Good morning friends. It’s that time of the day again. The time for your daily digest. Let’s get to it.
News Briefing
•Another round of peace negotiations will take place today in Instanbul. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations have arrived at the Dolmabahce - President Erdogan’s office on the banks of the Bosphorus. These are the first face-to-face talks in over two weeks but hopes of any breakthrough are low.
•The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Kyiv earlier this month. The negotiation round took place on March 3 and lasted until 10 pm. After retreating later that night they felt the initial symptoms including eye and skin inflammation and piercing pain in the eyes - later that night. The symptoms did not abate until the morning. Based on remote and on-site examinations, the experts concluded that the symptoms are most likely the result of international poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon.
Well, this never seems to get out of fashion.
•Finally some reason on Russian TV:
If Putin 🇷🇺 can’t win, it’s going to be very tough going for him. You can see the beginning of the debate here. Much more to come.Why Did Will Smith Slap Chris Rock?
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who have been married for 24 years, have previously spoken publicly about their extra-marital romances.
During one 2020 episode of Jada's US chat show Red Table Talk, the couple sat down to address public speculation about an alleged affair Jada had had with R&B singer August Alsina. Here’s the ‘entanglement’ video:
But it wasn't their open marriage status that Chris Rock was mocking on Sunday, but her appearance.
It was not the first time he had made a joke at Jada’s expense. In 2016, Chris Rock hosted the Oscars in the year when the academy was accused of very little diversity, which led to Jada snubbing the ceremony. But, as Rock humorously pointed out: "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited!"
And here we are, six years later with another joke:
"Jada, I love ya," he began after taking to the stage to present best documentary, adding: "GI Jane 2, I can't wait to see it!"
This joke was a reference to the 1997 US war drama GI Jane, which saw Demi Moore shave her head to play Jordan O'Neil, the first woman to undergo Navy Seal training.
By implying that Jada could star in a possible sequel, Chris Rock was poking fun at her closely-shaven head, but Jada has alopecia - an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss. She looked cross about the joke, rolling her eyes, and we all know what Will Smith did next. And after that this:
And then this:
Anyways, he later posted this on Instagram:
And Chris Rock will not be pressing any charges. More on this here.
Hunter Biden and Biolabs in Ukraine (part 1)
Last week, the Russian government held a press conference claiming that Hunter Biden helped finance a US military 'bioweapons' research program in Ukraine. The commander of the Russian Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, claimed there was a 'scheme of interaction between US government agencies and Ukrainian biological objects' and pointed to the 'financing of such activities by structures close to the current US leadership, in particular the investment fund Rosemont Seneca, which is headed by Hunter Biden.'
The American reaction was that the allegations were a brazen propaganda ploy to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
But emails from Hunter's abandoned laptop show he helped secure millions of dollars of funding for Metabiota, a Department of Defense contractor specializing in research on pandemic-causing diseases. He also introduced Metabiota to an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas firm, Burisma, for a 'science project' involving high biosecurity level labs in Ukraine.
Metabiota conducted its pathogen research just a few hundred miles from the border with Russia. The project turned into a national security liability for Ukraine when Russian forces invaded the country last month.
Hunter and his colleagues at his investment firm Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP) routinely raised millions of dollars for technology companies, hoping the firms would take off and make them all fortunes. Metabiota was one of those firms. The president's son and his colleagues invested $500,000 in Metabiota through their firm RSTP. They raised several million dollars of funding for the company from investment giants including Goldman Sachs. (to be continued)
George Bush Sr. and the War on Drugs
Let’s go back in time for a bit now for an interesting story. When the senior George Bush was president, he wanted to present some dramatic evidence of how cocaine was bought at the Lafayette Park, the park across the street from the White House. Lafayette Park, isn’t your typical city park. Because it’s so close to the White House, it’s crawling with tourists and Secret Service agents
So, the DEA tried to lure a drug dealer there to make the sale, but he was unfamiliar with that part of DC so he kept getting lost on his way there. Finally he got there, made the sale and was arrested . He was totally set up. It’s been in a couple of documentaries including “Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspirancy” on Netflix.
“This is crack cocaine, seized a few days ago by drug enforcement agents in a park just across the street from the White House,” George Bush Sr. said in the press conference “It’s as innocent looking as candy, but it’s turning our cities into battle zones.”
No one was safe from drugs, Bush warned, and it was time to get tough.
Overall drug use, and the use of crack in particular, was in decline by 1989, but Bush turbocharged the war on drugs that night.
The kid who sold the crack that wound up on Bush’s desk is named Keith Jackson. He was 18 years old, a high school senior, and the deal at Lafayette Park changed his life forever.
Pics, vids & memes
God bless the one who came up with it.
Hol’up
Sweet.
Come at me, Will Thmith:
Nothing to see here.
The most optimized food out there. Oil it is then.
This really hits home.
That was it for today folks. Have a great rest of the day. See you tomorrow. Peace.