migrants risked their lives, often at the hands of people smugglers, to traverse the Darién Gap, a dense jungle on Panama’s border with Colombia.

“We cannot continue financing the economic and social costs that massive illegal immigration generates for the country, along with the consequent connection of international criminal organisations,” Mulino said.

Minutes later, Mulino’s new foreign minister signed a memorandum of understanding with the US government to “allow the closing off of the passing of illegal immigrants through the Darién”, Panama’s government said in a statement.

The agreement, signed by US homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who attended Mulino’s inauguration, will see the US agree to “cover” the costs of repatriating migrants who enter Panama illegally.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/artic ... grants-usa

[raison de arizona]

When Ken Burns asked every living president to recite the Gettysburg Address in 2013, Pres. Carter shared this story about Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the Camp David Accords. We are thinking about the President and thought all would appreciate this wonderful story.

[bill_g]

https: //x.com/UNUMKenBurns/status/1641153578919182342

When Ken Burns asked every living president to recite the Gettysburg Address in 2013, Pres. Carter shared this story about Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the Camp David Accords. We are thinking about the President and thought all would appreciate this wonderful story.

Bravo President Carter.

[jez]

I'm a huge Godzilla fan. Love the original Japanese movies, and enjoy the current US made movies.

Watched Godzilla Minus One a couple of weeks ago and I don't think I blinked the entire movie. I was absolutely absorbed in it.

Just finished watching Godzilla x Kong: New Kingdom. It's.. meh. Enjoyable, had fun watching it. But there just seemed to be something missing? I don't know. Maybe I'll have to watch it again to see if I missed anything.

[neonzx]

I'm a huge Godzilla fan. Love the original Japanese movies, and enjoy the current US made movies.

Watched Godzilla Minus One a couple of weeks ago and I don't think I blinked the entire movie. I was absolutely absorbed in it.

Just finished watching Godzilla x Kong: New Kingdom. It's.. meh. Enjoyable, had fun watching it. But there just seemed to be something missing? I don't know. Maybe I'll have to watch it again to see if I missed anything.

I see it is available for rent. $5.99 because its not included for free in my subscription services.

I think I've seem most Godzilla films. The originals were somewhat funny because the english audio dubs were way off sync back then.

Movies do a good job in present day with dubbing. You can't really tell unless one is looking for it.

Anyhow, don't forget we have the What Are You Watching thread here for movies and TV.

[keith]

Can I report parents to Child Protection Services for child abuse if they haven't taught their 11yo kid how to cook a hot dog in the microwave without it exploding and curling up into a pretzel?

Just askin'

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Hubby and I quote movie dialogue. Our favorite “Godzilla movies quote is , “Let’s go!”.

[RTH10260]

Stormy Daniels gets more than $900K from GoFundMe after alleged threats
Daniels says Trump supporters have inundated her with threats to rape and murder her daughter and other family

Ramon Antonio Vargas
Sat 6 Jul 2024 08.00 CEST

Stormy Daniels’ supporters have raised more than $900,000 meant to help her move to a safe house and repay legal fees after testifying in the criminal trial that led to Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felonies.

The money comes from an online GoFundMe campaign started by a friend and former manager of the adult film actor, who recently appeared on MSNBC and described how supporters of Trump have bombarded her with social media harassment as he seeks a second presidency, including threats to rape and murder her daughter and other family.

“It’s become unsafe for her family and her pets,” the fundraiser’s organizer, Dwayne Crawford, wrote on the page for the campaign, which set a goal of $1m. “Stormy needs help to relocate her family to somewhere they can feel safe and live on their terms.

“She needs assistance to be able to continue to pay the mounting fees so that Trump doesn’t just win because his pocketbook seems endless.”

The so-called I Stand with Stormy Daniels campaign – which had raised more than $940,000 from about 17,600 donors as of Friday – follows her key role in getting Trump convicted in late May on charges of falsifying business records.




https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/art ... d-threats-

[neonzx]

Historic tourist attraction loses $170K worth of donations after going cashless

https://nypost.com/2024/07/07/lifestyle ... -cashless/

A popular UK tourist attraction has lost a whopping $170,000 worth of donations after it banned cash.

Visitors to the Roman Baths in Bath have been stopped from throwing money into the historic attraction and are instead asked to make a contactless payment.

But the move has had devastating consequences.

The charity organisation behind the well-known site banned the use of the wishing well in March 2022.

In the last financial year, it collected just $17,000 in donations despite welcoming one million visitors in 2023.

Visitors were greeted with a sign that said: “Please do not throw coins in the bath. Tap the Contactless point or use the cash box to make your offering.”

[RTH10260]

Going with the times they ought to have suggested tossing gift cards into the fountain


ps. Tourists throw over €1 million into Italy’s Trevi Fountain each year. Here’s what happens to it https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/03 ... ppens-to-i

[Sam the Centipede]

Friend of mine was intrigued by the Roman Bath thing and suggested they should install machines which sell mock Roman coins (clearly marked to be not genuine!) and visitors could buy one or a few and throw them into the bath (of wherever they lob the coins).

No problem if the visitors keep the mock comes as souvenirs, the breaths have their cash.