Top Diaries

Sounds pretty perfect to me.

by generic on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 01:24:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Italy's next prime minister (4.00 / 3)

Not only has lots of his CV turned out to be inaccurate, but it seems that he doesn't always pay his taxes either.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 04:09:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Italy's 5-Star Movement and League publish anti-austerity government programme

The document featured a number of manifesto promises from the nationalist League.
These included hardline immigration and security proposals, pension reform and a plan to have just two tax rates, of 15 and 20 percent.
The League's hand can be seen in a proposal that Italy and the EU implement bilateral agreements with other countries in order to speed up the repatriation of illegal immigrants.
[...]
The programme also pledged to close all "illegal" Roma camps, set up a register of imams and immediately shut down "radical Islamic associations".

Slashed pensions, immigrant hunting and tax cuts to almost lfat tax. Sounds like libertarianism plus nationalism. And no euro exit, but sounds of eurozone reform (which they have no power over).

Has M5* gone libertarian or what is going on?

by fjallstrom on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 02:53:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

They were never for Euro exit, only for a referendum on that - which would be unconstitutional. We'll see how they manage the tax cuts; the constitution says that taxation should be "progressive", whatever that means. But basically they never had any real ideas, so Salvini is making all the decisions

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 03:25:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

But referendums can develop a logic of their own.

You have probably mentioned this before, but why would it be unconstitutional?

Not that it matters, now that they have settled for some fluffy text instead.

by fjallstrom on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 10:55:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Italy's next prime minister (4.00 / 3)

Article 75

Non è ammesso il referendum per le leggi tributarie e di bilancio [cfr. art. 81], di amnistia e di indulto [cfr. art. 79], di autorizzazione a ratificare trattati internazionali [cfr. art. 80].

Maybe the people who wrote it thought that the Italians were too emotional to seriously consider the pros and cons of complicated issues like this, unlike the British with Brexit.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 07:25:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Post-WW2 anti-fascist legislation, perhaps, with the rise of Hitler in mind?

by Zwackus on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 04:22:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Italy's next prime minister (none / 1)

Rather the rise of Mussolini, but yes, probably.

Wikipedia states:

"The groups that composed the Constituent Assembly covered a wide range of the political spectrum, with the prevalence of three major groups, namely christian democratics, liberals and leftists. All these groups were deeply anti-fascist, so there was general agreement against an authoritarian constitution,[3] putting more emphasis on the legislative power and making the executive power dependent on it.[4] So the Constitution doesn't follow the concept of separation of powers as conceived by major figures of the Enlightenment like Kant and Montesquieu, and incorporates mechanisms to protect the needs of governmental stability while avoiding any degeneration of parliamentarism."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Italy

And looking at following articles (on Wikisource, in English) it seems that they are designed to reserve these powers for the legislative assemblies.

by fjallstrom on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 12:04:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

But basically they never had any real ideas, so Salvini is making all the decisions

It's a chimera alright, but with Salvini (polling at 20%) and Di Maio at 32%, it is neither calling all the shots.
Salvini's right to power is conditional on two other right wing parties as he was the leader not only of his own party but as leader of the centre-right, with Berlusconi and Meloni. The latter two feel betrayed by Salvini and hate the 5* so will not go out of their way to support him.
Without their support it is Salvini who has to stay on the right side (no pun intended) of Di Maio.
Salvini has zero original ideas for governance and has been just a noisy, useless, shitstirring parasite bigot racist whose climb to power is due to personal ambition, mouthy rhetoric and winks and nudges to the neo-fascist element (Casa Pound, Forza Nuova et al. He is able at getting votes because he speaks in rough and ready tones straight to the gut (in language of the gutter).
He had a crude cunning, reading his public well, articulating their concerns -and paranoia -with wit and verve.
Di Maio, though still relatively unblooded, is a distinguished gentleman who speaks truth to power with art and refined demeanour. He has borne himself impeccably during these 80 fraught days since the election, and in any normal country would have had an uncontested right to be PM, but was cheated due to an electoral law designed specifically to punish and disempower the 5* movement, and signed also by the Lega.
It is a pact with the devil in order to have half a loaf rather than remain in opposition another cycle, leaving the nation in the hands of Berlusconi (again).
Di Maio has secured major ministries for the movement, speaker of the parliament and has tripled his share of parliamentarians. They are strongly poised to KO all opposition in another election if the electoral law were changed to a fairer system, and thus fully deserve to have governmental power.
This is an fudge no doubt, but the only alternative would have been another technocratic government alla Monti's, and Italy would not have stood for it.
We will see how long a spoon is needed not to get tainted with the Lega's influence, but the 5* are regarded as more moderate (how things have changed!) and much more presentable than the uncouth, vulgar Salvini, who would have been as socially inept and rude as Trump is, though he is slightly more intelligent. A low bar for sure...
The new prime minister has a fine line to walk indeed.
His speech of thanks was measured, diplomatic and had the gravitas needed for the role.
His CV problems were fake news generated by the De Benedetti branch of the MSM.
As for the 5* movement not having any ideas of their own, the opposite is true. They are the only politicians with a long term vision of and for Italy, and truly solid planks for their political platform.
They have halved their own salaries, taken no state party financing unlike every other party, and have been smeared as much as Jeremy Corbyn by the PTB, or 'Casta' as they're known here, a badge they wear with pride. They have made their own way to power with no ties nor alliances, just through grassroots politicking and telling their narrative for a future Italy that benefits everyone except the 'Casta' (and therefore done the job any self-respecting left party would do, if there were any real left left here, which there isn't if you don't count the third way Blairish monstrosity model that has scuppered left parties Europe-wide.)
Salvini will be minister of internal affairs, Di Maio foreign minister, says the grapevine.
The mystery is who will take over from Padoan.
Once governance and legislation commences the differences between the Lega and the 5* movement will become more apparent.
Italy is taking a giant leap out of its perennially dysfunctional comfort zone. It may not yet be the cultural revolution envisaged by 5* supporters, at least not the unalloyed version, but the movement have paid their dues -and then some- to be where they are.
As for good ideas, they have more than all the other parties in Europe combined, starting with combating tax evasion, glacial speed justice, changes to the statutes of limitations which have less white collar criminals in jail than any Euro country, citizens'income, better pensions, better environmental policies, publicly owned water, shutting of polluting factories like Ilva in Taranto and the TAV boondoggle.
Slashing waste, reducing superfluous laws, cannabis legalisation, eliminating cushy multiple pensions for politicians, an end to Austerity, promotion of renewables, getting fast broadband rollout, fighting the mafia and corruption, need I go on?
Italy has enormous potential that has been held back by a cabal of constipated cronies for decades.
The modest risk that Salvini will do serious damage to the country is more than outweighed by the good the 5* can and should finally be able to do more of.
That's why today was a happy day, even if compromised by the Lega's parallel -if sketchier- ascent to power.
This logjam could have gone on as long as Germany's, but fortunately didn't.
Now for some serious transformation...

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 01:07:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Italy's next prime minister (4.00 / 4)

I notice you don't comment on their tax plans. If that passes, all the rest (end to austerity...) is irrelevant. I've seen no significant pushback from the M5S on this, and the speed in which Salvini got this into the coalition agreement suggests that he has very powerful people behind him. If this is among the first legislation he proposes, what are they going to do?

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 06:43:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Yes by all the projected metrics the flat tax is regressive, and the fond hope that it will make people evade taxes less is tenuous at best.
I would expect people (especially Salvini voters) to take a couple of years to figure out they've been shafted.
The real nub is the arm-wrestle between President Mattarella (who wants - and has made conditional to his approval- a committed europhile in the economics ministry, and has the power to veto any choice touted by the parties.
The 82-year old candidate Savona put forward by Salvini (supported by Di Maio) is impeccably credentialed and has extensive institutional experience behind him, making him hard to refuse on that count.
The problematic factor is his extreme prejudice towards the rules of the currency zone with respect to national sovereignty - and deficit spending.
He was an advisor when Italy's plan to join the Euro was hatched, and was highly negative about it so consistency is a strong suit for him.
Where he has trampled convention is with his accusal of Germany establishing an economic Reich to substitute for the failed military one of the 1930's.
Mattarella wants a full throated fan of all things EU, which is his constitutional right to insist on, but clearly would weaken the 2 winning parties stance on reconfiguring Maastricht rules more in S. Europe's favour. So we are back in logjam country again, even after the lucky fudge - or brilliant choice, take your pick! - of President Conte to lead a bipolar government.
As this mud wrestling goes on the spread is rising and EU officials alternate between condescending pablum about respecting Italy's suffering sovereignty and tizzies of tut-tutting and finger-wagging over the high national debt being a millstone and Italy's possible threat to create a plan B to the common currency representing a threat to EU Frankfurt finance control.

I read today that approval of the EU is rising among member states, but Italy is definitely not one of them.
Here rage against France for its draconian usurpation of Schengen rules and Italian territory, (and growing ownership of key Italian industries), and Germany's stubborn insistence on hard money policies that mostly benefit her and her N European neighbours, with no fiscal redistribution EU-wide policies to ensure fair treatment for S.Europe.
These are incongruities Savona has pointed out for decades, predicting the currency's ultimate unsustainability, just as have many commenters here at ET have for years.
Salvini is digging in, making his choice of economics minister a deal-breaker, thus directly challenging Mattarella's constitutional privileges, typical of his brash, entitled attitude to politics in general!
Di Maio is going along with it in exchange for 5* ministerial appointments to the justice ministry, among many others, including his own appointment as minister of work.
On the heels of Brexit, this looming tussle with Italy is not what the EU wants, yet fiscal integration is still far off, notwithstanding Macron and Merkel efforts to paper over the cracks and accelerate further, faster unification.
Savona is explicitly not anti EU, nor anti Euro per se but has correctly in my view assessed Italy's power to be considerable enough to severely rock the EU's boat. For decades Italy has been fairly supine when it comes to challenging EU conceits in exchange for a semi-blind eye to corruption, banking anomalies, and many other peccadillos.
Now with Spain rocked by scandal, Macron's difficulties in getting French approval for more austerity, Trump's erratic behaviour with regard to tariffs and Iranian/Russian sanctions, and Merkel's political power waning,the EU is perceived by Italian politiicians to be vulnerable to added persuasion, which they understandably intend to take maximum advantage of, especially after the cavalier way Italy was treated with regard to immigration these last years, and the growing nationalism EU-wide, especially in Hungary where Orban's attitude is seen as desirable by Salvini.
With the 5*'tempering left-leaning influence, Italy will not go the way of Hungary, perhaps becoming more like Austria, with greater respect for the environment coupled with more hostility to immigrants thanks to Salvini's becoming the new minister for internal affairs.
The Lega is governing northern regions and cities relatively well, so it's not all about Salvini's, though no one wants to tell him that while he is so flush with electoral victory.
The PD is in total disarray thanks to Renzi's monumental ego, and the right wing alliance on shaky ground due to Berlusconi's.
I expect Salvini to drift towards centre right as the onus -and bonus!- of governing kicks in.
Voters are adamant in rejecting the status quo set in cement for decades, and while Salvini still repels many who didn't vote for him, his support was necessary to avoid leaving Italy in the lurch of a technical government once again. A difficult choice, only time will tell if it was expedient or not.
The EU is right to get its knickers twisted, especially if Savona gets the ministry of the Economy. The Euro pact may be put under the severe pressure -and possible amelioration it deserves.
Austerity is no longer tolerable while the wealth gap grows so rapidly and the 1% are the only ones to profit.
The Euro could be an unalloyed benefit, but in its current form it is a strait-jacket.
The EU has been a net benefit en large, but unless certain influences like banking lobbies, hell lobbies in general, it may well continue to instigate rebellion with its ranks.
I remember writing here years ago that the EU's fortunes would be made or broken by Italy's punching its weight better in Brussels, if that is true we will see evidence quite soon.
Italy's threat to even consider leaving the Euro should have had more than enough heft to alter the rules, but it is only now that we see that possibility emerging - none too soon...
If things were to continue as they are, a repeat of the Greek fiasco here would be quite possibly the end of the EU.
It's time to drop the pretence that the French-German axis is all that really matters. Italy remains a minor player and yet has every and equal right to its sovereignty as Hungary or Ireland does.
If Hungary et al can brazenly flout EU immigration rules with impunity, the one can reasonably expect Italy to run its debt in order to break the austerity curse and invest in itself properly.
The old guard here could not be trusted to do so, we will see if a more dynamic government symbolising a generational change will make a better fist of it.
The 5* represent the south, the Lega represents the north, this two headed government may well help heal that ancient rift.
All assuming Mattarella doesn't block this democratic rebellion against the sacred cows of the past, that is.
By blocking it he will be seen as an enemy of progress by most Italians, as well as further confirming many Europeans' (mostly media-manufactured) prejudice that Italy can't organise its way out of a paper bag - let alone the complex labyrinth of Europe.
As the UK is discovering...

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat May 26th, 2018 at 04:10:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The excrement is encountering the rotational device in Italy.
Government nixed by president on account of Savona's potential role as economics minister.
Back to square one... Almost 3 months of negotiation blown away in one sweep.
Looks like we will have another fake (unelected) government, the sixth in a row, probably headed by Gentiloni.
A very sad day for Italian democracy, and a shameful reminder of how entrenched the forces of finance are in deciding individual nations' fates in the neoliberal coven that is the EU.
5* are suing Mattarella for impeachment.
Greece is about to have company in the ratings too low to qualify for QE club.
And then what?
This will probably break the euro, possibly the whole EU.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 27th, 2018 at 09:32:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Italy's next prime minister (none / 1)

Coltarelli, IMF man, will be president for a short term government, change the electoral law -again- and re-vote in September.
Much public displeasure due to this.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Mon May 28th, 2018 at 03:28:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

ahhh, yes, return of the "technocrat".
Where is Monti these days anyway?
AHA! 6 April

archived
French Trotskyists and technocrats to the rescue!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon May 28th, 2018 at 03:35:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Emily Wilson talks about translating `The Odyssey'

Monti is trotted out on talk shows regularly.
Mr Europe-at-all-costs.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue May 29th, 2018 at 08:58:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Did you watch it with Tajani? Hope so, because archive is not yet available.

RT and Fox News uploaded video of Zuckerberg's hearing before the EP. RT Italian/EN translator. GOOG dutifully labels the recording [RT is funded in whole or in part by the Russian government Wikipedia] for USA viewers.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 11:46:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

possibly related PSA (none / 0)

It has recently come to my attention that GOOG translates EN "tool" to LATIN "tool". Don't believe it. Sadly, this error evidently is propagating, because so-called LATIN translation websites rely on the GOOG engine to 'parse' EN/LATIN output.

Similarly, you will find absurd LATIN/EN translations of animus (nom. masc. sing.) and no case declension BECAUSE no one teaches fucking grammar anymore and a innumerable godless millions just as well assume to conjugate means to fornicate. In Greek.

The LATIN words meaning "tool" (e.g. instrumentum, apparatus) are many, not "tool."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 12:15:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: possibly related PSA (none / 0)

Are women, being more "aware" of gender, ultimately more sensitive and precise in translating gender-sensitive texts like "The Odyssey"?
No of course not, not necessarily. I haven't read every translation by a woman in all other languages, but from the few I've dipped into - eg [Anne] Dacier in French and [Rosa Calzecchi] Onesti in Italian - I honestly don't see a lot more gender sensitivity by female translators. It really depends on what the particular individual, whether female, male or non-binary/other, decides to do. I've been told that a recent translation into Dutch by a man is more sensitive and precise about gender terms than the previous Dutch translation by a woman. I can believe it. These things are complex and not predetermined. Some women, yes. Some men, too, in theory, could be more sensitive, and it's a shame that in this case, so far, English-speaking men haven't been. Maybe now, after all the media coverage of my work, interviewers might finally start asking cisgender men about how gender impacts their work. It would be about time.

archived: "I dannae is she can take any more, Capt'n!"
translations don't write themselves, yo

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 06:57:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

ZUCKERBERG: ... There are eighteen million small businesses here in Europe who use Facebook today, mostly for free, almost half of whom say that they have hired more people as the result of their use of our tools. But it's also become clear over the last couple of years that we haven't done enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. [...] I am committed to getting this right and to making the significant investments that are necessary to keep people safe. For example, we're doubling the number of people working on safety and security at our company to more than 20,000 by the end of this year. On top of the investments we're making in other areas I expect that these investments in increasing security will significantly impact our profitability. But I want to be clear: Keeping people safe will always be more important than maximizing our profits. [...] We're very committed to Europe. Almost four hundred million people in Europe rely on our services to connect and communicate with their friends and the communities that matter most to them. Dublin in home to our European headquarters. London is home to our biggest engineering team outside the United States. Paris is home to ah a big part of our artificial intelligence research, and we have data centers in Sweden and Ireland, and we're building a new one in Denmark that will come online in 2020. By the end of 2018 Facebook will employ 10,000 people across twelve European cities, up from 7,000 today. And we will continue to invest in Europe in the years ahead including we've committed to providing one million people in small businesses with digital skills training by 2020.

Then Manfred "GDPR-global-standards" Weber (EPP) takes the first cuts with imported long knives.

WEBER: ... The second point in regard to this question, 'acting,' is, and there I want to make a follow-up of the questions in Washington, our colleagues did a great job there. Senator Kamala Harris asked whether you personally made the decision in December [25, ]2015, when you became aware of the Cambridge Analytica data breach to not notify your. Because I think that is an extremely important point, transparency, the the people know what is happening to this data is crucial to us Europeans. So were you informed and why no information to the users? The other two questions I want to put on the table [of] the scandal itself, I think the later colleagues will do a follow-up on this. That's why I also want to come to a more general reflection on Facebook and what it means for our socieites. Your company has already today a tremendous power. You know this. For example, the question who is number one on the messages, who is number ten, one hundred: There you have an algorithm behind and this ah rules are incomprehensible at the moment. Nobody knows about them. We should, I think, discuss about the laws that oblige you to make this algorithm public in the future, because when you have so much power about who is visible in the social media and who is not visible that cannot [] longer anymore a decision of a company. That is a decision, I think, for our society. I think that is necessary, and I am interested in your arguments why we shouldn't do so. In addition, I want to underline that between Europe and America we have different understanding about what is allowed to published and what is not allowed to publish [...] And, finally, during your testimoany to the congress Senator Lindsay Graham asked you repeatedly the name of only one of your competitors, only one, without success. Um, probably you can give us today for the European market a competitor. Probably there is one in Europe if there is none in America. Is there today an alternative to Facebook for the services you are offering? Whatsapp and Instagram are already part of your empire. Would you consider your company as a monopoly? And I have to say as a politician, I believe in markets and rules, but I also want to stop all kinds of monopolies.

FADE TO BLACK. Damn RT for leaving Zuck's response on the floor. In a bag he won't soon escaped.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 02:13:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

DICTION CORNER (none / 0)

The more apt description the Germans may be searching to describe Facebook's "business model" is monopsony, captured users "harvesting" user profiles like so many tobacco leaves at a plantation.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 02:21:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: DICTION CORNER (none / 0)

GOOG added placed ads in rotation at ~ 6K view mark this afternoon. Of which a pro-Trump political. How funny is that?!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 02:27:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

independent.ie selvage | Facebook is no monopoly, Zuckerberg tells MEPs

"We exist in a very competitive space where people use lots of different tools for communication... From where I sit, it feels like there are new competitors coming up every day," he said, in response to questions about whether Facebook should be separated from its Instagram and WhatsApp subsidiaries.
[...]
Mr Zuckerberg said Facebook had been good for competition more broadly, allowing smaller businesses to grow by letting them advertise to audiences that had previously been available only to large companies.... His statement attempted to distance Facebook from the antitrust cases that have afflicted Microsoft and more recently Google in the EU.

o, dear. He's lost the EPP and the Independent.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 05:42:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Gracious. French Facebook AI research has been busy today.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 03:32:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

ALIVE! (none / 1)

(not that flick, the other one, director's cut)
Yulia Skripal says she wants to return to Russia `in longer term' Look! Hand-written confession.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 06:42:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ALIVE! (none / 0)

And three cheers for Tory gov stylists. She looks FABULOUS for 'mostly dead'.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 12:45:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ALIVE! (none / 0)

scarring from the tracheotomy adds a nice touch of authenticity, too!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 12:49:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ALIVE! (none / 0)

Yulia Skripal and the Salisbury WUT
< wipes tear >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 04:36:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ALIVE! (none / 1)

AND reproducing!

< wipes tears >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 06:59:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, poses for a family[!] picture with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame , Facebook's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and IMB's President and CEO Virginia Rometty as he hosts the "Tech for Good" summit over lunch with tech companies CEOs at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on May 23, 2018. (Charles Platiau/Pool photo via AP)

France24 | French President Emmanuel Macron told executives from the world's biggest technology firms that he believed in innovation but that he wanted tougher regulations and for them to contribute more to society

"I believe in innovation and at the same time in regulation and working for the common good," Macron told a press conference with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, another invitee who embraced digital technology as he engineered his country's post-genocide economic revival.
[...]
Macron has talked about wanting France to be a world leader in artificial intelligence and 'deep-tech'.
France to invest €1.5 billion in artificial intelligence by 2022
[...]
"France is in favour of tough regulation and this event won't change that," Macron said. "I'm not here to absolve anyone of their sins."

Emmanuel Macron to tech bosses: 'There is no free lunch'

In his greeting on the lawn of the Elysée presidential palace, Macron did not specify what he expected from the tech CEOs. ... He campaigned on promises to turn France into a "startup nation," and will be keen to press his advantage in terms of popularity with the tech sector against other European powers, namely Britain and, to a lesser extent, Germany.

ugh

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 11:02:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (4.00 / 3)

blah .... blah ... AI ... blah-de-blah ....innovation ... yadda yadda ... Deep Learning .... wordsaladwordsaladwordsalad

Cargo Cult Technology

Just as cargo cultists create mock airports that fail to produce airplanes, cargo cult ~~scientists~~ technologists conduct flawed research that superficially resembles the ~~scientific~~ technological method, but which fails to produce ~~scientifically~~ technologically useful results.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 03:06:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (4.00 / 3)

Macron is really good at striking all the right buzzwords, inspiring pep talks and photo ops. But, like his Washington tour, he has achieved very little to date (also, see Hulot, Nicolas).

The real action for Macron is happening behind the scenes: dismantling workers protections, keeping asylum seekers out, tax cuts for the rich... The whole neolib "reform" package.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 06:34:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

It took Shenzhen 30 years and massive government funding aided by the US shedding technology, know-how, market share, and income to get to where it is. China is pouring ~2.1 billion (US) into the physical infrastructure - an 'AI City' - they plan to support with $300 to $500 billion (US) in business and research funding.

France has announced they will spend €1.5 billion over four years or €375 million/year. Given the salary for one Deep Learning specialist has reached $1 million (US) a year France is severely handicapped at the start.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 03:42:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Yet what most people don't realise...

CHINA requires foreign corporations to enter into legally binding joint venture (JV) agreements with the state- or privately-owned and operated enterprise. THAT has meant the end of westworld exploitation of China's resources (initially, before WTO entry, raw material an labor capital) to the extent that the parties agree to "knowledge transfer" of business designs and processes between them in order to realize these, shall we say, "mutually beneficial" going concerns. As has been the custom for any other JV between publicly held and privately-traded westworld corporations, say, Genoa and Venice (1260-1500), joint stock ventures and the plantations of Ireland (1600 -1900), Dow & Corning (1943), GM and Toyota (1983), or BT and AT&T v1 (1998).

"clone," my ass.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 01:53:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Thou shalt not have a flat tax (none / 1)

La Repubblica

Parlando del governo che si sta formando, la Cei boccia la flat tax e considera tra i "principi irrinunciabili" quello della "progressività fiscale", il che vuol dire "non tagli per tutti genericamente ma per le fasce per le quali è necessario". Lo ha detto il presidente della Conferenza episcopale italiana, cardinale Gualtiero Bassetti, parlando del governo che si sta formando e delle priorità. "Ci sia una maggiore tassazione sulle attività speculative, si cominci da lì". "Vigileremo - ha ammonito Basse4tti - saremo coscienza critica, abbiamo dei principi irrinunciabili: la centralità dell'uomo, il lavoro come elemento fondante della dignità, il rispetto della Costituzione, la scelta chiara per la democrazia e per l'Europa".

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 02:59:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Victory for abortion rights (4.00 / 2)

As the polls suggested, it was close: 68% to 32%.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 09:28:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Victory for abortion rights (none / 0)

Only an exit poll, but that's 10 times the claimed margin of error - and we do run referendums regularly enough, so this isn't an unprecedented situation as it was with Brexit.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 09:48:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

< wipes tears > (none / 1)

Max Schrems is back: Facebook, Google hit with GDPR complaint

The complaints, filed on the day Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force, take aim at what he describes as Google and Facebook's "forced consent".

The American Way of Life

The four separate filings (all PDFs) are against Google, Facebook and two Facebook-owned businesses, Instagram and WhatsApp.
[...]
The complaints have been launched by Schrems' nonprofit NOYB, which was set up specifically to take advantage of the new provisions under GDPR.
[...]
The complaints have been filed in authorities in different countries - all of which have reputation for strong privacy laws - Google in France, Facebook in Austria, Instagram in Belgium and WhatsApp in Hamburg, Germany - but are broadly similar. ...in Ireland.

archived: pried from cold, dead &tc.
correct
incorrect

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 11:54:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Germany divided: 25,000 pro and anti-AfD protestors face off in Berlin - DW

Berlin was treated the surreal spectacle on Sunday afternoon of the Brandenburg Gate once again serving to demarcate two Germanys.
On one side, some 5000 supporters of anti-immigration, anti-EU Alternative for Germany party (AfD). They congregated to demonstrate their patriotism and express their discontent and often outright contempt for the policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, particularly her welcoming stance toward refugees.
On the other side and in the surrounding Tiergarten park, over 20,000 opponents of the AfD. They turned out to vent their discontent and often outright contempt for what they consider to be a return to the xenophobia and racism of Germany's dark historical past.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun May 27th, 2018 at 03:57:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Economy & Finance (none / 0)

ECONOMY & FINANCE

by Bjinse on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 08:09:30 PM EST

Re: Economy & Finance (none / 0)

Bloomberg | Apple to Fight EU Irish Tax Case Without U.S. Support Role
Trade war formerly-known-as teh VW 'scandal' evolves .< wipes tears >

The EU's Apple order has reverberated across the Atlantic, triggering criticism from the U.S. Treasury that the EU was making itself a "supra-national tax authority" that could threaten global tax reform efforts.

Independent.ie | European court blocks US government from Apple tax case

The EU's highest court yesterday rejected the US request, its press service announced on Twitter [!]. A lower court had dismissed the request in December, saying the American government failed to show it had a direct interest in the result of the state-aid case.
[...]
Appeals over tax cases have been piling up at the EU's courts since 2015, when the Commission issued its first orders against Luxembourg and the Netherlands to recoup unpaid taxes from a Fiat Chrysler cars unit and Starbucks respectively. The EU has also ordered Luxembourg to recover €250m from Amazon and Belgium to get back as much as €700m from 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 01:30:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Made in the USA (none / 0)

Goldman rides ["]tax inversions["] to top of M&A heap
and I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 08:46:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Economy & Finance (none / 1)

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (second from left), Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (right), France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (center), Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (second from right) -- the ministers of the three European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal - and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini (left) pose before a meeting of EU/E3 with Iran at the EU headquarters in Brussels, May 15, 2018. Photo: YVES HERMAN/AFP/Getty Images

EU To Switch From US Dollar to Euro on Oil Trades From Iran
Watch unitization come to shore. Any day now. Sooner, at any rate, than petrodollar collapse.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 06:05:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Economy &amp; Finance (none / 1)

See my diary of a few days ago ...

○ EU to Ditch Dollar in Iran Trade

The economic war between America and Russia: importing LNG by killing off Nordstream 2 through the Baltic Sea to by-pass the Ukraine ...

What has Europe to say about the twist or are the EU nations just "innocent" by-standers?

○ Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline would be a boon to America's energy interests | The Hill - March 2018 |
○ Sochi meeting: Putin, Merkel defend Nord Stream pipeline | AFP - May 18, 2018 |

Imposing stricter sanctions hit Glencore and the Qatar Wealth Fund in ...

○ Qatari Investor: Michael Cohen Asked Me for $1 Million
○ China invests $9.1 billion in Rosneft as Glencore, Qatar cut stakes

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 09:20:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Economy &amp; Finance (none / 0)

Petro dollar, shmetro dollar. However, if the EU actually manages to keep up its Iran trade in face of US sanctions, that would be quite a new development.

by generic on Sat May 19th, 2018 at 03:29:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Economy & Finance (none / 0)

same story, different country.
'Without overtime there is no life' - living on the impending R20 minimum wage

When approached for comment, a Bidvest spokesperson said that while the company "can't share private and confidential wage and other related, employee information", the company's employee remuneration, which "leads by example", is "market related" and compliant with relevant legislation.
These workers are adamant that R20 an hour is not enough to survive on, however. "It's robbery," says Mazibuko. "they are making business out of us". He says the overtime he has to work to survive means that he loses out on sleep, and hardly has time left to spend with his partner and their one-year-old child.
Mazibuko's experience is borne out by research. The National Minimum Wage Research Initiative (NMW-RI) says that workers require R4,900 a month to lift themselves and their dependents out of poverty.
[...]
[NMWRI's co-ordinator Gilad] Isaacs, speaking to New Frame, says the National Minimum Wage Bill undermines the safeguards agreed to at Nedlac.
The bill does not include any guarantee that the minimum wage will increase from R20, for instance. This is despite an express provision made in the Nedlac agreement to protect against the erosion of the value of the minimum wage.

The US Congress, for example, last enacted a federal minimum wage law in 2007, $7.25

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun May 27th, 2018 at 05:48:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Trump (none / 0)

TRUMP

by Bjinse on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 08:09:33 PM EST

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 11:29:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

uh oh (none / 1)

maaaan, would I love to get eyballs on the complete transcript. Scroll through ...

Just received the transcript for the May 9, 2018 hearing in the Special Counsel's Russian Troll case.

A few observations on this short hearing. pic.twitter.com/uX4HfyPUEP
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) May 12, 2018

This is starting off about as well as Paula Deen's deposition (EN, 2013). (The Paula Deen Deposition Is Even Worse Than You Thought, for the curious reader of US domestic "race relations" before The Trump Effect)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 11:56:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Wait, wait. Is this an echo ... (none / 0)

or the whine of gearing inside a sanitation truck?
Oprah Winfrey Finally Comments on Paula Deen's N-Word Controversy

"In the very first days I tried to reach her and then I decided to stay out of it as I saw it blowing up," Winfrey, 59, tells Entertainment Tonight. "In time she will be fine. For me, it all just felt kind of sad."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 15th, 2018 at 12:15:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: uh oh (none / 1)

Indicted Russian Company Takes Aim at Mueller

Concord Management and Consulting is owned by Russian oligarch and caterer Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as "Putin's chef" for his ties to the Russian president.
[...]
The company asserts in its motion Monday meanwhile that Mueller must be held to the same bar as the Campaign Task Force, a component of the Department of Justice that handled all prior investigations of foreign involvement in U.S. elections since its creation in 1997 by former Attorney General Janet Reno.
[Reed Smith attorney Eric] Dubelier says Mueller's case is unlike any brought by the Justice Department: "that is, an alleged conspiracy by a foreign corporation to 'interfere' in a presidential election by allegedly funding free speech."
"The obvious reason for this," Dubelier continues, "is that no such crime exists in the federal criminal code."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 15th, 2018 at 01:41:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

wut (none / 1)

Mueller ['SURROGATE'] Asks Judge to Deny Manafort Request for 'Disclosures' Hearing

In a 19 page motion filed by Andrew Weissman, special assistant to special counsel Robert Mueller, Weissman argues Manafort's claims of prejudice fall short since he was unable to provide through a "sampling of press reports" that specific information about his grand jury investigation last year was revealed to the public.

specific information about his grand jury investigation... revealed to the public. 2018
specific information about his grand jury investigation... revealed to the public. 2017
Alternate Hypothesis
Report: Republicans Stacking Courts With Unqualified Conservatives

The 61-page report titled "Review of Republican Efforts to Stack the Federal Courts" details both the pace and volume of the nomination and confirmation process, as well as the obstruction and filibustering of President Barack Obama nominees that afforded Trump the opportunity to shift the balance of federal courts.
[...]
But Feinstein and the other Democrats who signed the report are equally irate about Republicans scoffing at and undermining the credibility of the American Bar Association [ABA], which has given a "not qualified" rating to four of Trump's nominees after only giving out just two such ratings in its history.

Mueller, Model Republican

Instead of heeding the concerns of the ABA, Republicans attacked the credibility of the independent bipartisan organization, according to the report.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, Problem Republican

archived: fishing
What's in your tackle box?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 15th, 2018 at 01:27:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: wut (none / 0)

Senate Unanimously Confirms Two [TRUMP NOMINEES] for the Seventh Circuit

Michael Scudder, a partner at the Chicago firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, "having previously served as the general counsel of the National Security Council under President George W. Bush" advising "the White House on changes Congress made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 2007 and 2008";

and Amy St. Eve, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Illinois, who "worked as an associate independent counsel on Independent Counsel Ken Starr's Whitewater investigation"

Speaking on the Senate floor before the votes, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., praised both Scudder and St. Eve, saying their nominations were the result of "good-faith negotiation" with the White House.
[...]
Trump once appeared before St. Eve as a witness in a trial after a businesswoman sued two of Trump's companies over a condo deal. St. Eve ruled in favor of Trump's businesses in the dispute, earning her a mention on the future president's Twitter account.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 15th, 2018 at 02:52:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

this.empowerment(gina haspel) (none / 0)

US senators will vote to confirm inadvertent FIFTH WAVE idol Haspel tomorrow. Generations of unborn US Americans will honor name, Gina, the first woman (or minority) director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, a credit to her gender. They will study her speech and posture. They will emulate her methods to fulfill their GOD GIVEN right to be born a soldier for equal opportunity to maul "democratic processes" worldwide, like a mad dog, regardless of sex, paradoxically.

Since Saturday reports from the Capitol have slowly revealed the five members of the minority party thus far who intend to approve Trump's eminently qualified nominee.
Bill Nelson-FL
Mark Warner-VA
Heidi Heitkamp-ND
Joe Connelly-IN
Joe Manchin-WV
Congratulations. McCain's vote doesn't matter.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 16th, 2018 at 12:04:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: this.empowerment(gina haspel) (none / 0)

He didn't vote anyway. Because "battling brain cancer."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 01:45:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

World (none / 0)

WORLD

by Bjinse on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 08:09:35 PM EST

Happy Vanuatu Day! (none / 1)

It's Monday, 14 May, ten days ahead of GDPR effective date. The game is afoot. It's called "Privacy Check."

The GOOG dropped notice of ad server and data collection OPT-OUT for this ISP domain range along with client-side (Chrome) extensions injected by GOOG. The list of supporting documentation for the initiative, third-party vendors, and limitations is comical. A personalized parting shot at me.

Talk about herding cats. Now meet your "Ad Choices" by and the "principles" of the DAA

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 10:46:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 1)

55 Dead in Gaza Protests as Israel Fetes US Embassy Move

There was barely any mention of the Gaza violence at Monday's lavish inauguration ceremony for the new embassy, an upgraded consular building located just 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials joined an American delegation of Trump administration officials and Republican and evangelical Christian supporters.
[...]
Egypt, an important Israeli ally, condemned the killings ...
Turkey said it was recalling its ambassador to the United States over the U.S. Embassy move [AND] its ambassador to Israel following what it called a "massacre" of Palestinians on the Gaza border.
South Africa...recalled its ambassador for consultations, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel to respect the "principle of proportionality in the use of force" and show restraint

'utmost restraint'
Mass Gaza Border Clashes: 58 Palestinians Killed by Israeli Gunfire, 1,113 Wounded

During Monday's clashes, the air force struck five Hamas targets in northern Gaza in response to actions on the border by Hamas, including the throwing of firebombs at Israeli soldiers, the Israel Defense Forces said. Earlier in the day, the IDF said it had thwarted an attempt by three armed militants to place explosives near the fence not far from the Rafah crossing. The statement said the three had been killed by soldiers.
[...]
The military feared Hamas might retaliate for the strikes with rocket fire later in the day and deployed Iron Dome missile-defense systems. According to the IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, the number of protesters at the fence Monday was "unprecedented," but still lower than what Hamas had predicted.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 15th, 2018 at 02:37:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 1)

Is it really a 'joint military drill' when there's only one driver?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 16th, 2018 at 04:32:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 1)

blink
Federal Judge Bars Facebook $7B Tax Appeal

In 2013, the IRS began investigating Facebook over its tax liability for 2008, 2009, and 2010, in which it found Facebook had understated its transferred intellectual property assets by about $7.1 billion, "resulting in a substantial underreporting of income for U.S. tax purposes in 2010 and later years."
Facebook was presumably using a strategy called the "double Irish arrangement," whereby large U.S. corporations avoid paying substantial federal tax bills by setting up an Irish subsidiary as a tax haven.

Zuckerberg to meet European Parliament leaders in private session

Looks like @Europarl_EN group leaders made the decision & Mark Zuckerberg has accepted invitation to come before us. As Chair of the @EP_Justice along with Rapporteur we will ask searching questions on behalf of 500m Europeans. Privacy, #dataprotection, interference in elections. https://t.co/1h0S670OHb
— Claude Moraes MEP (@Claude_Moraes) May 16, 2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 16th, 2018 at 07:24:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mansplaining (none / 1)

Glad that Mark Zuckerberg accepted invitation from @Europarl_EN and will come to Brussels to answer European questions on privacy. Pity this will not be a public hearing. There are more EU users on FB than there are in the US & Europeans deserve to know how their data is handled.
— Věra Jourová (@VeraJourova) May 16, 2018

This is a decision of the Conference of Presidents .It is not your job to control and criticize the @Europarl_EN
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) May 16, 2018

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu May 17th, 2018 at 07:57:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

this.empowerment(Margaret Kidder)

"I've been there and I'm willing to help. What if I send you and Becky a pair of my panties to auction off to the highest bidder? There's got to be some Lois Lane-obsessed pervert out there that would pay good money to sniff them."

1948-2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 05:28:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

Google faces lawsuit in the UK over Safari data collection
The timing and venue for this cold case appears odd. There's a longer version of the story at Guardian which I have not read being sorely disappointed but not surprised by Comcast-(Disney)-Sky rout of antitrust defenses. You Owe Us sez, the High Court actually opened the door in 2015 to 'distributive justice' ... if you're not in a rush.

A representative action is when a group of people affected by the same issue are represented by a single person to bring a claim. Consumers can use such an action to hold large companies to account. Representative actions need representatives, ours is Richard Lloyd.
If you were affected you will automatically be part of the claim and you do not need to take any further action. Richard Lloyd and the lawyers are taking care of the case. To see if you were affected by Google's actions, or alternatively, if you do not wish to be part of the claim, please click here.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 12:21:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

Ebola PANDEMIC II UPDATE: Trump Bucks on the table now for WHO, not UN
US to contribute up to $7 million to fight Ebola outbreak

In 2014's Ebola crisis, thousands of West Africans died preventable deaths...

srsly?

Speaking of 'inspiring stories'
Barack and Michelle Obama sign production deal with Netflix
Is "Spring Time for Hitler II" next?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 11:10:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

"media expert"?
The Obamas' exclusive Netflix deal part of an all-conquering streaming strategy
just no.

## file in "cargo cult"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 11:12:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World Sanitation Truck (none / 0)

Malia Obama's Next Move: An Internship with Harvey Weinstein Jan 2017
Harvey Weinstein still owes Malia Obama money for internship Mar 2018
"Her parents voiced their 'disgust' after becoming aware of the sexual harassment and assault claims involving Weinstein."

Such an inspiring story

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 02:05:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Mann Act Revival UPDATE (none / 0)

Evidently this announcement --latest application of US fed criminal laws, not civil laws and no "context" but #MeToo Victory-- is of interest to the world. Because "It has nothing to do with due process -- because due process hasn't worked for women victims" ? GMAMFB.

Harvey Weinstein to be arrested in New York: reports
"Whether Weinstein would face charges related to separate sexual assault allegations by other female celebrities and employees at his company against him was unclear."

To the contrary: Weinstein is being buried by both (class action) civil and criminal complaints. Some call it the "full force of the law". This concept, algorithm, may be alien to "world citizen" spectators outside the most litigious nation-state on the planet.

references:
18 US Chapter 77
18 U.S. Code § 1590
18 U.S. Code § 2421, "Mann Act"; synopsis
FOSTA 21 Mar 2018, enacted 11 April 2018
SESTA 27 Feb 2018, enacted 11 April 2018

archived:
since Mar 2017: "cross state lines"
NXIVM UPDATE: "actress Alison Mack"
this.empowerment(Raniere, women): "the aggravating count"
Sex with FOSTA/SESTA
People of the State of NY v. Harvey Weinstein (HW), Robert Weinstein (RW), The Weinstein Company LLC (TWC), The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC
Sandeep Rehal v. Harvey Weinstein et al.
Jane Doe v. Harvey Weinstein, et al.: "by means of mail and wire fraud", Nov 2017

Sojourner Truth sez, Happy Black History D144 Y3

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 11:00:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mann Act Revival UPDATE (none / 0)

re: exemplary "bottom bitch"
NXIVM `Sex Lair' Sought in Forfeiture Action

According to the federal forfeiture complaint, filed Wednesday in Brooklyn, the Hale Drive house was purchased in 2004 by a company run by Nancy Salzman, another leader of NXIVM (pronounced Nexium).
[...]
Jane Doe 1, a female actress in her early 30s who lived in Brooklyn, told prosecutors Mack invited her to join DOS.
[...]
The Albany Times Union called the Hale Drive house Raniere's "private sex lair."
Half-million in cash was seized from NXIVM president's house
FBI agents seized more than $520,000 in cash when they raided the Saratoga County residence of NXIVM President Nancy Salzman last month as part of a widening U.S. Justice Department investigation of the secretive organization. ...
A judge unsealed search warrants last month at the Times Union's request, revealing that agents seized items including audio and video recording equipment, a book called "History of Torture," a box of white pills, a DVD drive, DVDs and VHS tapes and other storage devices.

Mind-boggling: #ProPublica#MeToo#Time'sUp has only the arriviste Trump to thank for this forcefull demonstration of "equality" (except Stormy Daniels!) under the law'! Gahbless the DOJ for sorting the whisper lists, right?

archived:
Barbara Smuts, "The Evolutionary Origins of Patriarchy," Human Nature. Vol. 6, No. 1.
"As Hrdy (1981) pointed out, it is not always in a female's reproductive interests to ally with other females against males. Often, females do better by competing with other females and/or allying with males. Among humans, such female strategies can reinforce patriarchy."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 11:57:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mann Act Revival UPDATE (none / 0)

Harvey Weinstein released on $1M bail [CASH MONEY] after arrest on rape, sexual abuse charges (video embedded)
"'Today's charges reflect significant progress in this active, ongoing investigation,' Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement" not necessarily addressed to gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon who has been furiously recalculating her 'base' of Reparations activists. Last week the DA announced, the City would "decline to prosecute" certain marijuana possession charges.

The dual mission of the Manhattan D.A.'s Office is a safer New York and a more equal justice system," said District Attorney Vance. "The ongoing arrest and criminal prosecution of predominantly black and brown New Yorkers for smoking marijuana serves neither of these goals. Effective August 1st, my Office will decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases. We are in discussions with the Mayor and Police Commissioner to consider limited exceptions to this policy, the goal of which is to radically reduce the criminal prosecution of these offenses."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 05:31:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

Hankyoreh | Pro and anti-abortion groups convene in front of constitutional court

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 24th, 2018 at 11:26:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

ominous

When Roe v. Wade is finally overturned, the matter will be left to the states. Some states will ban the practice, and more will follow suit.
Western civilization is at a tipping point over the value of human life. Protesters in Ireland are screaming "Hoes need abortions" [?!] as citizens debate whether to repeal their Eighth Amendment that secures a right to life.

#ProPublica#MeToo#Time'sUp 'analysis' developing ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 02:59:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

North and South Korean leaders meet as US indicates summit may yet happen - Guardian

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, met his South Korean counterpart on Saturday, two days after Donald Trump cancelled a planned summit with Kim.
Moon Jae-in crossed into the north at the border village of Panmunjom, where the two met for the first time in April, the South Korean president's office said. The two leaders discussed the potential US-North Korea summit, as well as implementing the joint statement released at the end of their earlier meeting.
The surprise meeting highlighted Moon's efforts to get the historic US-North Korea summit back on track, and showed inter-Korea relations are in a far better state than those between Washington and Pyongyang.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat May 26th, 2018 at 04:44:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 1)

Some surprise. I suppose, I know who butters the bread at Guardian.

Here is the language of sovereign people, Thursday, responding to Mr Bolton's unilateral threat.
President Moon vows to "take driver's seat" in facilitating summit revival

On May 25, the Blue House expressed its intention to rekindle the embers of dialogue as it called for direct communication between the leaders of North Korea and the US.
[...]
Blue House was officially notified of cancellation after US press
[...]
"He was speaking of the need for direct and open dialogue between the leaders given the deadlock in North Korea-US talks," explained a senior official at the Blue House. But the Blue House made no comment about what form direct communication between the leaders of North Korea and the US might take. "There is currently no direct hotline between the leaders of North Korea and the US. About the only form of direct communication is open letters," said former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun. ...

Here is the language of psychopathy.
Trump on North Korea: 'Everybody Plays Games'
Fluent speakers are also fond of saying, "We're just alike," to strangers, to people with whom they have no intimate relation, as if to demonstrate their own mastery and knowledge of all things. Some call that flattery until they feel the knife between the shoulder blades.

recap
Trump a Master In Dynamite - A Nobel Prize?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat May 26th, 2018 at 10:52:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

LIVING OFF THE PLANET
Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Food

by Bjinse on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 08:10:28 PM EST

Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

Estonia Will Roll Out Free Public Transit Nationwide

On July 1, the entire country of Estonia will create the largest 24/7 free public transit zone in the world, one that will stretch across its entire territory. That will make it feasibly possible (if complicated) to travel by bus from one end of this 1.3 million-strong Baltic nation to the other without paying a cent.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 05:06:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Joys of Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Chicken safety fear as chlorine washing fails bacteria tests - Observer

The chlorine washing of food, the controversial "cleaning" technique used by many US poultry producers who want access to the British market post-Brexit, does not remove contaminants, a new study has found.
The investigation, by a team of microbiologists from Southampton University and published in the US journal mBio, found that bacilli such as listeria and salmonella remain completely active after chlorine washing. The process merely makes it impossible to culture them in the lab, giving the false impression that the chlorine washing has been effective.
Apart from a few voluntary codes, the American poultry industry is unregulated compared with that in the EU, allowing for flocks to be kept in far greater densities and leading to a much higher incidence of infection. While chicken farmers in the EU manage contamination through higher welfare standards, smaller flock densities and inoculation, chlorine washing is routinely used in the US right at the end of the process, after slaughter, to clean carcasses. This latest study indicates it simply doesn't work.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat May 26th, 2018 at 04:37:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (4.00 / 2)

EU prepares to say adieu to single-use plastics - Euractiv

The European Commission is gearing up to reveal how it plans to tackle single-use plastics as part of the much vaunted Plastics Strategy. But an initial draft of the legislation has already received mix reviews.
Commission HQ is slated to present the single-use plastics proposal before the end of the month but a first draft of what is considered one of the jewels in the Plastics Strategy crown has already made its way out of the Berlaymont corridors.
The proposal names and shames a number of specific items that would be targeted by the legislation, including cotton-bud sticks, cutlery, plates, straws and beverage stirrers, as well as plastic sticks used for balloons.

Why the Commission's new plastic ban threatens to fall flat - Euractiv

But how can the plastic problem be solved in a democracy? Not through banning plastic cutlery and straws, scientists agree.
"No single approach can solve the problem alone," says Mehlhart. Similarly, Wilts explains, "I would like the Commission to regulate or ban fewer individual products."
Instead, according to Wilts, there is a need for a comprehensive strategy that sees the plastic problem as a whole and offers solutions at all levels.
For example, recycled plastic should be subsidised, while oil subsidies, needed to produce new plastic, should be cut. Instead of disposable packaging, reusable packaging should be promoted and backed up with deposit systems, especially when it comes to beverage bottles.
In addition, the industry should get concrete goals for how much packaging it has to save. How these are achieved, the companies could then decide for themselves. In the UK, that has already happened, says Wilts - and it's very successful.

[The latter article coming from "EURACTIV Germany's media partner WirtschaftsWoche"]

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun May 27th, 2018 at 04:10:49 PM EST
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Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

11 killed in police fire on protesters against Vedanta subsidiary in India

"At least kill one person!"
The protesters have two demands: the closure of the copper smelter plant of Sterlite in the region and a halt to the expansion plans of the plant to other regions in Thoothukudi.
Since the plant began operations in 1997, it has been accused of multiple environmental and human rights violations, causing massive health and livelihood problems to the residents of Thoothukodi. Sterlite Copper is the Indian copper-producing unit of Vedanta Ltd., a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a mining and metals conglomerate founded by Anil Agarwal, whose current wealth is estimated to be $3.3 billion while the company's wealth stands at $12.9 billion.
Protests against Sterlite Copper began from the time operations were initiated. The complaints raised against it have led to several shut-downs but all for short periods. The support the company has received from the State has allowed it [to] continue its operations.

OpEd | The road to greener and smarter cities is paved with copper

As a durable and sustainable metal with a long service life, copper plays a crucial role in the wiring, plumbing, heating and cooling, lighting and roofing of buildings. In fact, a recent report by the International Copper Association showed that there are more than 100 copper applications contributing to green and healthy building construction and improving the overall environmental performance of buildings.
It is also a key component in many low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles, solar thermal, photovoltaics, HVAC using natural refrigerants and smart grids. As such, copper is key to improving energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water quality, and life-cycle costs.

archive
Desertec. Best idea since jesus on a stick with wheels.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun May 27th, 2018 at 05:23:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Living On the Planet (none / 0)

LIVING ON THE PLANET
Society, Culture, History, Information

by Bjinse on Mon May 14th, 2018 at 08:10:31 PM EST

There's Been a Dramatic Rise in Female Campaign Donors This Cycle

Models of Maturity FTW

15 or so? FGM or no FGM? 6 weeks or 24 weeks?
France wants to toughen sex assault laws - but stops short of legal age of consent
You be the judge.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 16th, 2018 at 08:10:52 PM EST
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Whatever you do, don't be jUDgMEtAl!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 16th, 2018 at 08:15:48 PM EST
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walp, D2 -DAA: it appears The Nation is so infested with ad pixels that it will no longer run in my browser. Nice to know.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 16th, 2018 at 09:14:39 PM EST
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Are you really browsing the web without an adblocker?

by generic on Thu May 17th, 2018 at 04:58:14 AM EST
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Somebody has to pay for it....

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu May 17th, 2018 at 05:57:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)

Meh, if the whole toxic web advertisement business dies because everyone starts blocking the ads I consider that a win.

by generic on Thu May 17th, 2018 at 07:01:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

GDPR will pop the adtech bubble - Doc Searls

Several webcomics I read has over the last year ditched ads completely. The amount of money per view appears to be declining and the amount of hassle is increasing. And patreon and Kickstarter appears to give enough to get them by.

by fjallstrom on Thu May 17th, 2018 at 09:52:10 PM EST
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Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)

Since tracking people took off in the late '00s, adtech has grown to become a four-dimensional shell game played by hundreds (or, if you include martech, thousands) of companies, none of which can see the whole mess, or can control the fraud, malware and other forms of bad acting that thrive in the midst of it.
And that's on top of the main problem: tracking people without their knowledge, approval or a court order is just flat-out wrong. The fact that it can be done is no excuse. Nor is the monstrous sum of money made by it.
Without adtech, the EU's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) would never have happened. But the GDPR did happen, and as a result websites all over the world are suddenly posting notices about their changed privacy policies, use of cookies, and opt-in choices for "relevant" or "interest-based" (translation: tracking-based) advertising. Email lists are doing the same kinds of things.
"Sunrise day" for the GDPR is 25 May. That's when the EU can start smacking fines on violators.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat May 19th, 2018 at 11:39:56 AM EST
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Facebook's new political ads rules trip up primary candidates before June election

"They pushed us towards this and sold us on the positives of using Facebook. However, they cut our legs off," Rose said. "If I had known Facebook would do this in the final days of our push, I never would have gone this route, I would have used a different strategy."

doorbell? Twitter?

archived:
Social Media Under Microscope in Emotive Irish Abortion Vote
Notice from the Publisher

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 11:32:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yeah, sadly. I fell off the adblocker wagon last year. I'd been dry for about seven years. Now, look at me, clearing my cache daily and reading trade rags in the dead of night. I tell myself, "SELF, you SHOULD have a professional interest in how low the biz can go." But.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 18th, 2018 at 01:55:07 AM EST
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Re: Living On the Planet (none / 1)

Come one, come all! May 23rd, 16.15, Academiegebouw, Utrecht.https://t.co/craTX40tMj
— Devin Vartija (@DevinVartija) April 18, 2018

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 08:59:58 PM EST
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Re: Living On the Planet (none / 1)

Thanks. Took a peak at the candidate's page and youtube.

Giving a recommend for mere effort to dip his toe into a profoundly demented, European, intellectual history of the world ... "since 1700" (one of several bylines of mine that honor the research and bibliography of Martin Bernal).* I'm not certain ~~these revelations~~ verification will trickle down as the barrier to that 'sociology,' sized like a canvas with monotheistic evolutions, appears impermeable, lo, these many centuries.

This information is not free.

I note with interest though, the candidate avoided German epistemology of the period. Too bad. It was along with establishment of a public university system extremely influential in the erection of a "natural history" of human, or hominid, speciation (depending on one's pretense to empirical or positivist precision). For that is the current, baleful locution floating over paleo-* schools seeking a distance from practical, eugenic applications by plebs of otherwise abstruse 'racist' typologies. John Hawkes is my go to for lipstick on modern phrenology, buttressed by "climatic influences," genomic data "visualization and exploration," and selective "experimental archaeology".

Origin of the 18th impulse that propelled political aspirations of "social and cultural practices that taught Europeans how to empathize with people of another class or culture" into the gruesome 19th, then toward total world domination, has been postulated most persuasively by Frank Snowden. Once I read this, neatly dovetailed with Greek Revival on the continent with 'enlightenment', not so much competing Roman fetishes in Anglo-merican ideal of a republic. Which explains in part why I cannot repeat often enough before I die:

The [enlightenment | revolution | catholicism | 'modernity' ] is best understood in the context of monarchy.

Self-serving to the bitter end. Damn Dawkins.

* Among other germane, secondary sources about the birth of 17th cen. 'egalitarian' culture is Richard Sennett, The Fall of Public Man: generally, the appearance of 'strangers' and its disorienting effect on 'the commons'.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 22nd, 2018 at 10:52:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Questions about the legitimacy of The Wedding is drawing roaches from the woodwork.
retrieved:1751

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 23rd, 2018 at 09:47:19 PM EST
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US websites block netizens in Europe: Why are they ghosting EU? It's not you, it's GDPR
"Because two years wasn't enough time to prepare"

::
had a laugh last week with a friend on contract with a very large, multinat developer/sysint corp. about... the minimum viable product for each of four compliance levels, back-end and front-end.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 25th, 2018 at 09:20:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Hezbollah embarrassed in row over Labaki's Cannes success - Arab News

Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki winning the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her film "Capharnaum" has stirred up a war of words that turned into a cultural clash with Hezbollah.
The story began after Lebanon celebrated the victory of the young female director, who won an important award at an international festival. Her film discusses a sensitive issue through the eyes of Zain, a young Syrian boy who lived a harsh life in Lebanon after he was forcibly displaced by the war in his homeland. The story addresses two of today's most stirring issues in Lebanon and around the world -- asylum and war.

The attack targeting Labaki's victory was an implicit attack against the film and the message it conveys. The character Zain was a victim of the war in which Hezbollah played a key role.

Lebanon has received close to 2 million Syrian refugees and Hezbollah may fear that Lebanese people may blame them (and their strong support of the Assad regime) for the situation

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun May 27th, 2018 at 11:24:12 AM EST
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