DL Open Thread: Thursday, September 5, 2024

Don’t See Many Stories Like This One:

More than $100,000 in Apple products that were being shipped from Delaware to China have been seized, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Wednesday.

Customs and Border Protection officials said the parcel’s manifest — the document containing shipment information — undervalued the packet by a little more than $100,000. Exports must include a complete manifest and a truthful value declaration to ensure that all exports comply with applicable laws, a Customs official said.

Y’see, the manifest said the shipment merely consisted of ‘”iPhone return for repair,” with a declared value of $3,000.’  The true manifest?

• 168 Apple iPads
• 59 Apple Watch Ultras
• 242 Apple AirPods.

Would be nice to know from whom and to whom the shipment was being made.   But, these days, you take what you can get from our ‘newspaper’.

Russia And Conservative Pundits: Perfect For Stealing Elections Together:

A Tennessee-based media network that produces shows for high-profile right-wing influencers such as Benny Johnson and Tim Pool was largely funded by Russian state-backed news network RT, according to a federal indictment against two RT employees that the US Department of Justice unsealed on Wednesday. The DOJ claims the US company—which WIRED, along with other news outlets, was able to identify as Tenet Media but goes unnamed in the indictment—posted hundreds of videos on social media that pushed Kremlin-approved talking points.

With the tagline “Fearless voices live here,” Tenet Media’s network includes online creators known for their right-wing politics, including Johnson, Pool, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern. In addition to the followings of the network’s individual creators, which collectively number in the millions, Tenet Media itself boasts more than 315,000 followers on YouTube and thousands more across Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.

Johnson, Pool, Rubin, and Southern did not immediately respond to requests for comment; none are accused of wrongdoing. “We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment,” Johnson wrote on X, referring to himself and his lawyers, “which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme.” Pool also released a statement on X, saying in part that “should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims.”

Right.  They were just peddling propaganda.  They had no idea it was illegal Russian propaganda.  Honest mistake.

Yup, Shooter Was Interviewed About Online Threats He Made.  Still got a gun.  Killed people:

The suspect had been on the radar of law enforcement officials more than a year ago in connection with threats of a school shooting posted online, the F.B.I. said. He and his father were interviewed by local law enforcement officials; he denied making the threats, but the authorities alerted local schools.

The gun? An AR-15.  Here’s a thought–perhaps you shouldn’t name your kid after a gun.

PR Guy Outs NFL.  Gets suspended.  Perhaps some hyperbole here, but I think he got suspended for telling the truth:

ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders have suspended an employee who made comments about the team’s players being anti-gay, accused Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of being racist and anti-gay and called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a “$50 million puppet.”

“The language used in the video runs counter to our values at the Commanders organization,” a team spokesperson said in a statement. “We have suspended the employee pending an investigation and will reserve further comment at this time.”

He told the undercover reporter that, “over 50% of our roster is white religious, and God says, ‘F— the gays.’ Their interpretation. I don’t buy any of that. Another big chunk is low-income African Americans that comes from a community that is inherently very homophobic.”

On the video, Enteen also said some players are “dumb as hell” and said some who were smart don’t stay that way after getting hit in the head too many times. He also said those who “get their heads knocked around a few times” are more susceptible to conspiracy theories.

Enteen also said, “I don’t think the commissioner of the NFL hates gay people, hates black people. Jerry Jones, who really runs the NFL, I think he hates gay people, black people.”

Enteen, who was with the New York Jets for two years before coming to Washington, called the league’s social justice initiatives “performative.”

“It’s not done out of the goodness of their heart,” he said. “It’s done because George Floyd changed the game … It’s to make as much money as possible. The NFL cares about the bottom line, like any corporation, above all else.”

Enteen said because the league makes so much money, “they can faux prioritize DEI for the sake of good publicity.”

Enteen told the undercover reporter that “most of the fans are high-school-educated alcoholics” and called them “mouth breathers.”

Got some early-morning places to go.  Might add more later.  Might not.

What do you want to talk about?