The Hur interview.
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/16/biden-hur-tape-special-counsel-audio
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wtg
@wtg
Posts
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Original Sin -
Trying something newI signed up to volunteer as an ESL tutor at our library. The library has a really good ESL program, with all sorts of resources and classes available to people who want to learn or improve their English. Interestingly enough native speakers of Japanese and Korean top the list of students on the waiting list for tutors, with Ukrainians not far behind. Spanish speakers, too. And Polish.
I've never done any teaching so I thought I would start with a couple of students who already speak some English. I had my first meetings this week with my two students, one on Tuesday and one this morning. Sessions are once a week for an hour.
I have a Ukrainian student who is at an intermediate level and she and I hit it off immediately. She's very outgoing and motivated to improve her grammar and pronunciation. Really looking forward to working with her.
My other student is Japanese. A lot of Japanese companies have offices in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and they often transfer employees to work here for several years. My student's husband was transferred here about a year and a half ago. She is at a beginner level of English, though still and all she is doing pretty well. I think the going will be a bit slower and more challenging than with my Ukrainian lady but I think there's a lot we can a accomplish together.
One thing that has become evident to me already is that ESL tutoring is about more than just helping someone learn a language. It's about assisting them to adjust to living in a new country.
I'm trying to get up to speed learning about resources that the students and I can use during our sessions. I'm a rookie here so I'm definitely in "wing it" mode right now as I get my bearings.
It's gonna be interesting!
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LOLcritters -
Happy birthday, Steve Miller! -
Growing herbs?@Mik said in Growing herbs?:
had a giant ganglion removed from my foot last Friday
managed to drop a couple pounds
Whoa, that must have been some ganglion....
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Friedman talks Middle EastNYT columnist Thomas Friedman sees 'creative possibilities' from Trump's Mideast trip
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/15/nx-s1-5398014/trump-middle-east-saudi-arabia-syria-israel
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Growing herbs? -
Astrophotography on a budget -
Growing herbs?Looks delish and pretty! Love the different color pots and even the arrangement...
What's for dinner?
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Pizza scissorsOur Costco used to carry a name brand (Milton's?) cauliflower crust pizza, but I think now it's a Kirkland Signature product. Haven't tried it.
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Original SinMore from Wa Po.
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Weird craft cocktail ingredientsSadly I can't handle any alcohol at all these days. Back in my younger youth I used to love to experiment making various cocktails.
This article talks about some "interesting" ingredients to try in your next experiment.
https://www.foodrepublic.com/1336865/unusual-craft-cocktail-ingredients/
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Original SinNew book reveals how Biden’s inner circle kept Cabinet from him in final two years of presidency
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/politics/biden-book-cabinet-emergency
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For migraine sufferersI think we have a few WTFers who get migraines. Passing this along.
A drug to treat migraine, ubrogepant, is also found to reduce common non-headache symptoms that occur in the hours preceding a migraine headache, according to the results of a large phase three clinical trial published in Nature Medicine. The findings suggest that ubrogepant may be the first acute treatment for the symptoms that occur before migraine, which have a considerable impact on daily function.
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A funny thing happened on the way to a project...Last year I bought a quart of Rustoleum oil-based paint with rust protector in it to paint two wrought iron arbors that I've had for years. This year's project is a decorative wrought iron bridge that needs similar maintenance. I had about three-quarters of a can of paint left from last year so I thought we were all set.
Mr wtg opened the can and went to stir it, and lo and behold, it was completely solidified. There was zero liquid on the top and when we shake it, it seems like there is no liquid paint in the can at all.
It had been sealed tightly and stored in the basement, just like the other (latex) paints from various projects around our house. I've opened 10 year old cans of latex paint and had no trouble using them.
Anybody have any idea what happened to the Rustoleum??
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The harpsichord -
The Never-Ending GriftA tiny TikTok creator company with no revenue and ties to China plans to buy $300million in Trump’s memecoin
The firm, which employs eight people to create videos for TikTok, earned no revenue last year — yet somehow found a way to purchase as much as $300 million of $TRUMP.
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What does he have to give them in return?Meanwhile, in Qatar, the country’s leaders have been seeking to offload two of their three Boeing 747s, each of which they purchased for $200 million and gave a VIP makeover for over $200 million more, according to Sirimanne, whom the petromonarchy contracted to help sell the jets. All that money left the planes in great shape, with just the sort of interiors that might pique the interest of Donald Trump—lots of creams, some wood, maybe not quite enough gold. In 2018, Qatar gave one of the planes—which sport two full bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, three galleys, an office and multiple lounges—to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president. “The second airplane was just stagnating, just waiting to be sold,” says Sirimanne. The Qataris wanted $275 million for it, he says. “I brought them two offers around $200 million each, and they turned down both.”
Then, they came up with a different, perhaps more valuable, plan. “They just decided,” says Sirimanne, “it’s better to gift it to Trump than to just do maintenance on it.”
Forbes:
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US popularity collapsesThe United States is becoming less popular globally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to new data.
The 2025 Democracy Perception Index summarizes attitudes toward democracy, geopolitics and global power players, and canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries.
Politico:
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Ghost in the machineU.S. energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two people familiar with the matter said.
Power inverters, which are predominantly produced in China, are used throughout the world to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids. They are also found in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.
While inverters are built to allow remote access for updates and maintenance, the utility companies that use them typically install firewalls to prevent direct communication back to China.
However, rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some Chinese solar power inverters by U.S experts who strip down equipment hooked up to grids to check for security issues, the two people said.
Over the past nine months, undocumented communication devices, including cellular radios, have also been found in some batteries from multiple Chinese suppliers, one of them said.
Reuters was unable to determine how many solar power inverters and batteries they have looked at.
The rogue components provide additional, undocumented communication channels that could allow firewalls to be circumvented remotely, with potentially catastrophic consequences, the two people said.
Both declined to be named because they did not have permission to speak to the media.
Reuters reporting:
