Saudi Arabia warns that the world is running out of energy capacity: 

'I have never seen these things'

Phil Rosen
Tue, May 10, 2022,

The EU is planning a complete ban on Russian oil imports.

Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman warned Tuesday that the world is "running out of energy capacity at all levels."

"I am a dinosaur, but I have never seen these things," he said at a conference.

A UAE official also warned that more investment is needed in the energy sector for OPEC+ to deliver sufficient supplies.

The amount of unused capacity that the world can tap to produce more energy products is running out, warned top oil ministers.

Referring to recent price spikes for refined products, Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at a Tuesday conference, "I am a dinosaur, but I have never seen these things," according to Bloomberg.

"The world needs to wake up to an existing reality. The world is running out of energy capacity at all levels," he added.

Prices for crude oil have surged more than 50% from a year ago to roughly $105 a barrel. But prices for refined products like diesel have soared even higher. In the US, diesel prices are up 78% to $5.50 a gallon, Bloomberg data shows.

The United Arab Emirates' oil minister said OPEC+ may not be able to deliver on sufficient energy supplies down the line without more investments.

"We've been warning about the lack of investment," Suhail al Mazrouei said in an interview in Abu Dhabi, Bloomberg reported. "That lack of investment is catching up with a lot of countries."

Mazrouei added that "politicization" of the oil market has pushed supply prices higher.

Meanwhile, the European Union is weighing a full embargo on Russian oil in an attempt to ramp up economic pressure on Moscow for its war on Ukraine. In the event of the oil ban, one analyst predicted Russia would have to slash its oil production within "a year or two."

Saudis, UAE: The World Has A Serious Energy Spare Capacity Problem

Editor OilPrice.com
Tue, May 10, 2022, 

Persistently low investment in conventional energy sources risks leaving the world running out of spare production capacity for crude oil, refined products, and natural gas, the energy ministers of two of OPEC’s top producers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said on Tuesday.

Officials from the oil and gas producing countries in the Middle East have been warning for months—even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine—that recent low investments in new fields and production capacity would lead to dwindling energy capacity production once the global economy recovers from the COVID slump of 2020.

At a conference in Abu Dhabi today, the Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that “The world needs to wake up to an existing reality.”

“The world is running out of energy capacity at all levels,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, as carried by Bloomberg.

Not enough investment in global refining capacity is one of the key drivers of the global rally in gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday, reiterating the Kingdom’s view that a rushed transition to cleaner energy fails to take into account realities.

If the industry is discouraged from investments, this will lead to a lack of supply, which will translate into inflation, and that will affect the end consumer, the minister said at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh.

At the Tuesday conference in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said that OPEC+ may not be able to guarantee enough supply when the world fully recovers from the COVID crash in demand.

The UAE minister also said that the extreme volatility in the oil market in recent weeks is the result of some buyers boycotting certain crudes; it is not connected with OPEC+ and is outside the alliance’s control, in an apparent reference to the boycott of Russian oil from Western buyers.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are actually the only two oil producers believed to have sufficient spare oil production capacity, but they are unwilling to tap it, saying the market is balanced and any extreme volatility is the result of geopolitical factors.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

AKA BRASCAN

Brookfield Decides to Spin Off Its Asset-Management Unit

Layan Odeh and Scott Deveau
Tue, May 10, 2022, 


(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Asset Management Inc. plans to spin off its asset-management business, according to a person familiar with the matter -- a step designed to simplify the organizational structure at one of the world’s largest alternative investment firms.

The new publicly traded entity will control Brookfield’s fee-generating assets, such as real estate, infrastructure, credit, private equity and renewable energy. The unit’s assets under management were $364 billion as of Dec. 31.

The move will make the Toronto-based firm “asset-light,” a model preferred by investors, as it gives it the option to buy into the asset management unit without taking a piece of its skyscrapers and gas pipelines. Earlier this year, Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt told investors that the unit could have an equity value of as much as $100 billion.

A spokesperson for Brookfield declined to comment. Insider reported on the plans earlier.

Flatt said in February that the firm was weighing such a spinoff.

“Its growth path on its own is very compelling,” Flatt said in an investor letter at the time. “Pure-play managers have been more in vogue across global markets because they are easier to value and have attracted higher multiples.”

Brookfield, with $690 billion of assets under management, owns stakes in all its other publicly listed entities. Its balance sheet includes London’s Canary Wharf, One Manhattan West in New York, as well as numerous shopping malls, among other assets.

Brookfield has a history of building businesses and then listing them after they gain scale. Last year, for example, it spun off its reinsurance arm, Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners Ltd., through a special dividend to shareholders. It did the same thing with its private equity unit, Brookfield Business Partners, and its renewable energy operations, Brookfield Renewable Partners, among others.

Shares of Brookfield rose 1.2% at 1:02 p.m. in Toronto, paring their decline this year to 20%.

Brookfield Asset Management - Wikipedia

NORTH CAROLINA

As copperhead sightings increase in Onslow, what to know about the venomous snake


Morgan Starling, The Daily News
Mon, May 9, 2022, 

Biologist Jeff Hall said he hears many describe the copperheads' marks as a line of Hershey kisses.

As Onslow weather heats up, so does snake activity, and residents have their eyes peeled for one kind in particular: the copperhead.

Jeff Hall, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, said copperheads can survive in a wide variety of habitat types to include where people live. He said part of that is because of their varied diet.

"Because they eat all those different types of prey, they can live in lots of different places and they're quite adaptable," Hall said. "Relatively speaking, it's a common species across the state, and certainly Eastern North Carolina is no different than that."

Hall said copperheads eat everything from insect larvae, to amphibians like frogs and salamanders, other reptiles like lizards and small snakes, birds, and a variety of small mammals.

Related coverage: Wildlife Commission warns Onslow of bat roosting season, provides tips on how to evict

"Unlike some larger species of snakes, they seem to tolerate human development reasonably well," Hall said. "As long as there's a little patch of woods here, a little creek or drain there, something like that, you know, you're going to see copperheads around."

However, copperheads are not as dangerous as many may think.

Hall said that while copperheads are venomous, they are fairly low in terms of their danger level, and there has only ever been one recorded fatality in North Carolina. That fatality, according to Hall, was a 1-year-old child in the 1950s.

He said although a copperhead's effective dose is not usually a big issue for most healthy adults, anytime you're bitten by a snake you believe could be venomous, seek medical attention.

"There is no reason for anyone who thinks they were bitten by a venomous snake to not go to the doctor," Hall said.

"It's not something that people need to worry they're going to die from, but there can be some sorts of complications like tissue damage or things of that nature. So, if bitten, you definitely want to seek medical attention."

Hall did recommend not to use tourniquets or any of the old "suck and cut" tools, because they can cause more harm than good.

Onslow residents are posting their sightings on Facebook, and Hall said they are much more scared of you, than you are of them.

Hubert resident Sadie Floyd encountered a copperhead outside her home last week.

"Most species of snakes, copperheads included, are fairly low on the food chain," Hall said. "So, there are a lot of things that want to eat them. So, as a result, camouflage is just monumentally important for all snake species. Their goal is to try and remain hidden at all times, if they can."

Related coverage: What's that sound? Onslow likely to see increase in coyotes next few months

Hall said copperheads will come out if they're looking for water, a place to hide, a mate or something to eat. He said these instances are typically when they're spotted by residents.

"If we just get out of their way, they're going to go ahead and do whatever it is that they need to do and we don't need to have any issues with that," Hall said. "If we give animals time and space, they're going to generally move on and get out of the way."

Hall said to note the size difference between snakes and humans, and realize snakes are usually afraid they're going to be lunch when they see a human.

"Generally speaking, when people have encounters with snakes that they're fearful of, it's because the snake is being defensive, because it's afraid it's going to become a meal," Hall said. "One of the most important things that people can do to help learn and know about what's around them, is to learn the snake species that are in the area where they live."

Hall said this is important because copperheads are often misidentified.

"Almost every time someone sees a snake and they don't know what it is, they assume it's a copperhead," Hall said. "That is just not, it's very very frequent that's not true."

Hall said snakes frequently misidentified are juvenile rat snakes and juvenile black racers. While they both have blotched patterns, adult black racers are solid black, while rat snakes are a green-gray color with four black stripes that go down the length of the body, at least in the Onslow County area, Hall said.

On the other hand, Hall said copperheads have bands that go around their sides, in the shape of an hourglass.

"I've had people say if you look down the side, it looks like a row of Hershey's kisses on the side," Hall said. "If you see a snake that has blotches, not bands, it's not going to be a copperhead."

Copperheads are fairly low on the venom spectrum, with only one recorded fatality ever in North Carolina.

Hall added that freshly-born copperheads, often seen in the late summer-early fall, have brightly colored tail tips, usually bright yellow or chartreuse.

"So, if you see a little bitty banded snake that has a brightly colored tail tip, like I said, that brightly colored green, then you know for sure that's a copperhead," Hall said.

For those hoping to keep the little guys out of their yards and homes, Hall said there's really nothing you can do to completely make sure you never see one, but there are ways to reduce the chances.

He said it's a good idea to check around your home to make sure there are no gaps or holes, and remove any brush piles or piles of wood/debris, as snakes and other small animals tend to like to hang out there.

"The other thing you can do is don't do a lot of mulching around your house, or don't have lots of bushes around your house," Hall said. "One other thing they can do is mow their grass a little more frequently, keeping it as low as possible. Basically, a yard with grass in it is a desert for most wildlife."

Hall added that if a snake does turn up in your well-kept yard, it's not going to stay for long. However, he did say if you've got bird feeders, you should probably remove those if you want to make sure snakes stay out of your yard.

"People that are absolutely petrified should remove everything from their yard that would potentially attract wildlife," Hall said.

Hall encouraged residents to learn more about the snakes in the area, and realize that they are another part of the ENC wildlife, that they can be enjoyed.

"Snakes have fascinating lives," Hall said. "They have some fascinating behaviors, and many of them are very beautifully colored like corn snakes and eastern hog nose snakes, so if people learn a little bit more about them and become a little bit less fearful, they can also be enjoyed as part of the wildlife of our state."

Related coverage: Did you know: Onslow area has the biggest black bears in the country

For those interested in learning more about the types of snakes in Onslow, or to identify the slithery creature in your yard, visit herpsofnc.org.

In addition, Hall said the Wildlife Commission is trying to keep up with the rattlesnakes in the area, and encouraged residents to report sightings. If you see a rattlesnake, report the sighting to rattlesnake@ncwildlife.org.

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Copperhead sightings increasing in Onslow: What to know about the snake

Copperhead lurking in toolbox bites man fumbling around for wrench, Texas photos show

Mitchell Willetts
Mon, May 9, 2022,

All Mark Holton wanted was a wrench, but he got a finger full of needle-like teeth instead.

The Texas man was doing maintenance on a circular saw at his home near Midlothian on the morning of May 3, he told McClatchy News. But as he fumbled around his toolbox, feeling for the right tool, he unknowingly angered a snake that had slithered into a drawer.

“Suddenly I saw and felt something hit my index finger,” Holton said. “I opened the drawer the rest of the way and there laid a copperhead snake.”

The three-foot venomous snake sat coiled among the screwdrivers and wrenches, ready to defend its newfound home, photos shared by Holton’s neighbor, Matt Morris, show.

Mark Holton couldn’t see the snake until he fully opened the drawer.

A tiny bit of blood ran from Holton’s finger. He’d clearly been bitten, but the snake apparently injected little or none of its painful, flesh-destroying venom.

“My neighbor Matt loves to catch and relocate snakes so I called him and told him about the snake,” Holton said.

“He came over and suggested I go see a physician, but I wasn’t feeling any pain and decided against it.”

While a snake’s teeth are small, they have the potential to deliver large doses of venom.

While “dry bites” do happen, they are rare, and experts warn that people should “always assume it’s going to be an envenomation” when bitten by a venomous snake.

“I was very lucky,” Holton said.

Holton’s home backs up to around 400 acres of woods, he said, meaning he’s seen plenty of snakes both dangerous and harmless over the years. But they tend to respect his space.

“I have had many encounters with snakes, but never (had) one strike me,” Holton said.

Midlothian is about 30 miles southeast of Fort Worth.

Family finds rattlesnake coiled on their couch after getting dinner, Texas video shows

Dad leaps into action when his child spots Texas’ most venomous snake on their patio

Did this rattlesnake bite itself to death? Texas researcher comes across odd sight

Green Party leaders urge Sask. government to halt small nuclear reactor plans


Mon, May 9, 2022

An illustration shows a NuScale Power Module on a truck. NuScale is one of the small modular reactor companies whose designs are going through pre-licencing approval with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Many are designed to be small enough to transport by truck or by shipping container. (NuScale Power - image credit)

The interim Leader of the Green Party of Canada made a stop in Regina Monday to urge Premier Scott Moe to abandon his plans for small nuclear reactor (SNR) development.

The province announced in 2019 that it was looking at developing a plan to use SNRs to lower carbon emissions.

Last month, the province said it had gone ahead with the plan and will be partnering with Ontario, New Brunswick and Alberta to develop SMRs, four of which will be in Saskatchewan.

Amita Kuttner visited Regina Monday alongside Saskatchewan Green Party leader Naomi Hunter. Kuttner said from their short time in Saskatchewan, they see the province has great potential for green energy development.

"It is so obvious to me that community based power and the immediate solutions around renewables is really what we should be doing and not heading down the path of nuclear, which takes too long in a true emergency," they said.

"We see over and over again the supposed climate plans put forward [that] involve solutions that take decades to come to pass when really we have very few years to turn everything around."

Kuttner said more immediate action, such as developing wind, solar and geothermal energy, is needed to achieve net zero emissions.

They said reaching net zeros by 2050 is not enough and that Canada needs to reach negative emissions by that time to reduce the effects of climate change.

SNRs will create jobs, province says

The Government of Saskatchewan said the development of SNRs is not only safe but will use uranium from Saskatchewan, enhance nuclear research while creating jobs in construction and facilities operations.

"This is not how a just transition works," Hunter said. "Oil and gas companies [here] need to be looking like they are through the rest of the world."

She said in Europe, such companies are diversifying and making sure they are proactively protecting their workers during the transition into renewable energy.

Hunter said the proposed nuclear jobs would not transition the way other renewable energy jobs would.

The province's plan says 12,455 jobs would be created during manufacturing and construction, with 1,469 jobs available during operations. It is not specified how many of these jobs would be in Saskatchewan.

Republican senator compares women to sea turtles and eagles in speech against abortion rights

Abe Asher
Tue, May 10, 2022, 


Republican Steve Daines of Montana took to the floor of the US Senate on Tuesday to compare women to sea turtles and eagles in a speech advocating for the restriction of abortion rights.

“Why do we have laws in place that protect the eggs of a sea turtle or the eggs of eagles?” Mr Daines said. “Because when you destroy an egg, you’re killing a pre-born baby sea turtle or a pre-born baby eagle. Yet when it comes to a pre-born human baby rather than a sea turtle, that baby will be stripped of all protections in all 50 states under the Democrats’ bill we will be voting on tomorrow.”

The rhetorical gambit to compare people who have babies to animals comes in advance of Wednesday’s scheduled vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act — a bill that would protect abortion rights across the country in advance of the US Supreme Court’s expected ruling reversing Roe v Wade next month.

The bill, which requires 60 votes to pass, is virtually certain to fail. But Chuck Schumer, leader of the Senate Democrats, has pressed forward with a vote anyway in an effort to force every member of the body to take a vote on an issue that could have significant political salience with the midterms approaching.

Debate on the bill has been underway since Monday, with Mr Daines making headlines for his extended riff on the criminal penalties people facing for stealing or destroying sea turtle eggs. Backlash from pro-abortion rights politicians and members of the public was swift.

Other senators have also faced backlash for their views. Abortion rights activists occupied the Harrisburg office of anti-abortion Democratic senator Bob Casey on Tuesday; shortly thereafter, Mr Casey announced that he would support the bill.

Some public protest has been tamer. But when abortion rights activists chalked a simple message outside of Maine senator Susan Collins’ home in Bangor, Ms Collins called the police. The police said that the message, which read “Susie, please, Mainers want WHPA —–> vote yes, clean up your mess,” was not threatening and did not constitute a crime.

Ms Collins, considered a moderate Republican, was a decisive vote in favour of confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the bench in 2018 but expressed surprise when it was reported that he and four other members of the Supreme Court were supporting a reversal of Roe v Wade. Protesters have also demonstrated peacefully outside Mr Kavanaugh’s home in recent days.

Republicans, meanwhile, have signalled that they are looking at passing a law to ban abortion nationally should they retake power in Washington in the coming years.

WE NEED PAID PROVINCIAL SICK LEAVE
Alberta government alters bereavement leave legislation amid abortion debate


Tue, May 10, 2022,



EDMONTON — The Alberta government is amending its bereavement bill following criticism that it allowed leave for stillbirths and miscarriages but was silent on abortions.

Labour Minister Kaycee Madu introduced an amendment Tuesday to a bill that, if passed, would allow for leave in any pregnancy that doesn’t end in a live birth.

Madu said he has heard the concerns of the bill’s critics and other stakeholders.

“With this amendment, the legislation will provide the broadest approach possible to address any situation where pregnancy ends (in) other than a live birth, regardless of the reason or timing for the end of the pregnancy,” Madu told the house as he introduced the proposed change.

“Pregnancy loss is a very difficult and highly personal circumstance,” he added.

“Employees experiencing any kind of pregnancy loss should be able to access bereavement leave without having to share the details of their circumstance with their employers.”

When Madu introduced the bill on April 21, it proposed three days of unpaid leave for parents grieving after a stillbirth or miscarriage, but didn’t specifically promise leave when a pregnancy is purposely aborted.

He said at the time that while the bill didn’t include a specific mention of abortion, that didn’t stop employers from granting bereavement leaves in those situations.

However, the Opposition NDP said that without a specific mention, some women could be in the cruel position of having to litigate to gain that right while grieving their loss.

On Tuesday, Opposition critic Sarah Hoffman said Madu’s amendment does not go far enough and needs to spell out leave for abortion to ensure there is no confusion.

“Is this (amendment) language better than where we were at before? Probably,” Hoffman told the house. “Is this our best work? I don’t think so.

“I think we could do a very good service to the people of Alberta by actually spelling out the types of pregnancy loss, including abortion and termination of pregnancy for medical reasons.”

The bill took on heightened significance last week due to events in the United States, when a draft decision was leaked to media indicating U.S. Supreme Court judges are contemplating to overturn the 1973 landmark court decision Roe vs. Wade that guarantees the right to an abortion.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley told the house last week that leaders here must be vigilant to ensure such a decision does not take root and deprive Canadian women of their reproductive rights.

She called on Premier Jason Kenney, who opposes abortion, to affirm that his United Conservative government would not act to roll back those freedoms.

Kenney declined to do so but has previously said he considers abortion a settled issue in law and that his government wouldn't act to change it.

Notley said Kenney's refusal to affirm is a warning shot for women's freedoms. Kenney has accused Notley of trying to create a fresh political wedge issue where none exists.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2022

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

Abortion will qualify for bereavement leave in proposed labour bill amendment, minister says

CBC
Tue, May 10, 2022

Alberta Labour and Immigration Minister Kaycee Madu confirmed Tuesday that a proposed amendment will allow those who have had an abortion to qualify for bereavement leave.

Madu's amendment to Bill 17, Labour Statutes Amendment Act, 2022, extends bereavement leave to any pregnancy that ends in a result other than a live birth.

"The amendment before us is the broadest approach which addresses any situation where a pregnancy ends, regardless of the reason, or the timing for the end of the pregnancy," Madu told the legislature.

"And yes, [to] the members opposite, that also includes abortion."

Madu's statement came after nearly two hours of debate mostly dominated by three female NDP MLAs: Janis Irwin of Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Sarah Hoffman of Edmonton-Glenora and Marie Renaud of St. Albert.

They said Madu's proposal wasn't sufficient because it didn't specify abortion and termination for medical reasons as situations where someone could take three days of unpaid leave. They called on the minister to clarify what his amendment covered.

"Is this amendment better than the bill was before the amendment? Maybe," Hoffman said. "Is this amendment our best work? I don't think so."

Bill 17, Labour Statutes Amendment Act, 2022, amends the section of the employment standards code that grants job-protected leave to employees dealing with the death of a family member.

The original version of the bill extended three days of unpaid leave to anyone affected by miscarriage and stillbirth. The proposed legislation is now in the committee of the whole stage of debate where MLAs can propose and debate amendments.

Governments don't often amend their own legislation but it does happen on occasion.

Madu said he proposed his change after talking to stakeholders including Aditi Loveridge, founder and CEO of the Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support Centre. Loveridge met with the government after reviewing the words of Bill 17 after it was introduced last month. She has called on Madu to make the language as broad and inclusive as possible.

Non-partisan debate becomes partisan

The issue of abortion has been tricky for the governing United Conservative party as a number of MLAs have a history of opposition to abortion, including Premier Jason Kenney.

The NDP hammered the government on abortion access after a leaked decision suggested the Supreme Court in the United States may overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

Mark Smith, the UCP MLA for Drayton Valley-Devon, said he supported the broad language in the amendment as it allows people time to grieve the loss of a pregnancy, including women he says have regretted their abortions.

"Their grief is real," Smith said. " And the time to mourn is necessary even when, and maybe especially when, the loss of the pregnancy is the result of an abortion."

Opposition MLAs seized on Smith's statement as evidence of the government's hidden agenda on abortion. They also pointed to Kenney's reluctance to comment on the Roe v. Wade issue and his refusal to confirm whether his government would maintain access to abortion in Alberta.

Madu said he was disappointed the NDP used the debate to take swipes at the government on abortion.

"They are not interested in the substance of the amendment," he said. "They would rather make this bill that should not be a subject of partisan conversation a partisan issue."

The discussion ended without a vote on the amendment. The bill will be up for debate again in the coming days.

Trump wanted to court-martial the retired Navy SEAL who led the bin Laden raid for criticizing him, former defense chief says

Brent D. Griffiths
Tue, May 10, 2022,

Former Pentagon chief says Trump wanted to punish former top military commanders who criticized him.

Mark Esper writes that Trump wanted to court-martial a retired Navy admiral and a retired general.

Esper says Trump's ire was "spun up" by stories in publications like Breitbart.

Former President Donald Trump wanted to take the extraordinary step of reactivating retired US Navy Adm. William McRaven so that he could court-martial the former Navy SEAL commander for criticizing him, Trump's former Pentagon chief claims in his new book.

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper writes that he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, had to talk then-President Trump out of a plan to recall both retired US Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal and McRaven to active duty as a way to open the two former senior military officers up to court-martial proceedings.

"Doing this 'will backfire on you, Mr. President,' we said," Esper wrote of a May 2020 meeting in his book, "A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times," which is out today.

Trump told Esper and Milley that McRaven and McChrystal were "so disloyal" because of what he thought they were doing and had said about him. Esper writes that Trump "was spun up" by media stories in Breitbart claiming that McChrystal was advising Democrats on how to use artificial intelligence to "track down and counter Trump supporters."

Both McRaven and McChrystal had also crossed Trump in the past, which only further inflamed the president.

In 2018, McChrystal — who served as the head of the Joint Special Operations Command from 2003 to 2008 and later was appointed head of all international forces in Afghanistan — criticized Trump's decision to remove US troops from Syria and said he believed Trump was immoral and doesn't "tell the truth."

McRaven, a former head of US Special Operations Command whose military career included leading Operation Neptune Spear, the raid on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was a frequent critic of Trump throughout his presidency.

Shortly after Trump's inauguration, McRaven criticized the president's continued attacks on members of the media, arguing it was "the greatest threat to democracy" in his lifetime.

In a 2017 Washington Post column, McRaven said the Trump White House decision to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan was an effort to "suppress freedom of speech and punish critics" and said he would "consider it an honor" if his security clearance was also revoked.

McRaven gave a number of media interviews and wrote several more op-eds criticizing Trump during his presidency. While it is not uncommon for retired military officers to give their opinion for or against a president, McRaven's comments attracted significantly more attention due to his rank and notoriety.

Milley, Esper writes, finally got Trump to back down from his threat to go after retired officers by promising to "personally call the officers and ask them to dial it back."

McChrystal told Talking Points Memo that he did not remember receiving such a call from Milley. A spokesperson for Milley did not respond to a request for comment.

Esper writes in his book that the entire episode was emblematic of a White House that constantly pushed, if not sometimes crossed, the line between politics and the management of America's defense. Loyalty purges, Esper writes, targeted both current and former commanders.

"Worse yet, people were removed from positions simply because the White House wanted to replace them with more hard-core Trump loyalists, regardless of qualifications," writes Esper, who often drew Trump's ire and was fired and replaced shortly after Trump's loss in the 2020 election.

Trump, in response to the publication of Esper's book, repeatedly called his former Pentagon chief "Yesper" and claimed that he had to effectively "run the military" himself.

Mark Esper said Trump told him to 'get rid of' impeachment witness Alexander Vindman

Brent D. Griffiths
Tue, May 10, 2022,

A composite image of then-President Donald Trump (left) and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who is now retired

.Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty

Trump's former Pentagon chief detailed a significant effort to punish an impeachment witness.


Mark Esper said the Trump White House went to great lengths to punish Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.


"He's a Never Trumper. We need to get rid of him," Esper said Trump told him of Vindman.

President Donald Trump and his White House engaged in a scorched-earth campaign to purge Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the US military after Vindman became a key witness during Trump's first impeachment, Trump's former Pentagon chief said in a new book.

"He lied about my great call," Trump told Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a White House meeting on April 21, 2020, Esper wrote in his new book, "A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times."

Esper went on to say that Trump added: Vindman "made it all up. He's a Never Trumper. We need to get rid of him."

Esper's book includes new allegations of the White House effort to derail Vindman's career and block his Pentagon-endorsed promotion to colonel, with Trump's chief of staff at one point shouting at Esper that the Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient would "never get promoted."

Vindman responded to an early excerpt by tweeting a photo of an angry Trump.



At the time, Vindman was a National Security Council staffer detailed to the White House. His shock to and abhorrence of Trump's July 25, 2019, call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a major point in what became the first impeachment of the president after Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, who was running for president at the time, and his family. It was Vindman who insisted that the White House record of the call should mention Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company on whose board Biden's son Hunter had served.

Trump, who was later acquitted by the GOP-controlled Senate, has never budged from his defense that it was a "perfect phone call," and that his request for Zelenskyy "to do us a favor" in return for military aid that Trump ordered withheld was in no way evidence of a quid pro quo.

Vindman retired from the military after Trump's acquittal in the face of a massive pressure campaign. While some of these details were previously known, Esper meticulously documented alleged meetings and phone calls with Trump and Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, that underlined the effort to punish Vindman. Both Vindman and his brother Yevgeny were fired from the National Security Council days after Trump's acquittal.

Yevgeny wrote on Twitter that Esper's lack of support allowed their "actions to be politicized." He said he would join his brother in retirement later this summer.

Esper wrote that the White House's lust for revenge wasn't satiated with the Vindmans being ousted from the White House. Meadows, Esper said, was engaged in an effort to deny Vindman a proposed promotion, strongly implying that the White House would find more witnesses to support a misconduct complaint filed against Vindman.

Esper said he took particular issue with Meadows' handling of the complaint. Esper wrote that it became evident early on "that the NSC had no real evidence or witnesses to offer." Esper said this was later confirmed by an Army inspector general's investigation.

But Meadows, Esper wrote, wasn't done yet. Neither side could drag out the issue forever as the Pentagon had to submit Vindman and other prospective promotions to the Senate for approval. In July 2020, the showdown Esper said he was expecting all along over Vindman's future finally came to a head.

The National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman being sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in November 2019.Andrew Harnik/AP

"I told Meadows, 'Yes, the Army was done,'" Esper wrote of a call that took place on July 6, 2020. He added that Meadows shouted back: "Then why didn't you call me, Secretary? I would have had them get you something."

Meadows then asked for "another week or so" in what Esper described as an effort "to drum up more witnesses" for the complaint. Esper said he again refused to drag out the process any longer.

"'If you don't want him on the list, then you should remove him, but I don't support it. It would be the wrong thing to do,'" I yelled into the phone. Meadows shouted back, 'He'll never get promoted!'" Esper wrote.

Esper wrote that Meadows asked for and received a White House meeting the following day to discuss the situation. Flanked by Pentagon lawyers, Esper laid out the case that there was no credible evidence to deny Vindman a promotion. Esper said Meadows finally relented in part because a White House lawyer told him that he could be accused of tampering with the investigation if he pressed too hard.

Spokespersons for Meadows and Vindman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump criticized Esper ahead of the book's publication, calling his former Pentagon chief "Yesper" and arguing that he was so ineffective that Trump himself had to run the US military.

WHITE REPUBLICANS FREEK OUT
‘Sex and Wickedness’: Ohio Parents Melt Down Over Historical Novel

Brooke Leigh Howard
Mon, May 9, 2022,

Milford Exempted Village Schools

Pearl-clutching parents in Ohio have forced a suburban school district outside Cincinnati to review a book so popular for its portrayal of historic events that it was adapted into a film.

According to a report by The Cincinnati Enquirer, parents of students at Milford Exempted Village Schools want In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, on the chopping block due to its “sex and wickedness” and “unhealthy view of sexuality [and pornography],” despite the novel’s historical relevance.

“THIS CONTENT IS EXPLICIT! Our 10th graders are being forced to read this pornography in school!” Amy Boldt K posted April 25 in the Milford OH Neighborhood Group on Facebook. “I am disgusted beyond words.”

In the post, the woman claimed that students at Milford High School were required to read the book aloud in class, and she demanded the teacher be removed from her post. As an example of content she felt was unsuitable, Amy Boldt K provided an excerpt about a girl banding her breasts to keep them from growing, out of fear that they would bring her unwanted attention from men. She also added paragraphs about the book’s female protagonists being sexually assaulted.

“This is only a small content of the book [sic],” the woman wrote. “Are you concerned yet, parents?? Time for action.”

As of Monday afternoon, the post had more than 700 comments and had been shared more than 20 times.

Parents Fume After White School Board Members Can Diversity Day—Twice

In a statement to The Daily Beast, Milford Exempted Village Schools acknowledged that administrators received a “citizen’s request for reconsideration for [In the Time of the Butterflies] used in 10th grade English language arts.”

“Any time the district would receive such a request, the district follows Board Policy… which calls for the Superintendent to convene a review committee,” Milford Director of Communications Krista Boyle said in the statement. “This committee is composed of seven members, a mix of teachers, administrators, and parents.”

On its website, the school board says it understands some school literature may be controversial for students and, if parents wish, they can choose alternate reading material for their child that covers a similar “instructional purpose.” The district also says it doesn’t allow “any individual or group to exercise censorship over instructional materials and library collections, but it recognizes that, at times, a re-evaluation of certain material may be desirable.”

In the Time of the Butterflies is the fictionalized account of the Mirabal sisters, who protested the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the 1960s Dominican Republic. Inspired by true events, the book focuses on the deadly massacres and human rights horrors of Trujillo’s authoritarian reign, the sisters’ opposition to his leadership, and their alleged murders by government troops. The novel was adapted into a film in 2001 that was rated PG-13.

School District Pulls Acclaimed Book on Racial Injustice Over One Parent’s Gripes

Boyle told The Daily Beast the novel encompasses themes of “magical realism and metafiction” in human nature and poses the question of how trauma carries through future generations.

In an email to The Daily Beast, Alvarez’s agent, Stuart Bernstein, said the author was “dismayed” by the furor, considering she personally experienced Trujillo’s “repressive dictatorship.”

“[It was a time] where reading books was considered suspect, where many books were banned,” she said.

Despite the fact the novel deals with true events, some Milford community members thought it was too much.

“Wow! That was rated R,” a member of the neighborhood Facebook group commented on Amy Boldt K’s post in regards to the excerpt. “I can see why kids would be uncomfortable to read this! Wtf.”

“That is beyond inappropriate!!” another member responded.

However, other community members and former students had high praise for Alvarez’s novel.

“Bro, this book is completely fine and not graphic at all,” Miri Lawrence posted. “When I was in 10th grade it was really a valuable learning experience for me. This was one of the only books I read through, and I still cherish it. Don’t tell the principal to stop giving out this book because it is so special and valuable. Your kids will be much more cultured after reading it.”

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“When I read this book in high school, I loved it,” Ashley Honsaker, a 2018 Milford High School graduate, wrote. “I thought it was a great historical fiction book about Trujillo and the Dominican Republic during that time period. And honestly didn’t even think twice about the sexual aspects of it other than what it told about history and how sex was seen during that time.”

In a Facebook message to The Daily Beast, Honsaker, now a senior in college studying graphic design, said she loved reading the book as a high school sophomore.

“It was insightful and helped me gain understanding as to what life was like in the Dominican Republic during the 1900s,” she said. “The main takeaway I got from reading the book was a different perspective on world culture. …As a young woman, it was great to see a historical fiction novel that revolved around women during a time where they weren’t always given respect or equality.”

Honsaker said she believed the uproar is due to people not truly understanding the context of what was written.

“I also think parents sometimes overstep and hold their children back,” she said. “It is extremely sad that, in society today, we teach our children to not judge a book by its cover and to be fair and righteous, but so many parents in my community are doing the exact opposite.”

Other Facebook group members ridiculed critics for disagreeing with the novel’s content without actually reading it or finding an alternative book suitable for their children, per the district’s policy.

“Prior to posting publicly, I really feel a conversation with the school would have been more appropriate,” a member of the Facebook group wrote. “I would also suggest that those who have not done so, to read the book in question. I feel too many are just jumping to social media without having done their due diligence.”

Milford Exempted Village Schools told The Daily Beast that its review committee is currently reading In the Time of the Butterflies and is expected to complete its review by May 13.

Steve Schmidt Says John McCain Lied When He Denied Affair With Lobbyist in 2008

REPUBLICAN FAMILY VALUES; 

A WIFE & A MISTRESS TOO

Ross A. Lincoln
Mon, May 9, 2022

Former John McCain campaign adviser Steve Schmidt capped a wild weekend trashing McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, as well as McCain’s legacy, with a late-night follow-up exposing what he said was a particularly egregious lie by McCain.

Schmidt claimed in a Substack post published on Sunday night that in 2008 McCain lied — and that Schmidt himself lied on John McCain’s behalf — when he denied a New York Times report that John McCain had had an affair with a lobbyist. Further, Schmidt said McCain had initially lied to him about the affair before admitting it.

Schmidt noted this New York Times article, published in February 2008 and written by Jim Rutenberg, Marilyn W. Thompson, David D. Kirkpatrick and Stephen Labaton, that suggested McCain had carried on an affair with a Washington, D.C., lobbyist so blatantly that it alarmed his own staff, who did everything they could to keep the two apart. Concerns were not only about a potential sex scandal, but about what such behavior said about McCain’s tolerance for blatant corruption — the concern was of course that he was sleeping, literally, with someone whose job is to influence members of Congress.

“Immediately following the story’s publication, John and Cindy McCain both lied to the American people at a news conference that I prepared them for on that same day,” Schmidt wrote in the Substack post. “Both denied the story to me personally, as did the lobbyist at the center of the story. They also lied to the American people.”

Schmidt, who also formally apologized to the journalists, said that at the time, when he was 36, “I did not understand the difference between integrity and loyalty.”

“Senator McCain denied his long relationship with the lobbyist – to whom he was credibly accused of providing special favors – dozens of times to my face,” Schmidt said also. “After the New York Times story – which accurately detailed that relationship – was attacked and successfully discredited by the campaign under my direction, John McCain told me the truth backstage at an event in Ohio. Understandably, he was very concerned about this potentially campaign-ending issue. He kept saying, ‘The campaign is over.’ I reassured him that it was behind us.”

Schmidt says he was then forced to fend off the lobbyist in question, whom the New York Times identified as Vicki Iseman in 2008. Schmidt said she called frequently and “screamed at me incoherently for hours every night. I became the shock absorber for her rage, anger and humiliation.”

Schmidt said that at one point, the lobbyist said she wished his kids would die “so that I could share the depths of pain she felt” when McCain denied their relationship. Schmidt specifically tied that relationship back to McCain generally, who he says “turned a blind eye” to enormous corruption among people involved in his campaign.

Elsewhere in the post, Schmidt reiterates a lot of what he’d previously said about Meghan McCain and John McCain. You can read more about that here.

Putin’s Puppets Admit Their Army Has Been a Total Embarrassment


Julia Davis
Mon, May 9, 2022,

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty

In his speech preceding the Victory Day celebrations across Russia on Sunday, President Vladimir Putin continued to promote the idea that his troops in Ukraine are fighting “to liberate their native land from the Nazi filth with confidence that, as in 1945, victory will be ours.” His portrayal of Ukrainians as Nazis rings so hollow that propagandists on state television have been struggling to justify the so-called “special military operation.” The description itself was meant to portray a nearly painless blitzkrieg, akin to the annexation of Crimea. Instead, it has turned into an ongoing bloody massacre and a slew of crippling sanctions.

Russia was so unprepared for this turn of events, both militarily and economically, that even the most pro-Kremlin propagandists have been forced to acknowledge the grim reality of a pariah state fighting a war of aggression.

During Friday’s broadcast of state TV show The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, military analyst Konstantin Sivkov argued that Russia’s “current economic market system is unfit to meet the needs of our Armed Forces and of the entire country under these conditions.” Instead, he pushed for what he described as “military socialism,” a set of wartime rules and regulations that would move all strategic resources–including land and factories–under the direct control of the government to better fund the war.

During the same show, host Vladimir Solovyov griped that Russia couldn’t compete with Ukraine’s seemingly endless supply of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones, which have been wreaking havoc on Russia’s troops and equipment. “They tell us from the frontlines: ‘Give us drones!’ People are crowdfunding crazy amounts of money. They bought up everything that was available in stores. Why can’t that junk be mass-produced in Russia?,” Solovyov fumed.

State Duma member Semyon Bagdasarov chimed in: “Everyone is ashamed to talk about this topic. Volunteers, like our mutual acquaintances... are buying it all and transporting it over there. It’s a crying shame!” Solovyov proceeded to angrily complain about the restrictions that complicate the delivery of such items to Russian troops in Ukraine, adding: “It’s easier to bring it in through the Ukrainian Customs in Lviv. They let in any weapons.”

Bagdasarov then resorted to blaming the West for the Kremlin’s humiliations, claiming that recent sanctions were designed to provoke a popular uprising, akin to the October revolution of 1917 or the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, also known as the August Coup. To prevent the potential riots, Bagdasarov suggested the need for “purges” of current “management officials.” He claimed that Russia is in sore need for a figure like Lavrentiy Beria—chief of the Soviet secret police who was notorious for his serial rapes and bloody mass executions.

This attempts to whitewash odious figures of the past on Russian airwaves if nothing new., Shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, host of Vesti Nedeli Dmitry Kiselyov praised the likes of Joseph Stalin, Lavrentiy Beria, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, among others for Russia’s nuclear capabilities.

During Friday’s live broadcast of 60 Minutes, retired Colonel Mikhail Khodaryonok made the stunning confession that even mass mobilization in Russia wouldn’t help alter the course of Putin’s stalled invasion of Ukraine. He admitted that Russia would be hard-pressed to replenish its mounting losses in Ukraine, and that sending masses to fight with outdated weapons would be counterproductive because Russia’s arsenal does not measure up to NATO’s top-notch weaponry.

“Let's imagine the drumroll, the sound of fanfare, and the mobilization is declared. How soon under this mobilization will we get the first fighter aviation regiment? We would get it by New Year's. We don't have the reserves, the pilots, or the planes so the mobilization would be of little help,” Khodaryonok said. “If tonight, we order new ships to be built, how soon will we get the first one? In two years! That's the deal with mobilization. If we set a goal of forming a new tank division, when would it be ready? I would say in at least 90 days. And it wouldn't be equipped with modern weaponry because we don't have modern weapons and equipment in our reserves.”

Russians Caught in Bitchfest Over Putin’s ‘Bullshit’ Victory Day

The retired colonel continued: “Sending people armed with weapons of yesteryear into a war of the 21st century to fight against global standard NATO weapons would not be the right thing to do. We need to replenish our losses, of course, but this should be done through industrial enterprises. Mobilization would not solve these issues."

In December of 2021, appearing on 60 Minutes, Khodaryonok flippantly said that Russia could destroy Ukraine in 11 minutes, but in the beginning of February—when Putin’s invasion seemed all but imminent—the colonel was much more clear-eyed. His sobering predictions, published in the newspaper Independent Military Observer, were remarkably accurate.

Khodaryonok contradicted many popular analysts, stating in part that “To assert that no one in Ukraine will defend the regime means, in practice, complete ignorance of the military-political situation and the mood of the broad masses of people in the neighboring state. Moreover, the degree of hatred (which, as you know, is the most effective fuel for armed struggle) in the neighboring republic in relation to Moscow is frankly underestimated. No one will meet the Russian army with bread, salt and flowers in Ukraine.”

Khodaryonok correctly predicted long and difficult battles, in addition to the extensive assistance the West would provide to Ukraine, writing in part: “There is no doubt that the United States and the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance will begin a kind of reincarnation of Lend-Lease, modeled after the Second World War.”

Putin’s Stooges: He May Nuke Us All but We Are Ready to Die

While open opposition to Putin’s war against Ukraine is outlawed, it’s clear that the Russian people are resisting in various unconventional ways. A series of fires have erupted at several military enlistment offices in recent days, as rumors of the impending mobilization unsettle potential conscripts.

Putin’s propagandists have apparently been enlisted to convince the public that the outcome of Russia’s invasion is a matter of life and death for all of its citizens. State TV pundit Karen Shakhnazarov, who previously pleaded with Putin to end the war as soon as possible, returned to national broadcasts after a temporary absence with a drastically different narrative last week.

During three separate broadcasts of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, Shakhnazarov claimed that Russians would find “no mercy” from their adversaries should the country lose the war. He threatened opponents of Putin’s invasion, predicting they would face a future of “concentration camps, re-education and mandatory sterilization” imposed as a “final solution” for the Russian people sought by Moscow’s enemies. While some Kremlin propagandists begrudgingly admit that Russia can’t afford to fight this war, the prevailing narrative force-fed by the state media is that Russia can’t afford to lose.

Russia admits it faces economic collapse over Putin’s war

Louis Ashworth
Mon, May 9, 2022

Russia economy war Ukraine sanctions oil energy Kremlin Putin - REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Russia's economy has plunged into its worst crisis for almost three decades as the country is battered by Western sanctions, a leaked copy of the Kremlin's own forecasts shows.

The Russian finance ministry is predicting a 12pc collapse in GDP this year, the biggest contraction since 1994 when it was shifting towards capitalism under Boris Yeltsin, the first post-Soviet president.

A collapse would wipe out around a decade of economic growth.

The leak will pile pressure on Vladimir Putin, who on Monday presided over a scaled-down version of Russia's annual Victory Day parade marking the end of the Second World War in Europe.


Russia has been hammered by heavy sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, which are about to be ratcheted up further as Brussels discusses a ban on oil from the country.

It has left the Kremlin teetering on the edge of a default after it last week narrowly avoided a failure to pay foreign debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution a century ago.

The Kremlin has yet to issue a public economic outlook, but the finance ministry’s figures – seen by Bloomberg – are more pessimistic than the central bank’s forecasts of a contraction between 8pc and 10pc this year.

The International Monetary Fund expects an 8.5pc decline. The dire figures emerged as Mr Putin appeared at a Victory Day parade in Moscow.

The president did not use a speech to formally declare war against Ukraine or announce a larger-scale mobilisation, continuing to refer to the conflict as a “special operation”.

Krishna Guha, an analyst at Evercore, said Mr Putin “is wary of risking domestic support for the war through mass conscription”.

Meanwhile, European officials are locked in talks over how to press ahead with a mooted buying ban on Russian oil and gas.

The European Commission is reportedly mulling offering more money to landlocked eastern European countries to build support for a ban, which is facing stiff opposition from Hungary.

Britain and the UShave already vowed to ditch Russian oil, and European countries are also seeking to wean themselves off gas supplies from Moscow. Russia’s central bank has repeatedly slashed interest rates in recent weeks after raising them at the onset of conflict.

The cuts, aimed at driving spending, came despite a surge in inflation to 17.7pc.

Speaking in late April, governor Elvira Nabiullina warned of a severe recession, soaring prices and severe disruption to Russia’s labour market. She said the Russian economy would likely then remain stagnant in 2023.

Official figures showed Russia’s economy grew by 3.7pc in the first quarter, but Ms Nabiullina said this was a temporary boost driven by people stocking up on the goods.

Russia’s economy shrank by 3pc during 2020, the first year of the pandemic, and 7.8pc in 2009 amid the global financial crisis. Business surveys suggest activity is continuing to contract as sanctions cause demand to dry up.

Bosses are increasingly pessimistic about the conditions they face as they whittle down work backlogs amid falling orders.

Companies are firing staff and trying to cut costs as they grapple with soaring cost inflation, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index data from S&P Global.

Several of the world’s biggest shipping companies are boycotting Russia, piling further inflationary and supply pressure on the country.

Survey data tracked by Goldman Sachs suggests Russian economic activity is stabilising at about 10pc below pre-invasion levels.

“Overall, mid-term developments will depend on how effectively Russia can substitute imports and redirect (energy) exports,” said analyst Clemens Grafe