Michigan

…or What Goes Around, Comes Around: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Edition.

Here's a piece from the venereal, errr, venerated reportage of the BBC on the voluntary/mercenary counter-cyber on the behalf of the Ukraine. You may ask, "Raoul, baby, we all want world peace and all but what's this got to do with c/[email protected]?"

The [vigilante hacker] team, One Fist, has stolen data from Russian military firms and hacked cameras to spy on troops.

One of the hackers called "Voltage" has been co-ordinating hacks from his home in the US. […] His real name is [redacted -- read the article -- r^2^ ] and he is an IT worker from Michigan [emphasis mine -- r^2^ ].

The 53-year-old told the BBC he is delighted his efforts for Ukraine have been officially recognised with a certificate of gratitude.

Since the start of the conflict, Ukraine has controversially been encouraging volunteer hackers to attack Russian targets. But sending out official awards to foreign civilians is being seen as a controversial move and a sign of the times.

Okay, this is the second post today that has "fraud" in its title…

The America Project, a national nonprofit that's been focused on railing against the country's voting system, spent $1.2 million funding lawyers and groups in Michigan during the 2022 election year, according to a recently filed tax document.

The Florida-based nonprofit co-founded by former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne reported it gave $429,875 to the law office of Oakland County attorney Stefanie Lambert for "legal support." Lambert was charged with four felonies in August 2023 for allegedly participating in a scheme to improperly access voting machines used in the 2020 presidential election.

The America Project also said it provided $700,000 for a Waterford Township organization that's connected to Lambert and called "United States Election Investigation and Lawsuits." The money was for "election integrity," [emphasis mine -- r^2^ ] according to the nonprofit's tax filing, which didn't include additional details about the expenditure.

"Election integrity." You have to laugh.

The tax document also showed how funds have been used to ensure conspiracy theories about voter fraud persist, said Chris Thomas, Michigan's former longtime elections director. […] “Obviously, this is a glimpse into the post-2020 spending to keep their (election) deniers’ conspiracy alive," Thomas said.

Alt link, for your convenience, via archive.today

"To churn out the robocalls, Wohl and Jacobs sought a Black voice actress to make the recording, which they called their “Black robo.” The call falsely claimed that personal information used on mail-in ballots could lead to arrests for outstanding arrest warrants or be used to collect unpaid credit card debts. The calls also falsely warned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could use the information to track people for mandatory vaccines. "

metrotimes.com/news/right-wing…

@hockey collegehockeynews.com/news/202… @michigan

This is not a drill, Peppa!

Motor City Furry Con attendees were forced from their hotel rooms at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Creek just before 9 a.m. on Sunday after a threat forced an evacuation for the second year in a row, according to convention officials.

The Motor City Furry Con, a Michigan convention for those who appreciate the anthropomorphic lifestyle, took to social media on Sunday to announce a full hotel evacuation at 8:49 a.m. The post encouraged attendees to gather in the exterior golf course or leave the premises, but not loiter in vehicles.

Alt link via archive.is

Genetic tests have revealed that an animal killed in a legal coyote hunt in Michigan's Calhoun County was actually a gray wolf, state officials say. But experts don't know how the animal got there in the first place.

Calhoun County is located in the southern half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, where no gray wolves (Canis lupus) have been sighted for over a century. A population of around 630 gray wolves inhabits the state's Upper Peninsula, 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, and some wolves have occasionally been spotted in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula — roughly 130 miles (200 km) from Calhoun County.

"While rare, instances of wolves traversing large distances have been documented, including signs of wolves in recent decades in Michigan's Lower Peninsula," Brian Roell, a biologist and large carnivore specialist with the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said in a statement.

Activist, poet, columnist (or fifth columnist, depending on who you're asking), founder of the White Panther Party, marijuana enthusiast and evangelist, manager of the equally infamous rock group the MC5 (RIP) and all around trouble-maker 😄, John Sinclair passed away last Tuesday, March 2, 2024 of heart failure. Condolences to the surviving family. 😞

Obligatory music, brothers and sisters!…

• John Lennon - John Sinclair
• MC5 - Ramblin' Rose
• John Sinclair & Cary Loren - PeyoteMind (2012)
• Bonus: John Sinclair (1941-2024) & The MC5 - From the Film "MC5 - A True Testimonial" (2002)

The Freep reports on the upcoming memorial services for Sinclair…

A memorial will take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), featuring performances by musicians and speakers who were friends of Sinclair — a storied poet, counterculture activist and Detroit music fixture who was embedded in the city’s rock and jazz scenes. […] MOCAD is at 4454 Woodward, Detroit. […] A reception will follow at the Trinosophes café at 1464 Gratiot, Detroit.

From The News…

In a Detroit News interview in 2021, on the 50th anniversary of the freedom rally for Sinclair, the activist said he was surprised it took Michigan so long to legalize marijuana.

"The truth prevailed," he said. "People didn't quit using it, you see? And more and more people got on the side of the felons and pretty soon they had to remove the felony. It just didn't make any sense."

Sinclair had been living in the Cass Corridor in recent years. He was able to see marijuana not only be legalized in his home state, but become so available that dispensaries dot the entire landscape from county to county.

From CBS News…

Sinclair also promoted concerts and festivals and helped to establish the Detroit Artists Workshop and Detroit Jazz Center. He taught blues history at Wayne State University; hosted radio programs in Detroit, New Orleans and Amsterdam; and wrote liner notes for albums by artists including The Isley Brothers and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

He helped create Hash Bash, a yearly pot celebration at the University of Michigan, and served as state coordinator of the Michigan chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

And finally, from The Metro Times' article…

At the time, cannabis activist Rick Thompson reportedly asked Sinclair, “Things have come full circle, haven’t they, John?” Sinclair retorted, “It would be more full if they came and gave me back the weed that they took.”

More information is available at the Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors website.

Alt links for your convenience:

• The Freep: John Sinclair memorial service and reception set for Tuesday in Detroit
• The News: Marijuana activist and 'Detroit's resident radical' John Sinclair has died at 82

Well, it ain't Cannes or Venezia but…

Central Michigan International Film Festival
April 3 - 7, 2024
Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Check out this year’s film schedule and make plans to join us for our 21st annual festival!
Tickets are on sale NOW. Click here to visit our ticketing site.

Tickets cost $8, $5 discounted rate for students and seniors. Tickets available on-line or at the door.

*Special event pricing varies (Opening Night Film & VHS Night at the Broadway)

Join us at Celebration Cinema Wed. April 3 at 6:30pm for our special Opening Night film WICKED LITTLE LETTERS starring Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown, Fleabag), & Jessie Buckley (Women Talking, Wild Rose, The Lost Daughter).

From the podcast…

Community colleges were once seen as a stepping stone on your way to a four-year degree. In recent years they are more and more becoming their own educational destination for a degree or a certificate when you're on your way to a better paying job and now there's a plan in the works for every Michigan high school graduate to get two years of tuition-free Community College.

MichMash hosts Shaya Roth and Althia Kasman speak with Brandy Johnson, president of the Michigan Community College Association, about Governor Whitmer's proposal to make higher education more accessible to all Michigan high school graduates.

Like healthcare, this nation of cowboys still insists that, even now in the 21^st^ century, a higher education is difficult-to-inaccessible for many and will put all who enroll in lifelong debt. This is how America treats its future.

I'm dead serious when I say…"Don't Be A Drop-Out."

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/10522838

Walter Reuther was an American visionary so far ahead of his times that although he died a quarter of a century ago, our Nation has yet to catch up to his dreams.

-- President Bill Clinton, in 1995

Walter Reuther is the only man I have ever met who could reminisce about the future.

-- Murray Kempton, journalist and Pulitzer Prize recipient

Walter Reuther is the most dangerous man in Detroit because no one is more skillful in bringing about the revolution without seeming to disrupt the existing forms of society.

-- Governor George Romney

Over at the News, they've posted a selection of their archive photos of activist and former UAW president Walter P. Reuther. Yeah, that's the guy whose name is on the 696. For those who don't know who Reuther was, I highly suggest you read the linked Wikipedia article for starts.

The following legendary exchange is attributed to Reuther and a member of the Ford Motor Company management during a factory tour exalting the new (at the time) technologies and robotics on the assembly line…

Ford Manager: How are you going to collect union dues from these guys [the robots]?

WPR: How are you going to get them to buy Fords?

I can't help drawing parallels between Reuther's assessment and the present—and fast-approaching future—state of AI. Happy Sunday, everybody!

---

Alt link via archive.is

Seagulls are protected under the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918". This means that it is illegal to capture, kill, or keep a seagull in your home (unless you have a special permit).

So, no: you cannot go into the Meijer parking lot, yoink a seagull from the flock, and take it home.

This PSA has been brought to you by an argument with my son during a grocery pick-up.

Thank you.

I've been avoiding posting the recent spate of eclipse-eclipse-eclipse articles because, yeah, astronomically-speaking it's not an everyday occurrence but, jeeeez, it's still more than two weeks away! From Michigan's standpoint, it's not even a total eclipse (but pretty close).

But this Wednesday evening, for all you non-scientifically-inclined photographers (mobile phone paparazzi included), The Freep through the USA Network is offering an online webinar on how to properly photograph an eclipse.

These are the facts, Jack…

• Microsoft Teams Webinar is Wednesday, March 27, at 7 p.m.
• Registration is free but mandatory. Sign up here.

The guests:

• Courtney Hergesheimer, photojournalist, The Columbus Dispatch, OH
• Angela Piazza, photojournalist, Caller-Time, TX
• Albert Cesare, photojournalist, Cincinnati Enquirer, OH
• Chris Pietsch, director of photography, Gannett Newspapers, The Register-Guard, Statesman Journal, OR

• Alt link via archive.is

As they say, it's not such much as having laws as enforcing laws.

Some background info before we begin:

• Families of distracted driving victims celebrate new law
• Michigan's "hands-free" law starting June 30

Since the law was enacted [June 30, 2023], the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says a majority of drivers are not abiding.

Ryan Roddie, a Traffic Public Safety Officer, told News Channel 3 he catches drivers on a daily basis with phones in their hands. […] Police bust over half a dozen drivers not abiding by hands free every ten minutes, according to Roddie.

And now, an encapsulation of the lameness you are all guilty of…

The hardest part of the law for Denise Clegg, a Kalamazoo resident, is not changing her navigation while on the road. […] “I was coming down the street on Michigan Avenue, and I needed to call the beauty shop and tell them I was going to be a little late [emphasis mine -- r^2^] looking for a parking spot. Well, when I went to Siri to call them, she gave me everyone but," Clegg said.

I still can't swallow what's going down in the 66^th^ district of the Great State of Michigan (and most likely in other districts as well, but as they say, vermin prefer the darkness and silence). Remember: you of the 66^th^ district voted for this misguided soul and you of the 66^th^ have done nothing in regards to his removal from office. Silentium dat consensum.

After ca. a month of Rep Schriver having his budget and staff stripped for his continued online espousal and propagation of "white-nationalist, far-right conspiracy theory", it took House Minority Leader Matt Hall all that time to finally issue a carefully-worded, no-sharp-edges statement in regards to Rep Schriver's…ermmmm…questionable behaviour…

Hall did not use the word "racist" in describing the "great replacement" post that Schriver shared on the social media platform X, and his comments fell short of the condemnation Democrats have requested. But Hall said lawmakers and other public servants "have to understand how other people feel about the words you use."

On Wednesday, Hall said he's discussed the issue with both Schriver and Tate and has encouraged Schriver to communicate in a more effective, inclusive and sensitive way, though Hall stopped short of saying he had encouraged Schriver to apologize.

Hall said he'd never heard of "replacement theory" before Schriver brought it to his attention.

The entire statement misses the mark by just so much…of course, that's in my less-than-humble opinion.

Alt links and further reading:

• Via archive.is
• Read how tone-deaf DetNews columnist Kaitlyn Buss tries to equate Tlaib's diatribes with Schriver's mere "reposting" as freedom of speech(via archive.is)

This stuff just writes itself…

Incorrect inventory records, improper liquor licenses, and tens of thousands of bottles of alcohol reported as missing are among the deluge of problems found at the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, an audit found.

The 59-page review from the Office of the Auditor General found the MLCC lacking in its oversight over the purchase and sale of spirits in Michigan. At one point, the MLCC's inventory showed a negative inventory of nearly 900,000 bottles. […] In another instance, the state was left with more than 20,000 bottles of booze it could not sell or distribute to retailers.

Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner fans camp out in front of an Allen Park liquor store…? Nobody can ever explain to me why this is a thing, try as some may have.

The first round of water testing returned clean results after this weekend’s water main break in northeast Grand Rapids.

The city says Tuesday’s results are “a positive sign” but the boil-water advisory is still in effect. Visit the CDC’s website for more information.

We’re told the city’s water system has been flushed ahead of a second round of testing.

Stefanie Lambert, a Michigan lawyer who has championed dubious claims of election fraud, was arrested in Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon because of a bench warrant, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service.

The arrest ended an 11-day saga of uncertainty that played out after Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Jeffery Matis issued a warrant because Lambert failed to appear for a hearing related to four felony charges she's facing in Michigan.

And in recent GOP style, things just get weirder…

Meanwhile, Lambert has also been representing businessman Patrick Byrne, former chief executive officer of Overstock, in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. There was a hearing in Byrne's case in federal court in Washington, D.C., at 3 p.m. Monday. Lambert attended the hearing despite the warrant.

• Alt link via archive.is
• Further reading: 2,000 pages of 'confidential' Dominion emails dumped on social media via archive.is

A weeklong celebration of live, original music in downtown Ypsilanti. The carefully curated program features the very best of local music and musicians playing across a wide variety of genres.

Musical Lineups:

…courtesy of AnnArbor.org…yeah, I know…go figure

• Tuesday 3/19 7:30-10:30 PM:
  • Cedar Bend (alternative rock)
  • Premium Rat (alternative rock)
  • Cat Lung (prog/art rock)
    [I hope the last two bands don't fight -- pacifist r^2^]

• Wednesday 3/20 7:30-10:30 PM:
  • Kevin Brown (Americana)
  • John Finan (folk rock)
  • The Dan Cafferty Band (rock/jazz/folk)

• Thursday 3/21 7:30-10:30 PM:
  • Dani Darling (indie soul)
  • Nadim Azzam (alternative/hip-hop)

• Friday 3/22 7:30-10:30 PM:
  • Heat Above (alt/pop rock)
  • KILLER DILLER (SKA)

• Saturday 3/23 2:00-11 PM:
  • Ypsilanti Youth Choir (acapella/choral)
  • Mister Tim (live-loop/indie/beatbox)
  • Nobody's Business (bluesabilly/roots rock)
  • Mike Ward: Psychosongs (folk)
  • Maddy Ringo, with Little Pete and the Losers (folk/Americana)
  • Judy Banker Band (Americana)

For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/roof-top-arts-inc-60918876863
More info: https://www.facebook.com/FunkyRivertownFest/

People in Grand Rapids are being asked to boil their water and take other measures after a water main break Sunday afternoon.

Loss of pressure during a water main break can allow bacteria to enter a system. […] “When there's a loss of pressure in the system, there's a chance that harmful, harmful things from the ground can end back up in the water system," said [Grand Rapids water system manager Wayne] Jernberg. "If you boil it, you're essentially killing off any pathogens.”

The affected area spans east of the Grand River; north of Hall Street between Fuller and Ionia Avenues; and north of Fulton Street until Four Mile Road.

“If you're in that zone, … boil your water, be safe, don't take any chances,” said Jernberg. “Those outside of that region, there are no issues; the water is completely safe.”

I was going to to link to MLive's coverage but the article was blocked by a ill-placed, totally "tone-deaf" paywall…regarding a municipal emergency? Go figure.

In any case, dear Grand Rapids-area readers, be safe! Pretend you're all in Mexico and drink cerveza instead.

Following up on last week's post (Interlochen Public Radio: Tribes urge U.S. to weigh in on Line 5 case as appeal sits in court), while the US government has yet to opine on the matter, filmmaker Mary Mazzio's latest documentary, Bad River: A Story of Defiance opened Friday, March 15. Featuring narrators Quannah Chasinghorse and Edward Norton, Mazzio's Bad River recounts of the indigenous Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, including their history of standing up to those who would deprive them of their rights.

According to Mazzio, the documentary came about through happenstance when she was introduced to Mike Wiggins in 2020. At the time, Wiggins was serving as the tribe’s chairman, and held that position through the duration of the project.

“So few people know who the Bad River people are, that the Bad River Band exists and how hard they’re fighting to protect Lake Superior,” Mazzio said.

“This is really a story about sovereignty,” Mazzio said. […] “This is not a film about the case, right? This is a film about the people. And this case, this struggle is only one chapter of many,” Mazzio said.

While the film documents the Enbridge case, it also spotlights the tribe’s fight against the Gogebic Taconite mine proposed in the headwaters of the Bad River, members’ involvement in the American Indian Movement, and the “Walleye Wars” of the 1980s and ‘90s, where sports fishermen and anti-treaty groups clashed with native fishermen in Wisconsin over their rights to hunt and gather in ceded territory.

I read that DTE offers an EV rate with a dedicated meter. If you go this route are you able to view usage on the second meter in the DTE insight app?

Thanks!

Not a huge surprise.

Her new lawyer says it's all a misunderstanding.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
…
Sorry, I had to change my pants from laughing so hard.

[Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Jeffery S.] Matis issued the warrant for Lambert Junttila on Friday [March 8, 2024] after she did not appear at a March 7 show cause hearing and did not turn herself in within 24 hours as directed by the court.

In case you forgot…

Lambert Junttila is one of three individuals indicted as part of a probe into alleged tampering with voting tabulators following the 2020 election where President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump. Attorney and former Republican attorney general nominee Matthew DePerno and former state Rep. Daire Rendon (R-Lake City) were also indicted.

~A~ ~scene~ ~from~ ~the~ ~upcoming~ ~"Minions~ ~III"...wait~ ~a~ ~minute...~

[Attorney Dan] Hartman said he has been retained due to a “breakdown in the attorney-client relationship” between Lambert Juntilla and her previous attorney, [Michael J.] Smith. Smith had sought to subpoena Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who are both Democrats, to appear and testify at Lambert Junttila’s trial, with legal counsel for both officials filing a motion to quash the subpoena.

Hartman said he could present evidence that Lambert Junttila was confused about the date and time of last week’s hearing due to the miscommunication with Smith [emphasis mine -- r^2^]. […] “We can present evidence that her non-appearance was not a willful disregard of the court order and that she was in fact confused and by the time the communication came to her it was too late to remedy and cure that.”

Adding to the election-tampering dumpster fire…

[Judge] Matis denied a motion by Rendon to dismiss one of the charges against her. […] “I do believe the statute gives a person of ordinary intelligence reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited or required,” he said in reference to defense arguments that the law was vague as to what constitutes “undue possession” of a voting machine [emphasis mine -- r^2^].