Belarus forced flight diversion suggests country is âprepared for a total break with Europe
The Atlantic s Anne Applebaum writes.
Unlike other authoritarian regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China, Applebaum argues, Lukashenko has few levers of influence abroad, so the fact that he was willing to falsely detain and possibly endanger a European-owned, European-registered airplane carrying mostly European Union citizens from one EU nation [Greece] to another [Lithuania] to arrest a dissident Belarusian journalist strongly hints that he wasnât too concerned about how Brussels would respond, despite the fact that Belarus sits on the EUâs border.
Instead, Applebaum continues in her piece, it means Lukashenko is completely confident of Russian economic and political support. As she notes, heâs already received some unsurprising praise from Kremlin allies and officials. Read more at
Sondland sues Pompeo, U.S. for allegedly reneging on promise to cover impeachment legal fees
Former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is suing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the U.S. government for $1.8 million for allegedly backing out on a promise to cover his legal fees following his testimony against former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial,
Sondland, who made waves during the Senate trial when he testified that Trump and his aides pressured Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky to investigate President Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for military aid (the infamous quid pro quo ), is alleging that Pompeo told him the government would cover all of his attorney fees and that the $86,040 he reportedly did receive falls well short of that promise.
The other problem with Marjorie Taylor Greene s Nazi analogy
The decision of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to retain a mask mandate for representatives who haven t been vaccinated against COVID-19 is just like the Holocaust, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claimed in a television appearance Friday. We can look back in a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens â so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany, Greene said, and this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about.
The #DougHive made a Doug Emhoff Facebook group
He s not a pop star, or an actor, or a traditional politician, for that matter. But much like any celebrity, he has an online following of loyal fans.
With over 800 members and counting, Doug Emhoff, Esquire: Our Second Gentleman is a Facebook group dedicated to the life and times of second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former entertainment lawyer and husband to Vice President Kamala Harris. As part of the #DougHive, members use the page to chronicle nearly every move Emhoff makes, writes
Politico, posting everything from articles and tweets to photos of the second gentleman with his children. When a video of Emhoff blowing kisses to Harris at last month s joint session of Congress went viral, a group member shared the interaction and lauded him as a true gent!!
A 60-second COVID-19 breathalyzer test is provisionally approved in Singapore
The test, which was developed by National University of Singapore spin-off company Breathonix, can detect COVID-19 infection in under a minute with more than 90 percent accuracy, a Singapore-based clinical trial found. Users blow into a disposable mouthpiece, where software then assesses the chemical compounds of the breath for infection, writes
Reuters. Positive tests are later confirmed with a follow-up polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test.
The start-up is now working with the health ministry to run a deployment trial near the border,
Reuters reports. Breathonix is the first breath test to gain provisional clearance in Singapore, and will sell for $3-15.