Journalist Wayne Barrett, who has written about Rudy Giuliani for decades, is back, with a scathing comparison of Rudy and Thump. He says the "the onetime comb-over twins just had too much in common" not to align with each other this time around.

The wife stuff is pretty funny. [More...]

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

Today is Donald Trump's impulsive last-minute trip to Mexico, to be followed by an immigration speech.

Here's a place to laugh at discuss it.

Mexicans in Mexico are not happy their President is meeting with Trump.

This is pretty big. ISIS Chief Spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has been killed in Aleppo Province. ISIS affiliated news agency Amaq has confirmed it and said he “was martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo.” Here is the official announcement from ISIS in Arabic.

Here is one of his speeches from 2014 calling for lone wolf attacks. The State Department added him to the Global terror list in 2014. Here is the notice. [More...]

Donald Trump's doctor is getting examined by the media, and it's not flattering. Either is this predecessor article.

Update: 8/30/16, 9:15 pm MT: Live stream started 1/2 hour ago here.

A New Zealand appeals court today began hearing the appeal of Kim Dotcom against extradition to the U.S. The hearing is expected to take six to eight weeks. Kim Dotcom has been requesting the hearing be live-streamed. Today, the court granted his request and live streaming begins tomorrow.

Justice Murray Gilbert granted the application, subject to agreement from Mr Dotcom and the other men that the case would only be livestreamed and any footage would be removed as soon as the six-week hearing was over. The footage would also be streamed with a 20 minute delay, to allow the court to prevent any suppressed material from being published.

Check Kim Dotcom's twitter feed, @kimdotcom, for the live stream link. Also check out Torrent Freak, which has been doing a good job of following the case all these years. [More...]

Anthony Weiner has gotten caught sexting again. His wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin issued a statement saying she is leaving him.

"After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband. "Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy."

Trump issued a statement blaming Hillary. That's absurd. David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, yesterday called Trump a psychopath. I could do without the name-calling, but Trump does seem to just make stuff up, and uninformed and lazy people who can't be bothered to fact-check buy into it.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has requested Mylan CEO Heather Bresch to produce documents and communications about the price increase of Epi Pen.

Mylan today announced it will sell a $300.00 generic version.

Almost every news story has an auto-play video which I won't link to. It's taking more and more time to find articles without video. It is such a waste of time and it really takes a lot of the fun out of blogging.

I have nothing to write about. Trump has become boring and predictable. Only the ignorant and persons who can't manage their perceived anger will vote for him.

Things seem stable for the time being in Sinaloa. Yes, a nephew of Zambada-Garcia (Edgar Parra Juvanny Zambada, age 42) got killed, but he seemed like a straight arrow working for a seafood company. Maybe it was road rage? (Added: Probably not. His brother, Juan Jose Parra Zambada, alias "El Juanjo", was arrested with Jesus "El Rey" Zambada Garcia (El Mayo's brother) in 2008 and their father, Juan Jose Parra "El Diablo", was Zambada Garcia's brother in law, having married his sister Ana Maria Zambada Garcia. According to an interview El Mayo gave to the magazine Proceso, Juan Jose Parra "El Diablo" introduced Ismael Zambada-Garcia to drug trafficking when he was 16. [More...]

Our last open thread is already full. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

A new Quinnipiac University released today indicates Hillary will win huge in November. She's 10 points ahead and Trump continues his downward spiral. Politico reports she's 16 points ahead in Virginia.

If you want to know about the Clinton Foundation, and why Hillary and Bill did nothing wrong, I recommend you pre-order Joe Conasen's new book, Man of the World: The Further Adventures of Bill Clinton. I received an advance copy (which may not be the final version) and it debunks many myths.

The Washington Post has a good editorial today on Rudy Giuliani's baseless attack on Hillary's health. Shorter version: People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

It points to different parts of his speech at the RNC that could support a conclusion he is suffering from "nerve damage, stroke or Alzheimer’s disease" and heart disease, and that he's suffered a stroke.

The Post says his baseless attack on Hillary's health is a sign of his "impaired character", if not health. After criticizing his "scurrilous and debunked theories about the Democratic candidate", it says he should see a doctor.

Busy work day.

Turkey has taken over Jarabulus in Syria. The U.S. aided the effort with airstrikes. According to Twitter analysts, ISIS had already gone, so there wasn't much of a fight. More like they turned the town over. Still, it's the first time Turkey used its own forces for a military operation against ISIS in Syria.

Looks like it was co-leader of Sinaloa Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia (background here) who conducted the negotiations to free El Chapo's son. Most media now agree both sons were kidnapped. It's still unclear who was behind the kidnappings and what kind of ransom was paid, money or ceding of territory or neither. [More...]