Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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    • Savage Librarian says:

      “Jimmy Fallon Reacts to Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension: “WTF?” – 9/19/25

      “Fallon’s monologue comment earned applause from the Tonight Show audience, as he continued.”

      “What’s going on? This morning, I woke up to 100 text messages from my dad saying, ‘I’m sorry they canceled your show’,” he joked. “I go, ‘That’s not me. That’s Jimmy Kimmel.'”

      https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/jimmy-fallon-reacts-to-jimmy-kimmels-suspension-wtf

      [Hint: Tag, your it]

      • -mamake- says:

        Apologies – had not heard the entire hour with Nicole and Marcy – sill haven’t finished it. Not for lack of interest just family health matters.

        • Savage Librarian says:

          I think you are right, mamake. So no apologies necessary. I think the tag at the bottom of the post should say Kimmel, not Fallon. Also, the homepage blurb should say Kimmel, not Fallon. Makes me wonder if this post might have been what caused Fallon’s dad to panic ;-)

          Sorry to hear about your family health problems. Well wishes from me.

    • Savage Librarian says:

      Oopsie, a typo/misnomer alert to Marcy or Rayne. Homepage blurb and tag at bottom of post both need to be changed from Fallon to Kimmel.

    • P-villain says:

      But Trump’s bloated $15 billion complaint against NYT was dismissed , apparently sua sponte, for failure to conform to the FRCP’s pleading rules, which require a short and plain statement of the facts establishing the cause of action.

      • P J Evans says:

        The judge gave them 28 days to refile, if they keep it under 40 pages and stick to the topic, not the assorted grievances.

  3. Atriana Smith says:

    The timing of this 1st amendment assault conveniently makes those on the right who wanted to see the Epstein files all shut up now.

    This isn’t being talked about enough.

  4. wa_rickf says:

    re: LaMonica McIver

    Many are forgetting that an immigration bipartisan bill was possible last year. until Trump told Rs not to vote for it to give ol’ Joe a win.

  5. Matt Foley says:

    The more Trump says I must respect Charlie Kirk the less I respect him.
    Respect must be earned, not compelled.

    This comment brought to you courtesy of the First Amendment.
    THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!

    • wa_rickf says:

      As Marcy and Nicole point out, once the time for grieving has passed, Kirk’s words are going to become known. What will the universities in OK do with their Kirk statues then? And will the 202 in AZ be renamed AGAIN or graffitied over?

  6. Memory hole says:

    Keith Olbermann’s Countdown had an excellent first five minutes a couple days ago about Kirk being killed due to Trump’s rhetoric.

    We all recall Trump calling for violence many times. Olbermann just lined up the threats one after the other after the other.

    As MAGA tries to run from their repeated calls for violence, and blame any and all “others” for it, Olbermann’s monologue is a great reminder of the main reason we are here.

    • BRUCE F COLE says:

      If you watch the first debater in that UVU event with Kirk, he made the valid point that the same *stated* underlying objections that the Right have with DEI (giving preference not based on skills or experience) can be made about Trump’s entire cabinet and administration. Kirk immediately waved that away by saying it’s two different issues: competence and reverse-racism. The questioner just let that go without so much as a whimper, which illustrates the reason Kirk staged his performances at universities where his opponents got selected for their “media presence,” rather than with skilled debaters.

      When I saw that segment of the event I immediately thought of Marcy’s piece on Trump’s DEI back when the cabinet was being assembled, which I was well acquainted with, having posted this on dKos:
      https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/15/2297046/-Marcy-Wheeler-Identifies-the-GOP-Coffin

  10. allan_in_upstate says:

    Now that three of the Five Eyes have recognized Palestine (New Zealand, where art thou?),
    will that alliance be scrapped and replaced with a Washington-Tel Aviv intelligence duo?

  11. zscoreUSA says:

    Really good Ball of Thread from Fri 9/21. These are like mining documentaries helpful for understanding big pictures.

    Title: How The 2016 Russian Election Attack Led Donald Trump To Destroy US Hegemony
    https://youtu.be/1RXJJhvprqE

    Emptywheel describes the 2016 attack by Russia as likely “the most successful intelligence operation in recent history.” 2016 morphs into 2020 Hunter Biden laptop and [Israeli Spy] Smirnov attempt to frame the Bidens, which leads to 2024, and Trump dismantling US national security.

    Here’s from the portion about the Hunter Biden Laptop:
    * Russian Intelligence->Derkach->Giuliani -> American public pipeline about Bidens
    *

    … the quote unquote Hunter Biden laptop is a hard-drive copy of a laptop that [Mac Isaac] claims was Hunter Biden’s, Hunter Biden says he doesn’t remember it. Even if Hunter Biden dropped it off, there’s good reason to believe that it was sort of dealt to Hunter Biden and packed up at a time when he was getting ketamine treatment from [Trump supporter Ablow]. If you can believe this, a close friend of Roger Stone’s, in January of 2019,

    … (Ablow voice over “Kevin Morris’s theory that Keith Ablow is the source of the laptop.. is absurd”)

    * Trump’s recent comments about Hunter Biden laptop claiming it was found in Hunter’s bed [Trump has also said from Hunter’s bathroom, which does indicate Trump was intimately familiar with unreported efforts to exploit the laptop in 2020 further] which is different from Mac Isaac’s story
    * The Hunter Biden mob narrative warfare replaces public grievance of Giuliani’s collision with Derkach

    • Savage Librarian says:

      Thanks for the heads up, zscore! I appreciate your summary and I’m looking forward to watching the video.

      • zscoreUSA says:

        My summary doesn’t do justice on describing how Emptywheel connects to the bigger picture, involving the success of Russia to influence American politics.

        • Savage Librarian says:

          I finished watching it. I especially like how it ends with the Kamala Harris remark about how Trump plans on ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

        • RealAlexi says:

          You’re right. It certainly doesn’t do it justice. Smirnov was trying to frame Biden and are you are trying to frame Israel.

          This is how propaganda gets spread by folks with an agenda. Make the crime fit the agenda. No evidence whatsoever necessary. Nothing gets solved. The crime continues. Then more crime takes place by folks trying to right a wrong that was in fact a lie. When you put things in peoples heads they might act on them. They might not. But they might. In fact, I bet someone you listen to puts this conspiracy stuff in your head. And it ends up here. You’ve acted on it. Who’s next??

        • Rayne says:

          It’s equally clear that you have biases, Alexi. Again, focus on the material and not on the commenter.

          I won’t tell you a third time.

    • zscoreUSA says:

      Further context:
      [correction: date for the Ball of Thread is Friday 9/19]

      Ablow and Roger Stone:
      On the specific 4 day weekend, Friday Feb 1- Monday Feb 4, 2019, that Hunter abandoned one laptop at Ablow’s, per the texts released by Marco Polo, Hunter was at a peak in grieving the loss of his brother, and Ablow was keenly aware of that. Per the texts from Marco Polo, that same weekend, Ablow was in Ft Lauderdale, where he most likely met with Roger Stone. Tons of GOP operatives also began to flock to Mar-a-Lago as Trump finally emerged from the shutdown.

      January 2019:
      While Rudy is ramping up the effort to get a hold of Hunter Biden dirt, per the Dimitrelos report, Hunter’s iPad reconnects with his Apple account. The only iPad or phone which connects twice. The Daily Mail put out a narrative in 2021 that Hunter lost a 3rd MacBook to Russian drug dealers in August 2018. Through emails and texts released from Marco Polo, it appears to be more likely an iPad that was stolen by Russian drug dealers, not a MacBook. Which would prove, that when the iPad reconnects in January 2019 (while Hunter was living with Ablow), that there was definitely a right wing conspiracy involving Hunter’s laptop to frame Hunter Biden. Cross referencing the texts from Marco Polo with the Dimitrelos Report, Hunter’s iPad has a “last heartbeat IP address” that is Ablow’s Cottage where Hunter stayed. There has been no reporting anywhere about Hunter leaving an iPad at Ablow’s, just a MacBook and hand written material.

    • zscoreUSA says:

      More context

      Ukrainian Russian assets:
      The same day Hunter is said to have handed his laptop to Mac Isaac, Toensing signed a retainer agreement to represent Lutsenko and Kulyk. That same day there was also a flurry of calls and texts between Giuliani, Parnas, Nunes/Harvey, White House, Solomon, capped off with a 5 minute call between Giuliani and the White House timestamped to just minutes after Hunter allegedly left Mac Isaac with his laptop. Kulyk has since been indicted for treason and placed on sanctions for efforts related to Derkach, in addition to having ties to a Kharkiv businessman believed to work for Russian intelligence.

      Ablow, Hunter, and Ketamine:
      Per texts and emails released by Marco Polo, around when Hunter began his ketamine treatments with Ablow, on 11/20/18, Ablow sent Hunter a text that appears to be a reference to Monkey Island, an LNG deal Hunter was involved in with the Chinese, but not publicly known at that time. In context, it looks like while Ablow plied Hunter with ketamine, he was trying to trigger Hunter to think about Monkey Island and probably start talking details about it. Garrett Ziegler stated in an interview that he believes Ablow was aware of Monkey Island before it became public. It’s not clear if Ziegler was referring to this same text exchange or had a different reason. Also per texts, Ablow name dropped a close relationship to Len Blavatnik, who has a historical relationship with Viktor Vekselberg.

    • RealAlexi says:

      You’re getting better at this.

      Except for “Israeli spy” which you’ve made up out of whole cloth. Holding dual citizenship (Israeli/American or British or Irish/American) doesn’t make anyone a spy. However, espionage against your own State for an enemy makes you a traitor.

      From the Guardian:
      “Back in 2020, Smirnov was paid $600,000 by a company called Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT), prosecutors said. That same year, Smirnov began lying to the FBI about the Bidens, according to the indictment. There is no suggestion the payment was linked to Smirnov’s alleged fabrications.

      ETT’s CEO is the American Christopher Condon, who was also one of three shareholders in ETT Investment Holding Limited in London. Other shareholders in the UK company, now dissolved, included the Pakistani American investor Shahal Khan and Farooq Arjomand, a former chairman and current board member of Damac Properties in Dubai who is also listed as an adviser on ETT’s American website.

      Last month, Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI, and is being held without bail. Prosecutors argued he posed a flight risk because of his contacts with Russian officials in the Middle East and access to millions of dollars.

      Smirnov’s indictment alleged that the assertions in a document, known as a 1023, and other statements made to his FBI handler beginning in 2020 and continuing until December 2023, were factually impossible.”

      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/14/company-paying-fbi-informant-trump-connections

      Lots and lots of foreign disreputable connections.

      Do TRY not to get lost trying to pin the tale on anyone that doesn’t actually deserve it. It’s rather bad form and detracts from one’s credibility.

      • Rayne says:

        This: “You’re getting better at this.” is wholly unnecessary as is your last graf.

        Focus on the material and not the commenter.

        • RealAlexi says:

          Yes. Smirnov was a source for numerous people. Doesn’t make him a de-facto Israeli spy. It makes him a freelancer who was also an Israeli source among others.

          Others being MOSCOW.

          NPR report :

          “LUCAS: Well, this all comes from a court filing from the government. And in that document, prosecutors say that Smirnov has significant contacts with multiple foreign intelligence agencies.

          But they really do zero in on what they say are his ties with Russia’s spy services. We don’t get any names, of course, about who some of his contacts are, but we do get some details.

          One of his contacts, for example, is described to his FBI handler as the son of a former high-ranking Russian official. This contact is said to control a group that conducts assassinations overseas. Another contact is described in court papers as the head of a unit of a Russian intelligence service. But to be clear, prosecutors also say that Smirnov disclosed all of these contacts to his FBI handler, so this is not something that he was hiding from the FBI.”

          https://www.npr.org/2024/02/21/1233009344/ex-fbi-informant-has-extensive-russian-intelligence-contacts-lawyers-say

      • zscoreUSA says:

        While Smirnov was indicted for crimes committed in 2020, David Weiss, coincidentally or not, only took action after Smirnov was bringing in Russian disinformation in late 2023.

        Here’s some info you left out/missed.

        * Smirnov’s ties to Israeli intelligence
        https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/03/04/russias-flipping-focus-alexander-smirnov-is-no-exception/

        https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/02/25/premier-palace-the-risk-of-non-russian-involvement-in-alexander-smirnovs-anti-biden-election-operation/ [which cites the same CNN article cited above by Savage Librarian]

        * Smirnov received the $600k from ETT in exchange for Israeli crypto assets called bitoftrade. ETT even paid Smirnov an additional $750k on 12/14/20. Smirnov didn’t even give ETT the bitoftrade stocks, he made a deal to, then just kept it and the money from ETT
        Source: the same Guardian article that you linked to, and the tax indictment from the transition period, and shares of ETT stock
        https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69415879/united-states-v-smirnov/

        * The WSJ misreported when Smirnov came to US and hooked with a family here. Per WSJ, that was 2006. Per the son’s letter to the court, that was 1999ish.
        https://www.wsj.com/us-news/informant-charged-with-lying-about-bidens-flaunted-fbi-ties-for-financial-gain-fcf86af2
        https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.915062/gov.uscourts.cacd.915062.33.3.pdf

        * That family is tied to bitoftrade, with the father listed as Director of Operations on his LinkedIn and Instagram
        https://archive.is/R76Rt
        https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/09/alexander-smirnov-fbi-biden-impeachment/

        * Family’s ties to crypto industry and WRIT Media
        https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/writ-media-group-acquires-pandora-131000045.html

        * FBI Pittsburgh wanted the FBI handling agent to ask Smirnov about WRIT Media and other topics, the handling agents reported back on each topic except WRIT Media, per the vetting document here.
        https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/01/02/alexander-smirnovs-vetting/

        * that family is also tied to ETT, creating the original corporate entity that morphed into ETT
        Source: the same Guardian article, also opencorporates website

        All of this suggested that Smirnov is an Isreali spy. Then at his Sentencing Hearing in January, it was confirmed by his lawyer and the judge. He became a spy for Israel roughly the same time he hooked up with that family, 1999ish. This was not reported out by any media.

        It should also be noted, that besides Emptywheel, was there even any coverage in the media about the Brady side channel?

        • RealAlexi says:

          The reply IS appreciated. Saying you’re getting better at this was sincere.

          What seems clear to me is that Smirnov is 1. a freelancer who worked for people willing to pay him. How he spent that money is irrelevant. He was also an American and a source for the FBI. SO he was also an AMERICAN SPY. Marcy made it crystal clear he was working for the Russians (“flipped”). Was he ALSO a source for Israeli intelligence? A “source”. Yes. And is a “source” an asset or a “spy” or a hustler or simply someone with convenient ties (family or business or locale etc) and insights to whatever an intelligence agency is interested in at the moment? We don’t have an answer that I can see.

          Framing Smirnov as an “Israeli Spy” immediately redirects the through-line of what’s happening here and blames a different foreign actor (the Israeli Gov) when I see that it’s the Russians all up in this case.

          More:

          Zscore “Smirnov received the $600k from ETT in exchange for Israeli crypto assets called bitoftrade.”

          Actually as far as I can tell:
          Bitoftrade is a decentralized crypto trading platform. It is not specifically an “Israeli crypto asset,” but a multichain trading platform built on the Ethereum ecosystem.

          Much of the argument about being an “Israeli spy” stems from the claims that bitoftrade is an “Israeli crypto asset” and all I can say “SO”?

          SO a tech company began in Israel and it’s suddenly an international espionage operation made to take down a President’s son in the US with a questionable laptop that wasn’t even a laptop… because one clearly flipped by Russian intelligence individual is connected to it? BTW, Bitoftrade CEO is Igor Chygrynov. Russian Israeli? I don’t know. Let me know if you can find out.

          To me the entire case about Smirnov SCREAMS a Russian intelligence OPERATION. It does NOT scream an Israeli one.

          “it was confirmed by his lawyer and the judge. He became a spy for Israel roughly the same time he hooked up with that family, 1999ish. This was not reported out by any media.” Great. Where’s the link for this? Did I miss it?

          “All of this suggested that Smirnov is an Israeli spy”. “Suggested”. Who exactly is “suggesting it”? Who is writing it as established fact? What does it have to have to do with Russian measures?

          Again, thanks for the reply.
          ~Alexi

          On a personal note, when I see framing (doesn’t matter if it’s unintentional) that suggests that Israel is behind some nefarious conspiracy I worry. I don’t worry if it’s true or false so much as I worry that the spread of the conspiracy will result in harm towards my community and my family.

          The world has had double standards for this for 2,000 years. Yesterday we were burned at the stake for the plagues. Today, when China or Chinese intelligence or India or Indian intelligence or France or French intelligence or Russian or Russian intelligence is blamed for some nefarious conspiracy we don’t see attacks of them on the streets or the firebombing of Governors houses or of their Temples.

          We DO see that as a result of conspiracies targeting Israel.

          So PLEASE take caution with what you write. If it’s true, so be it. If it’s conjecture be CLEAR it’s conjecture. If it’s suggestive, call it suggestive. It’s about narrative. The framing is easily as important as the individuated facts.

        • Greg Hunter says:

          To Alexi Sept 23 3:49

          “I don’t worry if it’s true or false so much….”

          Now that is a motto I can ascribe to people I pillory, as hypocrisy is at the heart of humanity’s worst invention.

          Bring in the Bard “Thou dost protest too much”

          “,,,,for 2,000 years.”

          An intelligent and accomplished group of people believe that the embellished oral history of the Jewish People is a religious text? Is that what I am supposed to believe is true?

          Sorry that premise is as false as the Mormon faith which Charlie Kirk lambasted before his death. The first 12 chapters of Genesis are about the impact the rise of agriculture has on the people and animals of the Earth and the profound implications of a group of more powerful hominids breeding, interacting and eventually “winning” the war against Neanderthals. I suspect the two are intertwined but the Jewish People have been blinded or misinterpreted their history and only now can we understand what Genesis 3 meant.

          The SAT used to have analogies – The Gold Plates of the LDS Faith are just as valid as those professing the beliefs in any of the Abrahamic based faiths.

          Prove me wrong – Israel strives to rule like the Taliban.

          I suggest you read your book again then watch Nova: Origins as you will understand what those oral histories really meant.

          https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/human-origins/

  12. Greg Hunter says:

    Excellent analysis on the Mormon religion as you provide more insights about the ability to sell, forcing a separation from mom and of course sex. While the LDS church has changed since the mid 1990s, those old boys knew what they were doing as they sent the young men out of town and imported the widest array of young, good looking women foreign converts to conduct the Temple tours. When I went to SLC compound I was reminded of lunch time in DC as I had never been exposed to that kind of female to male ratio.

    I am convinced that the Utah charging document will be found to be backed up by actual evidence and I will also bet that there will be no trial as Utah does not want to air Charlie Kirk’s last outing at UVU for the next few years. While Kash has tainted the case, I would think no Utah prosecutor really wants to argue that the shooter endangered people as they would have to contend with expert witnesses and even his own relatives with the ability and belief that he has had the training to make that shot “safely”. I can see his mother on the stand being asked whether Tyler had the training and discipline to make the shot that killed Charlie Kirk with out hitting any one else – “Your god damn right he could”.

    I think you are correct that the anti-MLK Jr. will be impossible to replace.

      • Greg Hunter says:

        They are a recent addition for me and I have only spoken to a female duo once and they did not knock. They were driving by my house in their rented VW SUV while I was out talking to a friend. They asked whether I wanted to go to church on Sunday and I laughed and said I am pretty sure you don’t want me there. We exchange pleasantries and they were on their way.

  13. BRUCE F COLE says:

    Your assumption of no trial equates with no death penalty, unless Robinson pleads guilty and asks for it (has that ever happened?).

    Afik, he hasn’t been assigned a lawyer yet, which is itself sketchy. There have been several big firms letting the county DA know they are interested. Seems to me like there’s enough pre trial prejudice being promulgated by Trump and his minions that any number of attys would love to sink their teeth into it.

    • Greg Hunter says:

      Interesting thought, so the next question would be how much evidence is required to be public and how fast could they carry out the sentence?

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