"Associated"

Second Set of Classified Documents Were Found at Biden’s Wilmington Home, White House Says

The Times reported on Wednesday that this second set of documents had been found at a location “associated” with Mr. Biden. On Thursday the White House statement offered more detail by specifying that the location was his private residence, where he often spends weekends.

[The Times article is paywalled.] 

 This is a closed book: Biden is responsible for those misplaced documents to the same degree as Trump is responsible for documents found in his possession. 

What I find interesting now is the timing of these revelations. I'm wondering if, had the Ds won just a few more seats and retained control of the House, we would be hearing about these documents at all. Sounds like somebody trying to get ahead of an embarrassing story, doesn't it?

This may not be true. I'm not advancing a "conspiracy theory" here. I'm just confessing, really, what it's beginning to look like to me. We will be learning more shortly, I imagine: Maybe more than we want to know.

Except, maybe, for the flies

Painting 'Zebra Stripes' on Cows Wards Off Biting Flies

Should the impressive results of this study be confirmed, this could truly prove to be an inspirational and ingenious translation of a seemingly mundane scientific finding to make the world a better, more humane, and healthier place.

Wait until PETA hears about this one

Hamtramck council approves Islamic animal sacrifices at home

"Some residents and animal rights advocates have expressed opposition," reports the Freep, delicately.

Seems like we've still got a way to go…

Police start clearing German village condemned for coal mine

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the nearby Garzweiler coal mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The government and utility company RWE argue the coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security.

…to get on top of this fossil fuel thing. I'm not sure changing out my last tungsten bulb to an LED will be enough to do the trick.

I don't care…

 …whether the documents with high-classified markings wind up in miscellaneous boxes or closets (or, have you checked under your bed?) due to treason (R) or gee, just an itty bitty mistake (D), they didn't get there by accident. They didn't just get up and walk there by themselves, as everybody's mom used to say (well mine did, anyway). They don't belong there.

So what's going on?

And why aren't heads rolling? Believe me, yours would. And mine.

Don't believe it when they tell you about "nobody's above the law."

People have spent serious time in prison for this. Others defected to escape. And still some people want to re-elect those other two.

Excuse me, but WTF?

I've heard of suicide by cop but…

Ex-NFLer Charles Johnson’s death ruled suicide by medical examiner

…by medical examiner? That's a new one.

On never believing what you hear…

Microsoft's New AI Can Simulate Anyone's Voice With 3 Seconds of Audio

Microsoft has not provided VALL-E code for others to experiment with, likely to avoid fueling misinformation and deception.

For now.

Nine more days

Resolution coach’s tips for sticking to your New Year’s goals for 2023

Said coach hopefully resolved to buy a new pair of jeans this year. We'll see. Perhaps soon.

Strava, the fitness tracking app, analyzed more than 800 million user-logged activities in 2019 and concluded that the day most people will give up on a resolution is January 19 — aka “Quitter’s Day.”

[And 69 days until spring.] 

Karma

 According to Merriam-Webster, I was born the same year the term "bad apple" was first used in print.

Also, "photojournalism."

And in today's news

I'm thinking of upgrading my umbrella

Retired NASA satellite expected to fall to Earth on Sunday

"The risk of harm from the falling debris was 'very low' with odds around 1 in 9,400, NASA said in the statement."

OK, maybe. But, according to this story from Al Jazerra, 

"There are nearly 500,000 objects circling over Earth in various orbits. These include debris, inactive and active satellites." 

And more being added at an increasing rate as commercial opportunities in space develop. Starlink alone is planning for up to 40,000 more — to provide internet service — with other companies and other countries to follow.

What happens when they decide to retire? (I'm all for retiring, but when I did it it did not involve a swan dive from space.)

Oh, and also…

Drone advances in Ukraine could bring dawn of killer robots

The longer the war lasts, the more likely it becomes that drones will be used to identify, select and attack targets without help from humans, according to military analysts, combatants and artificial intelligence researchers.

It's not just rain any more.