Maybe I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut with these #oddsandends posts. They evolved from the #quarantinediaries posts I started doing early in the pandemic. As far as I can tell, many of the upvotes I get are from autovotes; I get very few organic comments. But when I mentioned several months ago that I was considering ending the #oddsandends series, several people asked me not to. Go figure. But at the least, I’m pondering interspersing other kinds of posts here and there more often than I do now. Probably still only very rarely more than one post per day, but maybe a bit more microfiction, Splinterlands ramblings, or other wanderings off into the weeds.

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:

Arrests Made In $4.5 Billion Cryptocurrency Scheme

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced the arrests of a New York couple charged with conspiring to launder cryptocurrency presently valued at $4.5 billion — stolen during the 2016 hack of Bitfinex — marking the ‘largest ever’ financial seizure by the department.

Coinbase Files to Form a PAC Ahead of 2022 Midterms

‘When the chairman of Tesco says something it really matters because it’s Britain’s biggest supermarket’

Paul Hawkins discusses Tesco Chairman John Allan has saying the ‘worst is yet to come’ in the cost of living crisis.

📺Freeview 236, Sky 515, Virgin 626
📻DAB+ pic.twitter.com/opava3BwhZ

— GB News (@GBNEWS) February 7, 2022

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

FWIW, Mark Carney: ”This is sedition.”

On the first weekend, many Canadians who joined the demonstrations undoubtedly had peaceful objectives. Tired as we all are with unprecedented disruptions that we’ve all endured over the past two years, it’s understandable that many would want to come to Ottawa to protest. It’s a free country, and everyone should be able to express their opinions free of interference from the state, just as the press should be able to report without fear of harassment or intimidation.
But now in its second week, no one should have any doubt. This is sedition. That’s a word I never thought I’d use in Canada. It means ‘incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority.’

A warning is pointless without sharp teeth to back it up: Canada Warns Against Foreign Interference

Canada’s public safety minister said Monday that U.S. officials should stay out of his country’s domestic affairs, joining other Canadian leaders in pushing back against prominent Republicans who offered support for the protests of Covid-19 restrictions that have besieged downtown Ottawa for more than a week.

Neo-Nazis and QAnon: how Canadian truckers’ anti-vaccine protest was steered by extremists

Fauci Says ‘Full Blown’ Pandemic Phase Is Ending

Politics:

Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon: Omarosa Claims Trump Ate Ripped Up Documents

FWIW, I’d guess that he’s more of a ketchup kind of guy.

Trumpy Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters Arrested After Resisting Search Warrant

McConnell Breaks with RNC Over Censures

“It was a violent insurrection with the purpose of trying to prevent peaceful transfer of power. That’s what it was.”

U.S. Supreme Court lets Alabama use electoral map faulted for racial bias

South Korea Election Marred by Scandals

One candidate is mired in a land development corruption scandal. Another was tied to a self-professed anal acupuncturist who claimed to heal nerve damage. And both of these leading contenders to be South Korea’s next president have come under fire for having shamans, or fortunetellers, as campaign advisers.
The drama extends to their families. One candidate’s wife threatened to put critical journalists ‘in prison’ and disparaged sexual harassment victims, while her mother was convicted of forging a financial document. Another candidate’s wife used her husband’s aides to run her personal errands, while her son is under investigation regarding illegal gambling.

Fox News Host Rips Trump for Lying About Election

Witness List Offers Glimpse Into Jan. 6 Trial Strategy

Prosecutors late Monday began laying out their trial strategy for Jan. 6 cases in the clearest detail yet, indicating they intend to call multiple Capitol Police officers, a former Senate aide, a member of the Three Percenters militia who was granted immunity and the Secret Service agent who helped supervise then-Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the Capitol that day.
Prosecutors revealed their proposed witness list in the case of Guy Reffitt, a Texas man who was charged with storming onto Capitol grounds, attacking multiple Capitol Police officers and carrying a firearm. Reffitt is charged with civil disorder, obstructing Congress’ proceedings, carrying a semiautomatic handgun to the Capitol and later, after returning home, attempting to obstruct justice.

Vermont May Soon Guarantee Right to Abortion

🧵 Today, while heading to the House floor for votes, I respectfully asked my colleague @RepHalRogers to put on a mask while boarding the train. He then poked my back, demanding I get on the train. When I asked him not to touch me, he responded, “kiss my ass.” (1/3)

— Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) February 8, 2022

Vice President’s Husband Evacuated After Bomb Threat

Serendipity:

The last known ship of the US slave trade

A thriving colony of 300-year-old Arctic sea sponges survives by eating the fossils of extinct worms

^{Badge thanks to @arcange}

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