Politics Random, Random

[ti-amie]

‪Judd Legum‬ ‪@juddlegum.bsky.social‬

Zuckerberg was at Mar-a-Lago last Friday “in part to mediate a lawsuit Trump brought against Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2021 over the platform’s suspension of Trump’s account after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol…Among the options for resolution is a monetary settlement.”

Zuckerberg Debuts ‘Real Mark’ in Push to Woo Trump
Meta pursues a MAGA makeover, in the latest political pivot for a company that once banned the now-president-elect from its platforms
By Meghan Bobrowsky, Rebecca Ballhaus and Annie Linskey

https://www.wsj.com/tech/mark-zuckerber ... yURL_share

Paywall

[ashkor87]

‪Judd Legum‬ ‪@juddlegum.bsky.social‬

Zuckerberg was at Mar-a-Lago last Friday “in part to mediate a lawsuit Trump brought against Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2021 over the platform’s suspension of Trump’s account after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol…Among the options for resolution is a monetary settlement.”

Zuckerberg Debuts ‘Real Mark’ in Push to Woo Trump
Meta pursues a MAGA makeover, in the latest political pivot for a company that once banned the now-president-elect from its platforms
By Meghan Bobrowsky, Rebecca Ballhaus and Annie Linskey

https://www.wsj.com/tech/mark-zuckerber ... yURL_share

Paywall

Zuckerberg was born without a moral compass, that was evident even in the hearings before Congress, he seemed to fail to even understand what the issue was.

[ti-amie]

‪George Conway‬ ‪@gtconway.bsky.social‬
·
I did, in fact, say this, and it is, unfortunately, in fact, true

Charlie Sykes
‪@sykescharlie.bsky.social‬
True.

[ti-amie]

Michelle Obama to skip Trump’s inauguration, breaking with tradition
The planned absence Monday follows another notable absence last week at the state funeral of former president Jimmy Carter.

By Brianna Tucker

Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, her office announced Tuesday.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” a statement from the Obamas’ office read.

The statement did not provide an explanation for her absence.

The former first lady’s decision to skip Trump’s inauguration is a break in tradition among former presidents and their spouses.

Former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, will be attending the swearing-in ceremony, a spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Post. The Associated Press reported that George W. Bush’s office stated he and former first lady Laura Bush will also attend.

Neither Donald Trump nor Melania Trump attended Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2020.

Michelle Obama’s upcoming absence also renews attention to her candid and open disdain of Trump. Though she attended Trump’s inauguration in 2017, photographers captured her troubled expression that day as she and Barack Obama left the White House in images that went viral.

In her 2018 memoir, “Becoming,” Obama wrote that Trump’s promotion of the false birther conspiracy theory put her family’s safety at risk and that “for this I’d never forgive him.”

In 2023, while promoting her next book on a podcast, Obama spoke in depth about her thoughts at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in 2017, saying that she was disappointed at the lack of diversity in the crowd and that the ceremony did not reflect “the broader sense of America.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... uguration/

[ashkor87]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... estigation

I do wonder, though, if it would have made any difference...? The facts were always known to the voters, yet they voted for Trump. just being convicted would not have mattered. It is not just Zuckerberg who has lost his moral compass .!!

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

Jack Daniel's parent Brown-Forman is cutting its workforce and closing its barrel-making plant
BRUCE SCHREINER
Updated Tue, January 14, 2025 at 12:21 PM PST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Spirits giant Brown-Forman Corp. said Tuesday it's reducing its global workforce by about 12% and closing its hometown barrel-making plant in Louisville. The cost-cutting moves come as American whiskey producers face stiff challenges from changing consumer trends and renewed tariff threats.

The actions are projected to produce about $70 million to $80 million in annualized cost savings, a portion of which is expected to be reinvested as part of the company's growth strategy, said Louisville-based Brown-Forman, whose flagship brand is Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.

The company's cooperage, where barrels are made to store and age its spirits, will close by April 25, affecting about 210 hourly and salaried employees, it said. The closure is part of the overall 12% reduction in the company's 5,400-employee global workforce. Laid-off workers will receive severance, outplacement services and other benefits, the company said.

Brown-Forman said it will source barrels from an external supplier and expects to receive more than $30 million from selling cooperage assets. The company established its own cooperage in 1945 — raising barrels and honing the craft of using wood to create distinct flavor characteristics to bourbon.

Brown-Forman also announced changes in its executive team, including the appointment of Jeremy Shepherd as chief marketing officer. Shepherd previously led its USA & Canada commercial division.

The actions reflect the venerable company's "relentless focus on evolving our strategy, our portfolio and our organization to grow and thrive,” said Brown-Forman President and CEO Lawson Whiting. “Today’s announcement will ensure we have the structure and teams in place to continue on this path, while also making investments that we believe will facilitate growth for generations to come.”

Last month, Brown-Forman reported a 5% decline in net sales for the first six months of its fiscal year compared to the year-ago period. The decline was largely due to its Finlandia and Sonoma‑Cutrer divestitures, the company said. Whiting said the results came amid “challenging economic conditions” but he predicted a stronger performance in the second half of the year. Brown-Forman's many brands also include Woodford Reserve and Old Forester bourbons and Herradura and el Jimador tequilas.

The company's cutbacks come as the overall American whiskey sector faces headwinds that coincide with massive inventories of aging whiskeys that will someday reach the market. In Kentucky, a record 14.3 million barrels of bourbon are aging, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association said last month.

Industrywide challenges include indications that younger adults are drinking less alcohol and the threat of American whiskey getting entangled in another trade war. Meanwhile, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said recently that Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer. The risk should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, Murthy proposed.

Republican President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs with his return to the White House. During Trump's first term, American whiskey distillers got caught up in a trans-Atlantic trade fight, causing deep drops in exports to the European Union — the industry’s biggest overseas market. The EU imposed a retaliatory tariff on those spirits in 2018 in response to Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on European steel and aluminum. A 2021 deal suspended those tariffs on American spirits, and U.S. distillers began clawing back lost market share in the EU.

A looming return of EU tariffs — at an even higher rate — on American whiskeys would be devastating to distillers, said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

"The U.S. spirits industry is contending with a challenging U.S. marketplace, and tariffs would only exacerbate these challenges,” Swonger said Tuesday.

The EU is set to reinstate tariffs on American whiskey at a 50% rate in late March if nothing is done to head it off, the Kentucky Distillers' Association said. Retaliatory tariffs from the EU and other countries have cost Kentucky's bourbon industry a half-billion dollars in exports since 2018, it said. Kentucky and Tennessee, where Jack Daniel's is crafted, overwhelmingly backed Trump in last year's election.

“We are up against a triple threat of back-breaking tariffs, snowballing taxes and shifts in consumer trends that have slowed sales,” Eric Gregory, president of the distillers’ association, said recently.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jack-dan ... 07889.html

[ti-amie]

Every now and then I treat myself to a sandwich from one of the if not the best Kosher deli in the northwest Bronx and Southern Westchester. I include Southern Westchester county because my dentist's parents drive to it to get food.

Anyway my treats to myself will be few and far between going forward. I can't afford the price hikes.

[ti-amie]

German far-right leader to attend Trump inauguration
By Reuters
January 16, 20257:21 AM EST Updated 12 hours ago

BERLIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will attend the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20 just a month before a federal election in Germany, the party said on Thursday.

The invitation to Tino Chrupalla follows an endorsement of the AfD by Trump ally Elon Musk and a discussion with co-leader Alice Weidel on social media platform X which fed concern about the U.S. billionaire's ambition to influence European politics.

Most polls put the anti-immigration AfD in second place behind the conservatives before the Feb. 23 election in Europe's biggest economy. However, mainstream parties have vowed not to work with the party which is being monitored by security services on suspicion of being right-wing extremist.

"Attending the inauguration of President Donald Trump shows once again that we are implementing our interest-led policies," Chrupalla said in a statement.

"We stand ready as an alternative to be a strong partner on the continent of Europe. Germany must maintain good and peaceful relations with all countries," he added.

Trump has broken with precedent and invited several foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended the inaugural due to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their stead.
However, Germany's government will be represented at the inauguration by its ambassador to the United States.

https://www.reuters.com/world/german-fa ... 025-01-16/

[ti-amie]

Adam Parkhomenko
‪@adamparkhomenko.bsky.social‬

Thank you, Madam Speaker

[ti-amie]

Molly Jong-Fast
‪@mollyjongfast.bsky.social‬
On his way to try and get a pardon

[Owendonovan]

Molly Jong-Fast
‪@mollyjongfast.bsky.social‬
On his way to try and get a pardon

Does he think Adams can flip NYer's opinion of him or something? What's in it for the felon? The feeling of getting your a++ kissed? I'm not seeing his angle here.

[ti-amie]

Molly Jong-Fast
‪@mollyjongfast.bsky.social‬
On his way to try and get a pardon

Does he think Adams can flip NYer's opinion of him or something? What's in it for the felon? The feeling of getting your a++ kissed?

My question is what humiliation will he subject Adams to? My guess is a spot on the dais next to the neo Nazi he's invited...but I could be wrong.

NYC could've had Maya Wiley...

[Owendonovan]

I don't doubt something that should feel painfully compromising to Adams.

I liked Wiley, a lot. She's not electable now.

[ti-amie]

I don't doubt something that should feel painfully compromising to Adams.

I liked Wiley, a lot. She's not electable now.

I agree about Wiley, sadly.

My guess is it'll be something that would embarrass him with his "constituents" in NYC.