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2021-01-07 14:44:44 UTC: UPDATE (See below the fold).
Pro-Trump rioters breach the US Capitol on historic day in Congress:
Supporters of President Donald Trump breached the US Capitol on Wednesday while Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College's votes for president and vice president.
The Capitol has been put on lockdown and the certification vote has been paused. Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated from the building. House and Senate leadership is safe and in undisclosed locations, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Congress' counting of electoral votes is typically little more than an afterthought. But this joint session was expected to be a contentious affair that would last late into the evening and possibly on Thursday. Some Republicans are objecting to the count and delaying the inevitable certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win.
Also at AlJazeera (In Pictures: Pro-trump mob storms US Capitol building) and c|net (Mob storms Capitol forcing halt of election vote count).
[2021-01-06 22:33:53 UTC; UPDATE] NOTE: This is a chaotic time.
The Electoral College votes are currently being confirmed and tallied. Runoff votes in Georgia are being tallied and the results may swing the balance of power in the US Senate. The Georgia secretary of state [has been] relocated from [State] Capitol for security reasons. Mitch McConnell goes off on Trump. Pro-Trump reporter gloats over access to fleeing Hill staffer's computer. And Trump hand-picks replacement for Atlanta's US attorney after surprise resignation.
Let's please try and keep the discussion civil.
Also, please be polite and share your popcorn!
[Updates Begin]:
(1) Fox News reports Biden's Electoral College victory certified -- hours after Capitol chaos:
The U.S. Congress early Thursday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Democrat Joe Biden his presidential victory -- after a day in Washington that was marred by pro-Trump protesters storming the U.S. Capitol.
Vice President Mike Pence, who had announced he would not overturn the will of voters, confirmed the Biden victory at 3:41 a.m. ET.
Lawmakers had returned to the chamber in an act of defiance, with some Republicans who initially vowed to challenge states' results due to voter fraud concerns announcing they'd instead vote to certify.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the breach of the Capitol a "failed insurrection," adding that those who "tried to disrupt our democracy" had not succeeded.
(2) President Trump "Responds" via Staffer's Twitter Account after His Account was Suspended:
Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our...
...fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"
(3) Facebook, Twitter lock Trump's account following video addressing Washington rioters:
- Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday said they would lock the account of President Donald Trump after he continued to make false claims about the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
- Facebook, YouTube and Twitter on Wednesday removed a video by President Donald Trump addressing Washington rioters.
- Meanwhile, calls are mounting for Twitter and Facebook to suspend Trump's accounts.
(4) The Associated Press has called the results for the Georgia Senate elections: both Democratic candidates defeated their GOP opponents:
With projected victories in the twin races of Warnock and Ossoff, President-elect Joe Biden will have the narrowest majority in the Senate, with both parties holding 50-50 seats apiece, allowing the tie-breaking vote to be cast by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Also at The New York Times.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Wednesday January 06 2021, @10:36PM (7 children)
This literally make no sense whatsoever. What do they even hope to accomplish?
It's completely absurd, watching these idiots holding their smart phones high in the air, taking commands via Twitter(R)(TM), just marching around smashing stuff for no reason. A bit ago some were trying to set fire to a pile of equipment. Why? There is no reason.
These people are mentally ill, disconnected from reality, following what ever their glorious tweeter-in-chief tweets.
At least one network aired Trump's brief recorded statement supposedly asking this mob to "go home". Don't know if other networks aired it, but I could understand if they didn't. About half of the "statement" was just Trump rambling nonsense about the election, and even the WAY he told them to go home sounded so half assed I can't even describe it.
It is like the world of "Idiocracy" has come to life. Except, crazier. What a way to start this year.
So... how is land in Canada looking right now?
(Score: 3, Informative) by barbara hudson on Wednesday January 06 2021, @10:59PM
Well, we've had a couple of crazy lone wolf individuals who have pulled stunts like this in Quebec and on Parliament Hill, and a few incels who have gone on to commit mass murder, but never the leader of the country promoting a coup in my lifetime.
You can thank Twitter for this shit. They had adequate grounds to ban him , but Yrump made them too much money.
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(Score: 2) by slinches on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:21PM
The most rational thing I can come up with is that they wanted to stop the certification of the electors? Although, I would have thought they'd wait until the objectors had a chance to speak first. I was watching on C-SPAN when it all started. Paul Gosar was laying out his objection to the Arizona electors when people started to scramble in and out of the chamber along with several calls to order by someone other than Pelosi, who had abruptly left. Then the acting speaker called a recess and a confused looking C-SPAN talking head broke in saying that there were protesters in the capitol. Very surreal.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:02AM (1 child)
They studied Portland all summer long. Don't carry bombs and molotov cocktails - carry a phone and document everything.
Today, every representative in America was put on notice. Sit back and watch . . .
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:12AM
I remember seeing a public service announcement about young people and smoking. It started off with a father and a son in a room and the father is disciplining his son for smoking a cigarette. The father is explaining how bad smoking is for you, what a bad idea it is, how no one should do it. Finally the father yells out "WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO DO THIS???????????". The kid replies with
then he runs off and cries.
(Score: 1) by toph on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:49AM (1 child)
Expensive! Up 13% in 2020 and maybe another 9% in 2021. Canadian Real Estate Industry Forecasts Prices Rising Over 9% Next Year [betterdwelling.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:08PM
Canada's mythical status as a refuge from politics in America is a mirage. It works if you're one of a hundred people, and America is politically stable. It works rather less well if America dissolves into a hot civil war on every front and in every region. Remember, nearly all Canadians live within 150 miles of the border with America.
In the prelude to WWII many Jews thought they would escape Nazi oppression in Germany by emigrating to Poland or France. They were tragically wrong.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday January 07 2021, @07:53PM
Some of the likely goals:
- Destruction of the electoral ballots (which one of the clerks smartly grabbed before evacuating), forcing Congress to either get them again from the state or certify the results without the physical pieces of paper, thus allowing Trump to dispute what those pieces of paper said.
- The kidnapping of some members of Congress. As in, some of the people who attacked the Capitol brought along zip-tie handcuffs similar to what cops use when they need to arrest large numbers of people. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if some had planned on putting on what amounted a show trial and then executing them.
- The intimidation of whoever was left of Congress to vote to keep Trump in power or risk being attacked again.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.