Please continue any discussion on random news items here.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/14/inmate-disguises-himself-as-a-sheep-to-escape-prison/

A hobby club in Illinois is missing a balloon. Was it shot down over Yukon?

FBI records deepen mystery of dig for Civil War-era gold

Edited February 18, 20232 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

it's times like this I'm glad I chose FBorFW as my prime comic strip of choice (despite it wrapping 15 years ago) has WFP dropped Dilbert yet?

https://deadline.com/2023/02/dilbert-scott-adams-racist-remarks-1235273222/

Edited February 27, 20232 yr by iHeart

40 minutes ago, iHeart said:

it's times like this I'm glad I chose FBorFW as my prime comic strip of choice (despite it wrapping 15 years ago) has WFP dropped Dilbert yet?

https://deadline.com/2023/02/dilbert-scott-adams-racist-remarks-1235273222/

Adams has been dropped by hundreds of papers in the US and Canada as well as his agent. I will miss his dead-on organizational satire.

Just now, Tracker said:

Adams has been dropped by hundreds of papers in the US and Canada as well as his agent. I will miss his dead-on organizational satire.

Dilbert stopped being funny about 15 years ago, IMO. It started as work satire and meandered off into whatever it is now. It's clear Adams has little connection to any sort of offices. 

 

Yet another reason to love the Winnipeg Free Press.

well that answered my question

Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that Fox News hosts endorsed stolen election claims - https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/media/dominion-fox-news/index.html

15 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that Fox News hosts endorsed stolen election claims - https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/media/dominion-fox-news/index.html

Murdoch is getting set to throw his lickspittle hosts under the looming bus in order to limit Fox's corporate liability in the current lawsuit that could bankrupt Fox.

A bit premature for the R.I.P. thread, but was unaware of his hospitalization. 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/entertainment/tom-sizemore-end-of-life-decision/index.html

12 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

A bit premature for the R.I.P. thread, but was unaware of his hospitalization. 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/entertainment/tom-sizemore-end-of-life-decision/index.html

no I knew, but it was kind of overshadowed by the news about Jimmy Carter going into Hospice care

                                                

                                       

Why did this cop turn up dead?  A heroic police officer rescued at least three people after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. A year later, he was found shot in the head
By Thomas Lake, CNN

OKLAHOMA CITY — The bombing memorial is a somber and beautiful place, framed by two monuments called the Gates of Time.

The 9:01 Gate commemorates the innocence before the explosion, which happened at 9:02 a.m. and became known as the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

The 9:03 Gate represents “the moment healing began.”

But some survivors never healed. With time, their suffering only got worse.

This story is about one of those people. His name was Terry Yeakey. He was an Oklahoma City police officer and a military veteran. Yeakey saved at least three people from the ruins of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, the day a terrorist attack killed 168 people and injured hundreds of others.

Something happened to Yeakey in those hours in the wreckage. He was badly shaken, and his worldview seemed to change. In time, he grew suspicious and afraid. He ran afoul of his supervisors. He went on secret missions, withholding his motives and plans from fellow officers. He seemed to be conducting his own investigation.

And then, 385 days after the bombing, his body was found near some trees in a field off a country road.

His wrists were cut.

His neck was cut.

He’d been shot through the head.

The authorities said it was suicide. But among those who knew Terry Yeakey, not many believed he had killed himself.

In a recent interview, his sister Lashon Hargrove said this:

“I think they murdered Terry because he knew too much.”

Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral on track to reopen in December 2024

Hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza seen for first time.

^^ Imagine expending all those resources...to build a grave 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grocery-ceo-ottawa-1.6771887

Quote

The heads of Canada's biggest grocery chains pushed back at allegations they are profiteering from high inflation on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that they aren't the cause of high food prices — and claiming their profit margins are as razor thin as ever.

 

Prices for food purchased at grocery stores increased by 11.4 per cent in the year up to January, according to Statistics Canada. That's almost twice the overall inflation rate of 5.9 per cent in that same period.

(Michae) Medline was summoned to speak, along with his compatriots at rival Loblaws, led by Galen Weston, and Eric La Flèche, president and CEO of Metro, which owns Food Basics and other chains.

Together, those three grocery chains make up the majority of Canada's grocery industry, with thousands of stores across the country. Profits at all three firms are up sharply in the pandemic, but all three say their profit margins on food are razor-thin.

Greedy liars.

39 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grocery-ceo-ottawa-1.6771887

Greedy liars.

Yup. 

 

Quote

Weston echoed that sentiment, insisting that higher profits at Loblaws are mostly due to higher sales in non-food items, such as discretionary spending at Shoppers Drug Mart, its Joe Fresh clothing line and its financial services arm.

Totally believable.... when I saw my last grocery bill, my immediate reaction was to go stock up on the latest Joe Fresh gear!  Who needs money for essentials like food?  🙄

1 hour ago, bigg jay said:

Yup. 

Totally believable.... when I saw my last grocery bill, my immediate reaction was to go stock up on the latest Joe Fresh gear!  Who needs money for essentials like food?  🙄

I used to think Weston actually cared about this country and the people his businesses serve. Turns out he's just another scumbag narcissist who only cares about his precious money.

17 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

I used to think Weston actually cared about this country and the people his businesses serve. Turns out he's just another scumbag narcissist who only cares about his precious money.

They all are. 

42 minutes ago, JCon said:

They all are. 

Businesses are legally required to turn a profit, and it is up to government to assure that they conduct themselves in an ethical manner and pay their fair share of taxes. If you are right-wing minded, the government has no business "meddling" in the workings of the "free market". Private businesses are in business to generate the largest possible profits in the shortest possible time and seek to influence governments to allow that to happen with the fewest restrictions. In an ideal society there is a dynamic balance between the welfare of the citizenry and private enterprise.  The problem arise because , obviously, businesses have more money to influence government through direct financial donations and through media of one sort or another, tipping the scales. A good government, be they federal, provincial or civic mediates that balance. Its an imperfect situation but no better one has presented itself.

Soooo....profits are at an all time high but margins remain the same because of external inflation. By this logic, despite disposable income plummeting sales are way up. Congratulations grocers you guys have figured out something free enterprise has been unable to do since it's creation. Something does not add up....

Next please bring in big oil to explain to us how they come up with their pricing please and thank you.

Jaysus!

Silicon Valley Bank closed in second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history

The bank, which caters to tech startups, was taken over by the government after a run on deposits Thursday, sparking concerns about broader economic fallout

By Gerrit De Vynck and Rachel Lerman

Updated March 10, 2023 at 1:53 p.m. EST|Published March 9, 2023 at 11:52 p.m. EST

 

The second-largest bank failure in U.S. history rocked the tech industry and sent ripples of anxiety throughout the financial system Friday as Silicon Valley Bank went from being a key part of the tech ecosystem to collapsing in a matter of hours.

The bank, which largely serves startups and venture capitalists, was shut down by regulators and taken over by the federal government after depositors scrambled to withdraw their money following a surprise filing from the firm on Wednesday night that it had sold $21 billion in assets and was selling more of its own stock to shore up its balance sheet.

The stock prices of other banks fell too, and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said she was monitoring the situation. Start-up founders and venture capitalists fretted that money needed to pay employees could be lost or frozen by the bank’s collapse.

Silicon Valley Bank’s rapid failure has shocked the tech industry, prompting fears that the economic situation for the sector is worse than previously thought. The collapse is also strengthening calls from Wall Street analysts and investors that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are too aggressive and risk causing serious damage to the economy.

At the end of December, Silicon Valley Bank held around $209 billion in total assets, making it the second-largest failure of a federally-insured bank in U.S. history, after Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the financial crisis in 2008. A spokesperson for the bank did not return a request for comment.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which took over the bank, said depositors would be able to withdraw the $250,000 of government-insured funds on Monday. But because the bank served tech businesses, many of them had much higher amounts of money stored with the bank. On Friday, questions ricocheted around Silicon Valley about whether companies would be able to get their money back, and what to do if they couldn’t.

The bank’s failure also leaves a gaping hole in for the tech industry, which had relied on the bank for its expertise in startups and willingness to provide services to fast-growing, risky startups.

“No bank understand startups and tech the way they do,” said Antoine Nivard, co-founder and general partner at Blank Ventures. “They have a 40-year reputation earned the hard way built on the most extensive network of insider relationships with Silicon Valley’s most important players.”

The FDIC said it created a new bank to manage the firm’s operations, starting on Monday — a rare occurrence in a bank failure and typically means that the process was rushed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/09/silicon-valley-bank-shares/