Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

20 - 26 Nov 2017

by Bjinse Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:00:28 PM EST

Your take on this week's news

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Display:
20 - 26 Nov 2017 | 62 comments (62 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Europe (none / 0)
EUROPE
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:00:57 PM EST
Missed a perfectly good chance (none / 0)
by generic on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 04:24:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (4.00 / 3)
Yea, his wife saved him from being a total national embarrassment on live TV. Fortunately, his ego had enabled a whole documentary team to follow him for the entire election campaign so that his and the other 3 participants vacuous careerism was revealed at leisure.

But especially his complete lack of awareness of his own privilege and sense of entitlement. He was shown to be a complete arse, in detail.

An even funnier moment was later in the show, at party conference where another of the quisling Blairites lamented how their own membership were beginning to organise without her and, probably, against her. She felt it was sinister.

Of course, nothing was sinister about Blair sidelining entire constituency parties, parachuting in his own millionaire mates to be an MP in a constituency they'd not visited before polling day for a party where the ink had brely dried on their newly printed membership card. Special selection panels for candidates before they're allowed to be viewed by an prospective committee, just to ensure anyone with a left wing idea is weeded out. An entire parliamentary labour party full of Blairite Stepford candidates, who hadn't got a thought or a principles in their head between the lot of them. No, nothing sinister about that, said a Stepford Blairite, nothing sinister at all.

that programme was comedy gold. Yes, I was swearng at the telly a lot too, but their downfall at the end was a true pleasure as they realised the bus they'd been chasing was disappearing along with their relevance.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 03:54:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (none / 0)
Do you remember the name of the program?

Would be fun to watch if it is accessible somewhere.

by fjallstrom on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 02:26:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (4.00 / 2)
`Labour - The Summer That Changed Everything' on BBC

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 05:31:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (none / 0)
"Oh, Jeremy Corbyn" was sung as a lament. That seems like turning a complaint w/ ridicule into a badge of honor. That this turned into something iconic must indeed be chilling to the Blairites and Kinnocks.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 07:34:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (none / 1)
I found it on YouTube, thanks.

Interesting, but disjointed documentary. First 40 minutes about Blairite MPs and their worries, complete with Corbyn et al living in a "left-wing love bubble".

Then ten minutes finding out about what really happened outside the MP/media bubble, with Momentum activists getting out the vote in areas were people weren't voting. Which highlights that the voters we had seen so far who declared Corbyn as rubbish, might not have been representative of the electorate.

And finally ten minutes where the poor Blairite MPs had been re-elected, but were farther from power in the party. A party that had gone so far left that it was no longer acceptable to try to get support from Sun readers by claiming that Pakistani men rape white women. And where new members turn up to vote in local party elections, for some reason angry with a local leadership that tried multiple times to unseat the party leader the members elected twice. Pity the poor Blairite MPs, what ever are they going to do now?

Kinnock appears to have figured out that if you can't beat them, join them. Or maybe his wife figured it out.

by fjallstrom on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 07:40:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (none / 0)
Me too, and, obviously, is wife is the brighter of the two. But what was she thinking? I am very glad the program was made. It clearly illustrates what has been the problem and what remains to be done. The biggest problem seems to be getting another early election. Another is grooming successors to Corbyn. There are only so many shadow offices and they require more experience than most of the new members possess.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Nov 25th, 2017 at 04:04:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Missed a perfectly good chance (none / 0)
the front runner to replace Corbyn as and when is Emily Thornberry.

There are a couple of other up and coming but their mettle has yet to be really tested. But ET is a rock star

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 05:23:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 1)
The Irish Times | Brexit: Barnier says EU at one with Varadkar on Border demand

Michel Barnier has made clear in no uncertain terms that Ireland's demand for UK assurances on the Border are completely at one with the EU Brexit negotiating task force position.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator told a thinktank meeting in Brussels that it is up the UK government to provide a way to avoid imposing a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland when Britain leaves the European Union in 2019.

The onus was on the UK "to come forward with proposals" to avoid imposing a physical border in Ireland. "Those who want Brexit must offer solutions", said Mr Barnier.



luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social
by Luis de Sousa (luis[dot]de[dot]sousa[at]protonmail[dot]ch) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 01:36:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Gibraltar heading for abrupt exit from single market, says Spain

In guidelines outlining their approach to the Brexit negotiations, the 27 member states insisted Gibraltar would be outside any future trade deal with the UK unless an agreement was reached in advance with Madrid over its future status.
[...]
There had been no proposals from either the British government or the government of Gibraltar on the future of the territory, over which Spain has a longstanding territorial claim, the source added.
[...]
"I think the situation with Gibraltar is crystal clear," the source said. "Gibraltar became associated with the EU project because of their dependence in the UK. This is going to stay until March 2019. In 2019 when the UK leaves the EU, Gibraltar will leave with the UK."

archived:
hostages
wikipedia on "UK's little islands"
Expect UK to pull this trick 3x more.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 03:00:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
The DUP aren't as sensible as that. They want an open border between the north and south of Ireland, but they also want no border whatsoever between the north of Ireland and Britain, and no special status or exceptions for Northern Ireland of any kind.

It's like having an attitude to waste management of being opposed to incineration, recycling, landfills, long-term packaging reduction initiatives, and of course a hard line stance against exporting waste. They're against every conceivable solution.

archived:
what protocol guides hostage negotiations

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 03:10:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
They're against every conceivable solution.

But remain open-minded about it. Perfectly happy to discuss it so long as up is down, black is white and we can be both inside the Customs union and resolutely outside it.

There is a maddening circularity to any discussion on the subject when Leavers are involved. They keep coming back to the same point that has been disproved time and again. And also seem affronted that politicians from the Republic has the effontery to think their opinion matters; it is apparently the UK's brexit and it is entirely a matter for the UK. foreigners can just butt out.

And, of course, with the DUP holding the blanace of power in the Commons, it's not as if the Tory party can accede to the majority wish of the Ulster electorate to remain in the EU while the DUP want out.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 05:29:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
The Independent | Leaked diplomatic dossier says Tory party 'chaos' is undermining UK in Brexit talks

Internal chaos in Theresa May's Government is seriously undermining the Brexit negotiations, according to a leaked internal report drawn up by the Irish government.

The dossier, based on meetings between Irish diplomats and senior government officials in capital cities around the European Union, shows the low esteem Britain is being held in across the continent while talks sit in the grip of deadlock.

Leaked to Irish public broadcaster RTÉ, the document, which is based on diplomatic intelligence from the start of November, says that "chaos in the Conservative Government" has alarmed a number of European countries.



luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social
by Luis de Sousa (luis[dot]de[dot]sousa[at]protonmail[dot]ch) on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 08:49:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
[No Shit, Sherlock!]

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 05:30:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
The Guardian | How Brexit looms over the Irish border: 'It's the Berlin Wall approaching us'

Peace has been welcome, and now neither Parkes nor the rest of those living by the border know what is around the corner. "Border people, we are in a minority," he says. "Someone is going to decide our lives at a stroke of a pen. We don't have a voice in this."


luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social
by Luis de Sousa (luis[dot]de[dot]sousa[at]protonmail[dot]ch) on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 02:18:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Which side corresponds to East  Berlin?
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 03:00:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
There's an old punk song by Magazine that applies;-



keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 05:33:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
The New York Times | Where Brexit Hurts: The Nurses and Doctors Leaving London

"Brexit was a trigger," said Ms. Pardela. "It makes you reassess your life. You find yourself thinking: `I'm working really hard. I haven't had a pay raise in four years. Now they're telling me they don't want immigrants? Why am I still doing this here?' "


luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social
by Luis de Sousa (luis[dot]de[dot]sousa[at]protonmail[dot]ch) on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 02:20:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
All part of Jeremy Hunt's plan to provatise the NHS

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 05:34:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Judges of NY's Top Court Dock Their Own Benefits
"We conclude the state's contribution is not judicial compensation protected from direct diminution by the compensation clause, and the reductions in contributions do not have the effect of singling out the judiciary for disadvantageous treatment," the panel wrote in a per curiam opinion on Tuesday.

archived:
Appointing Judges in Ireland

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 08:27:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Economy & Finance (none / 0)
 ECONOMY & FINANCE 
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:01:07 PM EST
Re: Economy & Finance (none / 0)
Annals of never-waste-a-crisis
Facebook (Still) Letting Housing Advertisers Exclude Users by Race
"The only ad that took longer than three minutes to be approved by Facebook sought to exclude potential renters 'interested in Islam, Sunni Islam and Shia Islam.' It was approved after 22 minutes."
Did You 'Like' Russian Propaganda? Facebook Will Tell You
"But it won't show users if they merely saw -- or even 'liked' -- posts from those pages."

()Nomenclature: the statement "bought ads" wherever it appears is incorrect; ProPublica ("advertiser") purchases publishing services for the advertisement supplied by the advertiser in terms of time, location ("placement"), and consideration (money payment) from Facebook (title "publisher"); the advertiser, its advertising agent, or employees, creates the advertisement contents.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 03:52:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Economy & Finance (none / 0)
Autumn budget: the winners, the losers and the overlooked
The controversial help-to-buy scheme is also to be extended despite widespread concern that it contributes to ballooning house prices. The budget confirmed that an extra £10bn will go into the scheme to extend it to 2021, a measure previously announced in October.

&tc.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 07:08:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Economy & Finance (none / 0)
"despite"?
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 07:28:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Trump (none / 0)
TRUMP
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:01:52 PM EST
Trump makes Thanksgiving shorter (none / 1)
Politics Gets Personal: Effects of Political Partisanship and Advertising on Family Ties
Research on growing American political polarization and antipathy primarily studies effects on public institutions and political processes, ignoring private effects such as damaged family ties. Using smartphone-tracking data and precinct-level voting, we show that politically-divided families shortened Thanksgiving dinners by 20-30 minutes following the divisive 2016 election. This decline survives comparisons with 2015 and extensive demographic and spatial controls, and more than doubles in media markets with heavy political advertising. These effects appear asymmetric: while Democratic voters traveled less in 2016, political differences shortened Thanksgiving dinners more among Republican voters, especially where political advertising was heaviest. Partisan polarization may degrade close family ties with large aggregate implications; we estimate 27 million person-hours of cross-partisan Thanksgiving discourse were lost in 2016 to ad-fueled partisan effects.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 11:54:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump makes Thanksgiving shorter (none / 0)
My immediate response to this information is to question the unstated assumptions, or null hypotheses, of the researchers. The three most startling are:
  1. Politics is not 'personal'. Of course it is. Interpersonal psychology defines all political relations, and vice versa. Political observance are expressions of obedience or disobedience to societal sanctions, norms. Binding the terms to incorporated party affiliation is a spurious identity made all the more ridiculous by the facts of ambivalent 'self-identification' of subjects with various factions over the past two centuries and, more recently, more poignantly, substantial population growth of unaffiliated, or independent, voter registrations in the past 20 years.
  2. each smartphone owner's "home". Honestly, I can't get past the presumption that Safegraph trafficking so-called personal identifiable information on the open market is permissable at all, much less for the trivial purpose of identifying the locations of 10 million "anonymized" phone subscribers between 1PM and 5PM.
  3. "the unbiasedness of our home-to-precinct likely-vote imputation".


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 11:14:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
lets just stop writing long form profiles of nazis (none / 0)
Current Affairs

If you'd like to be the subject of a long, humanizing profile story at a major national magazine or newspaper, the quickest route to free publicity is to start espousing Nazism. In 2017, it seems as if literally every white supremacist in the country, no matter how inconsequential they are, is entitled to thousands of column inches in the periodical of their choice.

It's very easy to attract the journalists to your doorstep. You might, like Richard Spencer, proclaim yourself the head of a made-up think tank: Spencer's "National Policy Institute" is little more than a website filled with "Lorem Ipsum" text, and its blog hasn't been updated in four years. No matter: Mother Jones and Politico both followed Spencer around, copying down his musings and photographing his "dapper" tweeds. (Side note: Richard Spencer is not actually dapper. Andre 3000 is dapper. Richard Spencer looks like a shabby College Republican.) But perhaps you're not terribly bright, and don't own a jacket. If you don't make a convincing "think tank president," why not lead a nonexistent political party? It worked for Matthew Heimbach: his "Traditionalist Workers Party" is pitifully small even for a fringe political group. No matter: The Washington Post dutifully published his thoughts, though conceding that "his party is still nascent," while The New York Times published multiple photographs of Heimbach's toddler son.

(links in the original, I haven't found a good html copy plugin for new firefox yet)

by generic on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 06:32:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: lets just stop writing profiles of nazis (none / 0)
Just as with so much of the UK press, the increasingly right wing political preferences of the ownership is slowly asserting itself to the detriment of the copy.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 06:49:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Also: Socialists are winning battlle of ideas (none / 1)
Current Affairs
One of the most peculiar features of contemporary politics is how unwilling conservatives are to actually defend many of their core ideas and policies (to the extent that they actually have them). Take a look at the leading right-wing publications and you'll notice something: there's a lot of talk about Democratic hypocrisy and the Crazy Campus Left, but there isn't much talk about conservatism. From Breitbart ("NBC Runs Heartwarming NFL Thanksgiving Commercial Featuring... Registered Sex Offender") to the National Review ("Charles Manson's Radical Chic") to the Daily Wire, ("SJW Screams At Black Man Dressed As Peacock"), it's little more than a litany of cultural grievances. Hardly anyone seems to want to be associated with the GOP's policy plans, and when they do try to stick up for them publicly, the result is underwhelming. Ramesh Ponnuru notes that some conservative publications seem to be giving up on capitalism altogether.

I have no nostalgia for the conservatism of William F. Buckley, Allan Bloom, and Friedrich von Hayek. They did actually have an ideology, though, and defended it ("at least it's an ethos"). By contrast, on the rare occasions when Steve Bannon actually tries to say what he believes, it's an incoherent mess about Western Judeo-Christian-something-or-other, tied to no actual policies. Milo Yiannopoulos didn't have "dangerous" ideas. He had no ideas: every chapter of his book is a variation on "Why [Group X] Hates Me," his entire schtick was to provoke liberals rather than to clearly espouse whatever his vague Nazi-inspired beliefs actually were.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Nov 28th, 2017 at 02:35:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
World (none / 0)
 WORLD 
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:02:02 PM EST
US reporters become even more pathetic (none / 0)
Talking points memo
Sanders called on American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan first.

"I'm thankful for life. I'm thankful for my children. I'm thankful for 20 years in this job," Ryan said. "I'm thankful to be able to talk to and question you every single day."

"I feel the gratefulness there," Sanders replied.

"Now my question," Ryan pressed on. "I hope you felt the passion of my thankfulness."

Later in the briefing, another reporter offered, "I'm very thankful for you calling on me regularly."

"I am thankful for the First Amendment," ABC News' Cecilia Vega added before her question.

"Ooh, yes! We're thankful for that," a different reporter chimed in.


by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 06:16:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: US reporters become even more pathetic (none / 0)
Response rate through the innerboobs appears to "amplify" popular resentiment of this particular regime and US.gov in general.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 07:37:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: US reporters become even more pathetic (none / 0)
Resentment? Me? I was expressing my, er, thankfulness at her exposing what the White House reporters are really like.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 07:53:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: US reporters become even more pathetic (none / 0)
Resentment refers to the tweet chain appended and The Daily Caller correspondence to both it and Sanders' liturgical script, not you. The USA is a godless wasteland, yo.

Always read the footnotes.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 08:05:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Canada opposes Nazi! (none / 0)
Good news! Only the US and Ukraine are against glorifying Nazis. Last time Canada joined them.
The UNGA Third Committee overwhelmingly passed a Russian-introduced resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism. The US did not break with its annual tradition of saying `no' during the symbolic vote. Ukraine also voted against.

The Moscow-drafted resolution against whitewashing and attempting to glorify Nazi ideology was approved by a majority in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) human right committee on November 16. The resolution, introduced each year, was supported by 125 delegations, 51 states abstained, and the only countries opposed were the US and Ukraine.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 06:21:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Canada opposes Nazi! (none / 0)
This principled defense of freedom, parroted by Niki, is consistent with that toward "truth and reconciliation," championed by Samantha, is it not?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 07:59:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Russia and the UK (none / 0)
RT on Russian-UK trade after Brexit.
Today, the Russian Federation is successfully expanding its trade with many different countries. Trade relations with the countries of European Union and the Asia-Pacific region are being rebuilt and developed. But especially telling, is the growth of trade with the UK. This is due both to the specifics of Russian-British trade and economic relations, and the fact that the British market and its partners traditionally react very sensitively to external signals and context, and in a good way, as we know, operate in a balanced and conservative manner, with an accurate assessment of the situation for the economic interests of their country.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 08:37:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Russia and the UK (none / 0)
there is plenty of blood in the water and the big beasts are preparing for the feeding frenzy to come

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 03:40:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: World denouement (none / 0)
AP | Robert Mugabe Resigns as Zimbabwe's President After 37 Years
Mugabe's resignation brought an end to the impeachment proceedings brought by the ruling ZANU-PF party after its Central Committee voted to oust the president as party leader and select recently fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa as his replacement, a move that eventually could lead to Mnangagwa  becoming head of state. Currently in exile, Mnangagwa served for decades as Mugabe's enforcer, with a reputation for being astute and ruthless, more feared than popular.

Mnangagwa added to immense pressure on Mugabe to quit?
Mnangagwa, who fled the country and has not appeared in public during the past week's political turmoil, said Mugabe had invited him to return to Zimbabwe "for a discussion" on recent events. However, he said he will not return for now, alleging that there had been plans to kill him at the time of his firing.

Regional leaders continued efforts to find a solution to the political turmoil?
It was not clear how long the impeachment process could take. The ruling party has said Mugabe could be voted out as early as Wednesday but some analysts believe the impeachment process could take weeks and would, if conducted properly, allow Mugabe to make a case in his defense.

archived: 6 days ago
"'nobody wants simply to see the transition from one unelected tyrant to a next. (...) We want to see proper, free and fair elections.'"


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 05:01:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Judenzählung (none / 0)
Ha'aretz
In one short interview on the English language i24 News, Hotovely [Israel's deputy foreign minister] managed to step on each and every conceivable land mine. She slandered the American-Jewish campaign for egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, describing it as a purely political ploy. She used the recent cancellation of her appearance at Princeton University to lambast a so-called "liberal dictatorship" that stifles free speech on U.S. campuses. She undermined the legitimacy of American-Jewish criticism of Israel with the stale rationale that they don't live here. But worst of all was her assertion that American Jews not only refrain from sending their children to fight in the Israel Defense Forces; they don't send them to fight for the U.S. Army, either. They lead "convenient lives," she said.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 06:37:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Judenzählung (none / 0)
But do her remarks play well in Israel?


"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 07:44:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Judenzählung (none / 0)
the chasm between the thinking of Israeli extremist right wingers and US liberals has finally been shown to be no longer bridgable with appeals to religious kinship.

But AIPAC don't care, they're nothing to do with the diaspora anyway, and that's who she's talking with. Israel spends $1 billion courting the power in DC, which gives Israel $3 billion in aid. And again and again.

But they seem to have given up pretending it's being done with the support of American Jews

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 10:18:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: World (none / 0)
At least 235 killed in Egypt mosque attack

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 07:11:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: World (none / 0)
Haiti Police, Like the Old Army, Work for Uncle Sam

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 25th, 2017 at 05:57:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
LIVING OFF THE PLANET
Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Food
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:02:54 PM EST
Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
Fukushima Darkness
Seven years and they do not know what's going on inside.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 02:41:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 1)
well, I guess it's kinda hard to see what's going on when it's so radioactive that any machine that gets near it breaks

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 03:39:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
A mysterious radiation cloud spread over Europe in September. Russia finally acknowledged it. - Vox


But finally, in response to an information request from Greenpeace, the Russian meteorological agency Roshydromet released a report this week that acknowledged measurements of high ruthenium 106 levels.

Russian authorities said atmospheric radiation levels were higher outside of Russia, indicating that the source of the leak wasn't inside the country. However, the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kazakhstan reported no radiation leaks from any of its facilities.

"The published data is not sufficient to establish the location of the pollution source," Maxim Yakovenko, the head of Roshydromet, said in a statement to the New York Times.

Greenpeace Russia said they are now asking the public prosecutor to investigate a possible cover-up of a radiation leak.

by Bjinse on Fri Nov 24th, 2017 at 09:04:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Living On the Planet (none / 0)
 LIVING ON THE PLANET 
 Society, Culture, History, Information 
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:02:57 PM EST
Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
re: "lexical selection," cognate pairs, synonyms, categories, "association norms", intelligence, logic, associative, distributive, and communicative laws

Not just semantics: Strong frequency and weak cognate effects on semantic association in bilinguals
two parameters, three experiments

recommended reading
Knowledge and the Flow of Information
Language, Thought, and Other Biological Categories


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 12:48:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Enemy of the People (none / 0)
Possibly related sex harassment "outrage" circulating Twitter w/o 20 Nov.

What the stenographer leaves unsaid is

A large portion of cases originate from employing offices in the legislative branch other than the House of Representatives or the Senate, and involve various statutory provisions incorporated by the CAA, such as the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The statistics on payments are not further broken down into specific claims because settlements may involve cases that allege violations of more than one of the 13 statutes incorporated by the CAA.

and any link to origin of shocking insinuations.
Boston Globe | Congress paid $17 million in workplace violation settlements

The independent office doesn't break the figures down, meaning there's no way to determine how many of the 264 settlements and awards dealt specifically with cases of sexual misconduct brought by legislative branch employees. The office, which was created in 1995 by the Congressional Accountability Act, said the cases may involve violations of multiple statutes.

Besides, everybody already knows, US civil service is the safest work anywhere, right?

Office of Compliance

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 07:32:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Enemy of the People (none / 0)
It's a good goddam thing Megyn Kelly never did public-sector, legislative or judicial or executive branches. One word oozing from her unrepentant lips would have broken that 20-year curve.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 21st, 2017 at 08:21:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
BREAKING (none / 0)
Steve Berman, the atty who assembled the several class action suits against VW, has filed a RICO complaint on behalf of Jane Doe and all others similarly situated against Harvey Weinstein, Weinstein Holdings, Miramax (the "Weinstein Sexual Enterprise" or "Army of Spies") and all John Does (unknown joint  stock holders) alleging conspiracy to
(i) harass, threaten, extort, and mislead Weinstein's victims and the media to prevent the reporting, disclosure, or prosecution of his sexual misconduct, and
(ii) destroy, mutilate, or conceal records, documents, or other evidence to prevent the use of such evidence to report (or prosecute) his sexual offenses

by means of mail and wire fraud

Jane Doe v. Harvey Weinstein, et al.

No jail for Harvey. Nope, nope.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 04:21:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Hap Map UPDATE (none / 0)
Over the past 10 years the Max Plank Institute research center online has rapidly adopted 'interdisciplinary' interest in the "science of human history" as classic isolationists' focus in paleo-anthropology and -archaeology has decayed. Inconclusive support for it from  Human Genome Project, retired, appears to be pushing research priorities toward ethnnographic domains of knowledge and subaltern geographical territories to instantiate 'diversity' of hominid species, 'diversity' within h. sapiens. Regions of continental Africa remain however beyond the pale (of The Rift), because
[a]lthough ancient-DNA research has revealed insights into the population histories of many areas of the world, delving into the deep ancestry of African groups has not been possible until recently because genetic material degrades too rapidly in warm, humid climates

other than those in Central America, South America, and southeast Asia, evidently.

One notable exception and exemplar of current research bias is the so-called "The Genetic Identity of the Bangande People: 'The Secret Ones'". Bangime is an 'isolate' language living in west Africa that exhibits a high degree of dialectic variation. This field project utilizes linguistic techniques to postulate a pattern of hereditary ("ethnobiological") and "population movements" traits suitable for matching "genetic diversity" elsewhere.

Here is the database build

archived: NCBI retiring HapMap Resource

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 03:13:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Hap Map UPDATE (none / 0)
Another Upset to Closely Held Beliefs
Plague Likely a Stone Age Arrival to Central Europe
Beginning around 4,800 years ago, there was a major expansion of people from the Caspian-Pontic Steppe into Europe. These people carried distinct genetic markers that allow their movements and genetic influence, present in essentially all modern-day Europeans, to be traced. Interestingly, the earliest indications of the plague in Europe coincide with the arrival of steppe ancestry in the human populations.

Neandertal and Denisovan allele-bearing cousins: biological invaders?
Furthermore, the introduction of the disease in Europe could have played a role in the genetic turnover of European populations. "It's possible that certain European populations, or the steppe people, may have had a different level of immunity."


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Nov 23rd, 2017 at 03:30:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
In a fitting tribute to Edward Herman his obituary in the Times contained the claim that Manufacturing Consent had been "severely  criticized as having soft-pedaled evidence of genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda and, during the Bosnia war, Srebrenica." Despite predating all those atrocities except Cambodia.

Quote lifted from FAIR

Charges against dissident opinion require no evidence and...ideologically useful accusations will stand merely on the basis of endless repetition, no matter how ludicrous they may be.
by generic on Mon Nov 27th, 2017 at 07:32:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
On This Date (none / 0)
ON THIS DATE
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:02:59 PM EST
Re: On This Date (none / 1)
20 NOVEMBER 1945
A trial of 24 Nazis officers by Allied victors begins in Nuremberg, Germany
21 NOVEMBER 1920
IRA and British troops execute each other and a number of by-standers. 56 years later the CIA reveals all.
22 NOVEMBER 2017
Flint Taylor recalls, instead of US President Kennedy's assassination, 3 November 1979 when a 35-member Nazi, Klan posse opened fire on "antifa" demonstrators in Greensboro, NC.
23 NOVEMBER 1888
Owners of the New York Giants baseball club attempt to sell an employee, John Montgomery Ward, to the owners of the Washington Nationals baseball club for a remarkable amount of money.
24 NOVEMBER 1917
NYT reporting on Slatin errs again.
25 NOVEMBER 1715-1998
A litany of consequential acts occur in the absence of "context".

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 25th, 2017 at 07:26:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
People & Klatsch (none / 0)
 PEOPLE AND KLATSCH 
by Bjinse on Mon Nov 20th, 2017 at 10:03:02 PM EST
Re: People & Klatsch (none / 0)
I see "misinformation" everywhere.

Donation-Bin Charity Fights Baltimore Permitting Scheme

Planet Aid filed the [federal] suit in Baltimore ...
Baltimore city is the location of the physical US District Court for Maryland (state, all of it) and all business therein: 101 W Lombard St, Baltimore, MD 21201.
After 13 years of operating donation bins in the(sic) Baltimore, Planet Aid says ...

disambiguation: Planet Aid is suing Baltimore County.

Baltimore County is an administrative division of the state of Maryland. The boundaries of the county contain many incorporated and unincorporated towns and cities. The county's business is entirely separate from Baltimore city administrative division of jurisdiction, government, and electoral districts. Baltimore city functions in effect a county in itself. And like Montgomery County a densely populated blue isle in a sea of red people. Who elected Larry "maglev" Hogan governor.

archived:
This information is incorrect.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Nov 22nd, 2017 at 05:44:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
20 - 26 Nov 2017 | 62 comments (62 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


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