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Belated Happy Birthday 89th - Glad you had a fun day with the kiddos!!

Mik actually quit 48 hours ago, but the stuff today is exponentially stronger.

Purple. Neighbours had the first bbq of the year this sunny weekend.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/colombia-plans-to-euthanize-dozens-of-cocaine-hippos-descendants-of-animals-brought-by-notorious-drug-trafficker-pablo-escobar-180988548/ Colombia is taking aim at its invasive hippopotamus population. This week, the government announced plans to euthanize dozens of the hulking animals, which are causing ecological and safety issues in the South American country. “It is out of responsibility to our ecosystems that we must take these actions,” said Irene Vélez, Colombia’s environment minister, at a press conference on April 13, as reported by El País’ Lucas Reynoso. Colombia is home to nearly 200 hippos, which are the descendants of four animals brought to the country illegally by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar in the early 1980s. Escobar housed the hippos—along with rhinoceroses, elephants and other smuggled creatures—at Hacienda Nápoles, his estate and private zoo located roughly 90 miles from Medellín. The three females and one male began reproducing and, with no natural predators or droughts to keep the population in check, the species thrived in Colombia. After Escobar was shot and killed in 1993, authorities seized Hacienda Nápoles and transferred the animals to nearby zoos—except for the hippos.

https://apnews.com/article/iowa-superintendent-conflict-audit-fb0c9065a825b51bd429c59c81d83e6b Iowa’s largest school district said Tuesday that it revised its conflict-of-interest policy after an audit found its former superintendent awarded district business to a consulting firm he worked for, affirming findings first reported by The Associated Press in the weeks after federal immigration officers detained him. Ian Roberts, a native of Guyana in South America, worked for two decades as an educator and administrator in urban districts across the U.S. His Sept. 26 arrest in Des Moines, Iowa, shocked the community and drew national attention to his history of criminal charges and falsified credentials. He pleaded guilty in federal court in January, admitting to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on a federal form and illegally possessing firearms. Roberts’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 29. The two counts together carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Heh. The Rubio-on-the-sofa meme is like the Chris-Christie-on-the-beach meme of this era. Versatile and never gets old.

@Tom-K LOL.

1974 New York City.

In Alpha sometimes we like to say “it’s not rare so much as rarely diagnosed’. Maybe these are the ‘rarely found earths’. Though of the long list of them I’m sure some are actually pretty rare.

It’s close to impossible to govern the house with a few seat majority. Every possible candidate would have the same problem.

I agree.

When the Qatari royal family acquired a luxury jet for its private fleet more than a decade ago, the Boeing 747 was outfitted with the lavish furnishings and ornate adornments that would befit one of the world’s wealthiest families. Now, as the jumbo jet is expected to become President Trump’s own this summer, officials say the plane’s lavish interior will look remarkably similar. The jet has undergone a $400 million overhaul to prepare it for the president. Those modifications, however, haven’t centered on aesthetics, but rather top-secret communications gear that would enable the commander in chief to run the country from the skies. Alterations to the interior have focused on removing the Arabic-language exit signs and the contemporary artwork once enjoyed by the Qatari royals. But the oversize leather seats, plush couches and even the faux library bookcases are all staying, albeit with U.S. presidential seals now affixed to the walls, officials said. https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trumps-qatari-gifted-air-force-one-will-keep-its-luxurious-royal-interior-c37a6451

In an order denying Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial, a judge accused the disgraced FTX founder of wasting precious court resources on wild conspiracies. To the judge, the motion seemed like a last-ditch attempt to give himself a MAGA makeover that the Trump administration absolutely wasn’t buying. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 for “masterminding one of the largest financial frauds in American history,” US District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in his order. He was convicted on all charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, commodities fraud, and money laundering. There is already an appeal pending in another court, the judge noted. But Bankman-Fried filed a separate motion for a new trial, claiming that there were “newly discovered” witnesses and evidence that might have helped his defense, if Joe Biden’s Department of Justice hadn’t intimidated them into refusing to testify or, in one case, lying on the stand. He also asked for a new judge, wanting Kaplan to recuse himself. However, Kaplan pointed out that “none of the witnesses” were “newly discovered.” And more concerningly, Bankman-Fried offered no evidence that the witnesses could prove the “wildly conspiratorial” theory the FTX founder raised, claiming that their absence at the trial was a “product of government threats and retaliation,” the judge wrote. Bankman-Fried’s theory is “entirely contradicted by the record,” Kaplan said. He emphasized that granting Bankman-Fried’s request “would be a large waste of judicial resources as it could require another judge to familiarize himself or herself with an extensive and complicated record.” https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/new-sam-bankman-fried-trial-would-be-huge-waste-of-courts-time-judge-says/

I just remember from a while ago Queen Elizabeth dedicating a navy ship and referring to it as "my ship."

I think the Somalis and fraudsters are. Plead guilty, give 20% back and you're cool. I suspect he still has a good bit of that $9M left. I advocate flogging and a long stretch at hard labor.

I do remember. I actually have saved the English language Taiwan newspaper from that day. [image: 1777777649494-img_4943.jpg]