'Spider-Man' of Paris to get French citizenship after child rescue  - Guardian

As an undocumented migrant in France, Mamoudou Gassama knew it was best to keep his head down, to not draw attention to himself.

But when he spotted a young child dangling from the balcony of a fourth-floor Paris flat he felt he had to act.

In that split second, Gassama, 22, did not think of himself or the threat of discovery and deportation back to Mali.

Instead, in an extraordinary feat of strength and bravery that has earned him the nickname "Le Spider-Man", he pulled himself up from balcony to balcony, before lifting the crying four-year-old to safety.

And another photo-op for Macron.

Italy's president scotches populist governing alliance - Politico

Italy's messy post-election drama on Sunday night took another stunning turn.

The country's president rejected a proposed populist 5Star-League alliance that included a Euroskeptic as economy minister and looked poised to appoint a "technocratic" government as early as Monday.

The collapse of the proposed coalition leaves Italy on an uncertain path in the days ahead, veering between the possibility of early elections or a technocratic government of longer duration. It also threatens a constitutional crisis, as the leaders of the 5Stars Movement and the League condemned the president and one even called for his impeachment.

Oh, and the most important: And it's sure to further rattle already nervous international financial markets.

Poland offers US up to $2B for permanent military base - Politico

Poland wants a permanent U.S. military presence -- and is willing to pony up as much as $2 billion to get it, according to a defense ministry proposal obtained by Polish news portal Onet.

The Polish offer reflects a long-standing desire in Warsaw to build closer security relations with the U.S. and put American boots on the ground. The push dates back to Poland's entry into NATO in 1999, but has taken on added urgency in the wake of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region four years ago and aggressive posture toward the alliance.

Coming just over a month before NATO leaders gather in Brussels for a summit, the Polish initiative is bound to anger Russia, and will be looked at with skepticism by European allies that want to improve relations with Moscow, such as Italy and at times Germany.

"We have neglected Latin America's realms of gold for too long. Brexit can change that"
El Dorado

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Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Ruth Davidson Lie Watch

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Possible new elections on July 29.

Britain doesn't just glorify its violent past: it gets high on it - Afua Hirsch

My entry into this war zone happened by accident a year ago, when I suggested on these pages that we take another look at Nelson's legacy. I wasn't actually waiting in a bulldozer, ready to storm Trafalgar Square, as some people seemed to believe, but simply calling for an appraisal of the hitherto obscured facts.

Those facts remain of minor consequence to the vocal and influential parts of British society that regard the act of raising them as heretical. The instinct is to shoot the messenger. Our great white male media grandees - it is a remarkably consistent demographic - meet simple statements of fact about the historical record with hysterical, table-thumping personal attacks. It's the kind of lashing out that happens when you try to wean someone off an addiction. In this case, Britain is addicted to glory.

There are Empire nostalgics on this side of the Channel too, but nowhere near this level of frenzy.

An Italian site scenarieconomici.it has "Plan B" for leaving the Euro. This is being referred to as Paolo Savona's plan, though I haven't been able to confirm more than the fact that he contributes to the site. It isn't very impressive, using as examples the breakup of Austria-Hungary, Czecheslovakia and the USSR, which all happened before large-scale computerization. Section 2 talks about the need to keep the plans secret, which means that Savona (if this is his plan) should have been involved behind the scenes, not become a public figure.

Di Maio says that impeachment is now off the table, and is back to considering a coalition with the Lega.

Raids in four European countries over Hamburg G20 riots

The raids were carried out with the support of several law enforcement agencies, and Eurojust -- the European agency that deals with judicial cross-border cooperation.

Police gave few other details about Tuesday's multi-nation operation, but earlier in the year, investigators said they had reason to believe that many of the militants behind the violent protests came from Italy and Spain.
[...]
A special task force has been combing through terabytes of police footage, CCTV recordings and private videos with the help of facial recognition software and geolocation data to track down the perpetrators.

archived
a libertarian group called the Black Blocs
so-called antifa modus operandi
"the affirmative consent and the special controls around sensitive types of technology like facial recognition that are required in GDPR "

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

EU Is Considering Tougher Warning on No-Deal Brexit If Talks Stall

The European Union is weighing a much stronger warning on the risk of Brexit talks collapsing without a deal if the U.K. fails to lay out its position in more detail next month, said a person familiar with the matter.

The bloc has made clear Britain needs to show a more detailed view of how it intends to keep the Irish border open by the time EU leaders gather at the end of June -- as yet, Prime Minister Theresa May hasn't produced the firm, written proposals the EU regards as necessary to move negotiations forward.

I would be shocked if May's government had a position to lay out.


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

Brexit blow for UK's hopes of helping set AI rules in Europe"

[interleave added for clarification]

The UK's hopes of retaining an influential role for its data protection agency in shaping European Union regulations post-Brexit -- including helping to set any new Europe-wide rules around artificial intelligence -- look well and truly dashed.

<snip>

But the [adequacy decision] mechanism does not allow for the third country to be involved, in any shape or form, in discussions around forming and shaping the EU's rules themselves. So, in the UK's case, the country would be going from having a seat at the rule-making table to being shut out of the process entirely -- at time when the EU is really setting the global agenda on digital regulations.

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

Gentiloni leads: But the PD will insist on keeping Renzi.

L'indice di fiducia del presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella, chiamato a gestire questa complicata fase di trattative, è molto alto, e raggiunge il 66 per cento.

Il 49 per cento degli italiani ha fiducia anche in Gentiloni. Di Luigi Di Maio si fida il 39 per cento dell'elettorato, mente di Salvini il 35.

Molto più staccato Renzi, il cui indice di fiducia registra un magro 22 per cento. È disposto a dare credito a Silvio Berlusconi, infine, appena il 16 per cento degli italiani.

Italy leads Europe in the number of people being naturalized, followed by the UK, Spain and France. In Italy itself, the parts ruled by the Lega are at the top.

Nel 2016 la Lombardia è al primo posto sia per numero assoluto di nuovi cittadini (54mila), sia per aumento percentuale (+18,5 per cento rispetto al 2015), con dati quasi quadruplicati dal 2012 al 2016: da 14mila infatti si è passati appunto a 54mila unità. Dietro la Lombardia si colloca il Veneto, con 29mila acquisizioni di cittadinanza nel 2016 (+13,6 per cento rispetto al 2015), ovvero tre volte e mezzo rispetto a quelle registrate nel 2012, anno in cui erano poco più di 8mila.

European Parliament Fines for Shocking Remarks Vacated

Both sets of comments prompted European Parliament President Antonio Tajani to levy several penalties against the MEP: cutting his daily [?] subsistence allowance [?] to the tune of about $18,000
[...]
After pointing to Parliament's own acknowledgement that the MEP's remarks did not cause disorder or disruption, the General Court rejected the argument that the harm Korwin-Mikke caused to Parliament's reputation and institutional standing amounted to a disruption.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Rajoy is out, finally: 7 years and 2 1/2 elections. That is some slooooooow acting "buyers' remorse", ppl.

Sánchez is in, pro temp,"for a few months before calling a general election" any day now. Because Trump? Russians? Italy? Racism?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Evening Standard under fire for selling `favorable' coverage to Uber, Google

The London Evening Standard is facing accusations it sold "favorable news coverage" to six major companies, including Uber and Google, in a £3 million deal.

Open Democracy, a political U.K.-based website, accused the paper of offering positive news coverage to the likes of Uber and Google in exchange for corporate partnerships worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, as part of an upcoming campaign called London 2020.

According to the report published Wednesday, the Evening Standard told corporate partners they would not just get the usual, clearly labeled "advertorial" content, but also news and comment pieces "that will appear to readers as routine, independently written editorial."

I'm SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED

Juncker: Italians need to work harder and be less corrupt  - Guardian

Jean-Claude Juncker has said Italians need to work harder, be less corrupt and stop looking to the EU to rescue the country's poor regions, in comments unlikely to ease the fraught political battle over Italy's future relationship with Brussels.

Days after the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, defended Italy's place in the eurozone against the country's populist leaders, the president of the European commission said he was in "deep love" with "bella Italia", but could not accept that all the country's problems should be blamed on the EU or the commission.

"Italians have to take care of the poor regions of Italy. That means more work; less corruption; seriousness," Juncker said. "We will help them as we always did. But don't play this game of loading with responsibility the EU. A country is a country, a nation is a nation. Countries first, Europe second."

The EC President then added: "Italians cannot expect to earn money simply by watching interest accrue in bank accounts opened by wealthy foreigners to avoid taxes. And their Prime Minister should certainly not negotiate favorable tax arrangements for multinationals. Who do they think they are? Luxembourgers?"

Guardian

Article 41.2 of the constitution says the Irish state "recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the state a support without which the common good cannot be achieved. The state shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home."

A constitutional conference in 2013 recommended change, and when the prime minister, Leo Varadkar, took office last year he promised it would be one of the issues put to citizens in a referendum.

The vote could be as early as October, potentially alongside the presidential election. Options include removing the clause entirely, or replacing it with a gender-neutral reference to the work of carers.

And what about Article 43?

The State acknowledges that man, in virtue of his rational being, has the natural right, antecedent to positive law, to the private ownership of external goods.

Which excludes women, and maybe excludes Donald Trump. Or Article 44?

The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honour religion.

Napoli Today

Due turisti tedeschi, un uomo di 40 anni e una donna di 35, sono stati denunciati a piede libero dalla Polizia di Stato a Capri con l'accusa di furto in concorso ai danni di un operaio napoletano.

Il fatto è accaduto su un aliscafo di linea da Napoli a Capri. La vittima, che si stava recando sull'isola azzurra per motivi di lavoro, all'arrivo a Capri si è accorta di non avere più il portafogli con all'interno circa 50 euro.

2018 | May | Funniest Headline (so far>
Argentina Is ["]Suddenly["] on the Verge of ANOTHER Economic Collapse

President Mauricio Macri, a business tycoon who vowed to reincorporate Argentina into the global economy, has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a hefty credit line of at least $19.7 billion to see the country through the rest of his term, which ends in 2019.

When the IMF gets involved, it tends to be the beginning of the end, as we saw in Greece, whose crisis was at its peak between 2009 and 2016...

Actually, the End of the Beginning
I followed Elliot Mgmt v. Republic of Argentina pretty closely at the time, on account of the mysterious ways "English law" and "odious debt" converged with the 'pots and pans' revolution, ECLAC, the IADB but not ISDA, offside yellow cards, 'pariah status,' ray-geem change, and the MEMORABLE wisdom sayings of the Hon. Tho. Griesa.

"Look, the bonds that are covered isn't some indefinite concept," a frustrated Griesa told the packed courtroom in Federal Court. "It's not all particular bonds."

< wipes tears >
So. Macri's first act was to issue NEW! bonds to pay off the "hold-outs."

This month's headline is a few years late, and several billions short of The Economist's smug announcement.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Calls growing to stop nationalisation of CAP

Following a long-term budget proposal which included a cut in the funds allocated to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the next multiannual financial framework, the European Commission is due to unveil on Friday (1 June) its overall plan for the next CAP.
[...]
Greater subsidiarity risks "significantly increasing the bureaucratic complexity" of the CAP, said the socialist MEP Paolo de Castro. These fears are shared by the rest of the European Parliament AGRI Committee, which last week approved a resolution in which it opposes any "renationalisation of the CAP", and calls for any additional subsidiarity to be accompanied by the maintenance of a strong common regulatory framework.

archived
[EC] in for clash with EU members over budget plans
waitwut: Commission's budget proposal draws praise from MEPs
"a system of so-called own resources"
Clever, the manipulation of the principle of subsidiarity. jurisdiction
"results-driven, and the principle of subsidiarity should apply." political alliances
"a way to circumvent their own parliaments" political divisions
Maastricht and All That curly cucumbers

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Taxes coming to big data in Germany?

At the two-day Global Solutions policy forum in Berlin, Angela Merkel broached the topic of tax reform, but not in the way many expected. "The pricing of data, especially that of consumers, will in my view be essential to ensure a fair world," she said.

heh. The CA Cohort of Petty Landlords (d/b/a calculatedrisk) have a saying: If you want less of something (say, personalized-ux-data TRAFFICKING), tax it.

archived
"the 'informed consent' of users may require compensation. Quarterly financial statements for each advertisers' campaign might do the trick."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

H.R.2219 - End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2018
This bill amends the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 to add the Secretary of the Treasury as a member of President Trump's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The task force must submit to Congress recommendations for the revision of anti-money laundering programs specifically targeting severe forms of human trafficking. There has been 1 roll call vote, passed
S.2080 - End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2017
Ms. Warren for herself and Mr. Rubio introduced the bill
::
American Ideals. AmericanValues

Human traffickers often use legitimate businesses to hide their illicit profits, taking advantage of our financial system and institutions to promote slavery. And they do it with near impunity. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), managing an organized trafficking network is virtually impossible without creating a trail. Financial investigation coupled with law enforcement could trace and stop trafficking sooner.

"Will suburban white women embrace them?"

A multi-agency team of investigators from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies conducted a six-month investigation into the operation of this [NXIVM?] ring. The investigation revealed a sophisticated network responsible for trafficking women for the purpose of commercial sex. The network was run much like a corporation.

FOSTA/SESTA with "illegals"

"Human trafficking generates $150 billion a year in illegal profits," a representative for Warren told HuffPost. "Our bill would connect federal regulators, law enforcement, and the banking industry to help strengthen existing anti-money-laundering efforts that combat traffickers -- Congress should pass it."

Rubio and Warren Join Forces Against Working Folks

And all independent working women trying to feed their children through #sexwork. #SESTA already killed 2 woman forced on street by it-one was butchered by a madman- 13 missing. 2 weeks into effect. Now, that's not enough, they must be homeless and destitute too.

— San Francisco E** [censored] (@lovings) April 24, 2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

The "Sharing Economy". Ill-conceived from Day 1.
Is Microsoft about to git-merge with GitHub? Rumors suggest: Maybe

GitHub is said to carry at least a $5bn price tag after it was last valued at $2bn during its latest funding round in 2015.
[...]
If an acquisition were to go ahead, it would be a substantial U-turn from around the end of last year when ["]GitHub["] insisted it wanted to go it alone and eventually go public on the stock market.
[...]
It is still looking for a CEO, mind you, to replace Chris Wanstrath, who last year said he would leave as soon as a successor is found. To this day, no replacement has been named.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

nakedcapitalism

The medications where the US relies on China include heparin, a blood thinner that among other things is used for IV drips. No heparin, no IV treatments. Due to the difficulty in tracing the source of drug company ingredients, the authors could make only case by case investigations, but they China production to be critical for treatments for Alzheimer's HIV, depression, schizophrenia, cancer, epilepsy, and high blood pressure.

Dependency is not the only risk. US drug companies shifted production to China not just to save cost but to escape regulation. The FDA has only limited access to Chinese factories, with the Chinese having well over 700, yet the FDA able to inspect only 15 a year on average. As Gibson said on C-SPAN:

Trump awards Medal of Honor to Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Afghanistan
"I mean, talk about the funny stuff we do."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Simile Suicide w/o  27 May 2018
"Midterms will be referendum on Trump"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Cameroon: Accusations By U.S. Ambassador - Government Expresses Strong Disapproval

This follows a statement issued by Ambassador BARLERIN on Friday 18 May 2018, after an ·audience the latter was granted by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Cameroon. In the said statement, the Ambassador notably accused the Cameroonian army of targeted assassinations in the North-West and South-West Regions, while advising the Head of State not to stand for the upcoming presidential elections in order to secure his legacy, following the examples of former Presidents Nelson MANDELA and George Washington.

ahem

The Minister of External Relations expressed the Cameroonian government's strong disapprovàl of the Ambassador's outing, which flouts all diplomatie practices and shows disregard, both in form and in content, for rules of civility and the law.
[...]
Concerning the content, the Minister of External Relations refuted Ambassador BARLERIN'S totally unfounded allegations concerning the actions of Cameroon's defence and security forces who, in spite of almost daily harassment and serious human and material losses, have constantly kept, with professionalism and rigour, the rules of engagement and international humanitarian law, in a bid to safeguard the lives and freedoms of citizens, as weil as peace, stability and the territorial integrity of Cameroon. &tc.

'criminals'
Cameroon: Army Kills Scores in Anglophone Region

"A group of terrorists was reported in Menka" and the military intervened to surround the hotel where they were, army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said. Several weapons and ammunition had been seized, he added.

But in the village, people do not think they were separatists, but rather criminals, according to Tumasang. The presence of a large English-speaking minority -- about a fifth of Cameroon's population of 22 million dates back to the colonial period.

ending 1960. Incidentally ...
Cameroon - China - EU Delegation: Fostering Cooperation Ties

Since 1971 when diplomatic ties were established, Cameroon and the People's Republic of China have cooperated on a wide range of sectors. In March 2018, President Paul Biya on the invitation of President Xi Jinping carried out a three day official visit to China.

yer gonna need moahr ebola ... vaccine.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Darn. Looks like "the patriarchy" is observing an unspoken Over-kill limit. Weinstein crimes will not answer to FOSTA/SESTA charges. He plays more to the "lone wolf" type.
Weinstein Indicted in Sex Case; Lawyer Says He'll Fight It

Weinstein was charged Friday with raping one woman and committing a criminal sex act by compelling oral sex from another....Beyond the two women involved in the case, dozens more women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault in various locales.

The reporter however does concede "accountability" to the evidence in hand. So to speak.

Vance, a Democrat, came under public pressure from women's groups to prosecute Weinstein after declining to do so in 2015, when an Italian model went to police to say Weinstein had groped her during a meeting. Police set up a sting in which the woman recorded herself confronting Weinstein and him apologizing for his conduct. But Vance decided there wasn't enough evidence to bring charges.

archived
Weinstein is being buried

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

not constructive

How should we define racism?
"A group's collective bias backed by legal authority and institutional control."

Is everyone racist?
"While everyone has racial bias, I reserve the word 'racist' to describe the bias that white people have -- our collective bias is backed by institutional power."

FAIL

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Trump starts trade war with allies, Europe to respond "within hours"
because Italy! M5!! Populism!!!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

as for Trump being "played" here if he's getting played by anyone it's Moon which is... a good thing. What do all these savvy hip Western pundits know that South Koreans dont? No one can answer this. https://t.co/p21cJrPDPg

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) 3. Juni 2018

His Excellency Major General Staff Pilot Stephen A. Toumajan

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Turning point toward "replacing mistrust with trust" on the Korean Peninsula

It was a classic example of creating good from evil. The surprise move by Moon and Kim to break out of the crisis was a joint declaration that the Korean Peninsula will no longer remain a lonely outpost of the Cold War and that Koreans will no longer be swayed by the political machinations and the wedges driven by the four powers around the Korean Peninsula - the US, China, Japan and Russia - which have caused them to squander so much time in war, division and conflict.

Why people incorporate.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

mission creep
Lutte contre Boko Haram: le satisfecit des Etats-Unis

C'est l'ambassadeur des Etats-Unis au Cameroun, Peter Henry Barlerin qui est venu remettre, en main propre, ladite lettre au cours d'une audience que lui a accordée le président de la République.

Dans un Palais de l'Unité qui subit depuis quelques jours une cure de fraîcheur dans la perspective de la grande réception qu'offre le 20 mai prochain le couple présidentiel camerounais à ses invités, Paul Biya et le chef de la mission diplomatique américaine au Cameroun en ont profité pour revisiter la riche et intense coopération entre le Cameroun et les Etats-Unis, notamment dans le domaine de la sécurité. La lutte contre Boko Haram dans la région de l'Extrême-Nord s'est ainsi imposée comme l'un des principaux points au menu de cette entrevue.
[...]
L'appui des Etats-Unis au Cameroun dans la lutte anti-terroriste est multidimensionnel. Depuis 2015, 300 militaires américains séjournent au Cameroun dans le but d'assurer une mission de surveillance aérienne et de fourniture de renseignements dans le cadre de la lutte contre Boko Haram.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

(Not that any other Western newspaper would be different)

Gaza

Figures for the dead and injured were supplied by the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza and a website associated with the group. The most seriously injured had reportedly been shot in the head or upper body.

Ukraine

Arkady Babchenko, a critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in Ukraine on Tuesday, where he had fled into exile after a series of threats. Police in Kiev said the high-profile murder may have been linked to his reporting.

No "allegedly" or anything of the sort. After all, Putin did it. Today

Arkady Babchenko, the Russian journalist who was reported to have been shot dead in Kiev, has turned up alive at a news conference in Ukraine.

OpEd | The EU is right to refuse legal personality for Artificial Intelligence

The European Commission's recent outline of an artificial intelligence strategy does not give in to European Parliament calls to grant personhood for AI. The Commission is right in this, though not for the reasons mentioned in a recent open letter published by experts

That is redundancy.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

EU [Court of Human Rights] Raps Countries Complicit With CIA Torture

For years on end, one of the Thursday reports notes, Zubaydah faced "detention conditions specifically designed to isolate and disorientate detainees by transfers to unknown locations, even if he had been allowed to testify before the court, would not be able to say where he was detained."

"Nor can it be reasonably expected that he will ever, on his own, be able to identify the places in which he was held," the 317-page report continues.
[...]
"The court has already found that, through the actions and inaction of the Romanian authorities in the context of their complicity in the operation of the CIA HVD Programme on Romania's territory, the applicant has been exposed to the risk of the death penalty being imposed on him," the 315-page report on al-Nashiri states.

small "cost of doing business" with the CIA

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Anglophone news is all over DPRK delegation in NYC to flatter Pompeo off the cliff. Meanwhile (url kcna.kp, subject to GOOG translate) kcnawatch.co relays times's arrow: Kim Jong Un Receives Russian FM, 1 June

Lavrov highly appreciated the DPRK for having successfully steered the relations between the north and south of Korea and between the DPRK and the U.S., and the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region for having entered the phase of stability.

He said that Russia fully supports the DPRK's determination and stand on the DPRK-U.S. summit high on the agenda and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and wishes for their good successes.

Kim Jong Un said that the DPRK's will for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula still remains unchanged and consistent and fixed and he hoped that the DPRK-U.S. relations and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula will be solved on a stage-by-stage basis by founding a solution to meet the interests of each other through a new method in a new era and under a new situation and the solution of the issues will progress through effective and constructive dialogue and negotiation.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Flippy the robot's burgers may be better than yours (embedded video/EN, no transcript)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

'Don't expect Kilauea to finish anytime soon'
Advice for the ... challenged: The next question is, Who do I sue?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

jobs saved or created
California debuts `digital' license plates. Here's what they'll cost you.
eliminates "the need to physically stick tags on their plates each year" and other purposes.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Engineering seeds and digging into global markets

The Monsanto-Bayer merger [1],[2],[3] caps off three rounds of mega-mergers among global chemical corporations [4],[5].  These companies are consolidating and jockeying for better control of their market share of bio-technologies, agricultural seeds and agricultural data.

The growing of food has multiple political, social, scientific and environmental considerations; arguably the control of the seed value chain is key. Farming policies can either weaken or strengthen community-based farming systems and livelihoods decision.
[...]
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) website specifically mentions its work in boosting seed production by investing in local African seed companies.  The question is what kinds of seed production is being prioritised, is it primarily for export markets and how are non-commercial or family-run farm able to access this seed, manage and be responsible for the growing of quality seed.  Some reports [[xv]] suggest that AGRA distributes genetically modified seed and makes it difficult to use indigenous seeds and practices, potentially undermining the very business base of family farms.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

"VW defeat devices: A comparison of U.S. and EU required fixes" (Dec 2017, illustrated) released by Greenpeace | Unearthed, 29 Mar

It is immediately apparent that U.S. regulators are requiring VW to do far more to fix their vehicles than Europe is. Except for a $10 piece of plastic on VW's 1.6L diesel,6 all of the fixes in Europe are software-only. In the United States, only the 2012-14 Passat and the 2015-16 3.0L vehicles have a software-only fix. All others are required at least to replace the NOX aftertreatment (LNT or SCR catalyst) and some are required to replace additional hardware components, such as the particulate trap, particulate sensor, or oxidation catalyst. To modify just 500,000 vehicles in the United States, VW repeatedly has had to set aside more money,7 while the company has already "fixed" more than 6 million cars in Europe.
[...]
Overall, the cost of the fixes in the United States is very high. The estimated cost of installing an LNT or SCR system in new vehicles is about $500, and the cost of the particulate trap is similar.8 The expense for retrofitting these components would be significantly higher, reflecting engineering time to redesign the systems, labor cost to install them, and administrative costs for shipping the parts to about a thousand dealers. And reports are that VW has not been able to come up with an acceptable fix at all for the 2009-12 3.0L diesels in the United States and will be forced to scrap the entire vehicle with these diesel engines.

archived May 2018
The General Court rejects class action law suit
'oxides of nitrogen': NO, NO₂, N₂O, and NO₅

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

surprise!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Pretty much sums up FIFTH WAVE of 'Girls Rule' Things That Cannot Be Said.
A Not Entirely Unexpected Campaign Roadblock for Women of Color
Word on the street anyway is, Abrams is DNC certified. So she's got that going for her.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Shutting Down Facebook in PNG is a Reality
relayed by DW

DW editorial interest in the matter is difficult to gauge accurately. You may address your appreciation for "contextualization," in lieu of personal interview with the subjects and a Friedman map, to Herr Martin.

archived
Final splice of Hawaiki complete

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

German police launch crackdown on slavery human trafficking prostitution sex work, organized crime

Security forces in Germany conducted multiple raids and detained more than 100 people on Wednesday, targeting human traffickers and criminals involved in "smuggling, forced prostitution and exploitation," the police announced on Twitter.
[...]
Police detained a 59-year-old Thai woman in the town of Siegen alongside several other people, according to Bild. The woman is suspected of being a leader of the gang along with her 62-year-old German partner. The two allegedly build a criminal network involving over 50 people, most of them women.
[...]
The sex workers were promised they would make money in Germany, but almost all of their earnings would go to their handlers pimps employers, according to the prosecutors.

"They were not lied about the purpose (of their trip to Germany) but they were deceived when it comes to conditions," officials said. Prostitution has been legal in Germany since 2002.

One day I will post for you a story about how "head rights" populated the ancient British American colony of Maryland.

archived
Mann Act Revival UPDATE, NXIVM edition

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Three days of "peasant" revolt, from May 29 to 31, 1860, sparks a torrent of violence from Mount Lebanon into Damascus, an area formerly known by certain persons as "Greater Syria" or the Mamluk Empire.[1] By July 1860 a letter from James Lewis Farley, published in the English Daily News, stated that 7,000 and 8,000 had been murdered, 5,000 widowed and 16,000 orphaned, 326 villages, 560 churches, 28 colleges, 42 convents, and 9 other religious establishments having been totally destroyed. Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill, who could see Tyre from his grotto, estimated 11,000 murdered, 100,000 refugees, 20,000 widows and orphans, 3,000 habitations burnt to the ground, and 4,000 perishing from destitution. Purportedly this news inspires France to intervene and stop Ottoman troops from aiding Islamic forces or disarming Christian forces. It is said Macron Napoleon III invoked an "ancient" oath which was sealed by treaty in 1523 to protect Christians in the Ottoman Empire.

1523?

There is plenty of confusion about particulars to be found online. For example, one modern account of this crime against humanity has Tanyus Shahin, a Maronite peasant leader, inciting a revolt to drive Maronite feudal lords out of Kesruan in 1859. In the same account Shanin, supported by non-denominational clergy, merely began preparing for an armed uprising against Maronites' Druze masters, irking these mulberry orchard owners into arming Muslim irregulars for genocide-like massacre.[2]. Lebanon silk was a thing.

Don't you mean 1923?

No. That mandate from heaven is but one in a series of marketing experiments to regulate intransigent trading  partners. Opportune crusaders landed in Lebanon in 1860, claiming to liberate christians from enslavement by Islamic mercantilism, as was the custom, rather than ingratiate their manufacturers in the chaos. [3],[3] Beginning in 1516, the Habsburgs which succeeded the Byzantine bureaucracy in all matters "christendom" signed a slew of deals with Ottoman successors to the Mamluks to forestall defeat but also undercut their relative-competitors [4]. That is, the provenance of R2P pilgrims today is no less ridiculous than it was in 1095.

In the mid-to-late thirteenth century, outposts of the crusader states along the coast of Greater Syria were still in Latin Christian hands. Acre, the last outpost to fall to the Mamluks in 1291, was a transshipment point for banned goods throughout the period. 169 In 1246, Pope Innocent IV wrote to the patriarch and bishops of the Kingdom of Jerusalem "concerning certain Genoese, Pisan and Venetian merchants who take Greeks, Bulgars, Russians and Vlachs, all Christians, both male and female, from the regions of Constantinople and travel to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where they sell them to the highest bidder, even Saracens, in such a way that many of those sold are held as slaves."170 The pretext for the sack of Acre by the Mamluks in 1291 was the killing of several Muslims; some versions of the story identify them as slave traders bringing mamluks to the sultan.171  However, the assertion that Edward I of England found the Genoese selling slaves there in 1271 is unfounded. The source cited in this regard, Andrea Dandolo's Chronicon venetum, says only that Edward became angry with Venetians preparing a ship for Alexandria.172 After the sack of 1291, Acre went into economic decline. Because it had become part of Mamluk territory, it was not longer a suitable port for Italian merchants and ship captains trying to evade trade bans.
[...]
At some point before 1420, Genoa also instituted an inspection system to prevent the export of Christian slaves from Caffa to the Mamluks.171 In 1434, the Genoese authorities described it in detail in a letter to Pope Eugenius IV (a Venetian).172 Before a ship could depart from Caffa, the slaves were counted and a tax on them was collected. Then bishops, accompanied by certain religious and laity, would board the ship and speak to each slave about his or her origins and religion. If the slave was Christian or wished to become Christian, he or she was removed from the ship and sold to a Christian owner.[5]

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

classic

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Isn't it ironic.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.