More than 50 people have left the Russian embassy and other diplomatic facilities in Ukraine since the start of January, the New York Times reports on a possible worrying sign of imminent invasion of Russian military forces. Meanwhile, Russian military train convoys began arriving in Belarus on Monday, amassing near the authoritarian client state’s borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine.

The campaign website for Ron Watkins, the 8chan/8kun weirdo and supposed man behind QAnon, is pretty boring and looks like a Wix template. Kind of odd considering the guy is supposedly wealthy and a software pro who runs a massive community site with a worldwide audience.

Team Trump think Mitch McConnell is pulling the strings behind a brewing war between the Orange God Emperor and Ron DeSantis, NBC News reports, pointing to the fact that the podcast in which DeSantis last week complained of Donald being too anti-freedom early on in the pandemic last week is hosted by a McConnell advisor Josh Holmes. “I like Josh. Josh is great. But he’s a wholly owned subsidiary of McConnell World. And there’s no way you can tell me that this was all a coincidence,” a Trump acolyte told NBC, anonymously to avoid retribution.

“Also, DeSantis and his staff knew what they were doing. How many Florida general election voters are listening to the Ruthless podcast? Now, that said, they might have been hoping for more out of Ron, because, let’s face it, he didn’t really criticize Trump. But they knew the media would instantly jump on it and wish-cast it into existence,” the advisor added, also believing that McConnell believes DeSantis the lesser of two evils and a future president who would be easier to work with.

New Zealand military authorities still have yet to land at Tonga’s main airport as satellite photos show the eruption of Hunga Tonga and the resultant tsunami could have been absolutely catastrophic for the island nation of 100,000, the BBC reports.

The @DIRECTV cancellation of @OANN is BULLSHIT!

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 18, 2022

Norway’s penal system, not really designed to handle a lone wolf terrorist who murdered 77 people, many of them teenagers, has to give a parole hearing to the scumbag white nationalist icon Anders Breivik on Tuesday, Reuters reports. Many observers fear the hearing, which is just a formality as he will continue serving his 21 year sentence (de facto life sentence as he can be confined indefinitely thereafter if he’s still a danger) for the July 2011 massacre will unnecessarily give Breivik a forum to spew his his hateful shit. Breivik is widely admired by the 4chan set and his manifesto was cited as an inspiration for MAGA terrorists Brenton Tarrant and Patrick Crusius.

Unfaithful far right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told Mike Huckabee on Sunday that she’s been taking some really hateful attacks from the left over “something called ‘Jewish Space Lasers’. That was a term I have never used in my life, but someone wrote an article and they copied and pasted it across the media – that really hurt my feelings because I’m a Christian and I would never say anything against any group of people, uh, especially Israel, I would never do that…”

Well here we are again with right wingers feeling entitled to a degree of nuance and complexity they don’t afford the center and left after “Joe Biden had a quid pro quo agreement with Ukraine!” “Mueller said no collusion, no obstruction!” “Trump was acquitted and completely exonerated!” “The FBI incited the Capitol riot!” and so on and so forth. They cleave off volumes of facts to get to the simple, narrow talking point they want to present, the rest of it all be damned.

As such, they can go fuck themselves when they want to split hairs like this. So what if Trump didn’t actually say verbatim “inject bleach”? Is the longer, actual version where he asked if it were possible to inject chemical disinfectants into people’s lungs somehow a better look for him? Is it really that much different if what Greene actually said was “…A laser beam or light beam coming down to Earth I guess. Could that cause a fire? Hmmm, don’t know. I hope not! That wouldn’t look so good for PG&E, Rothschild Inc…” when talking about how the deadly Camp Fire which killed 85 people in the town of Paradise, California in 2018 was ignited by a space laser to clear land for a high speed rail project? Does anyone outside of the MAGAverse sincerely think she didn’t actually mean Jews when she said “Rothschild”? Fuck off Marge. Go blow up another old Prius.

Federal prosecutors granted immunity to sex trafficker Congressman Matt Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend prior to her testimony to a grand jury last Wednesday, the latest in a series of damning signs for the MAGA scumbag, CBS News reports. Again this was supposed to be all over after that blackmail dipshit got nailed to the wall, and yet much to the MAGA trolls’ chagrin it is not.

From left to right: Registered Republican Stephanie Romas, 42, arrested for battery in domestic disturbance while out on bond (which was revoked) for two previous domestic disturbances from October and a shoplifting warrant from September. Romas, who lives with her parents, had lifted a box of cereal from the Sav-A-Lot in Wildwood Village. Registered Republican Matthew George Wondrasek, 74, caught a lucky break after his golf cart DUI charge from May 2021 was bumped down to reckless driving. Registered Dem Skyler Blue Draper, 37, is spending some time with the big boys after being caught passed out hanging halfway out the driver’s side door of his car behind the Panera Bread on the the night of June 12th. Draper was sentenced to ten days in jail plus 50 hours community service. Gary Thomas Wilcock, 60, no voter registration data, was arrested on charges of burglary with battery, criminal mischief and violation of an injunction for harassing his ex-girlfriend. Wilcock is said to be another flightless birdie living with his parents in the Villages, per comments on the articles. Texan Avery Autumn Shepherd, 20, no voter registration data, arrested for skipping a court date after a November arrest for possession of meth and a set of brass knuckles. Not pictured is Registered Republican Miranda Delee Farleigh, 25, a postal worker found with boxes upon boxes of stolen mail in her bedroom at her parents’ house, lifting cash from Christmas cards to support a heroin habit. No mugshot provided as it was a federal arrest.

“We have taken the decision to supply Ukraine with light, anti-armour, defensive weapon systems. A small number of UK personnel will also provide early-stage training for a short period of time, within the framework of Operation ORBITAL, before then returning to the United Kingdom. This security assistance package complements the training and capabilities that Ukraine already has, and those that are also being provided by the UK and other Allies in Europe and the United States. Ukraine has every right to defend its borders, and this new package of aid further enhances its ability to do so. Let me be clear: this support is for short-range, and clearly defensive weapons capabilities; they are not strategic weapons and pose no threat to Russia.”

“They are to use in self-defence and the UK personnel providing the early-stage training will return to the United Kingdom after completing it. The Prime Minister has been clear that any destabilising action by Russia in Ukraine would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences. That is why there is a package of international sanctions ready to go that will make sure that the Russian government is punished if it crosses the line. But the costs of an invasion will not just be felt by the West” – UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace addressing Parliament on Monday.

GO GO MAGA RANGERS! Super MAGA Ranger Emerald Robinson is now on Team Frank Speech! Those woke losers at socialist Newsmax have canceled the wrong woman! They’ll be sorry!

Side note: Lindell really looks like shit. You’d think a guy who sells his own brand of pillows and mattresses would be able to get a good night’s sleep. Maybe they aren’t actually that comfortable. Or maybe he’s freaking out over being fired as a customer by not one but two different Minnesota banks. Probably both. Throw in a poorly timed relapse into crack cocaine addiction too.

Be prepared to hear a lot more about jinhua qinggan, because you’re likely to hear a whole lot about it from conservatives.  Jinhua Qinggan is a traditional Chinese herbal remedy that Pakistan’s health officials has said is effective against the coronavirus based on new tests, Reuters reports.

Made of 12 TCMs, or traditional Chinese medicines, jinhau qinggan was originally developed to combat H1N1, a subtype of the Influenza A strain, including the so-called “swine flu.”  The dozen herbs in the mix:  honeysuckle, gypsum, honey ephedra, fried bitter almond, Scutellaria, Forsythia, Fritillaria, Anemarrhena, burdock seed, Artemisia annua, peppermint, and licorice.

Various studies have been undertaken using jinhua qinggan have shown that when used in combination with Western medical practices, the herb mix is effective at alleviating mild symptoms of Covid-19. 

Midwest hospital chain stops using race-based COVID-19 treatment plan amid backlashhttps://t.co/elL01SPZOZ

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 17, 2022

Stupid story as short as possible: During his Saturday rally, former President Trump claimed “The left is now rationing lifesaving therapeutics based on race, discriminating against and denigrating, just denigrating, white people to determine who lives and who dies. If you’re white, you don’t get the vaccine, or if you’re white, you don’t get therapeutics,” which of course was complete horseshit. The truth is that New York State guidelines on eligibility criteria includes “Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19,” listed as a sub-note on a memo titled “COVID-19 Oral Antiviral Treatments Authorized and Severe Shortage of Oral Antiviral and Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Products”.

The Missouri-based SSM Health system in the Fox News article is, obviously, not at all connected to the State of New York, but it’s a crusade du jour in MAGA World given the Orange God Emperor’s attention to the “issue” in which healthcare systems working to address overall quality-of-life disparities tip the scales a little toward those less fortunate as far as health outcomes go.

Also keep in mind this is a triage situation that the right wing media and politicians created with their “personal choice” bullshit over masks and vaccines. Had they just sucked it up and not politicized the virus there would not be any need to ration treatment for it right now. But MAGA.

This is your reminder that it’s Betty White’s 100th birthday and all fans are commanded to make a $5 donation to an animal welfare organization in her memory. Donate to the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, New York or the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana. Or send it to A Path 4 Paws in Las Vegas, Nevada. More of a baby seal person? The Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, California can use your help. Thank you for being a friend.

Happy birthday, Michelle.

My love, my partner, my best friend… pic.twitter.com/5oDMOgcsWI

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 17, 2022

After her conviction on multiple charges relating to child sex trafficking, Ghislaine Maxwell has dropped her motion to keep the names of eight “John Does” confidential and sealed in court records, CNN reports.

While the identities are not known to the public, the eight are believed to be clients of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, who provided underage girls for sexual liaisons for his high-profile friends and clients.

“After careful review of the detailed objections submitted by Non-Party Does 17, 53, 54, 55, 73, 93 and 151, counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell writes to inform the Court that she does not wish to further address those objections,” alleged sex trafficking victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s attorney Sigrid McCawley wrote. “Each of the listed Does has counsel who have ably asserted their own respective privacy rights. Ms. Maxwell therefore leaves it to this Court to conduct the appropriate review.”

The team organizing an annual McDonald’s-sponsored event called “McDonald’s Gospelfest 2022” or simply “McGospelfest” are using a Gmail inbox, “mcgospelfest@gmail.com”, to manage audition inquires, Fox 5 New York reports. Few details were provided otherwise in the report, such as the exact nature of McGospelfest, what kind of McDonald’s coupons or gift cards would be awarded to the winner, why McDonald’s is sponsoring a McGospelfest, why they couldn’t just give them a McDonalds.com email address, and what the audition entails. Then there are the McConstitutional concerns about whether McGospelfest violates the separation of Church and McDonald’s.

“CBS doesn’t believe in God. They believe in a false ‘Prophet’ There false ‘Prophet’ is Biden. Any democrat who is president have always been the false ‘Prophet’s’ of the liberal media”

– The current top comment on the TownHall.com article “CBS Sports Bans Bible Commercial From Football Game” posted Monday. Calling not wanting to sell a space a “ban” is a bit of stretch too.

A French court found MAGA French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour guilty of inciting racial hatred Monday, the New York Times reports. “They don’t belong here, they are thieves, they are assassins, they are rapists, that’s all they are. They should be sent back, they shouldn’t even come,” Zemmour said of Middle Eastern and African immigrants, almost to a letter the exact same hateful shit Trump said about Mexicans at his campaign launch in 2015. Zemmour, who was fined €10,000 by the court – his third conviction on the same charge – is himself the son of Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Algeria, a former French colonial territory in North Africa. He’s also an apologist for the World War II Vichy regime, having published a book in 2014 which sought to exonerate Philippe Pétain and his collaborators for the deportation of French Jews to Holocaust death camps in Nazi Germany. Blatant hypocrisy always owns the libs though.

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic returned to Belgrade Monday after being kicked out of Australia for violating their vaccine requirements, and now the world’s top male tennis player faces another ban that would make him unable to defend another Grand Slam title, the Associated Press reports.

The number one-ranked male tennis player, Djokovic told Australian authorities that he was immune to the coronavirus to gain entry into the country to defend his Australian Open title; Djokovic stated that he had had Covid and was therefore exempt from the vaccine requirement.  Two medical panels and the tournament organizers granted an exemption to Australia’s strict vaccination requirements, Djokovic said, but government authorities barred him from entering the country after his plane landed.

Djokovic, however, faces a similar problem with his planned travel to France to compete in the French Open.  French law requires people who attend events in stadiums or arenas to be fully vaccinated; the rule applies to participating athletes and entertainers.  However, since the tournament is scheduled for May, French law may change before players have to report for the tournament.