Scoop : Where They Tell You Not to Look

We still have no idea of who attacked Sergei Skripal and why. But the fact that, right from the start, the government blocked the media from mentioning Pablo Miller, and put out denials that this has anything to do with Christopher Steele and Orbis, including lying that Miller had never been connected to Orbis, convinces me that this is the most promising direction in which to look.

< wipes tears >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Private land to be seized for affordable homes - minister

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

House of Lords votes to give MPs Irish hard border veto
supporting an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill that would bar the introduction of border checks and any form of physical infrastructure without the prior agreement of the Irish government.
Theresa May vows to overturn Lords plan

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Jewish Press

The explosion erupted around 10 PM near the Biala Shul in Stamford Hill, as the Rebbe lit the bonfire. According to Yeshiva World, multiple smartphones had been dropped into the pile of rags prepared for the bonfire, as a statement against the spiritual corruption borne by smartphones and the internet.

According to Yeshiva World, the Rebbe spoke about the evils of the smartphone just before igniting the bonfire, and as soon as the fire was lit, there was a massive explosion and a large fireball.

4 May 2018

As I write, with over 75% of all yesterday's English local election results in, Labour has a net gain of 55 councillors compared to the high water mark of the 2014 result in these wards, while the Tories have a net gain of one seat against a 2014 result which was regarded at the time as disastrous for them, and led the Daily Telegraph to editoralise "David Cameron Must Now Assuage the Voters' Rage".

Yet both the BBC and Sky News, have all night and this morning, treated these results, in which the Labour Party has increased by 3% an already record number of councillors in this election cycle, as a disaster.

BBC | 5 May 2018 | Local election results 2018: The results in maps and charts

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Encore
France: Tens of thousands rally against President Emmanuel Macron in Paris
"Tens of thousands of people gathered in Paris on Saturday to rally against French President Emmanuel Macron and sweeping reforms that have characterized his administration."
Wakes up with fleas
France slams Donald Trump for Bataclan remarks during NRA speech
"Manuel Valls, wrote on Twitter: 'indecent and incompetent. What more can I say?' "

archive: May Day
Authorities blamed the violence ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

The General Court rejects class action law suit
'oxides of nitrogen': NO, NO₂, N₂O, and NO₅

Without ruling on the legality of that regulation, the annulment of which is sought by several European capitals in other cases, the General Court finds that those almost 1500 individuals have not established that the alleged harm is actual and certain or personal

The emission limits accepted by the Commission have been the subject of several actions before the General Court, including those brought by the Cities of Paris, Brussels and Madrid.2 Those actions for annulment are at present being considered by the General Court, with a hearing fixed in those three cases for 17 May 2018.

At the same time as those actions for annulment, 1429 natural persons, mainly domiciled in France, have brought an action against the EU for the purpose of seeking compensation for the harm which they claim to have suffered as a result of the adoption of the Commission regulation. Today's order concerns this action for damages.

The 1429 individuals consider that that regulation causes them material damage, linked to the deterioration of the quality of the air that they breathe and the resultant deterioration of their health, and that it has also caused them non-material damage linked to their fears in that regard for themselves and those close to them, and their fears resulting from their loss of confidence in the EU institutions' action to combat environmental degradation. Each of those individuals seeks a symbolic sum of €1 as compensation for material damage and €1000 as compensation for nonmaterial damage. By today's order, the General Court dismisses the action for damages brought by the 1 429 individuals as lacking any basis in law.
[...]
The Court finds, first, that the extent of the damage linked to a deterioration of air quality has not been adequately proved, in so far as only a very unspecific and general assessment of the additional pollutant emissions caused by the provisions at issue could be attempted, if necessary after a certain time, with only very inconclusive results. In particular, it would be impossible to predict, had the Commission maintained more stringent limits, to what extent potential buyers would have immediately turned to the types of vehicle, possibly fewer in number, which had successfully undergone the tests conducted by complying with those limits or whether they would have preferred to keep their old vehicles for longer.

Looks like US plaintiffs have exhausted funds available from manufacturers for re-distribution.

archive
deaths caused by nitric oxide from diesel engines worldwide in 2015
"A friend of mine's mother used to commute every working day ..."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Commission budget proposal hardly makes EU enlargement possible

In recent years, the EU avoids the term "enlargement", having replaced it with "Western Balkans", thus excluding Turkey, a country which, according the Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is taking giant steps away from the EU.

waitwut: Commission's budget proposal draws praise from MEPs

Juncker and Oettinger were met with a smattering of praise from different political groups. Several MEPs focused on the Commission's proposal to create a system of so-called own resources, which they described as a success for the Parliament after years of fighting for such a change to diversify the bloc's sources of revenue.

The own resources proposal could bring in €22 billion to the EU budget through measures including new taxes on plastics and carbon emissions, and a 3% common consolidated corporate tax base.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

re: 12 May
Europeans push last bid to salvage Iran deal, but work on plan B
"Countermeasures could include a special EU blocking statute developed in the 1990s but never fully used, to shield European firms doing business with Iran from US legal action if Washington reimposes sanctions."

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!
-Marmion, a tale of Flodden Field in six cantos

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Naked Capitalism

I must confess to a bit of schadenfreude in seeing Eric Schneiderman quit. He's finally getting the level of press coverage he always wanted.

You can read the underlying allegations that led to his world-record speedy resignation in the New Yorker. Four women accused him of sexual violence, such as being hit and choked by him. Two were willing to have their names published. One had a photo of the alleged damage done by him.

[...]

Schneiderman was singularly responsible for the Obama Administration' success in executing what has not been sufficiently well recognized as a second bailout to banks, in the form of the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement in which 49 states also participated. We called the "get out of liability for almost free card" for banks otherwise known as the National Mortgage Settlement. Federal and state officials had massive leverage over bank servicers to force them to do mortgage modifications for borrowers who still had some level of income. It would not only have been better for homeowners and communities, but it would have greatly reduced investor losses.

Schneiderman threatened me through Democratic party intermediaries as I wrote about how terrible the National Mortgage Settlement was and how the Administration had played him for a fool: "I'm going to get her." I didn't feel concerned because Schneiderman had been so ineffective as a prosecutor.

a Weinstein UPDATE
Weinstein Painted as Tuxedo-Clad Pimp for Sex-Trafficking Prostitution Case

Last year [the British actress Kadian] Noble sued Weinstein, his brother and their company under the Trafficking Commercial Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
[...]
"Nobody has dealt with a factual situation like this under the statute?" Sweet asked, referring to sex-trafficking law.

Telling the judge he was correct, [Weinstein's attorney Phyllis] Kupferstein denied that there was any commercial sex act because Weinstein never promised to land Noble a film role.

"Her understanding about that is not a thing of value," she said.[1],[2],[3], [4]

If the case is unprecedented, Weinstein's accusers have brought the first cases on both coasts. [Noble's attorney Jeffrey ] Herman told reporters outside of court that he filed similar allegations on behalf of actress Dominique Huett in Los Angeles.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Thank the Lazy Clown President This Time

Calling South Korea's government a "puppet" is no exaggeration. Until December 1994 , US commanders held day to day operational control over South Korean forces. To this day, treaties between the US and South Korea surrender immediate command and control of all South Korean military assets and forces to American officers not Korean ones in case of war. The South Korean army is still a Pentagon sock puppet.

By allowing Koreans to make peace Trump deftly removed the foot from his mouth, and gets credit for doing something neither Obama nor the Clintons would have dared attempt. Peace between the Koreans is an unambiguously good thing for them and for everybody, so we can all thank Trump for that one. Korea was one nation for centuries, but only divided by the US since World War 2.

Pompeo and Bolton offer different stances regarding North Korea's denuclearization

During an interview with ABC News, Pompeo dodged a question about whether there might be any easing of sanctions before the "complete irreversible dismantlement" of North Korea's nuclear program and said, "We're going to do it in a fundamentally different way than the previous efforts to persuade the North Koreans to get rid of their nuclear weapons program. We have [. . .] our eyes wide open."
[...]
This contrasts with remarks made by Bolton during interviews with Fox News and CBS. When Bolton was asked whether "President Trump [will] insist that Kim give up, ship out, all of his nuclear weapons, all of his nuclear fuel, all of his ballistic missiles, before the US makes any concessions," he said, "Yes, I think that's what denuclearization means."

South Korea president says Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize

Moon's Nobel Prize comment came in response to a congratulatory message from Lee Hee-ho, the widow of late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, in which she said Moon deserved to win the prize, the Blue House official said.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

World's Most Litigious Nation-State Reports
US judge: Iran must pay $6bn to victims of 9/11 attacks

A default judgement is issued when a defendant does not contest the case in court.

No show to summons!

Though the lawsuit alleged Iran supported the hijackers with training and other assistance, any Iranian involvement in the attacks remains unclear.

The 9/11 Commission, which was tasked with preparing a "full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding" the attacks, found no evidence of direct Iranian support, other than certain 9/11 hijackers travelled through Iran on their way to Afghanistan, without having their passports stamped.

PACER docket | Thomas Burnett, Sr., et al. v. The Islamic Republic of Iran, et al., 15-cv-9903, 30 April 2018

ubn warned: In cases like this, bring your own army. If you want to collect.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

East Africa: 'Evolving Ethnicities' [Podcast Transcript]

... JOK MADUT JOK:  The United States and the rest of the world in 2011 focused on building the state. So they gave more power and more resources to the political system, to the state. What they failed to do concurrently is building a sense of citizenship in that state such that people graduate from their citizenship in the community and the ethnic group into a sense of collective citizenship in the nation. That disconnect is part of the problem today. ...

SCOTT MALCOMSON:  What do you think remains of a sense of citizenship in South Sudan in a situation where half of the population is in Internally Displaced Persons camps or outside the borders and where the political elite has now failed for a number of years to even resolve the differences amongst themselves?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

RAF airstrike against Isis fighters in Syria unintentionally killed a civilian, says Gavin Williamson
"It is the first time the Ministry of Defence has confirmed a civilian casualty during Britain's campaign against the terror group in Iraq and Syria.'

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo 2018 in Rio de Janeiro

Despite of what many people may think, Cinco de Mayo has no relation with Mexico's independence, but the military victory of the city of Puebla, which defeated the French army in 1862.
[...]
In Rio de Janeiro, one of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations among expatriates will be a themed dinner party and fundraiser night host by the U.S. Consul General and his wife, Jimmy and Susan Story.

A 'Ho Salute' From Detroit for Cinco de Mayo

The parade has fewer in attendance each year, the flags sell less and less. Revelry dwindles as daily tensions add fear and violence to joyous celebrations when beer is cheaper than water, and so many in Detroit are about to implode.  And so come May, it might take a little longer to fill your dance card.  It may be harder to decide what to wear with this fickle weather. But you will not go unseen.  Remember when we were little and we joked "the bigger the hoop, the bigger the ho?" Bring the hoops on. Bring them on as wide as a thigh.  Let them sparkle in the reflection of mirror face aviators staring your way from a car going by at 2 mph taking in Detroit's heavenly scenery.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

The Conservative Case Against Gina Haspel | The American Conservative

Chuck [Murphy]'s final [exam for his intelligence analysis class] had only four questions. The first was this: let's say you are a CIA operations officer. You've just captured one of the most important terrorists in the world. You know from other sources that there is a bomb about to go off in two hours in a major American city, but you don't know exactly where. You know that the terrorist knows the details of the attack. Do you torture him? Explain your answer.

Question two made things a little more difficult. You torture the terrorist and he doesn't tell you anything. But you have his wife in custody, too. You know that she knows her husband's secrets. She has the information you need to prevent the attack. Do you torture her? Explain your answer.

Question three is a little more existential. You've tortured the wife, but she's a true believer. She doesn't tell you anything. You have the couple's children in custody. Do you torture the children in front of the parents to force the parents to talk? Explain your answer.

Question four brought the exam all together. Its simplicity and directness were like a punch in the face: you're standing before the judgment seat of Christ. He asks you to explain your actions. What do you tell him?

Three neonicotinoids down, more bee-killing pesticides to go

Failure to address the wider chemical burden on bees could mean that farmers simply replace banned chemicals with other permitted chemicals that may be just as harmful, warned Greenpeace. To avoid this, the EU must:

• ban all neonicotinoids, as France is considering [2];

• apply the same strict testing standards to all pesticides [3];

• dramatically reduce the use of synthetic pesticides and support the transition to ecological methods of pest control.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

PLAN AHEAD: East Africa's deadly floods are a stark reminder of the region's poor disaster preparedness
slackers
SW Climate Outlook Jan 2018 - Climate Forecast
"monsoon" deprivation
Red Cross warns of risk to thousands as floods in Europe threaten to worsen

Water dumped from hydro-electric power plant reservoirs in Albania to protect the integrity of dams is causing levels in lakes and basins to rise - causing concern in the country and neighbouring Montenegro.  Red Cross emergency teams are working with emergency services in Montenegro and prepare for ...

"unintended consequences"

The Full Monty, revisited

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Polish coal miners missing after earthquake

About 250 miners were underground when the quake hit southern Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic. Seven were trapped 900 [!] meters (2,950 feet) beneath the surface, but two of them have since been rescued.

3.4 magnitude earthquake in southern Poland jolted a coal mine Saturday morning, initially trapping seven miners more than half a mile (almost 1 kilometer) beneath the surface.

Plan for that, smarty pantses!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Hawaii Volcano Sends Lava Bubbling, Forces 1,500 From Homes, 3 May

Hawaiian Electric Light Company crews turned off electricity in the area, and at least one business, Puna Geothermal Venture, did an emergency shutdown. An estimated 31,000 people live in the affected Puna district of Hawaii, mostly in high lava-flow hazard zones due to the presence of vents or being downslope of them.
[...]
Thursday's eruption came on the heels of a swarm of earthquakes that began Monday, including a magnitude 5.0 early Thursday.
[...]
Volcano officials couldn't predict how long Thursday's eruption may last, prompting Hawaii's governor to activate the National Guard to help with evacuations and provide security to about 770 structures left empty when residents sought shelter.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

mariodandreta.net
for a psychosociological analysis of globalization and global elites

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Russian internet protests: Thousands take to the streets to show opposition to censorship

The internet was under attack by people who didn't understand it, Mr Navalny said: "It is the one industry in our destitute country that has been growing on its own. And now these guys... these guys with fat faces... they are saying people are misbehaving on their internet there... so now we're going to gobble it up!"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

○ Submarine Cables: The Invisible War Mapping the World | France Arte |

'Sapere aude'

Today -100: May 5, 1918: Of ballots, marxes, thimbles, sedition, and sauerkraut

The British home secretary bans a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Karl Marx's birth. There would have been resolutions against the capitalist war.

For its own celebration, the NYT Sunday Magazine has managed to find the one socialist, John Spargo, who thinks Marx would have supported the US entering this war.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

truth and reconciliation

Race against time to salvage historic footage of forgotten Northern Ireland internment camp
"'A Pathe News caption on the footage proclaims: 'Martial Law in Ireland: Scenes in the first great Concentration Camp of captured Sinn Feiners who are treated as prisoners-of-war.' ...Many commentators, however, have said the footage is fake news, to use the parlance of today, and that it was part of a propaganda film made by the British."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.