|
Post by foggyisback on Nov 29, 2021 4:02:35 GMT -5
McConaughey says he's not running for any office in the near future. Finally, an actor who doesn't want to be a politician 🙄
|
|
|
Post by foggyisback on Nov 29, 2021 4:25:42 GMT -5
Jizzlane's trial starts today. Too bad no one can see it 😡
|
|
|
Post by foggyisback on Nov 29, 2021 9:26:08 GMT -5
Crap starting already. Glad I beat hey to it (watch him post later....)
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 10:57:34 GMT -5
Omicron Virus Variant.
I was totally wrong about this variant last week. And I spelled it & variant wrong when I typed the header. Here we go again-when oh when will it end?
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 11:07:50 GMT -5
Today I learnt there's a thing called a Tiger Dam - one is being built in BC to contain an expected flood near Abbottsford www.theprogress.com/news/tiger-dam-being-built-on-highway-1-to-hold-back-floodwaters/A Tiger Dam is a series of rubber tubes that can be filled with water and stacked to create a levee. Quick to deploy and if you've got decent water pressure, very fast to fill. BTW: what's happening is that Washington seems to have gotten the worst of the atmospheric river with the Nooksack River overflowing just south of Abbottsford. But that's not the important part, the important part is the Sumas River which comes off a mountain in northern Washington, flows past Abbottsford, and then joins with the Fraser River. The Sumas Plain, which is some great farmland, has been evacuated and the Tiger Dam is being set up to try and protect Abbottsford from the Sumas. The Trans-Canada Highway has been shut through the Sumas plain
|
|
|
Post by LA_Randy on Nov 29, 2021 11:11:04 GMT -5
GOP: When Bad Outcomes Are Policy Goals Socializm fer anti-vaxxers! (Axios, so all the usual caveats about formatting apply) I’m old enough to remember when Republicans and their owners we’re claiming that unemployment benefits were too generous and keeping the proles from returning to the low-wage treadmill. Now, they are not only prolonging a public health emergency, they are paying scofflaws to do it, and to not to return to work. mockpaperscissors.com/2021/11/29/gop-when-bad-outcomes-are-policy-goals/
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 11:17:04 GMT -5
If Carbon Dioxide is Dangerous...
If it's so dangerous why didn't or why wasn't all life wiped out when it was 100 times higher millions of years ago? Instead, all life thrived. I'm not saying it's not dangerous but that we must be missing something or something else is going on.
Plants & trees have been thriving with all the extra carbon. I posted before about a whole forest that grew back in record time. One clue is humans have deforested too much and have polluted too much with plastic & chemicals. That's a serious crime against nature. And the leaders are still just talking and not acting.
Science got us in this mess, but it isn't helping us get out of it. That's why I don't trust it. All we get from our leaders is 'words.' Humans face a grim future that gets far worse every day.
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 11:21:30 GMT -5
Crap starting already. Glad I beat hey to it (watch him post later....) That's the Rethugs only daily message. "Dems Are Bad!"
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 11:49:14 GMT -5
If Carbon Dioxide is Dangerous... If it's so dangerous why didn't or why wasn't all life wiped out when it was 100 times higher millions of years ago? Instead, all life thrived. I'm not saying it's not dangerous but that we must be missing something or something else is going on. Plants & trees have been thriving with all the extra carbon. I posted before about a whole forest that grew back in record time. One clue is humans have deforested too much and have polluted too much with plastic & chemicals. That's a serious crime against nature. And the leaders are still just talking and not acting. Science got us in this mess, but it isn't helping us get out of it. That's why I don't trust it. All we get from our leaders is 'words.' Humans face a grim future that gets far worse every day. Variance vs Stability is the problem, not toxicity. Carbon Dioxide is not toxic until it's a meaningful percentage of air - Apollo 13 was running single digit percentage of CO2 when it was having issues with CO2 scrubbing with concerns about it reaching high single digits. In terms of numbers, we're currently ~400-450ppm while Apollo 13 was closer to 60,000ppm (10,000ppm is 1%). 100X right now would be 40,000-45,000ppm. Survivable even for humans. However, the real problem is infrastructure. Humans have built things assuming relatively stable climates - moisture, temperature, etc. Obviously, nothing is truly constant but the rate of change has, historically, been limited and it takes thousands of years for, say, the Sahara Desert to swallow the lands of the Pharaohs. Shifts in these factors change the viability of land for harvest - fauna have narrow ranges in which they can successfully be cultivated. This inherently displaces people. A second cause source of concern is the rising sea levels which will, again, displace people. You could be talking about a billion people or more displaced by rising waters over this century. They already estimate that it's over 20M annually. That's a huge logistical challenge. And we've seen how ugly the refugee battles are already. And then there's the problem of ports. We already see the huge impact that the logistics chain faces with the port snarls in Los Angeles. How much worse would it get if ports were simply inaccessible due to flood waters and new ones had to be built? It's the disruption that is the concern. It's the logistical challenge and the complexities of adaptation. Yes, life finds a way to continue. Palm trees find their way to the arctic and several species will find new ways to adapt to the ever changing world. Even humanity will survive the worst possible simulation of climate change. It'll be an mass extinction event (it already is) but it won't even come close to cracking the top 3. Anyone who suggests it'll be anything worse than that is wrong* But ugly chaos and carnage separate today from that day. *Well, one scenario that might result in a worse scenario is that the chaos and carnage leads to nuclear war somehow. That would be more problematic for survival.... Side note: consider how much energy and effort we put into protecting society from a virus whose fatality rate is 0.5% and consider the possibility that we assume a fatality rate from climate change that is significantly higher. EDIT: 2020 measurement put CO2 at 412.5 ppm
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 13:20:17 GMT -5
If Carbon Dioxide is Dangerous... If it's so dangerous why didn't or why wasn't all life wiped out when it was 100 times higher millions of years ago? Instead, all life thrived. I'm not saying it's not dangerous but that we must be missing something or something else is going on. Plants & trees have been thriving with all the extra carbon. I posted before about a whole forest that grew back in record time. One clue is humans have deforested too much and have polluted too much with plastic & chemicals. That's a serious crime against nature. And the leaders are still just talking and not acting. Science got us in this mess, but it isn't helping us get out of it. That's why I don't trust it. All we get from our leaders is 'words.' Humans face a grim future that gets far worse every day. Variance vs Stability is the problem, not toxicity. Carbon Dioxide is not toxic until it's a meaningful percentage of air - Apollo 13 was running single digit percentage of CO2 when it was having issues with CO2 scrubbing with concerns about it reaching high single digits. In terms of numbers, we're currently ~400-450ppm while Apollo 13 was closer to 60,000ppm (10,000ppm is 1%). 100X right now would be 40,000-45,000ppm. Survivable even for humans. However, the real problem is infrastructure. Humans have built things assuming relatively stable climates - moisture, temperature, etc. Obviously, nothing is truly constant but the rate of change has, historically, been limited and it takes thousands of years for, say, the Sahara Desert to swallow the lands of the Pharaohs. Shifts in these factors change the viability of land for harvest - fauna have narrow ranges in which they can successfully be cultivated. This inherently displaces people. A second cause source of concern is the rising sea levels which will, again, displace people. You could be talking about a billion people or more displaced by rising waters over this century. They already estimate that it's over 20M annually. That's a huge logistical challenge. And we've seen how ugly the refugee battles are already. And then there's the problem of ports. We already see the huge impact that the logistics chain faces with the port snarls in Los Angeles. How much worse would it get if ports were simply inaccessible due to flood waters and new ones had to be built? It's the disruption that is the concern. It's the logistical challenge and the complexities of adaptation. Yes, life finds a way to continue. Palm trees find their way to the arctic and several species will find new ways to adapt to the ever changing world. Even humanity will survive the worst possible simulation of climate change. It'll be an mass extinction event (it already is) but it won't even come close to cracking the top 3. Anyone who suggests it'll be anything worse than that is wrong* But ugly chaos and carnage separate today from that day. *Well, one scenario that might result in a worse scenario is that the chaos and carnage leads to nuclear war somehow. That would be more problematic for survival.... Side note: consider how much energy and effort we put into protecting society from a virus whose fatality rate is 0.5% and consider the possibility that we assume a fatality rate from climate change that is significantly higher. EDIT: 2020 measurement put CO2 at 412.5 ppm I agree with every single point you posted. I'm going to stop speculating until the leaders with the power actually do something. Because until changes are made I'm just spittin' in the wind.
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 13:23:23 GMT -5
Cool Nature Pics
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 13:24:27 GMT -5
Birds even Recycle.
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 13:26:03 GMT -5
Cool Nature Pics
|
|
|
Post by mrobvious on Nov 29, 2021 14:01:54 GMT -5
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 14:05:01 GMT -5
Inflation Is Worldwide-Pewresearch.com
In the 27 countries sampled inflation was less than 2%. ----------------------- It's probably a "Mystery" to our Blind Big Media.
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 14:36:59 GMT -5
Hilarious Holiday Happenings
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 15:16:14 GMT -5
Inflation Is Worldwide-Pewresearch.com In the 27 countries sampled inflation was less than 2%. ----------------------- It's probably a "Mystery" to our Blind Big Media. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/24/inflation-has-risen-around-the-world-but-the-u-s-has-seen-one-of-the-biggest-increases/It's actually change of inflation, not inflation. IE: if it was 2% before and 3.2% now, that's a 1.2% change. The shocking number for me is New Zealand sitting in 4th place right behind the US. If you wanted to pick a nation to use as the control group, you'd want a nation who: 1) Had minimal impacts from the pandemic 2) Had minimal lockdowns 3) Is a developed economy 4) Is politically stable All of which lead to the same point: no obvious reason for the economic paradigm shifts that the majority of the world is suffering and so should hypothetically have a stable economic continuance from pre-pandemic times. If you were to pick a nation that meets these criteria, New Zealand is easily the best candidate and yet....
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 15:24:23 GMT -5
<button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> Hilarious Holiday Happenings I wonder if non-Aluminum artificial trees could do the same job. The solid metal of the branches, I think, should be the bigger factor in reception and there's not a lot of reason for them to be different cores on the branches.... On the other hand, the Aluminum leaves might be a little more conductive while the plastic leaves might be insulating....
|
|
DocDrama
Hive Whisperer
A Musical Note or a Shark Fin
Posts: 6,927
Likes: 16,423
|
Post by DocDrama on Nov 29, 2021 15:33:17 GMT -5
Inflation Is Worldwide-Pewresearch.com In the 27 countries sampled inflation was less than 2%. ----------------------- It's probably a "Mystery" to our Blind Big Media. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/24/inflation-has-risen-around-the-world-but-the-u-s-has-seen-one-of-the-biggest-increases/It's actually change of inflation, not inflation. IE: if it was 2% before and 3.2% now, that's a 1.2% change. The shocking number for me is New Zealand sitting in 4th place right behind the US. If you wanted to pick a nation to use as the control group, you'd want a nation who: 1) Had minimal impacts from the pandemic 2) Had minimal lockdowns 3) Is a developed economy 4) Is politically stable All of which lead to the same point: no obvious reason for the economic paradigm shifts that the majority of the world is suffering and so should hypothetically have a stable economic continuance from pre-pandemic times. If you were to pick a nation that meets these criteria, New Zealand is easily the best candidate and yet.... My point is our media will ignore it to blame Biden.
|
|
|
Post by LA_Randy on Nov 29, 2021 15:38:02 GMT -5
<button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> Hilarious Holiday Happenings I wonder if non-Aluminum artificial trees could do the same job. The solid metal of the branches, I think, should be the bigger factor in reception and there's not a lot of reason for them to be different cores on the branches.... On the other hand, the Aluminum leaves might be a little more conductive while the plastic leaves might be insulating.... Don’t think the plastic would make a difference. There are a lot of plastic coated antennas.
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 15:51:40 GMT -5
Crap starting already. Glad I beat hey to it (watch him post later....) I read about a month ago that this rumor was circulating around DC and thought to myself that there is no way Biden will be allowed to fire a black woman regardless of how bad her polling numbers are. I dont think it matters anyway, I know that the Biden administration said that he is running again buy I highly doubt it.
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 16:02:23 GMT -5
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/24/inflation-has-risen-around-the-world-but-the-u-s-has-seen-one-of-the-biggest-increases/It's actually change of inflation, not inflation. IE: if it was 2% before and 3.2% now, that's a 1.2% change. The shocking number for me is New Zealand sitting in 4th place right behind the US. If you wanted to pick a nation to use as the control group, you'd want a nation who: 1) Had minimal impacts from the pandemic 2) Had minimal lockdowns 3) Is a developed economy 4) Is politically stable All of which lead to the same point: no obvious reason for the economic paradigm shifts that the majority of the world is suffering and so should hypothetically have a stable economic continuance from pre-pandemic times. If you were to pick a nation that meets these criteria, New Zealand is easily the best candidate and yet.... My point is our media will ignore it to blame Biden. The media would have a semi-valid argument that the US is still #1 amongst developed nations with Germany sitting 1.5% back, but I don't disagree with you. The economy is transitioning and anyone with half a brain should be able to figure that out but blame the guy in charge...
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 16:21:08 GMT -5
Covid deaths under Biden has surpassed Trumps numbers in a shorter time period.
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 16:29:38 GMT -5
ha Attachments:
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 16:46:54 GMT -5
Biden is such a racist and xenophobe
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 16:59:33 GMT -5
Which is also the reason they skipped Nu, right? Actually, more seriously, while I suspect it's probably true that they skipped Xi because it's not nice to the Chinese leader, I doubt it was as sinister as the comic implies. Nu might have been perceived as too close to Mu especially since Mu is an active variant. WHO isn't saying why, either way. Interesting detail: 5 variants of interest have made it to Variant of Concern, but Omicron is the first one since Delta - the 4th* one. *Technically, an Alpha sub-variant was also designated a Variant of Concern so prior to Delta though it was not given a new designation
|
|
|
Post by forgottenlord on Nov 29, 2021 17:00:33 GMT -5
Biden is such a racist and xenophobe Medical conditions on the ground are not the same as blaming the population for the actions and intentions of a few.
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 17:02:41 GMT -5
Tell me again how the media is unbiased.
Media downplayed Waukesha parade attack when facts didn’t align with predetermined narrative Jeffrey McCall said, 'Left-leaning media outlets today want to frame every story through their predetermined narrative lenses'
Brian FloodBy Brian Flood | Fox News
In media news today, a 'Good Morning America' guest worries omicron variant could hurt Biden's economic 'progress,' CNN gets roasted for a tweet about the Waukesha parade attack, and a New York Times columnist says he has a 'high tolerance' for inflation.
It’s been a little over a week since a career criminal plowed his red Ford Escape SUV through barricades and into the crowd at the Waukesha Christmas Parade, killing six people and injuring dozens.
The attack initially seemed like it would be the next major mainstream media storyline – but then Darrell Brooks Jr. was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and the press has largely lost interest. The tragedy hasn’t resulted in round-the-clock cable news discussion about Brooks’ troubled past or possible motives, and mainstream investigative reporters don’t appear to be searching for clues.
"Left-leaning media outlets today want to frame every story through their predetermined narrative lenses. That's what is happening here with the reporting of the Waukesha Christmas parade story," DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News Digital.
Brooks’ violent past stretches back to 1999, when he was accused and later convicted of aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm. Most recently, he allegedly ran a woman over and punched her in the face on Nov. 2. He has an outstanding warrant in Nevada for skipping bail on a sex crime charge and has shared a variety of alarming social media posts that could help provide a motive.
"These points were missing from recent reporting from CNN. In fact, not only have most outlets avoided digging into Brooks and a potential motive, they've avoided Brooks' involvement altogether," Fourth Watch editor Steve Krakauer, a former CNN digital producer, wrote.
CNN shocked on Sunday by declaring a moment of silence would mark one week since "a car" drove through the parade. Last week, The Washington Post used a similar tactic, tweeting the tragedy was "caused by a SUV" as both liberal outlets failed to mention who was driving the red Ford Escape in widely mocked, viral tweets. In the article chronicling the events of the parade, the Post continued to rely on the vehicle as the apparent cause of the bloodshed. Even after Brooks was finally mentioned in the fifth paragraph of the Post story, the following paragraphs read, "The SUV then drove down Main Street, hitting more than 40 people and killing at least five of them… Down the road, instead of following the parade route and make a turn to get to Wisconsin Avenue, the SUV went straight through North West Avenue, passing over the barriers."
Much like CNN was roasted for blaming the car, critics pummeled the Post on social media for villainizing the SUV.
"Cars, of course, don't drive. People drive cars," Krakauer wrote in his newsletter.
"Democracy dies in darkness, as the WashPost slogan goes now. So does, apparently, the effort to hide the culprit of a mass killing if it doesn't fit into a preferred narrative," Krakauer added. "Here we see a bias of omission - and a window into the sad reality that our media is not learning from its mistakes."
Darrell Brooks was charged with killing multiple people and injuring nearly 50 after plowing through a Christmas parade with his sport utility vehicle on November 21, but the mainstream media quickly lost interest. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Darrell Brooks was charged with killing multiple people and injuring nearly 50 after plowing through a Christmas parade with his sport utility vehicle on November 21, but the mainstream media quickly lost interest. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images | Wisoncin DOJ)
McCall agrees, noting what is omitted from a news story is often as important as what is included.
"This ‘journalism of omission’ is being done consciously and does a disservice to the news consuming public," McCall said. "Context in news stories is important and the background of the alleged perpetrator is part of that context. It provides a sense of causation for why an event happened. These news topics are sensitive, of course, but it does society no good when news outlets want to sanitize content in order to massage public perception."
CNN and the Post are hardly the only liberal news organizations to downplay the attack, or Brooks’ role.
As of Monday morning, The New York Times had not covered the parade attack since Nov. 25. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow recently spent an entire segment on the horrific attack without mentioning Brooks once. She only referred to him as "the suspect" and MSNBC didn’t put his mugshot on screen during the segment, either.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow didn’t think it was necessary to mention Darrell Brooks Jr. during a lengthy segment on the parade attack.
CNN ROASTED FOR TWEET SAYING WAUKESHA PARADE ATTACK WAS CAUSED BY 'A CAR' THAT DROVE THROUGH PARADE
"CNN and other liberal media outlets are portraying this as a car problem and shying away from focusing on the perpetrator because it would not fit their narrative that 'White supremacists' are the greatest threat of domestic terrorism," Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson told Fox News Digital.
"Just look how they treated Kyle Rittenhouse, who committed no crime but was immediately falsely portrayed as a White supremacist militia member," Jacobson added. "Narrative, not facts or evidence, seems to be guiding CNN and others."
"3 left-leaning friends have independently texted me about this Vanishing National Story. They understand what’s happening, but can’t quite bring themselves to flat-out say it. ‘It’s f***ed up’ one wrote. 2 concede they now better understand conservatives’ media complaints," Fox News contributor Guy Benson tweeted.
Other media outlets have referred to the attack as a "parade crash," downplaying the intent prosecutors have leveled against the career criminal.
PBS wrote "Waukesha parade crash devastates holiday favorites ‘Dancing Grannies.’" USA Today repeatedly wrote about the "Waukesha parade crash" going so far as to label Brooks as the "Waukesha parade crash suspect." Newsweek also updated news on the tragedy under the banner "Waukesha Deadly Christmas Parade Crash."
"BREAKING: Prosecutor: 6th person, a child, has died in deadly Wisconsin parade crash," CBS News correspondent David Begnaud tweeted Tuesday.
"Man charged for Waukesha parade crash made 1st court appearance," NPR similarly declared in a headline.
CNN, HuffPo, ABC, Yahoo and Time Magazine have also referred to the horrific incident as a crash, too.
The framing even roused the ire of outspoken liberal actress Debra Messing.
"Dear Mainstream Media—a man intentionally drove his car through a parade killing 6 and injuring 50+. It was not an ACCIDENT," Messing tweeted last week. "Call it by its name #WaukeshaMassacre."
"And it was a domestic terror attack. Don't minimize. Please," she added.
Dan Gainor of the conservative Media Research Center feels the press simply lies to the American public. "If you really paid attention to the legacy media, you'd think a self-driving car had committed an act of terrorism," Gainor told Fox News Digital.
"The legacy press lie … about everything. They lied about Trump, Russia, Biden, Hunter Biden and more. And they'll keep lying because it's the only thing they have left," Gainor continued. "A huge percentage of Americans doesn't trust them and the rest are catching on. Left-wing journalists are clinging to their waning power like a drowning man grabs a log in a flood.
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 17:11:16 GMT -5
Biden is such a racist and xenophobe Medical conditions on the ground are not the same as blaming the population for the actions and intentions of a few. Dont revision this, Biden called Trump a xenophobe for placing a travel ban on China. Trump never blamed the entire population of China for covid, he blamed the govt of China for lying to us and hiding facts about covid.
|
|
hey
Hive Listener
We have put together the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in history-Biden
Posts: 3,815
Likes: 321
|
Post by hey on Nov 29, 2021 17:28:29 GMT -5
Remember how the media refused to cover this and even went as far as to claim it was Russian disinformation during the election?
In her new book, “Laptop from Hell,” Post columnist Miranda Devine reconstructs the Biden family’s quest for cash by using files left on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop. Sunday, she detailed how Hunter and his uncle Jim Biden entered into a deal with Chinese government-linked energy conglomerate CFEC, and contacted businessman Tony Bobulinski to run the enterprise. Here, Bobulinski meets “the big guy” — Joe Biden himself.
Hunter Biden and his Uncle Jim were already waiting for Tony Bobulinski in the lobby bar of the Beverly Hilton when he arrived at 10 p.m. May 2, 2017.
The Bidens had chosen a discreet couch behind a thick marble column where they could see everyone who walked in the front entrance. Joe Biden, who had left the vice president’s office a little more than three months before, was flying into Los Angeles to speak at the prestigious Milken Institute Global Conference and would be joining them at the bar within the hour.
For Bobulinski, 48, a third-generation Navy veteran and Democratic donor, it would be his first meeting with Joe Biden, and he was conscious that he was being vetted for a trusted role orchestrating the Biden family’s existing joint venture with Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC.
“Dad not in now until 11,” Hunter wrote in a WhatsApp message. “Let’s me [you] and Jim meet at 10 at Beverly Hilton where he’s staying.”
When Bobulinski arrived at the bar, Uncle Jim, seven years younger than his brother and more heavyset but still a dead ringer for Joe, greeted him like an old friend, although it was the first time they’d met.
At that hour, the only other person in the bar was casino operator Steve Wynn, sitting with a woman on the other side of the room. Hunter and Bobulinski drank water while Jim ordered a club sandwich with fries and explained that the meeting with Joe was strictly “high level.”
“We will not go into any detail about the business,” said Hunter. “I just want my dad to be comfortable with you.”
At 10:38 p.m., Joe arrived through the hotel’s front entrance with his Secret Service entourage, and Hunter jumped up to intercept him. Five minutes later, he brought his father to the table.
Bobulinski stood up to shake Joe’s hand. “This is Tony, Dad,” said Hunter, “the individual I told you about that’s helping us with the business that we’re working on with the Chinese.”
Joe began by talking about the Biden family, their tragedies, and his political career. Bobulinski described his background as captain of the Penn State wrestling team and briefly outlined an impressive résumé, including as a nuclear engineer and instructor in the Navy’s elite Nuclear Power Training Command with a high-level security clearance.
“Thank you for your service,” Joe said. “Thank you for helping my son.”
Jim and Hunter told Joe that Bobulinski had been “working hard” on the Chinese deal and Joe said: “My son and my brother trust you emphatically, so I trust you.”
Bobulinski had passed the test. It was a crucial meeting, because for the first time, an outsider would see the extent to which Joe was involved in Hunter and Jim’s international business. Joe was the final decision-maker. Nothing important was done without his agreement.
The conversation wrapped up within 45 minutes. Joe was tired, but he invited Bobulinski to meet him again at 8:30 a.m. the next day in the hotel ballroom to hear him speak at the Milken confab of chief executives, wealthy investors and fund managers.
‘More money than God’: Chinese titan lavished Hunter Biden with 3-carat gem, offer of $30 million As soon as he got home, Bobulinski messaged Jim Biden on WhatsApp at 11:40 p.m.: “Great to meet u and spend some time together, please thank Joe for his time was great to talk thx.”
The next morning, Bobulinski went back to the Beverly Hilton and sat at the head table listening to Joe talk on stage with LA billionaire and notorious inside trader Michael Milken.
Backstage afterwards, Joe asked: “What did you think of my speech?” They walked outside together to his waiting car and shook hands.
“Keep an eye on my son and brother and look out for my family,” Joe told him.
Bobulinski then headed across Santa Monica Boulevard to the Peninsula Hotel to meet Jim, who was sitting alone in a blue and white cabana by the rooftop pool on a glorious sunny day.
For two hours he was regaled with Biden family folklore, going back to Joe’s first Senate election in Delaware in 1972, when Jim, then 23, dabbling in the nightclub business after dropping out of the University of Delaware, became his brother’s chief fundraiser. Jim filled him in on the efforts he and Hunter had made for CEFC the past two years, leveraging Joe’s name to advance the Chinese Communist Party’s Belt and Road agenda around the world.
As Jim talked, Bobulinski marveled at the political risk to Joe’s career if his family’s flagrant influence peddling during his vice presidency came to light.
“How are you guys getting away with this?” he finally asked. “Aren’t you concerned that you’re going to put your brother’s [2020] presidential campaign at risk? You know, the Chinese, the stuff that you guys have been doing already in 2015 and 2016, around the world?”
Jim chuckled and looked knowingly at Bobulinski.
“Plausible deniability,” he said, using a term coined by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to describe the practice of keeping the president uninformed about illegal or unsavory activity so he can plausibly deny knowing anything if it becomes public knowledge.
Bobulinski understood Jim meant that Joe knew what his family was doing in his name but was insulated from the dirty details. It was why Jim and Hunter had instructed Bobulinski the previous night to keep the business talk with Joe at a vague “high level.”
Occasionally, they would let their guard down, but the family was “paranoid” about keeping Joe’s involvement quiet, Bobulinski would be told. He soon learned to decode the euphemisms related to Joe, which made him a dangerous foe three years later when he became so disgusted that he blew the whistle on the shady enterprise.
“I’ve seen Vice President Biden saying he never talked to Hunter about his business,” Bobulinski would say in a bombshell statement to the New York Post’s Michael Goodwin on Oct. 22, 2020, a few days after the paper began publishing material from Hunter’s laptop.
“I’ve seen firsthand that that’s not true, because it wasn’t just Hunter’s business. They said they were putting the Biden family name and its legacy on the line …
“I don’t have a political ax to grind; I just saw behind the Biden curtain, and I grew concerned with what I saw. The Biden family aggressively leveraged the Biden family name to make millions of dollars from foreign entities even though some were from Communist-controlled China.”
Less than two weeks after meeting Joe Biden, Bobulinski incorporated SinoHawk Holdings LLC, on May 15, 2017, having decided against Hunter’s suggestion they call it CEFC America. It would be a global investment firm seeded with $10 million of Chinese money that would buy projects in the US and around the world “in global and/or domestic infrastructure, energy, financial services and other strategic sectors,” said the contract he had drawn up.
SinoHawk would be 50 percent owned by Ye Jianming, chairman of CEFC, through a Delaware-incorporated CEFC entity, Hudson West IV LLC. The other 50 percent would be owned by Oneida Holdings LLC, another Delaware firm set up by Bobulinski.
Oneida would be split according to an email sent by James Gilliar to the group on May 13, 2017, laying out the distribution of shares.
“The equity will be distributed as follows,” wrote Gilliar, listing the shares in percentages.
“20 H [Hunter]
“20 RW [Walker]
“20 JG [Gilliar]
“20 TB [Bobulinski]
“10 Jim [Biden]
“10 held by H for the big guy.”
Three years later, Bobulinski would tell the world that “there is no question” that “the big guy” is Joe Biden.
“Hunter Biden called his dad ‘the Big Guy’ or ‘my Chairman,’ and frequently referenced asking him for his sign-off or advice on various potential deals that we were discussing.”
Joe was called “the big guy” in other emails on Hunter’s laptop or in WhatsApp messages on Bobulinski’s phones.
Gilliar warned Bobulinski, in a WhatsApp message on May 20, about the need for discretion about Joe’s role: “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face, I know u know that but they are paranoid.”
Bobulinski, already frustrated by Hunter’s demands, replied: “OK they should be paranoid about things.”
|
|