SCHADENFREUDE*

Elon Musk mocked after Starship explosion: ‘Maybe have NASA handle rockets' 

May 29, 2020 Bob Brigham


Billionaire Elon Musk was the target of jokes on Twitter after his company SpaceX suffered a rocket explosion.

“SpaceX just experienced the biggest explosion yet at its Texas site, where it’s testing prototypes for a Mars rocket,” Marina Koren of The Atlantic reported.

“A resident who lives nearby—just 2 miles away—said it felt like an earthquake,” she added.

Elon, your rocket just blew up. pic.twitter.com/EZAVN4cVCd
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 29, 2020

Musk was ridiculed following the blast. Here’s some of what people were saying:

When you realize your wallet was on the rocket pic.twitter.com/p2DdhubJoS
— Harrison (@harriweinreb) May 29, 2020

Elon Musk has now exploded 4 of his Starship rocket prototypes. If he explodes 2 more he gets the 7th one free
— Chloé Cunha (@ChloeCunha) May 29, 2020

Imagine being a SpaceX/NASA astronaut that’s scheduled for lift off tomorrow and watching this happen today. That’s gotta be a different kind of anxiety.

(this is a prototype rocket and not the one in use tomorrow, but still

 
pic.twitter.com/bdmROuNETN
— Pablo Escobarner (blue check) (@PabloEscobarner) May 29, 2020

Elon’s rocket doing a flawless impression of the Minneapolis 3rd precinct pic.twitter.com/jqIf1OajTh
— Fairy Gothmother (@jenny2x4) May 29, 2020

something beautiful about a police precinct and an Elon Musk hobby rocket going up in smoke within 24 hrs of each other ♥️ https://t.co/iIjINmIMGx
— "Craven piece of garbage" – Glenn Greenwald (@f_a_r_t_s) May 29, 2020

Time for Elon Musk to admit he sucks at rockets. Maybe go work at a Costco.
— comrade ahli cake ☭ (@ahlicake) May 29, 2020

Elon Musk destroys rocket in solidarity with protestors https://t.co/OuTeldR9Ra
— dan wickes (@dan_wickes) May 29, 2020

For the millionth time Elon Musk is an incompetent grifter, just pay NASA please. https://t.co/b8ElpmeLLJ
— hypnotransgirl 𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩 (@hypnotransgirl) May 29, 2020

Maybe have NASA handle rockets instead of paying some dickhead middle man. https://t.co/s2CfkmFETg
— Dave "Alive" Anthony (@daveanthony) May 29, 2020

1. *pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.

Lawyer for George Floyd's survivors calls for congressional action
2020/5/29 ©Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images North America/TNS

MINNEAPOLIS — Three recent brutal deaths of black Americans — including George Floyd in Minneapolis — drove a new call Friday from civil rights lawyers for congressional action for greater police accountability.

Benjamin Crump represents Floyd’s survivors as well as the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, a young man who was shot while jogging in Georgia. He and fellow attorney Lee Merritt called for justice for the two men, along with Breonna Taylor who was shot to death in her apartment in Louisville by police executing an aggressive no-knock search warrant in a drug investigation.

They called on state Attorney General Keith Ellison to take over the prosecution of the police officers involved in killing Floyd on Monday night in south Minneapolis — an improbable prospect for the state’s top lawyer.

The internet news conference was moderated by television personality Van Jones. The lawyers talked about convening a congressional task force, using boycotts and travel embargoes as leverage. They offered minimal specific proposals and took only a few questions submitted in writing then selected and posed by Jones.

The families of the victims didn’t attend and weren’t available, but issued a joint statement beforehand saying it was important “now — more than ever — we use our voices to enact change, demand accountability within our justice system and keep the legacies of Breonna, Ahmaud and George alive. This is a national crisis and our government needs to take immediate and widespread action to protect our black and brown communities.”

Merritt said there needs to be greater focus on police accountability, stripping their qualified immunity and giving them better training. “Our officers are trained to kill,” Merritt said.

The two lawyers spent much of their news conference focusing on comments Freeman made the previous day — and that his office later clarified through a written statement — about there not being enough evidence to support a criminal charge.

Merritt said there was “More than enough evidence to arrest.”

The lawyers faulted Hennepin County prosecutors for not immediately arresting the involved officers and said Ellison should take over the case.

Since the news conference, Officer Derek Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

———

©2020 Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

KEREM YUCEL/Getty Images North America/TNS










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White House goes into lockdown as George Floyd protests in DC rage hotter

Published May 29, 2020 By Matthew Chapman

On Friday, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang reported that the White House has now issued lockdown orders.

The development comes as protests against the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota have spread to Washington, D.C. and crowds are growing angrier. Earlier in the evening, a protester scaled the wall of a federal building and spray-painted an obscene anti-Trump message above a window.

The White House is currently under lockdown orders. https://t.co/LasnCIjkum
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) May 29, 2020

The protests have been raging for three straight days, and were exacerbated on Thursday after the Hennepin County Attorney said there was evidence that weighed against charges. After a night of riots, the attorney has moved to charge the main officer with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot to Trump: 

‘What I really want to say … begins 

with F and it ends with U’

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday ripped President Donald Trump, saying he’s fomenting violence and playing to racist urges for political gain in response to the killing of a black man by a Minneapolis police officer and subsequent rioting.

Lightfoot’s comments were an apparent response to Trump tweeting a message that included “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” in reply to rioting in Minneapolis and elsewhere following the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck while he was in custody. Lightfoot said the president cannot be allowed to divide and destabilize the country.

“He wants to show failures on the part of Democratic local leaders, to throw red meat to his base,” Lightfoot said in opening remarks at an afternoon news conference. “His goal is to polarize, to destabilize local government and inflame racist urges. We can absolutely not let him prevail. And I will code what I really want to say to Donald Trump. It’s two words. It begins with F and it ends with U.”

Asked later whether she should have used that language toward Trump, in light of former first lady Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high” mantra, Lightfoot didn’t back down.

“I don’t take the bait every time, but this time, when we are suffering pain and trauma at the killing of a black man in the street, to try to, for political gain, and blow the dog whistle to his base, I’m a black woman, and a leader, and I feel an obligation to speak out when something as offensive as that is said by anyone, but particularly the president,” she said. “And I make no apologies whatsoever for my word choice, and the way in which I’m calling him out for what he said.”

The angry reaction to Trump from Illinois Democrats wasn’t contained to City Hall.

“From the very moment that I announced my decision to run for governor three plus years ago, I said that this president was a racist, misogynist, homophobe, a xenophobe, and I was right then and I’m right now,” Pritzker said. “His tweets, his reaction, his failure to address the racism that exists in America, his stoking of the flames in sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle, ways is completely unacceptable. It’s reprehensible, in fact.”

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement that she’s “disgusted by our president’s hateful and racist rhetoric in the wake of the uprisings in Minneapolis.”

And Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released a statement saying there’s “a pervasive and tragic history of racism in our country, and a United States president who provokes it.”

“As we grieve Mr. Floyd’s death, President Trump is inciting violence against the protesters,” Preckwinkle said. “We cannot stand idly by as he does this, and must affirm the right to peaceful, open protests of police brutality.”

Trump later tweeted again, saying in two tweets: “Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night — or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means. …

“ … It was spoken as a fact, not as a statement. It’s very simple, nobody should have any problem with this other than the haters, and those looking to cause trouble on social media. Honor the memory of George Floyd!”

———

(Chicago Tribune’s Alice Yin contributed to this story.)

WATCH: Prisoners at Chicago correctional facility bang on the walls in solidarity with GEORGE FLOYD protesters

May 29, 2020 By Matthew Chapman


On Friday, as protests raged across the nation over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago protesters were joined by the inmates of a correctional facility, who audibly banked on the walls in solidarity.

Watch below:

Not sure if you can hear…but the people locked inside the correctional center are banging on the walls like crazy. #chicagoprotest pic.twitter.com/e4bMxtiAh9
— Jonathan Ballew (@JCB_Journo) May 30, 2020

"We love you" the crowd chants to those inside.#chicagoprotest pic.twitter.com/kH1Ch0T7nA
— Jonathan Ballew (@JCB_Journo) May 30, 2020


Lights flashing inside #chicagoprotest pic.twitter.com/Ohv5zrEJgQ
— Jonathan Ballew (@JCB_Journo) May 30, 2020

Flames engulf US police station as black rights unrest spreads  AFP  

GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / SCOTT OLSONA police building went up in flames in Minnesota during protests

Flames ripped through a Minnesota police station and seven protesters were shot in Kentucky as unrest spread across the United States over the deaths of black people during police encounters.

Officers abandoned the building in the city of Minneapolis late on Thursday before demonstrators barged through barriers, breaking windows and chanting slogans. A fire broke out, which soon became an inferno that engulfed the structure.

The protests entered their fourth day on Friday and have spread beyond Minnesota, with protests breaking out in several states across the country, including Denver, Colorado and Phoenix.

In Kentucky, seven people were hit by gunfire at a protest on Thursday over the death of Breonna Taylor -- a black woman who was shot after police entered her home in March, local media reported.

One of those wounded was in a critical condition, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department. It is not yet clear who fired the shots.

Police responded with a Twitter post asking the city to "please choose peace," alongside a video message from a family member of the woman killed. She asked those in the streets to "go home and be safe and be ready to keep fighting."

- 'Thugs' -

Thousands joined the protests in Minnesota, which were triggered by the Monday death of 46-year-old George Floyd after being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit banknote.

A video taken by a bystander shows an officer kneeling on his neck as he is pinned to the ground. At one point Floyd is heard saying he cannot breathe.

As unrest spread, President Trump tweeted: "These THUGS are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd and I won't let that happen," in apparent reference to protesters in Minnesota, adding the state's governor has the backing of the military.

GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / Stephen MaturenA large crowd gathered outside a police precinct to protest the death of George Floyd after his arrest by police

"Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

Twitter flagged the tweet for violating its rules on glorifying violence a few hours after it appeared.

Minnesota's governor Tim Walz earlier called up 500 of the state's National Guard, but after Trump tweeted he defended his decision not to put them on the streets as fire gripped the police station.

"Bricks and mortar are not as important as life," Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said at a press conference, adding that officers had been deployed in the city to prevent looting.

He added that the "anger and frustration" on the streets must be understood, but that the looting was unacceptable.

"Our communities cannot and will not tolerate it. These are businesses, these are community institutions that we need," Frey said.

GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / Stephen MaturenOfficials have warned violence will not be tolerated

The City of Minneapolis called for people in the third precinct -- where the police building is located -- to leave for their own safety, saying "explosive materials" could be inside and gas lines to the area had been cut.

Outbreaks of violence have gripped the city as tensions rose since Floyd's killing.

On Wednesday, demonstrators clashed with law enforcement, looted stores and set fire to shops and a construction site. They were met with police tear gas and rubber bullets.

One person died of a gunshot wound, and police were reportedly investigating whether he was shot by a store owner.

- 'I have not slept' -

The Justice Department on Thursday promised to carry out a "robust" investigation into Floyd's death, saying they will make the case a top priority.

Democrats have also called for a probe into the deaths of two other black people -- Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot by two white men in the city of Brunswick in Georgia, and Breonna Taylor.

Floyd's family has demanded the officers present when he died face murder charges. All of them have been fired.

"You know, I want an arrest for all four of those officers tonight. A murder conviction for all four of those officers. I want the death penalty," Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, told CNN.

"I have not slept in four days, and those officers, they're at home sleeping," he said.

Two African American leaders of national stature, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, arrived in Minneapolis Thursday and urged more protests.

"We told the governor you must call murder a murder," Jackson told an audience at the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.

500 National Guard troops deployed in Minneapolis

AFP / Kerem YucelProtesters hold up their fists as flames rise behind them in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a protest over the death of African American George Floyd in police custody

Five hundred National Guard soldiers and airmen have been deployed in the northern US cities of Minnesota and St. Paul after three nights of violent protests over the police killing of a black man, the force said Friday.

"Our troops are trained to protect life, preserve property and ensure people's right to peacefully demonstrate," said Major General Jon Jensen of the Minnesota National Guard.

The deployment began overnight as rioters looted and burned dozens of buildings across the Twin Cities amid anger of police brutality against African Americans.

The guardsmen and women were processed into duty overnight and will be on rotating missions, supporting local and state police in peacekeeping jobs from Friday morning, the guard said.

"The National Guard will provide support to civil authorities as long as directed in order to ensure the safety of people and property," they said.

AFP VIDEOS 
I CAN'T BREATHE 
GEORGE FLOYD  PROTESTS USA

Trump announces probe of Chinese companies listed in US

ONE OF THOSE COMPANIES WOULD BE FOXCONN, SUPPOSEDLY BUILDING A FACTORY IN WISCONSIN 

AFP / MANDEL NGANUS President Donald Trump said his administration would be looking into the practices of Chinese comapnies listed on US exchanges, of which there are around 156

US President Donald Trump on Friday ordered a probe into the actions of Chinese companies listed on American financial markets as tensions flared anew between the world's two biggest economies.

The announcement followed Beijing's move to implement a new security law on semi-autonomous Hong Kong that critics say would stifle freedom, as well as with Trump's claims that China obfuscated the origins of the coronavirus that has killed more than 100,000 people in the United States.

"I'm instructing my presidential working group on financial markets to study the differing practices of Chinese companies listed on the US financial markets with the goal of protecting American investors," Trump said, without providing details on what steps his administration might take.

"Investment firms should not be subjecting clients to the hidden and undue risks associated with financing Chinese companies that do not play by the same rules. Americans are entitled to fairness and transparency," he added.

As of February 2019, 156 Chinese companies with a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion were listed on US markets, at least 11 of which were state-owned, according to the Congressionally-mandated US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Among the largest were e-commerce giant Alibaba, China's largest oil producer PetroChina and Sinopec, the world's largest oil refiner.

Starbucks competitor Luckin Coffee debuted on Nasdaq last year with a market value of about $4 billion, but was asked to de-listed earlier this month after a massive fraud scandal.

The announcement of the review came as Trump said he would be suspending the entry of certain Chinese citizens and reviewing US relations with Hong Kong, which saw seven months of huge and sometimes-violent pro-democracy protests last year.

Chinese pterodactyl wings its way to the United Kingdom

UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

 

IMAGE: THE ATTACHED IMAGE SHOWS WIGHTIA DECLIVIROSTRIS FLYING OVER AN OXBOW LAKE IN THE VALLEY OF THE ANCIENT WESSEX RIVER THAT FLOWED FROM DEVON TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT. view more 

CREDIT: MEGAN JACOBS

The first ever specimen of a pterodactyl, more commonly found in China and Brazil, has been found in the United Kingdom.

A fossil hunter recently discovered a peculiar shaped fragment of fossil bone while out walking his dog in Sandown Bay on the Isle of Wight.

Not sure what it was, he passed it to University of Portsmouth Palaeontology student Megan Jacobs, who thought it might be the jaw bone from a pterodactyl. Further research proved she was right.

However, this was no ordinary pterodactyl jaw. This one lacked teeth and was remarkably similar to a bizarre group of pterosaurs called 'tapejarids'. They are better known from China and Brazil and have never previously been found in the UK.

Just last year a team from the University of Portsmouth discovered as similar specimen in North Africa (Morocco) which they named Afrotapejara.

The new specimen from the Isle of Wight has been named Wightia declivirostris.

Megan Jacobs said: "Although only a fragment of jaw, it has all the characteristic of a tapejarid jaw, including numerous tiny little holes that held minute sensory organs for detecting their food, and a downturned, finely pointed beak.

"Complete examples from Brazil and China show that they had large head crests, with the crest sometime being twice as big as the skull. The crests were probably used in sexual display and may have been brightly coloured."

The researchers determined that the Isle of Wight example seemed more closely related to the Chinese tapejarids rather than the Brazilian examples.

Co-author of the study Professor David Martill, a palaeontologist from the University of Portsmouth, said: "This new species adds to the diversity of dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles found on the Island, which is now one of the most important places for Cretaceous dinosaurs in the world."

The finder has kindly donated the specimen to Dinosaur Isle Museum at Sandown, where it is hoped it will go on display in the future.

###

The new discovery is reported in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research.

Fed chair warns of widening inequality as US consumption dives

AFP/File / Eric BARADATFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is focusing on supporting employment

The coronavirus pandemic could widen inequalities in the United States, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Friday, as government data showed consumer spending plunging by a record amount.

The world's largest economy is in dire shape with more than 40 million layoffs since lockdowns were imposed in mid-March to stop the spread of COVID-19.

And with low-wage services workers bearing the brunt of the job losses, Powell warned the pandemic could be "a great increaser of inequality."

"The pandemic is falling on those least able to bear its burdens," he said in a videoconference.

The Fed has rolled out trillions of dollars in liquidity to support industries walloped by the downturn, and Powell reiterated that supporting employment was the central bank's main goal.

"Everything we do is focused on creating an environment in which those people will have their best chance to keep their job, or get a new job, or maybe go back to their old job if they've been furloughed," he said.

The unemployment rate skyrocketed from near-historic lows just before the pandemic hit to 14.7 percent in April, and Commerce Department data released Friday showed personal consumption plunging by a record 13.6 percent in the first full month of nationwide lockdowns.

Prices also dropped by 0.5 percent, the biggest drop in more than five years, according to the monthly personal income and outlays report, as the mass layoffs slowed consumption.

- Rising pessimism -

A separate survey showed consumers are becoming more pessimistic about the prospects for the post-pandemic recovery, yet another indicator of economic damage in addition to the more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

AFP/File / JIM WATSONUS shoppers stayed home in April, sending consumption plunging by a record amount

"Household spending will likely continue to be impacted going forward by a more cautious attitude by consumers as job losses continue to mount," Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics said.

"However, we think April likely marked the bottom and activity could be less weak in May and June."

Fueling the $1.89 trillion drop in consumption were decreases in spending on food and accommodation as people stopped traveling and going out.

And that drop sent the personal savings rate soaring by 33 percent with shoppers holding on to $6.15 trillion -- money that could perhaps be unleashed to aid the economy's recovery or stashed for hard times ahead.

Income took an incongruent turn, shooting up by 10.5 percent in April, but that spike was caused by the government's massive $2.2 trillion CARES Act which boosted unemployment benefits and included direct payments to all Americans, including children.

When those payments are excluded along with other government social benefits, income actually fell 6.3 percent, which Harvard University economist Jason Furman said would be the largest decline ever.

And he warned on Twitter that if Congress fails to extend the expanded unemployment payments beyond their expiration in the coming weeks, "these numbers will turn ugly in August."

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was practically flat in May, according to the survey released Friday, ticking up only half a point as consumers held back their buying.

But the index measuring future conditions plunged six points to 65.9, according to the report.

The CARES Act has "helped to stem economic hardship, but those programs have not acted to stimulate discretionary spending due to uncertainty about the future course of the pandemic," the survey's chief economist Richard Curtin said.

Consumers were, however, expecting the economy to improve in the coming months, Curtin said.

US officer charged with murder over unarmed black man's death

AFP / Kerem YucelState Patrol officers block a road on May 29, 2020, the fourth day of protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the death in custody of an unarmed African American man

The Minneapolis police officer accused of killing a handcuffed African American man was charged with murder Friday as authorities declared a curfew after three nights of violent protests left parts of the city in flames.

Derek Chauvin, the white officer filmed kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed George Floyd for nearly nine minutes, was charged with one count of third degree murder -- unintentionally causing a death -- and one count of negligent manslaughter.

 

AFP / Kerem YucelProtesters hold up their fists as flames rise behind them in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during demonstrations over the death of African American George Floyd in police custody

"This case is now ready, and we have charged it," said county prosecutor Mike Freeman amid outrage over the latest death of an African American in police custody.

Relatives of the 46-year-old Floyd -- who spoke Friday with President Donald Trump -- welcomed news of the arrest as a "step on the road to justice," but said they hoped for tougher charges and action against the other officers involved in Floyd's detention and death.

Freeman said the three other officers were also under investigation, and that he anticipated charges. All four officers were fired from the police department Tuesday after video surfaced of Monday's arrest.

- Troops deployed -

The announcement of charges came hours after hundreds of troops were deployed to the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul to try to prevent a fourth night of violent protests.

AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARYProtests took place in cities including New York -- pictured here -- Washington, Atlanta, Houston and Portland, following the rioting in Minneapolis

Scores of buildings have been burned and looted across the so-called Twin Cities, including a police station associated with the four officers.

Mayor Jacob Frey declared a night-long curfew Friday and Saturday as protesters began to appear on the streets in Minneapolis and St. Paul again Friday afternoon.

Some chanted "I can't breathe" -- Floyd's words as Chauvin's knee pressed on his neck.

"We don't care about this," said one African-American demonstrator, indicating the burned-out buildings.

"If this is what it takes, we're willing to do more. You'all were already killing us, when we weren't doing anything. ... Let's hope it makes a change," he told AFP, without giving his name.

Police were out in force in other cities as protests took place in other cities including New York, Washington, Atlanta, Houston and Portland, hoping to prevent recurrences of the violence that hit Minneapolis.

- Charges criticized -

Floyd's family issued a statement acknowledging Chauvin's arrest, but calling the charges against him insufficient.

AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARYNew York police officers arrest a demonstrator protesting over the death of African American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis

"We want a first degree murder charge. And we want to see the other officers arrested," they said in a statement.

"The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and is spilling out onto streets across America."

The third degree charge though reflected the official autopsy saying that even though Chauvin held his knee to Floyd's neck for two minutes and 53 seconds after he became "non-responsive," Floyd did not die of asphyxiation or strangulation.

"Mr. Floyd had underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease," the charging document said.

"The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions, and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death."

- 'This shouldn't be normal' -

After beginning the day attacking the protesters as "thugs" and threatening to send in federal troops to deal harshly with them, Trump shifted tone later on Friday, announcing he had called Floyd's family to express his "sorrow."

"I understand the hurt, I understand the pain. People have really been through a lot. The family of George is entitled to justice and the people of Minnesota are entitled to live in safety," he said.

Former president Barack Obama said in a statement that he shared the "anguish" of millions of Americans over Floyd's death.

"We have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal'," he said. "This shouldn't be 'normal' in 2020 America."

Obama's former vice president Joe Biden, who is running for president, also spoke to Floyd's family.

He called for justice and said it was time to heal the "open wound" of systemic racism in the United States.