Open mike 13/03/2021
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All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...1 week ago
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...3 days ago
- Release: National buries 1019 planned homes
It’s been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...3 days ago
- Release: Rule-Czar bill a right-wing power grab
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...3 days ago
- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...4 days ago
- Govt’s ‘free speech’ legislation stokes fear, not freedom
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...4 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...4 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...5 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...5 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...5 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...6 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...6 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...6 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...6 days ago
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Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
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The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...7 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...7 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
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Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...2 weeks ago
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- Govt introduces archaic anti-worker legislation
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...2 weeks ago
- Winston Peters – Kinleith Mill Speech
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- New intelligence oversight appointments
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- Government to celebrate Waitangi Day around NZ
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- New appointments to the Charities Registration Board
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- Building consent processing times improve
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- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December
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.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: 25px; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{ margin: 0; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img { height: auto; width: 100%; ...54 minutes ago
- Vanuatu quake: Warnings as bad weather threat looms for Port Vila
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The OPCW saga is not going away
https://couragefound.org/2021/03/statement-of-concern-the-opcw-investigation-of-alleged-chemical-weapons-use-in-douma-syria/
Try passing this off as a few "outliers"
Lots of powerful signatures on there. Thanks Francesca
Of all of the accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria, there isn't one other than Douma where the OPCW inspectors actually visited the sites. All of the evidence was received from those making the accusations, that is, the terrorists. The OPCW declared it was not safe to visit those areas but happily accepted evidence from those who would have harmed them.
It's plainly written in the OPCW reports.
Thanks, wonder when this story will get some coverage on MSM (as the original attack and US response did), wouldn't it be nice to see Kim Hill interview someone about this for instance?
More from the Courage Foundation
This is not just 2 dissenting officers of the OPCW, the concern is growing
https://couragefound.org/2021/03/additional-background-information-regarding-the-opcw-ffm-investigation-of-the-alleged-chemical-attack-in-douma-april-7-2018/
It's the same people that made up their minds long ago repeating the same things over and over again, apparently hoping that repetition will make it stick in people's mind. Only this time, they didn't even have the courtesy to include information about their grounds for disagreement with the OPCW for anyone to follow up on.
Presumably their vague insinuations still rely on the thoroughly debunked efforts of the likes of Henderson and Postol, but since they don't actually give any links or names, it's hard to tell.
It's all very reminiscent of the way 9/11 troofers operate.
"It's all very reminiscent of the way 9/11 troofers operate" well you would know all about that pal, as that is where your Russuagate conspiracy has taken you…down the rabbit hole where not lights shine.
" it's hard to tell."
Might I suggest you take a remedial reading course?
Care to check out the Courage Foundation
Even you Andre , with your hidebound clinging to worn out narratives , and desperate google searches will find it hard to discredit
No, it's completely different. There is no evidence to support the claims made by the 9/11 "truthers." In stark contrast to that, the testimony of experts, and the concerns of these renowned and non-partisan academics about the attempts to manipulate and silence OPCW inspectors is credible, and compelling:
Turns out the Democratic party had paid trolls trying to influence the US elections, now isn't that ironic…though I am sure this beautiful irony will sail blissfully above some heads..
"Majid Padellan, who runs the nearly 900,000-follower-strong Twitter account — and has been slammed previously for urging Bernie Sanders to drop out of the 2020 presidential race — allegedly accepted more than $57,000 from a pro-Biden PAC, Really American, last year,"
https://nypost.com/2021/03/10/brooklyn-dad-influencer-slammed-for-taking-pac-money/
https://www.rt.com/usa/517744-resistance-brooklyn-dad-democratic-payments/
From your New York Post piece (a Murdoch-owned rag):
So, someone that openly discloses he is in a paid employment relationship with a political action committee posts tweets favourable to the politician his employer supports, and you think this is somehow news?
Are you really so desperate to find something – anything – you can use to slam Dems that you're reduced to recycling attempted Repug bullshit pushed out through Murdoch outlets?
Maybe Thornton is jealous this guy got paid for his posts when he allegedly just does it pro boner.
Sounds the stuff of the Presidential Medal of Freedom doesn't it? That's how it works isn't it?
Yeah I guess all the media coverage of this in the US is because he was so transparent that he was being paid US 60,000 ($83,500 NZD) by the Dems to Troll…
An opportunity in NZ for a specialist green business.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018787280/a-side-hustle-in-saffron
Who let the dogs out? The filthy beasts with doggy breath and uncombed hair.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/03/mayor-phil-goff-gives-aucklanders-a-growling-after-filthy-return-to-level-1.html
mariners
so people need a sign now to tell them not to throw rubbish on the ground?
There probably aren't enough rubbish bins, so leave your rubbish under/next to the full ones and then tweet a photo to the mayor/council. Throwing your shit on the footpath is something else.
Take it home, or to the nearest bin.. just bloody lazy.
Imagine if McDs had to install, empty, and maintain surrounding bins for the trash they generate.
but, but, you can't interfere with the Great God of Commerce!
Are we giving away NZ expertise and patents that should be staying with us as part of our comparative advantage in trading with other nations? Has globalisation just sliced through that economic dictum? Then again China is providing its internal market anyway, how to stop the rot?
Feb.15/2021 Zespri chairman accused of trying to intimidate regulator Kiwifruit NZ in 'threatening' and 'offensive' phone call
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124239808/zespri-chairman-accused-of-trying-to-intimidate-regulator-kiwifruit-nz-in-threatening-and-offensive-phone-call
Economics: Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2018/07/a-quick-review-of-250-years-of-economic-theory-about-tariffs
Later economists deviated from Adam Smith in developing new lines of inquiry, but retained his insights. Inspired by The Wealth of Nations, David Ricardo developed the theory of comparative advantage, which shows that nations should specialize and then trade, which led to greater prosperity.
check out the difference between comparative advantage and competitive advantage. you seem to have them confused.
I despise the Americas Cup on every level. Hope we lose and hope our government stops paying it any attention or funding. We've got a homelessness crisis, in case you didn't notice.
Quite a good piece on the Great White American Cup here…
America's Cup is about wealth and privilege, not diversity
"At the moment the America’s Cup looks like a regatta for white blokes of immense wealth and privilege. I looked at the crew list for American Magic and amongst the 164 mug shots I did not pick out one black face. So whatever happened to Black Lives Matter? In sailing, they not only don’t matter, they don’t even exist."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/300219613/mark-reason-americas-cup-is-about-wealth-and-privilege-not-diversity
President of the USA and apparently the free world looks like he really should probably be in a rest home or at the very least not the leader of the most powerful country in the entire world…
Sure thing, Rupert.
You're very good at.. deflecting.
It think it's the attack line ordered to be pushed to deflect from the successful reception of Biden's near two trillion dollar covid relief package.
What's fascinating is why someone who identifies as "socialist Labour at heart", wouldn't champion the projected reduction in poverty in the u.s, and applaud Joe Biden just launched the second war on poverty but chooses to attack the man instead?
I'll happily take stumbling, mumbling Joe over any republican, when The policies would reduce poverty by more than half for children and for people in households experiencing job loss. Poverty would fall about 42 percent for Black, non-Hispanic people, 39 percent for Hispanic people, and 34 percent for white, non-Hispanic people, reducing the disparities in poverty rates for Black, non-Hispanic people and Hispanic people relative to white, non-Hispanic people
Fuck you you really are a chump…seriously, come on man, if Biden was actually serious about cutting poverty in a meaningful way he would have pushed through the minium wage like he promised…
Malcolm X Speech: “You’re A Political Chump!”
I get it that simple arithmetic is beyond your cognitive abilities, and the numbers involved are higher than you can count to even if you take your shoes and socks off, but the simple reality is there are not enough votes in the senate to pass a $15 minimum wage. The vote was 58 against vs 42 for.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/nation-world/senators-vote-15-dollar-minimum-wage/507-ca50e569-4757-4bed-a13f-f687853c85c0
edit: Here’s a better explainer that includes this gem:
Progressives that target those senators and cause them to lose will be extremely likely to end up with a Repug instead. Who wouldn’t even vote for something like the COVID relief package. Which would be a huge step in the wrong direction for progressive priorities.
https://www.axios.com/senate-minimum-wage-democrats-568568ca-ba2f-4bfa-bcdd-cfecaf93dae2.html
Of course you see the logic in not actually fighting for anything important, let alone fighting for the very thing your own Biden/Dems promised again and again and Again only a few months ago…you have been trained well….so very well, I wish my dogs were as easy to train as seem to have been.
And I guess because you have been grovelling on your knees and kissing the boot for so long that it has become just normal a daily routine for you now, you probably don't even notice…
So the "socialist Labour at heart" guy has no good words for the old fella whose policy will cut child poverty in half and general poverty by a third, but will castigate him for not pushing through the minimum wage element to the bill, even though it wasn't up to him anyway, and the blame falls solely on the moderate democrats who wouldn't vote for it. Gotcha.
Now, “Fuck you you really are a chump”, you say? Er, okay. lol
I'll happily take stumbling, mumbling Joe over any republican…
So would I. But that's an extremely low standard to judge him by.
Right, so say something good about him taking kids out of poverty. I dare you 😉
So there is evidence that he has done anything other than plunge millions of children in to poverty via his villainous Crimes Act of 1994? Could you post it for us please?
Sure
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13-03-2021/#comment-1783143
Great. Why didn't he support publicly funded healthcare?
If you don't want to congratulate a u.s president getting huge wins to fight poverty in his first 50 days, with a whopping 75% public support, I guess you just have to say so and admit you're not really fighting half as hard as the Dems did for poor people, just the old, cold war, still living rent free inside your head.
I wonder what one will pay rent and put food on the table?
The Dems fight hard for poor people, do they? I think you might have them confused with people who really do that, like the governments in Venezuela (1999 to present day) and Brazil (2003 to 2016)—both of which the "Dems" have ruthlessly helped to traduce, undermine, and—in the case of Brazil—destroy.
Ah, one of those types who won't recognise any good from them they hate. How very fundamentalist of you.
"Hate" them? That's your word, not mine. You throw around the word “hate” in the same cavalier fashion as our friend McFlock throws around the word “rage.”
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13-03-2021/#comment-1783132
I'm skeptical about anything Biden and his cronies say; that skepticism is based on long and careful observation of what he and his cronies have done over the last two generations. You are the one who exhibits a fundamentalist style of faith in these people, you are the one who states his readiness to believe their assurances, in spite of everything they have done, and failed/refused to do, in the past.
I thought I just noted how Thornton, a "socialist Labour at heart" wouldn't say anything positive about a president, and an american president at that, who through independent analysis, is going to make huge inroads into poverty and child poverty.
In then noting a similar double standard, I dared you to escape your comfort zone to say something good about him after pushing this unprecedented bill, yet rather than give just even the littlest "yeah, good start, it will help millions of poor people", you failed.
I think I'll stick with the hand I played. You are of course quite free to continue to twist.
Not giving a press conference could be due to not wanting to spread Covid-19.
I do think that Biden is managing the pandemic medically and economically in a responsible way.
Well obviously it goes without saying that you are quite OK with the most powerful nation on the planet being led by an old guy clearly displaying some sort of early onset degenerative age related condition….as we all well know when it comes to being a team player numero uno with the US Democratic Party, you are the man, which is I assume, also why you apply absolutely no critical thinking to this subject.
"Some sort of degenerative age-related condition" awaits most if not all of us. Biden will have good days and bad, but on his worst day will be better than the previous incumbent was on his 'best' day, imho. You don't have to be a Biden fan to know that.
https://apnews.com/article/732eb0035d994cc3b58f83bb0164200f
I agree that Biden is better than Tweetyturd*. But, let's face it, he's still a menace to decent people everywhere.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/12/us/politics/joe-biden-iraq-war.html
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/17/joe-biden-role-iraq-war
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-town-halls-live-coverage-thursday/card/LnG2f3sMGoajoyNI1ATq
* Respek to my man Andre, king of the anti-Trump zingers!
You set the bar so high:
"After 50 days as president, Biden still hasn’t given a news conference. Critics and allies wonder why."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/press-conferences-biden-administration/2021/03/12/332285e6-81e3-11eb-81db-b02f0398f49a_story.html
He must have the same thing HRC had. An obviously terminal condition that killed her within months of the interwebz making the diagnosis.
Oh wait…
The cognitive decline, visible to anyone who watches him speak, is the least of the reasons to be concerned about Biden. A more serious and urgent concern is his decision to bomb Syria, wasting Syrian lives and American money. As this young American ice fisherman pointed out the other day, why is Biden spending money on bombing Syria when he owes him two grand?
Dude has had a stutter all his life.
But ok, let's say it's HRC syndrome, inexorable and terminal.
His supposedly mental decline doesn't seem to be reflecting in greater-than-usual levels of irrationality in US foreign or domestic policy.
And in some respects, such as children's immigration detention facilities, things seem to be improving.
Well, at least he's more rational than Trump. As you point out, there will be marginal improvements in some areas.
Not marginal for the kids in cages. Or the people receving $2k instead of $600.
It's marginal in the extreme. How much money is he going to commit this year to the bombing of several countries, to the undermining and destruction of democracy in Latin America, and the maintenance of more than five thousand military bases, 600 of which are overseas?
So the Morrissey Scale jumps from "marginal" to "complete reversal of 60 years of US military and foreign policies" with nothing in between?
I assume Morrissey was alluding to this kind of waste….
Report: US wasted billions on cars, buildings in Afghanistan
"A report released by the U.S. government’s Afghanistan watchdog has found that America has wasted billions of dollars in the war-torn country on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed"
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-us-wasted-billions-cars-buildings-afghanistan-76176528
…so maybe he is suggesting that instead of every new US president continuing the former presidents forever wars across the planet, maybe, just maybe they would be better off spending some of those billions if not trillions on..oh I don’t know, how about the fifteen dollar minimum wage that Biden campaigned on, don’t you think that would be the sane and right thing to do?
Indeed. But it didn't get through the Senate, did it? How is that Biden's fault? Are you even familiar with the concept of a legislative process?
And how does a government even spend money on the minimum wage? Doesn't that come from employers?
…or this Biden continuation of the USA’s wars and interventions across the globe…
“Imposed by the United States, European Union as well as other countries, the sanctions have sparked economic, humanitarian and development crises, devastating the entire population, especially those living in extreme poverty, women, medical workers, individuals with life-threatening diseases and indigenous peoples.”
Independent UN rights expert calls for unilateral sanctions to be dropped against Venezuela
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1084642
…or this
“United Nations voiced concerns that sanctions imposed under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act – also known as the Caesar Act – risk exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, especially in the course of COVID-19 pandemic, and put Syrians at even greater risk of rights violations.”
UN rights expert urges United States to remove sanctions hindering rebuilding in Syria
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1081032
No worries. If his congitive decline is so obvious to anyone who watches him speak that it can be discerned without error by anyone who watches him speak (without context or patient history), he's not long for this world anyway. Save your rage for the next one.
well that was a comment that went nowhere much and said even less…as usual.
We all know you have no empathy for any human suffering that is sanctioned by the West and approved by a compliant western media…nothing new to see here.
Where exactly did you see the rage in my comment? are you sure you are not projecting there pal…
Oh, sorry, you missed the point.
OK, here it is in a different way: if Biden is in generally observable mental decline over just a year or so of public appearances (as alleged), the policies you have a problem with are not his policies, and he will be dead soon, anyway.
Save your rage for the next one.
"Rage"? Adrian presented evidence that Biden is continuing the U.S. regime's aggression against Venezuela and Syria. Where was the "rage" in that? If you want an example of rage at its ugliest and most brutal, I suggest you delve a little into the speeches of Joe Biden. Not the ones where he plagiarized Neil Kinnock, but the really ugly ones, where he unleashes his rage….
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/us/joe-biden-crime-laws.html
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU