Best Of

This pretty well sums up the Trump Justice Department.

Grand juror called 'Broadview Six' case a 'crock of sh*t' before it crumbled
A federal judge ordered the release of the bombshell transcripts today to investigate potential prosecutorial misconduct.

https://www.allrisenews.com/p/broadview-six-crock-grand-jury-transcripts
..Hitting the public record in a rush of nearly 200 pages, the first tranche of transcripts — documenting proceedings from three weeks in October 2025 — revealed the grand jury’s unfiltered appraisal of the case after the panel rejected an indictment a week earlier.

“I heard this case like last week, and I thought it was a crock of shit then and I still think it is,” a grand juror said.

Prosecutors didn’t reveal the fact that the grand jury initially returned a “no true bill” on the indictment until Judge Perry forced the disclosure.

Then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenberg, then the lead federal prosecutor on the case, can be seen in the transcripts cajoling the grand jurors, culling out those who expressed doubts, and telling the panel to trust her judgment in order to obtain an indictment weeks later.

“I am back because if you did not — between the questions and not getting an indictment, I did not do my job. I did not explain it to you well enough,” she told the grand jury after the first indictment failed. “I didn’t explain the law to you. I know we were running out of time, and I knew it at the time, but I realize it’s on me. I did not do my job last week well enough for you.”

A grand juror appeared concerned that the government would keep pushing the case until it got the outcome it wanted.

“Do you have unlimited tries?” the grand juror asked.

“Do we have — what did you ask?” Mecklenberg responded.

“Unlimited tries,” the grand juror pressed. “Like you keep coming back as many times as you want?”

“Well, I don’t think we have to worry about that,” Mecklenberg replied. “I think we’re going to be just fine.”

Her then-fellow prosecutor Matthew Skiba chimed in: “I think the saying is the second time is the charm.”

Although it was once extraordinarily rare for prosecutors to fail to obtain an indictment, Trump’s second term has seen grand juries repeatedly rejecting charges, including in the cases of New York Attorney General Letitia James and immigration protester Sydney Reid, both of which were rejected three times by grand juries...

It's worth reading the whole piece.
The depth of legal misconduct might even raise a Cyclefree eyebrow.

Yet more fires in Russia. This one could be a gas pipeline.

https://x.com/tendar/status/2064404551352955229

Every little helps.

The average Russian has not a clue how much damage Putin has done. It will take decades to put back together.

Mind you, there is a still a chunk of low-information America that can't see the damage done to the US under Trump.

We are in a world of stupid on steroids.

From a Russian-speaking public POV he is still a hero with the older generation. Russian-speaking family member still impressed by the rapid changes he brought after the breakup of the USSR and influence on Eastern Europe. The younger ones who didn't suffer the privations of communism won't be though.

Can't comment about the US as have no US family members and Canadians don't count.

California Governor:

CNN calls 2nd place for Hilton.

Becerra and Hilton advance to run-off.

With 89% counted:

Becerra (Dem) 27.9
Hilton (Rep) 25.0
Steyer (Dem) 22.6

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/09/politics/steve-hilton-republican-california-governor-advances
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_California_gubernatorial_election

Some of you may remember that Steve Hilton was satirised as Stewart Pearson on "The Thick Of It". Out of respect to m'Conservative colleagues on PB I will not quote from Stewart's epic parting words, although I assume his speech in California will not be as forthright.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-19518692

Hello from Belfast where the great unwashed of Loyalism have declared an evening of rioting and house clearance.

There are I'm sure quite a few with Republican communities who would like to do their own but the orthodoxy that Irish Republicans love the asylum seekers and welcome them with open arms is strong. Some very burly looking community workers keeping locals from gathering....

I will lay it out and I suspect plenty a UK city is the same. We have had a lot of inward migration last 10 years from outside EU/wider Europe and its easy to stratify into its main groups:

Indians: Often come as families, work in tech and health. Younger members of family often seen in retail. Well integrated and have set up small clusters
West Africans: not clustered, seen all the time usually on way or going from the care homes and hospitals in which they work
Filipinos: Brought specifically in for the NHS over recent years
North East African. Somali, Sudanese. Disproportionately younger male, don't seem to be as much in the working population
Middle East Arab: Some families but disproportionately younger males,

The last two groups are the asylum seekers, the former three economic and legal migrants.

I will give you one guess where the social interaction issues with the natives lie.

Our very own Kristalnacht, until rain stopped play.

Which sounds as if it disappoints you.

Kristalnacht my arse and an indication of typical hyperbole. The reality is the scale of trouble is pretty small but the issue is getting bigger. Everybody on the ground knows the story is and, as I said, I suspect it is a thread in a lot of places. Here the difference is sorting things by violence is generational, often organised, and while it may not be seen as accepted, its expected.
I think therefore there should be sensitivity by the authorities to cultural mores of our communities & our traditions of sorting issues......

What you don't know Foxy is the cops knew it was coming, not just today after the incident yesterday, but they knew there were likely to be moments where the lid was lifted off. They had plans to call in support from other UK police forces if things kicked off on this very issue. 6/7 years ago this wasn't on their contingency list at all. So what's changed? Dogs in the street know what's changed.

Its only a matter of time before the locals start targeting the landlords of the private rental sector. A number of rentals firms have been attacked and warned off. Its seen as profiteering and no one likes that now do they. The way things are done here it will find its way across the water in time, therefore should be observed or nothing will be learned. Its just as likely here in NI that some asylum seeker/illegal immigrant call them what you will, will be killed. When that occurs, it wont give the locals cause to reflect if it sends the asylum seekers out of their area and off to somewhere else, it will be proof of what works and will only likely embolden other natives elsewhere.

Has Andy Burnham got the gravitas to be PM?

I'm beginning to wonder.

If Justin Trudeau, a former drama supply teacher, could be PM of a G7 nation for a decade I am sure Cambridge educated Burnham could manage.

Zelensky was a comic actor too. Perhaps there is something in this, might we have been happier with a PM Mirren or Grant? Maybe in the future Emma Watson?

Zelensky famously mimed playing the piano with his penis - not sure who the British comic equivalent would be, though he did also do more serious comedic work (if that is not an oxymoron) later.

Clearly Boris, whenever delivering a key note he showed himself to be a cock.