Le Show; March 19, 2023

From deep inside your audio device of choice, ladies and gentlemen, I'm apologizing in advance. If you hear any strange noises in the background on today's broadcast, it's just a marked twain turning over in his grave. The world seems driven by so many divisions, not just in the United States politically, but in the world internationally. And so it's refreshing on this day, this week, to recognize something that the United States and Russia agree on. And that is that neither we nor they recognize the International Criminal Court. So when that court accused Russia of war crimes this week for its abduction of about 16,000 Ukrainian children taking them across the border to Russia to raise them as good

little Russians, the United States was in a position of saying, well, we don't recognize that court either. But still those event thing they did still. And this week, the Russian president, I know American politicians are always trying to prove that, you know, they're just like the regular people and they have a sense of humor and they think, I think Russian president Putin this week was trying to show that he too is just a regular guy with a great sense of humor. Because as the International Criminal Court is accusing him of war crimes for, as I say, bringing about 16,000 Ukrainian children to Russia to be raised as Russians. He made a surprise trip to Crimea to visit a children's center. Mark Twain, as I say, is rolling over in his grave, hello, welcome to this show.

It takes men's taken on my dough and left me in my state living home, blazing on the sunny afternoon. And I can't sail my yacht, he's taken everything I got, all I've got is sunny afternoon. Save me, save me, save me from this queen, I got a big fat mama trying to break me. And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon.

And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon. And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon. And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon. And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon.

And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon. And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury, blazing on the sunny afternoon. And I love to live so pleasantly, live this life of luxury. From Santa Monica, California home of the homeless, where we're celebrating the return of a stranger, or these last few months, the thing called the sun, I'm Harry Scherer welcoming you to this edition of the show.

Oh, it's not that warm. It's a matter of fact. It's a crypto winter. Another crypto company. You've never heard of it. I've never heard of it, but it's in Great Britain. It went belly up this week and makes who's counting. But in new filings in the FTX bankruptcy case, the funds liquidators say they've uncovered $3.2 billion in payments. And loans made to FTX founder, Sam Baxter, Sam Bachman Fried, Fried, and his inner circle. Well, if you can't loot your own crypto thing, what can you loot?

Well, if you can't loot your own crypto thing, what can you loot your own crypto thing? It's been under the control of liquidators since November, and plenty of liquid is coming out. It summarized its findings and a press release did FTX adding that the $3.2 billion figure doesn't include more than $240 million, spent on luxury properties in the Bahamas. Any unlawful political or charitable donations, nor any, quote, substantial transfers to non-debt or subsidiaries in the Bahamas and other jurisdictions. I should cover it. All sounds kosher to me. Some of the properties purchased have been seized by FTX debtors or governments. Of the now imploded crypto exchange set, it added it can't predict the timing, nor total amount of eventual recoveries at this point.

There's still a lot of FTX linked assets out there that have yet to be discovered, quote, ongoing efforts by the FTX debtors are expected to result in the further identification of assets, liabilities, and transfers. Including intercompany claims among the FTX debtors and their subsidiaries of that $3.2 billion that was said to be distributed to Mr. Bankman Freed's inner circle, $2.2 billion went directly to Sam himself, said FTX's latest management. Nishad Singh, former co-lead engineer at FTX, made off with $587 million, his next company, and former LMETA Research Chief Executive Officer Carolyn, Ellison, and FTX Chief Technology Officer Zayn Zichao Wang got $6 million and $246 million respectively. LMETA Research in case you haven't been paying too much attention to this whole scam was co-funded by Bankman Freed, operated as a cryptocurrency trading hedge fund that siphoned billions from FTX and its customers deposits, who thought they were buying crypto instead of trouble.

That's according to the SEC, LMETA plowed that cash into startups and other ventures, other ventures. Singh, Ellison, a Wang, have admitted criminal charges of fraud brought by the Feds. Sam Trabuuko, former CEO of LMETA who left the company August last year, hasn't been charged as part of the bailout, is said by the liquidators to have exited with $25 million, Trump changed, Ryan Salame, former co-CEO of FTX, to many initials was enriched by $87 million, Salame has also not been charged, reportedly he was a whistleblower who tipped off Bohemian officials to financial malfeasance at FTX, I guess, under the misapprehensions that Bohemian officials cared,

and the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange has gotten smaller, this also according to the register, Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals, no you can't take it out, no we won't take it, in pounds for customers in the UK. That's a response to a decision by the payment processor working for Binance, pay safe, which says it is terminating its embedded wallet solution for customers, nice use of the English language there, and working with Binance to terminate the pair's UK agreement in an orderly and fair process, now they start with the orderly and fair.

Quote, we've concluded that the UK regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time, and so this is a prudent decision on our part taken in an abundance of caution, unquote, pay safe. Binance halted deposits and withdrawals for new customers in the UK this past Monday, all customers will be unable to deposit or withdraw their crypto, in pounds starting in May, both pay safe and Binance said the portion of customers using pay safe to perform fiat deposits and withdrawals in the UK, that is to say depositing or withdrawing real money like pounds, the proportion of customers using pay safe to do then in the UK is small, it says Binance is less than 1% of users, they don't want to dirty their hands with real currency, do they?

Quote, we know that these services are valued by our users and our team is working hard to find an alternative solution for them, we will share updates on this as and when we are able, unquote, a Binance spokesperson, they both noted other forms of deposits for UK customers are and will remain available, this isn't the first time Binance has been in trouble with governments, nor the first time it's been banned from taking deposits in local currencies, in February this year Binance suspended bank transfers in US dollars, they don't need our stinking dollars, it didn't provide a reason for the move but it could be due to US regulators long running investigation of the enterprise, Department of Justice has been investigating Binance since 2021 on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations, Binance has continued to offer US dollar transfers and legally able to do so because the pair are separate companies,

Binance.us was founded in 2019 when regulators kicked Binance.com out of the US and it gets even weirder, the Binance subsidiary in the UK never even got off the ground, the UK's financial conduct authority banned Binance markets limited from doing any regulated activity in the UK, without prior consent, Binance.com which is unavailable in the US is the entity through which Binance has been doing business in the UK since its local arm was shut, it's really painful when you shut your local arm, governments in Japan, Germany, Thailand, Canada and elsewhere have also investigated and or cracked down on Binance's operations within their borders. As of December, Justice Department prosecutors here in the US were reportedly split on whether to prosecute Binance.

Last month Binance's chief strategy officer told the Wall Street Journal Binance was expecting penalties and fines to come out of the investigation, that DOJ's digging will likely end in a fine could be more we just don't know that's for regulators to decide he told the Wall Street Journal. You want to get out on the ground floor before that collapses during a crypto winter? And now! News of the godly, a lot of this week, a lot of godliness going around, the diocese of Santa Rosa in California has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy after being delused in hundreds of lawsuits over child sexual abuse. This is from the Bay Area branch of CBS. Quote, this decision was made necessary due to the number of child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the diocese.

Over the course of the past three years, a bishop Robert Vassa, in a press release. According to the report, the diocese faces more than 200 suites as a result of a law passed by California legislators. Four years ago, it established a three-year period in which the statute of limitation on childhood sexual abuse cases was suspended, and people whose abuse would otherwise have been too long ago to sue could now file claims. These cases are too numerous to settle individually, and so they have accumulated until the closing of the three-year window said Vassa, who noted the diocese has already paid out $35 million in settlements for sexual abuse cases that were within the statute of limitations. A bankruptcy allows the diocese to deal with all these issues collectively rather than one of the time. Move was met with outrage from attorneys representing the victims who accused the diocese of abusing bankruptcy law to avoid paying the full damages for which they're liable.

Quote, this is a pattern already revealed in San Diego in other states where the statute of limitations was previously opened, said lawyer Jeff Anderson, who represents 78 of the victims. He says the dioceses also facing a lawsuit alleging it improperly transferred its assets to shield them from legal proceedings. So it's a smart little diocese. Also in Northern California, the diocese of Oakland, it's considering doing the same thing, filing for bankruptcy due to claims of child sexual abuse by priests. The church announced that in a letter this week, and it was reported by ABC TV in Northern California. According to the letter addressed to parishioners and friends, the diocese in Oakland is facing approximately 330 lawsuits. Quote, as the court continues to process the suits, the total magnitude will become clearer, said the bishop of Oakland, Michael Barber.

However, it's increasingly evident we face a monumental challenge. Now he realizes that quote, I therefore been working with our college of counselors are diocesan finance counsel and our staff and advisors to discern the best way to support compassionate and equitable compensation for survivors and ensure the continuation of vibrant Christ centered parishes to serve our faithful and it's doing with the doing over in Santa Rosa. He says it will provide a way to support all survivors in their journey toward healing in an equitable and comprehensive way. Yes, bankruptcy is a journey when you're running a diocese. He says it will also allow the diocese to reorganize our financial affairs so we may continue to fulfill the sacred mission entrusted us by Christ and the church. He says Mike wreck with the same law firm quoted in the story about Santa Rosa. Quote, it's not shocking to see a diocese want to avoid those trials that like to avoid the bishops and the vickers having a testifying having to disclose to the public the details of what they knew and when they knew it.

Unquote wreck the Oakland diocese didn't return requests for comment on its website. It claims it has limited cash and financial resources to deal with all the complaints even if they sell off assets. You don't want the church to be selling off assets. Meanwhile in Canada and apology from the University of Kings College for the abuse endured by its students at the hands. Oh yeah, I have to preface this with a warning. The name of the accused in this story. May generate fits of laughter so be prepared apology from the University of Kings College and Halifax for the abuse endured by its students at the hands of the former professor there is a watershed moment for other survivors. The former professor is Wayne Hanky.

I said Hanky. Liam O'Reilly filed a civil suit last March on behalf of a man who says Hanky sexually assaulted him in the late 1970s. That's the most painful place to be assaulted when he was 14. The apology from Kings College President William Leahy shows others who may have been abused by Hanky that they're not alone. You have a platform for all the survivors to now come forward and not be concerned that people are going to say well that's not sure that didn't happen. Liam O'Reilly said he's only filed the lawsuit. Our expectation is you're going to see even more come forward now Leahy head of the college made his apology following the release of a Toronto based law firm that said the school failed to address allegations of Hanky's abuse. And instead Hanky protected him. The report commissioned by the University compiled stories from interviews with more than 80 people who interacted with Hanky.

He taught at the school between 74 and 2015 and was charged with sexual assault in 2021. He died a little more than a year ago at the age of 77 before his case came to trial. O'Reilly said the apology expressed the sentiments that those abused by Hanky wanted to hear. The man O'Reilly represents as Hanky fed the man alcohol and sexually assaulted him over the course of three days in the late 70s at the president's lodge on the campus of Dalhousie University. The man was 14 at the time and he was there because he'd been introduced to Hanky as a devout Anglican with a keen interest in becoming a minister. Hanky was an Anglican priest until he was removed from the priesthood in 1991. The lawsuit says the boy was led to believe that Hanky's assaults were part of his admission to the school and a prerequisite to becoming a minister.

Imagine believing that. And the Jesuits of Canada has released a list of 27 priests and brothers. It says we're credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over the past six decades, according to the CBC. Over the past three or four more decades, revelations of grievous abuse by clergy dating back many generations have come to light. The church has been slow to respond, says father Eric Oland, leader of the Jesus Jesuits of Canada. He says that in a letter to the public posted on the Jesuits website. We've met with survivors, listened to their stories and read the reports of their experiences. We have felt shame and become convinced that the only path forward is one of truth-telling, healing and reconciliation. Oh, and here's another journey.

In an emailed response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Jesuits of Canada said, quote, we do not regard the release of this list as an end, but a beginning of our journey with survivors. And, in court, news of the journeying godly. Copyright a feature of this broadcast and now. Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present Let Us Try, a bellad of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Let us try to stem the tide to beautify our countryside. We offer you our hand. Let us try. We can help to make things grow. Help to make the waters flow.

To save our precious land. Let us try. Help you clean up all the waters. To try is to succeed. Yes, that's real. That's not me. That's them. Here's some news of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated the Columbia River's brand for violin a superfund site. One of the nation's top priorities for cleanup. It marched just about a year ago. A year later, environmental agencies advocates and indigenous tribes say they are frustrated with lack of urgency from the Army Corps to begin that process of cleanup. They're calling on the EPA to step in.

In the 1930s, the Army Corps began dumping waste on Bradford Island as the agency built the Bonneville Dam. When you got a bill, you got a dump. For four decades, the Corps continued to dump debris and electrical equipment that contained highly toxic chemicals like polychlorinated bifinals directly into the river, contaminating the island and surrounding waters. Those chemicals, PCBs, do not break down easily, can build up on the tissues of fish. But they're no fish in river. They have been known to have harmful effects on human health, both Oregon and Washington have issued health advisories, warning people to not eat local fish near the island due to high levels of PCBs. According to the EPA concentration levels of PCBs and mercury and resident fish, within one mile of Bradford Island have been among the highest reported in the entire United States. During the 2000s, the Corps removed 32 tons of solid waste, including electrical equipment from the island and 2007, the agency dredged up water and sediment and filtered it to remove contamination.

That was the last time the Corps performed any cleanup at the site. That led environmental and health groups along with tribes, lawmakers and state agencies to work together for more than three years toward getting the place declared a superfund site. That requires the EPA to overseen ensure the highest levels of cleanup standards are applied. It also creates a timeline for when the Corps needs to get various parts of the cleanup finished, you know, like a schedule. That is still under negotiation, but many who want to see Bradford Island restored are frustrated with the drawn out process. Some are calling in the EPA to hold the Corps accountable now and take over cleanup responsibilities. Well, I'd suggest the latter because the former is going to get you in just more stuff.

The area is important to many tribes in the region, including the Accommodation, the Accommod people inhabited the area and harvested salmon and other fish there since, according to this story, from Oregon Public Broadcasting, time immemorial. The tribe has several fishing platforms on the river, which it can't use because of health advisories against eating the fish. A specialist in fisheries issues for Accommodation says she's upset the Corps not involving the tribe and government decisions is only allowing them to provide input through public meetings. All the Corps is doing is protecting their ability to have ultimate control, be the sole decision maker and do the cleanup however they believe is appropriate without any input from anyone else. She says, at this point, I don't see any daylight in them changing their ways, unquote. She gets it.

She says the Accommodation has explained to the Corps on several occasions their right as a sovereign nation to oversee the area and how it should be cleaned. I'm extraordinarily frustrated. A scientist who works with the Corps, lucky him, says, quote, the Corps has the willingness and is very much looking forward to the cleanup, unquote. A official spokesman for the Corps, John Morgan, said the agency understands the frustration. We all want the same thing. He said it's not the lack of urgency. It's still it's diligence and making sure that we're doing what's right, unquote, the spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers. The EPA didn't answer questions on whether it would intervene in the process in a written statement. The agency says it will continue to work with the Army Corps on an agreement. Noting its critical, the agreement honors federal treaty responsibilities.

That means get the Indians to have a seat at the table. Native Americans, excuse me. And yes, I'm bearing the lead because this next story is, well, I'll let it speak for itself. Dateline New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers has discovered severe corrosion to a pump at the end of one of the three outfault, so-called outfault canals in New Orleans and less corrosion to another and another canal. There are three, as I say, their purpose is to take rainwater that has fallen on New Orleans and has been gathered by still an exemplary pumping system and let that water go into lake Pontgetrain having been gathered off the streets of New Orleans. The most recent redo of the national system to protect New Orleans built by the Army Corps over, well, since Katrina, cost $14 billion, supposed to last 50 years.

The pumps in question have a supposed lifetime of 35 years. They're corroded already. Corps officials acknowledged that corrosion this week saying they're going to repair the corrosion by June 1st, which is the beginning of hurricane season. The Corps says New Orleans, New Orleans advocate, is also planning a deeper look at the city's combined permanent canal closure and pump stations to determine whether there are design flaws only five years after completion. You may recall on this program and in a feature length documentary made by your host that a whistleblower inside the Corps told us that as early as 2010.

The corrosion of the London Avenue pump was discovered last month after water was removed from the bay in which it was built and its outer covering was removed exposing the water. It overheated last man was taken out of service after being detected during regular maintenance by staff of the Southeast Louisiana Fraud Protection Authority East, which has been given the job of operating the pumps that the Corps built. Corps spokesperson said more than enough pumping capacity remained to move water into late puncture training in the event of a hurricane last year. But at the time officials thought there might be other reasons for the pump overheating, including the possibility that its equipment became misaligned because they heavy pump station structure was sinking.

When the pumps covering was removed in mid February, inspectors found that the severity of corrosion only five years after going into service was complete well beyond what was expected during its entire 35 year service life. Said the senior project manager for the three lakefront pump stations. It will cost several hundred thousand dollars to repair the pump, most severely corroded pump. It will be paid for by the feds using money remaining from funds set aside for construction of the three pump stations. Oh, they didn't use all the money to build the pump stations. Maybe they should have.

The damage was also enough to trigger an inspection of all 16 pumps at the three stations designed to move water from the city side of their respective canals into the lake in a joining lake. When the gates are closed in advance of a hurricane to protect the canals from getting storm surge. The core has also begun with terms a long term repairs strategy. It's aimed at a more comprehensive review of whether the design of the pumps was deficient, including a review of the ability of the metals used in their construction to withstand corrosion throughout their 35 year design life. Maybe they should have done that before installing them. It's the core of engineers, isn't it? The contract for that review has not been finalized. It's expected to take at least two years.

The core is also evaluating alternatives for removing water from the canals. These again are canals into which rainwater is dumped when the city is dewatered to use a core of engineers term. In the event that the pump capacity drops below it is needed during hurricanes. You can't have more than eight feet above sea level of water level in the canals because there are walls, the canals, flood walls, which did not function properly during Katrina because of design flaws. They've never been fixed. So more than eight feet in the canals would topple the canals, walls, and re-flood New Orleans. In the long term says a core spokesperson, Ricky Boyette. We're leveraging the entire core to ensure we can bring these pumps to their specified design life.

Well, we're five years in and failure is starting and their life is 35 years. You better hurry. Well, we'll let them try because apparently we can't do anything else. Let's start. I went to walk into the world of Spartan leak in my shoe I went to walk into the world of Spartan leak in my shoe

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