Brazil’s former president, conservative Jair Bolsonaro, a target of the new leftist administration, has reportedly been indicted on Thursday by the Federal Police over last year’s accusations that he imported jewelry worth $3 million and sold two luxury watches without paying taxes. The police report is expected to be transmitted to the country’s Supreme Court, which would prompt Brazil’s prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, to decide whether to put Bolsonaro on trial. “The persecution of Bolsonaro is declared and shameless!” said Flávio Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro’s son and a sitting senator, on social media. “Someone receives a gift, a committee of public servants decides that it is yours. The TCU questions and the gift is returned to the Union. There is no damage to the treasury! Then the group of PFs, handpicked for the mission, indicts the person.” A perseguição a Bolsonaro é declarada e descarada!Alguém ganha um presente, uma comissão de servidores públicos decide que ele é seu. O TCU questiona e o presente é devolvido à União. Não há dano ao erário!Aí o grupo de PFs, escalados a dedo pra missão, indicia a pessoa. — Flavio Bolsonaro (@FlavioBolsonaro) July 4, 2024   “Police said in August that Bolsonaro received cash from the nearly $70,000 sale of two luxury watches he received as gifts from Saudi Arabia,” the Associated Press reported. “Brazil requires its citizens arriving by plane from abroad to declare goods worth more than $1,000 and, for any amount above that exemption, pay a tax equal to 50% of their value.” Police also reportedly indicted Bolsonaro’s former aide, Mauro Cid, and two of his lawyers, Frederick Wassef and Fábio Wajngarten.  Wassef blasted that the indictment had been made public, contending that the investigation was supposed to proceed under seal. “I am going through all of this solely for practicing law in defense of Jair Bolsonaro,” he asserted. Wajngarten issued a lengthy statement on X, writing in part: In the entire investigation there is no evidence against me. To be specific: I was indicted for the bizarre reason that I had complied with the Law! … My legal advice was that the gifts received by the former President of the Republic should be immediately returned to the Court of Auditors of the Union, in defense of any doubts regarding questions regarding the public interest. And legal advice is not a crime. … Trying to incriminate me is absurd and reveals the fragility of the accusations systematically made by the Federal Police over the last 18 months. The PF knows that I did nothing about what it found, but it still wants to punish me because I am a permanent and uncompromising defense of former president Bolsonaro. If the intention is to intimidate me, they won’t succeed. Seeing the triumph of the Police State by those who said they were victims of it, used against political opponents, is certainly a dark chapter in our Democracy and will be duly corrected, in due time, by our institutions. O meu indiciamento pela Polícia Federal se baseia na seguinte afronta legal: advogado, fui indiciado porque no exercício de minhas prerrogativas, defendi um cliente, sendo que em toda a investigação não há qualquer prova contra mim. Sendo específico: fui indiciado pela razão… — Fabio Wajngarten (@fabiowoficial) July 4, 2024 In February, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians rallied to support Bolsonaro, who flew an Israeli flag in defiance of anti-Semitic remarks made by Brazil’s president, socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had said, “What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide. It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children. What’s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.” Da Silva was sentenced to 12 years in jail for corruption in 2017. In 2019, Brazil’s Supreme Court annulled Da Silva’s conviction, ruling that the judge who issued it had no jurisdiction over the former president’s case because he was located in a different state from where Da Silva lived. Bolsonaro and Argentinian President Javier Milei, who also is a staunch supporter of Israel, are due to meet this weekend in Brazil. Ryan Saavedra contributed to this article. RELATED: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Brazilians Flood Sao Paulo To Support Bolsonaro

'It’s pretty clear that California has been moving in a particular direction for a long time'

So who are these outside agitators?

A new study looking at the effects of gratitude or being grateful on mortality risk showed that independent of classic mortality indicators of cardiovascular health, smoking, and chronic disease burden, grateful people showed lower rates of early death than less grateful peers. The study examined over 49,000 older women in the nursing profession, and is […] The post Having Gratitude Linked to Lower Risk of Death Independent of Confounding Factors, Innovative Study Shows appeared first on Good News Network.

The post My Cats Are Addicts…And I Am Their Dealer by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five hilarious cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles. With five cats ruling my house, I have very little doubt about my role. Timely provision of food, water, and entertainment is expected, but there are times that I feel a little bit like their dealer, with catnip being their drug of choice. Statistically, only around 60% of cats respond to the intoxicating effects of catnip, and that figure is reflected in my household, with Alex, Cyril, and Zelda being both attracted to and affected by catnip; Clutch and Zazzles have no interest in the stuff. Zelda, in particular, will start meowing aggressively if it’s been several days since her last ‘fix’, and the sound of opening the catnip tub is met with equal, if not greater, enthusiasm than the sound of the food container. Recently, I was tasked with making some homemade cat toys, and the catnip crew were only too happy to help test them out. But as I watch the wide-eyed antics of my intoxicated felines, I can’t help wondering – am I enabling an addiction? Nothing to see here… The Ins and Outs of Catnip Catnip, also known by its scientific name, Nepeta cataria, is a member of the mint family. These plants produce the chemical nepetalactone which repels insects, but appeals to many of the feline persuasion. This chemical works its way into your cat’s pleasure center by way of a particularly sensitive olfactory organ located in the roof of their mouth, called the vomeronasal organ (VMO for short). If you’ve ever noticed your cat pulling a comical grimace when they are sniffing something, this is called the Flehmen response – or as we used to call it in my house, “stinky face” – whereby they draw scents and pheromones into the VMO. From here, your cat can glean an absolute mass of information about the world around them. One of the more important pieces of information processed by the VMO is to do with sex, like the presence of competition or the receptiveness of females. So the messages reaching your cat’s brain appear to be similar to arousal, which certainly explains the blissful response! It’s just a shame that only 60% of the cat population gets to enjoy it. Cyril is really feeling those catnip vibes. Can Cats OD on Catnip? The catnip plant is not toxic to cats, but if they ingest a huge amount they may develop some unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects. I’ve never seen this in my cats. I usually bulk buy my catnip in a 1-ounce tub, which might not sound like much, but is the equivalent of 3-4 herb jars, and it usually lasts for several months…unless the cats manage to break into the container. Thus far, the only downside my cats have experienced to this treat is some occasional eye irritation, a consequence of rubbing their face too aggressively against the carpet! No more catnip? Am I Enabling Addicts? I don’t think so. Although their ears prick up when I open the drawer containing this intoxicating treat, and the opening of the tub brings 60% of my cats to swarm excitedly around my feet, they do not spend the rest of their time looking for more, in a desperate search for their next ‘fix’. Although Zelda does get a tad demanding if she feels it’s been too long since her last dose, she is not completely consumed by her need for the ‘nip. And if I can provide some extra amusement and enrichment in their lives, I’m absolutely going to do it. I just wish there was a way for Clutch and Zazzles to experience the same bliss I see in Zelda, Alex, and Cyril’s glassy, dilated pupils! The post My Cats Are Addicts…And I Am Their Dealer by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

As the Democrats struggle among themselves over President Joe Biden’s declining mental state and his declining poll numbers, it did not have to end up at this impasse. The Democrats and all their “mainstream” media enablers who claim they love democracy didn’t want any serious or rigorous primary challenge for Biden. Is it possible that Democrats are still haunted by Ted Kennedy challenging President Jimmy Carter in 1980? The parallels between Carter and Biden on foreign fecklessness and domestic inflation are obvious. After the disastrous debate, British journalist Katty Kay — a regular on Biden’s favorite “news” show, “Morning Joe” — tweeted something eye-opening. “Wondering what Dean Philips (sic) is thinking today. He complained that he couldn’t get traction in the press or in the primaries because the race wasn’t truly open. The incumbent had a lock on the system.” Yes, Rep. Phillips, D-Minn., whose entire rationale for his campaign was challenging Biden’s mental decline, was blocked by the incumbent and his press partners. The Republicans held five (Trump-less) debates, and the Democrats held zero. “Democratic” parties in the states obnoxiously refused to put Phillips on the ballot. As Phillips complained, “How can Democrats say we’re fighting for democracy … yet removing me from the ballot in Florida and North Carolina? How can you say you are for free speech and protecting freedom and democracy and not even consent to doing one debate?” Even then, Bidenites were scared of debates. So were the “news” networks. In February, former GOP chair Michael Steele interviewed Phillips on his show “The Weekend.” Steele was blunt: “The chairman in me says, ‘What the hell [are] you doing? And why are you doing it?'” Steele said the party chose Biden in 2020, and not Kamala Harris or Bernie Sanders. “So what makes you think after that — an incumbent president, Joe Biden’s not going anywhere. He’s not stepping down!” Phillips piped up: “Big mistake. Big, big mistake!” He was discouraged and ignored. ABC totally ignored Phillips the day he announced his campaign, like he was a tree falling silently in the Minnesota woods. On ABC’s “The View,” Ana Navarro was rude. Phillips was just a “wealthy guy in his 50s having a midlife crisis and I guess instead of buying a convertible Corvette or building a yacht, he decided to run for president.” Phillips made the ballot in New Hampshire, and because Biden’s Democrat apparatus refused to let New Hampshire hold the first primary in 2024 — “too white” — Biden had to win the race with write-in votes. Phillips pulled 20% of the vote, a protest of either Biden’s failings or the party’s diss of New Hampshire. The day after the vote, the morning shows on ABC, CBS and NBC all refused to speak of Phillips. CBS put his last name on screen with his 20%, but reporter Nancy Cordes boasted of Team Biden “looking past the primaries” to increase “their attacks on Trump.” Meanwhile on ABC, George Stephanopoulos noted to colleague Jonathan Karl that “Joe Biden did better with Democrats than Donald Trump did with the Republicans.” Karl concurred that Biden did “a lot better … without really campaigning, without having his name on the ballot.” Neither mentioned Phillips at all. It would be fascinating for reporters who ignored Phillips for months to interview him now and ask how he feels about his campaign based on Biden’s cognitive decline, and how he was dismissed as a “wasted vote,” and a waste of the media’s time. It’s another reason to point and laugh when the media boast they are the lifeblood of democracy. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post The Media Skipped the Democrat Warning of Biden’s Mental Decline appeared first on The Daily Signal.

There is a page on Reddit called "today I learned," or "TIL" for short. On this page, people post interesting little-known facts that they just found out about. We've compiled some of the most interesting tidbits posted there so that we can all expand our minds. How many of these facts do you know already, and how many are totally new to you? Keep reading to learn so much more about the world... Source

Has anyone ever told you something that sounded too crazy to be true, but it was? That probably happens a lot since there are so many things people don't know about. They weren't kidding when they said you learn something new every day. The WTF Facts Twitter account tweets outlandish facts that you have got to check out. You just might learn something. https://twitter.com/mrwtffacts/status/ Source

Do you have that one friend that knows a bunch of random facts? Maybe you're that friend, or secretly want to be. Well, you'll be one step closer to that goal after reading this article filled with random facts from people who don't know why they know these things. Next time you're trying to strike up a conversation, you'll have something to talk about now. It sounds like this physical therapist... Source

About That Latest Mass Amnesty Plan