Top Diaries

Walsh should seriously consider immigrating. Her Tory Talk humor is wasted on US "progressives".

The Obsession With Jussie Smollett's 'Hoax' Is Obscuring the Real Threat of Racist Violence
Where's the media furor over real-live racists Christopher Paul Hasson and Roger Stone?
- JOAN WALSH -

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Feb 23rd, 2019 at 12:33:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Chicago, IL municipal election today. Another "Daley" is a candidate.
Chicago voters head to polls to pick Rahm Emanuel successor

"Those running are all Democrats, offering odd claims of doing something different."
[...]
However, an issue that took center stage in the contest is the need to change how business is conducted at City Hall. For some that means an end to ~~pay-to-play, paying off influential politicians in order to do business in~~ the city corruption.
Since 1972, more than two dozen city aldermen have been convicted of crimes related to official duties.
Reforming the city's police department is a job the winning candidate can't dodge. A consent decree approved last month by U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. is aimed at tightening supervision, improving training and fixing the department's disciplinary system.
Judge Robert Dow's approval of the consent decree[pdf] -- without ordering any notable changes of the draft presented to him -- is a culmination of a process that started with the release of video in 2015 showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. It led to the Justice Department investigation.

Former Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke sentenced to 81 months for fatally shooting Laquan McDonald: tiresome

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 04:14:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Chicago to Elect First Black Woman Mayor in Runoff
either Lori Lightfoot or Toni Preckwinkle will man up to Harold Washington's legacy. Which was distinguished before he died by not being a Daley.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 04:27:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Darn. I thought this story, Buried Alive, by Chicago's finest was going to retread that story.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 06:12:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Brexit: Parliament gets to decide between no deal [NO DELAY] and DELAY

"I don't want to see an extension," she said, adding that any delay to Brexit should be "as short as possible."

archived WA "transition period"
by any other name
"There's increasing chatter about a 21 month extension that takes it to the end of the current budget period and almost certainly kills Brexit stone dead."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 03:58:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

No, the "transition period" is after the U.K. leaves. An extension means they stay members until the end and can revoke at any time during the extension. Very different.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 05:29:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

TRANSITION, ARTICLE 126, Transition period, p 196 et seq.

There shall be a transition or implementation period, which shall start on the date of entry into force of this Agreement and end on 31 December 2020.
[...]
1.Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, Union law shall be applicable to and in the United Kingdom during the transition period.
However, the following provisions of the Treaties, and acts adopted by the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union, shall not be applicable to and in the United Kingdom during the transition period:

What are these two exceptions? Protocol No 15 and 19 in re: Northern Ireland; TEU Art. 11, 22, 24 and Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, Art. 39, 40 --which party demanded those "concessions" from EU gov?

[...]
6.Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, during the transition period, any reference to Member States in the Union law applicable pursuant to paragraph 1, including as implemented and applied by Member States, shall be understood as including the United Kingdom.

Read it again. The WA "transition period" effectively preserves for UK virtually all benefits of EU membership in force on or before entry into force of the WA. That perforce includes A.50 notice abbrogating particular UK political authorities.

UK third-country status applies 29 March 2019 24:00 GMT or expiration of (putative) "A.50 extension period" or expiration of the WA "transition period", whichever the earliest date.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 06:17:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

ECJ made it clear revocation was possible until end of A50 period, not thereafter. Not in the transition period.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 07:06:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Northern Ireland - A cross-border economy at stake

Yes.

I didn't comment on ECJ ruling on unilateral revocation of A.50, did I? Nor has UK gov, inter alia. Nor will UK press, because illiterate.

If the UK leaves the Union with a withdrawal agreement, the country would remain in the Customs Union and the Single Market during the transition period, intended to allow the parties to negotiate their future relationship.

including NI

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 07:41:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

from GOTT mouth to May ears
May offers MPs three month extension to Brexit talks

Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons on Tuesday (26 February) that if MPs refused to back her Withdrawal Agreement with the EU on 12 March [meaningful vote?] they would then be given the chance to vote for a 'no deal' Brexit or a short-term extension to Article 50 in the following two days. [14 March meaningful vote?] ... A three-month extension could then be confirmed by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on 21 March.
[...]
Any British request for an extension would require unanimous approval by EU member states. A three-month extension could allow the UK to avoid having to elect MEPs at European Parliament elections in May. The EU assembly's constitutive session takes place in the first week of July.

waitwut

"If it (May's deal) somehow passes in some form, there must be a confirmatory public vote," said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. "Any extension is only necessary because of the PM's shambolic negotiations," he added.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 05:36:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit NEW SCRIPT! (none / 1)

same as the old script
Britain is operating as if a Brexit delay is there for the taking. It's not. Jan 2019
"'No deal is the default,' [Fabian Zuleeg, the chief of the European Policy Center] said. 'It is the only option on the table where you don't need a majority.'"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 08:15:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

OMFG
Brexiteers spell out three tests for EU deal, scale back opposition to Irish backstop

"The mechanism has got to be legally binding, so effectively treaty-level change," one of the group, Conservative lawmaker Michael Tomlinson, said in an interview with the newspaper.
"The second part is the language. It can't be a reinterpretation of the withdrawal agreement or a re-emphasis; it's got to be really clear language as to where we are going ... The third requirement is a clear exit route."
[...]
The [UK] attorney general is trying to secure an enhanced "arbitration mechanism" that allows Britain or the European Union to provide formal notice that the backstop should come to an end, the Telegraph said.
Demands for an "independent" arbitration panel by the negotiators are being resisted by the EU, outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, according to the newspaper.
[...]
"I urge my Labour colleagues to consider voting for an improved deal," [Labour MP Caroline Flint] told Sky News.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Mar 4th, 2019 at 06:42:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit JOBS SAVED OR CREATED (none / 0)

Defence Secretary announces five-year plan for key military sites
Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said:

When improving the defence estate we have always strived to achieve the right balance between working with local communities, achieving value for money and making sure our Armed Forces have what they require to protect our people and promote our prosperity.

DIO Chief Executive Graham Dalton said:

This is an exciting opportunity for Defence and we continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including Devolved Administrations both in areas where sites are closing but also towns that will welcome new enhanced garrisons and camps

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 03:54:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit JOBS SAVED OR CREATED (none / 0)

Just don't shut down the USAF bases.

by asdf on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 06:14:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 1)

(svg screenshot, expires 14 days)

ONS | Figure 2: Non-EU net migration has increased, while EU net migration has decreased
year ending December 2008 to year ending September 2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Mar 3rd, 2019 at 02:50:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Trump (none / 0)

TRUMP

by Bjinse on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 at 08:28:47 PM EST

Re: Trump (none / 0)

pic.twitter.com/h0mhx7OZws
— Shizzle the Land (@Shizzletheland) February 19, 2019

by generic on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 03:54:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Bernie Sanders: "I'm running for President because a great nation is judged not by how many billionaires and nuclear weapons it has, but by how it treats the most vulnerable."

Sen. Sanders says he will run for president again in 2020 https://t.co/ibrkosulKJ pic.twitter.com/zLNyv8q9BR
— The Hill (@thehill) February 19, 2019

by generic on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 03:55:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump ANTITHESIS (none / 0)

& THE MAGICAL MARGIN OF ERROR
Bernie and the Black Vote, A/V, transcript

So it's about articulating their policy in ways that people can understand. And then it's about having a ground game that can reach out to individuals where they are, and make sure that they not only understand how those programs are going to benefit, but they also are willing to actually go to the polls and bring other people to go to the polls on behalf of Bernie Sanders. Because it's not as if Bernie Sanders had no support among African Americans. He did have support among African Americans and people of color. But what he did not have was kind of a ground game that could actually organize them.
[...]
The problem with Kamala Harris is that class issue, because it's also an issue of the Democrats having bad strategy again, thinking that all they need is a black woman candidate who can Milly Rock to Cardi B-and I don't know how to Milly Rock, so don't ask me to do it-who can Milly Rock to Cardi B and have a picture taken with her putting some hot sauce on some greens, and we're going to vote for her. But when we look at her policies as a prosecutor and the attorney general of California, we see how, Dr. Spence has said, her policies were disastrous. They fed the mass incarceration machine that we all know at this point targets poor, largely black and Latino people in this country. And she made justification for it. She made excuses for it. Her record, her criminal justice record, is deeply, deeply problematic in regard to the targeting and continued demonization of black people, of black men. That matters. That absolutely matters. So it's not enough for her-it's not enough that she is a woman and that she's black. She's also a woman who is black who has horrendous policies that most black people, when they find out about them, they don't want them enacted on a national level, because we've been living that for a very long time. We want that to end.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 07:10:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Kamala-hate (none / 1)

Is anyone informed enough here to succinctly explain to me what's up with all the tiresome online Kamala-hate I have to wade through these days? Is it too much HRC or too little AOC?

by Bjinse on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 08:48:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Kamala-hate (4.00 / 3)

It's a woman who asked a court (unsuccessfully) to keep an innocent man in jail on the ground that he didn't prove his innocence in a "timely" fashion. It's a women who locked lots of people up for drug offenses and then bragged about having smoked marijuana herself. (It's probably also because she's a successful black women, but I listed the reasons I won't vote for her).

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 09:03:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Kamala-hate (4.00 / 2)

I was convinced by those two items:

Federal judges order California to expand prison releases - Los Angeles Times

Most of those prisoners now work as groundskeepers, janitors and in prison kitchens, with wages that range from 8 cents to 37 cents per hour. Lawyers for Attorney General Kamala Harris had argued in court that if forced to release these inmates early, prisons would lose an important labor pool.

Kamala Harris appears to gloat about truancy policies she imposed as prosecutor in resurfaced video | Salon.com

The video, which was posted earlier this week by the journalist Walker Bragman, has gone viral on Twitter. It shows Harris, at the time serving as the Foggy City's attorney general, delivering a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. In the video, she defends her decision to penalize -- and sometimes jail -- the parents of truant children in the city, despite controversy surrounding the plan.
"I believe a child going without an education is tantamount to a crime," Harris says in the video. "So I decided I was going to start prosecuting parents for truancy."
She describes an instance in which she charged a homeless woman who was working two jobs to take care of her three children.

I've seen the video but all newssites seem to insist on auto playing random garbage so I gave up.

by generic on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 10:03:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Forgot this (4.00 / 2)

" I am also a former student of economics at Howard University, and therefore believe the theories of supply and demand, investment and return, and productive efficiency can--and should--be applied to our criminal justice system."

- Kamala Harris [2014] pic.twitter.com/ObHcrQ97gp
— Aimee Terese (@aimeeterese) February 8, 2019

by generic on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 10:18:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Forgot this (none / 1)

She is, in effect, saying should run justice as a business.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 05:06:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Twitter account suspended.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 05:02:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Democratic Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (2-L) addresses the media during a news conference after leading a high-level US Congressional delegation in participating in a Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in Brussels, Belgium, 19 February 2019. [Alexandra Brzozowski]

"Now more than ever we need NATO as we go forward because the challenges are more complicated than a bipolar [sic] relationship with the Soviet Union [sic]...it's now much more diverse and the friendships with have much more important," Pelosi said, adding that cybersecurity, money laundering and human exploitation are new threats which require a common approach by the United States and the EU.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 05:50:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Freedom of speech in Trump's America (none / 1)

WSWS

On Monday, February 4, an 11-year-old boy was arrested at his school in Lakeland, Florida, due to a confrontation he had with a teacher and school officials over his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States. He is now facing misdemeanor charges for disrupting a school function and resisting an officer without violence.
The incident occurred at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, after the sixth grader told his substitute teacher, Ana Alvarez, that the American flag is "racist" and that the national anthem is offensive to black people.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 09:06:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

[Clarence] Thomas Pans Malice Standard in Appeal by Cosby Accuser
So did the contrite Klansman in his concurring opinion, you will recall; he denounced test for malice as trash ... more eruditely.

In McKee's case, she claims that her reputation was damaged by the leak of a letter designed to "humiliate, intimidate, and shame" her. Last year the First Circuit affirmed dismissal of her case, however, after applying precedent from the 1964 decision New York Times Co. v. Sullivan [!]
As Thomas explains, this case and its progeny assert "that, by disclosing her accusation to a reporter, McKee had '"thrust" herself to the "forefront"' of the public controversy over 'sexual assault allegations implicating Cosby' and was therefore a 'limited-purpose public figure [!].'"

petition for writ of certiorari(review of inferior court decision) by McKee vs. Cosby denied

Thomas goes on in the opinion to quote the description [?] of the limited-purpose public figure standard as "almost impossible" to overcome.

Actually, Thomas doesn't describe or define any such phrase or "standard" of 1st Amd protection.

QUESTION PRESENTED
Whether a victim of sexual misconduct who merely publicly states that she was victimized (i.e., "#metoo"), has thrust herself to the forefront of a public debate in an attempt to influence the outcome, thereby becoming a limited purpose public figure who loses her right to recover for defamation absent a showing of actual malice by clear and convincing evidence.

Thomas quotes extensively from states' and federal case law that differentiate between defendants --publishers and individuals who criticize or allegedly defame government officers (public figures)-- and plaintiff burdens of proof arising in litigation of defamation between individuals ("private" parties), e.g. McKee (appellant, plaintiff) and Cosby. According to the SCOTUS, neither US Constitution nor states' case law McKee isn't a "public figure" at all and any test of "malice" evinced by publication of forementioned letter is moot.

"If the Constitution does not require public figures to satisfy an actual-malice standard [of burden, proof] in state-law defamation suits, then neither should we."

Thomas goes on to scold his predecessors for applying free speech protection (established by Sullivan) to subsequent, sundry ahh micro-aggression "reflexively" construed by private parties as protected speech or "truth" before the bar. (I crudely paraphrase, of course.) States' rights and original intent enchilada topped with AUTHORITARIAN MISOGYNY CENSORSHIP if you must: but never, ever drop the benjamins.

US civil right claims are always contemplated in opposition to the state, and the states to fed gov. Rlly. Failing that, the original intent was for us to abuse each other. Darwinian-like.

archived Rule of Atty #6. heh
Judge Dumps Stormy Defamation Suit Against Trump
limited-purpose public figure
a whisper list
Free Speech

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 19th, 2019 at 09:06:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

War over 'Peace Cross' puts Supreme Court in crosshairs of debate over government involvement with religion
"All of which led Associate Justice Clarence Thomas to conclude last year that 'this court's Establishment Clause jurisprudence is in disarray.'"

Well, yeah. That's what happens, when the SCOTUS permits Art. I and Art. II patronage to run wild for a few centuries. And you got no army.

archived
"A surprising amount of that cumulative work product is defective for the simple reason one provision ahhh chained to another contradicts itself."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 02:23:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Dred Scott Revisited: Go Kamala?! Prison-to-Polling. You can work it, grrrl!
Prison ["]Gerrymandering["] Lawsuit Moves Forward in Connecticut

"The instant case implicates the plausible compromise of fair and effective representation due to the Redistricting Plan's reliance upon total population census data when, by state law, incarcerated individuals are not even considered residents of their prison location," Eginton wrote in his 12-page ruling.

Dred Scott vs. Sanford

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 02:34:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

There is also debate as to whether college students should vote in their home town or in their school town. This is a significant issue for many small college towns where the population of students is comparable to the population of non-students.

by asdf on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 04:25:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

O Rly? How that political prerogative of states' assemblies relates to abject, complete, utter disenfranchisement or US constitutional questions respecting the 13th and 14th Amd.s, I couldn't say.

Tell us more.

archived
Stamps

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 05:19:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

15th Amd: complicated 19th century language

Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

and a few "trigger" words

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 07:22:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yeah, but to vote, you still have to "register" (because we are in the dark ages), and that opens up multiple opportunities for voter suppression.

by asdf on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 08:40:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Precisely. For that reason, even with a low turnout, and the opposition boycotting the election, Maduro got a larger share (30%) of the eligible vote than either Clinton or Obama.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 09:52:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Voters left out from the polls, illustrated

Almost 17 million EU citizens live in a member state other than their country of origin. These citizens are entitled to vote for the European Parliament from where they reside, but almost none of them do so. It's a wasted opportunity for a more transnational politics.
[...]
The problem of registration
Any EU citizen can vote in the European elections from the country in which they reside. ... Alternatively, an EU foreigner living in Italy could also return to vote in their country of origin, or vote for a candidate in their country from a local consulate, or by mail.

OMG!11!

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 08:15:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe ACTVISM! (none / 1)

It gets worse. EU nationals can also be candidates in their country of residence... Subject to non-standardised laws in each country.

Our lead candidates in Germany are Greek and Austrian.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 10:41:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Federalism sux, right? Total mockery of democratic franchise. Next thing you know all the states will be sending mail-in ballots to "ex-pats".

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 11:48:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe ACTVISM! (none / 1)

Actually the 1976 act makes that dual voting illegal (no idea about enforcement). There is some ambiguity about people who are dual nationals of two European countries. This did not apply to the UK, since after an absence of several years from the UK, British subjects can no longer vote there.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 12:04:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

According to Article 8 of the 1976 Act, no one may vote more than once in any election of representatives to the European Parliament. Therefore, it is clear the EU citizens with a dual nationality cannot vote in both Member States of which they are national.
Directive 93/109/EC(2) on participation in the European elections does not apply to EU citizens with a dual nationality who intend to exercise this right in one of the Member States of which they are nationals. It solely concerns the cases of EU citizens who reside in another Member State without having its nationality.

Choose one member state's "listing" of representatives for whom to cast your ballot.

OMG!1!! Where are me Stamps!?!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 01:29:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Enforcement, indeed, would seem problematic.
Dual voting is to be encouraged.
(I only get to vote in two countries. Your mileage is no doubt superior)

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 05:36:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe ACTVISM! (none / 1)

No, I vote in two countries. I could vote in Israel as well, but that would require (a) being physically present there on election day and (b) having somebody to vote for. Absentee voting is only allowed for (I think) diplomats, the merchant marine, and settlers in the occupied territories (who can vote from their home, while their Palestinian neighbours cannot).

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 06:05:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Judge Hears Libel Case Over [Whisper] List

Is Israel an EU-member state?
Do you vote for MEPs representing Israel?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 07:35:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

[INCONTINENCE ALERT] (none / 0)

"I think you have a malice problem," the judge told Lewis."
[...]
Free speech [?] advocates have been watching the case closely because Elliott also listed 30 Jane Does, unknown contributors to the spreadsheet, as defendants. It's not clear who typed the accusations against him or whether Donegan had anything to do with Elliott's listing specifically beyond creating and sharing the initial list.
[...]
In October, Google said it would refuse to comply with a subpoena for the Does' information, and the company's position had not changed as of Thursday.

archived craven heroes
For 15 minutes I was livid.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Mar 4th, 2019 at 08:00:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: [INCONTINENCE ALERT] (none / 0)

Rule of Atty #6: The truth is an affirmative defense.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Mar 4th, 2019 at 08:06:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

de jokes, (none / 1)

DONALD HARRIS SLAMS HIS DAUGHTER SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS FOR FRAUDULENTLY STEREOTYPING JAMAICANS AND ACCUSES HER OF PLAYING IDENTITY POLITICS

Also Tupac called. He wants the 10 years Kamala?! stole from him.

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 08:22:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Unilever Dove® soap endorsement deals for
Multi-millionaire celebrities
(jealousy, envy: common spelling errors)
and
Presidential candidates
"making the rules of business better for employees and consumers"

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 09:01:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

race-baiting electioneering getting ripe
22 Feb, New Hamshire: Sen. Warren: US needs to address 'ugly history of racism'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said earlier this week that she supports reparations for black Americans who have been affected by slavery, told reporters Friday that the nation needs to confront its "ugly history of racism" and "talk about the right way to address it and make change."
[...]
Warren was asked later whether she would include Native Americans in her support for reparations. She responded: "I think it's a part of the conversation. It's an important part of the conversation."

Reporters pivot to "all lives matter".

Warren said her plan would give all families access to the kind of child care the federal government currently provides military families.

26 Feb, national: Democratic hopefuls embrace new meaning of reparations for slave descendants

Over the past week, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro spoke of the need for the U.S. government to reckon with and make up for centuries of stolen labor and legal oppression. But instead of backing the direct compensation of African-Americans for the legacy of slavery, the Democratic candidates are talking about using tax credits and other subsidies.
[...]
In terms of a direct payment, reparations could be a tough political sell. In a Point Taken-Marist poll conducted in 2016, 68 percent of Americans said the country should not pay cash reparations to African-American descendants of slaves. About 8 in 10 white Americans said they were opposed to reparations, while about 6 in 10 black Americans said they were in favor.

Sanders: "What does that mean?"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 10:36:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Pelosi says she supports bill to study issue of reparations for slavery
not a co-sponsor
"'so while we're studying how we deal with the reparations issue, there's plenty we can do to improve the quality of life of many people in our country,' she said."
no related senate bill

H.R.40- Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act
Sponsor: Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-13] (Introduced 01/03/2017)
Latest Action: House - 03/08/2018 ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Ms. Jackson Lee asked unanimous consent that she may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 40, a bill originally introduced by former Representative Conyers, for purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.

Advocacy group calls for meeting with Harris over decriminalizing sex work
"She previously told The Root in an interview that she does support the decriminalization of sex work when questioned on the subject ...

For reparations, Harris said she supports the Lift Act, which would provide a tax credit for all families making up to $100,000.

... Harris also noted her support for the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA). "

archived What time is it?
S.3712 - LIFT (Livable Incomes for Families Today) the Middle Class Act
"Kamala Harris tax cut plan: the LIFT Act, explained - Vox"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 05:21:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Bernie Sanders declines to back reparations
I bet he co-signs the LIFT Act. < wipes tears > Or "lifts" parts of it to roll into a Childcare-Medicare Improvement Act.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 10:40:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: de jokes, (none / 1)

What nobody, well, no white people, wants to acknowledge is reparations - is the figure still $1.7 trillion? - is not only the right thing to do it would also be a major boost to the economy. Spread out over 10 year it would be $170 billion which in a $19.3 trillion dollar economy and $3.8 trillion federal budget is doable.

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

by ATinNM on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 02:13:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: de jokes, (none / 1)

How do you put a dollar number on a century of slavery? And another century of rampant discrimination? Not to mention all the other bad stuff. How do you put a number on takings of Native American land, and (ongoing) treaty-breaking? Reparations for the Jews who couldn't get into Harvard in the 1930s? Women's work stolen? Etc.

I think this approach tends to lead to the sort of argument that goes on in the Middle East, where insults suffered thousands of years ago are part of the ongoing debate. Better to take immediate action on today's problems rather than try to retroactively fix the past.

???

by asdf on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 02:30:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

http://harvardblackletter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/20-JREJ-49.pdf

I rather prefer universalist solutions. Both Kamala Harris and Sanders push universalist plans. Singling out Native Americans or Afro-Americans for reparations can prove divisive. I agree with ATinNM that such a plan would be stimulative and affordable, but I would prefer solutions such as the Job Guarantee. But there is no reason we cannot do some of both. I think such an approach might be politically more acceptable.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 04:42:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

< wipes tears > (none / 0)

case CLOSED!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 05:22:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

"immediate action on today's problems" (4.00 / 2)

Yes, that is exactly the "justice claim" to restitution of unpaid labor that descendants of US chattel slavery demand. This origin story is exactly what distinguishes this demographic group's trajectory over time from all other claims of discriminatory effects on "opportunity" and capital formation. A lot of Americans cannot wrap their imaginations around the size of the loss of wealth (credit) transferred directly and inherited by successive waves of "capitalists" and "entrepreneurs" and immigrants who exploited each other to accumulate even more capital --social, political, and ahh intellectual-- for themselves. FYIGM, right?

Please, note, the US government recognizes its duty as custodian of the several sovereign native american nations. That relationship has always been and is hostile, no doubt, but permits capital, social, racial integration and legal recourse that US blacks have been denied.

Please, note, Holocaust survivors, their children, and their children's children has been quite successful obtaining recognition of "justice claims" and remittance from various governments as well vigilant defense of that group's capital, social, religious integration.

There are differences in perceived legitimacy of justice in US hierarchy. Since few people in the US, in the world, even recognize the material value of slave labor, reparations due US slaves and their "survivors" is abstract in the extreme. Thanks for all the fish! Once a year politicians and school children will light a candle for "The Civil Rights" struggle, dilute "affirmative action" remedies, and flaunt the diversity of stigma that unite All Americans seeking their Potentials to the Fullest.

So "today's problem" for the majority of US blacks (notably, not immigrant African Americans) has been and is destitution, enforced by systematic deprivation of their political and property rights by US government policies over multiple generations. There is a significant body of economic research that quantifies the current, dismal living conditions of this permanent caste, in aggregate, by every measure that "matters" in the World's Richest Country.

Direct payments to ADOS (lately designated divisive, co-conspirators of Russian agitators on social media "platforms") households and and Direct Domestic Investment in business owned/operated by ADOS would be a secure, reliable source of political stability at "the bottom of the well".

I'll be dead and goddamed before that happens.
just sayin'.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 05:16:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

incidentally (none / 0)

I think this approach tends to lead to the sort of argument that goes on in the Middle East

There are no "arguments" in the Middle East. People are at war over land and sovereignty claims, conflicts fomented by you-know-who.

Demand for restitution of unpaid labor by ADOS from US gov (not you personally, geddit?) is not analogous to war in the ME.

First, ADOS are US citizens and the principle conflict behind paying off that big ass torts claim is choosing between Ideal Victims or DOD budget.

I repeat: There is a significant body of research on economic losses --in aggregate-- attributed to slave labor, Reconstruction-era False Claims, peonage labor, land seizures, and systematic denial of public services, financing, and foreclosures by US agencies (VA, SSA, FHA, etc) by race --collated.

Besides, the evidence is all around you, FFS.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 05:47:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: incidentally (none / 1)

An off-line source has pointed me to an example of such a calculation.

by asdf on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 02:37:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

With women in combat roles, a federal court rules the male-only draft unconstitutional

Curse of the Mummy

Many Democrats took it as an unmistakable swipe at Hillary Clinton, who lost that battleground state after never appearing there during the 2016 general election campaign. The jab ricocheted across the internet, enraging Clinton admirers and earning Ms. Klobuchar attention as a Midwesterner willing to speak hard truths.
But behind the scenes, Ms. Klobuchar of Minnesota sprang into damage control mode, firing off an email to Mrs. Clinton. In a phone call that soon followed, she apologized and said her off-the-cuff remark had been misinterpreted, according to people familiar with the episode.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 11:33:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

a brilliant, fitting end to FIFTH WAVE talking smack

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Feb 24th, 2019 at 08:19:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

That will certainly complicate any return of the draft. A good thing, IMO.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 04:49:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

True, to the extent US gov has any interest in invoking draft. The de facto position is all "voluntary" augmented by superior CYBER warfare. "Combat" doesn't have the same meaning (to US Americans) that it did in 1975. Yet US gov affects are just as lethal to foreign "enemies".

The decision is a rhetorical gesture. In the context of homicidal American propaganda (civil war), the case even for temperance, suggested by ahh feminist integration in the machine, is limited. Look: Draft Registration Will Be Either Ended or Imposed on Women

A commendable launch, but the proposition is not supported by the argument for "opposition" to draft by "women". I noticed a few conspicuous omissions of support for draft per se by "women". Omissions pay lip service to so-called degendered empowerment, raceless 2nd Amd duties and obligations, degendered class privilege, and, most gratuitous, the disposability of all male lives in service of "the nation". (The supposition that female lives are worthless has always appeared to me a blatant, historical and axiological fallacy qua property.)

Also, anti-war opposition in the USA has all but disappeared from the culture of "civil rights": this.empowerment(gina haspel).

That said, the situation here is still pretty psychotic.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Mar 3rd, 2019 at 11:28:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump FEINSTEIN (none / 0)

"You know what's interesting about this group. I've been doing this for 30 years> I know what I am doing. You come in here, and you say it has to be my way or the highway."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Feb 25th, 2019 at 07:19:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

wut (none / 0)

Colorado governor will sign bill aimed at bypassing Electoral College

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) will sign a measure to award his state's electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, moving a countrywide coalition one step closer to circumventing the Electoral College.

## Mental disorder is a communicable disease.
## Democracy is not well understood.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Feb 25th, 2019 at 07:41:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump TORTURE (none / 0)

Michael Cohen, once keeper of Donald Trump's secrets, plans to accuse the president of 'criminal conduct'

A person familiar with Cohen's planned testimony said he is prepared to testify about "criminal conduct" by Trump after he assumed the presidency.
[...]
The House Oversight and Reform Committee plans to delve widely into Trump's business and finances, exploring his debts and payments for the 2016 election, his compliance with campaign-finance and tax laws, his business practices

University of d'Oh Bulletin No. 1

The hearing, where Cohen is appearing voluntarily after being subpoenaed by the Senate, is not supposed to include questions about Russian interference in the 2016 election, which is being investigated by the House and Senate intelligence committees and special counsel Robert Mueller.

University of d'Oh Bulletin No. 2

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 06:33:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump TORTURE (none / 0)

USAToday lede, of homepage, headline is "Michael Cohen: Trump is "conman" and "racist".

USAToday subhead from homepage lede is "'I am here to tell the truth.' Michael Cohen delivers searing testimony about President Trump, This story will be updated as the hearing continues".

USAToday is hosting live feed from the hearing above the text story.

When I connect, Cohen says "I-am-a-child-of-a-Holucaust survivor ..." (I've ZERO context for this remark.) ... on cross-examination blah blah Cohen deflects with "How man blacks are Trump employees ... blah blah"

m'k.

next

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 04:43:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

"Brazil in Drag": Hyman Minsky on Donald Trump - J. W. Mason

Via Nathan Cedric Tankus, here is a recent JPKE article by Kevin Capehart on a 1990 lecture by Minsky that uses Trump as a case study of asset market bubbles in the 1980s. The lecture is fascinating, and not just as an odd historical artifact.
Here is what Minsky says about Trump:
One of the puzzles of the 1980s was the rapid rise in the financial wealth of Donald Trump, author of The Art of the Deal... Trump's fortune was made in real estate. Many large fortunes have been made in real estate, since real estate is highly leveraged. Two factors made Trump somewhat unique -- one was the he developed a fortune in the period of high real interest rates, and the second was that the cash flows on most of Trump's properties were negative.

by generic on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 01:05:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

The conclusion (Mason not Minsky):
"Brazil in Drag": Hyman Minsky on Donald Trump - J. W. Mason

The trick to making money in an asset bubble is to cash out before it pops. Doing this by selling at the peak is hard; you have to time it just right. It's easier and much more reliable to cash out the capital gains as they accrue; that just requires some way of moving them to a different legal entity. The precedent for Trump, in this reading, would be the utility holding companies that played such a big part in the stock market boom of the 1920s and were such a big target for regulation in the 1930s. Another parallel would be today's private equity funds. To the extent that the funds cash out via so-called "dividend recapitalization" (special dividends paid by the acquired company to the PE fund) rather than eventual resale, an acquired company that doesn't end in bankruptcy is money left on the table. It's interesting, in this context, to think about Romney and Trump as successive Republican nominees: They may embody different cultural stereotypes (prissy Mormon patriarch vs womanizing New York vulgarian) but fundamentally they are in the same business of financial value extraction.

by generic on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 01:10:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump UH OH (none / 0)

OpEd | Rich men have dingy massage parlor sex for same reasons they eat burgers
"The point is, there is a cultural disagreement on whether prostitution is sacred or sinful. The more we repress something as a culture, the more it comes out sideways in individuals."

Herrin Dr. Heidi Fleiss was a famous sex worker.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 04:11:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

hOLyMArYmuTTRgoTt! (none / 0)

LEDE HEADLINE: American Men's Dangerous Fetish with Asian Women
SUBHEADLINE: From harmful fetishes to sex trafficking, Robert Kraft case highlights risks facing Asian women

sumbuddy needs a mental health check: it ain't Kraft, it ain't Asian, and it ain't "women of color"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 05:52:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hOLyMArYmuTTRgoTt! (none / 0)

Incidentally, China is building soft power in U.S. schools, Senate report warns

Sen. Rob Portman, the Investigations subcommittee chair who led work on the report, said it was time for the State Department to begin retaliating against Beijing for its lack of reciprocity when it comes to how the Chinese government represses U.S. cultural centers in China.

Duke University | Research Funding | New American Cultural Centers and Cultural Programming in the People's Republic of China

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China is pleased to announce an open competition for assistance awards through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). PAS invites U.S. post-secondary accredited institutions of higher learning (Public, Private, and State) and not-for-profit organizations subject to 501 (c) (3) of the tax code to submit proposals for the establishment of a new American Cultural Center (ACC) through an existing partnership with a Chinese institution and/or comprehensive U.S. cultural-related programming at space provided by a Chinese partner institution as needed.

China Thwarts U.S. Effort to Promote American Culture on Campuses

In Nanjing, Chinese state security officials summoned a dean of the New York Institute of Technology, Monique Taylor, for questioning for several hours in 2015.
Ms. Taylor was responsible for the American center [ACC] sponsored by the institute at the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications; she was also in charge of a separate academic program with faculty from New York City on the Nanjing campus.
[...]
After the episode, the university declined a new State Department grant and deleted the word American from the center's name. It was renamed Campus Commons.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 09:01:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hOLyMArYmuTTRgoTt! (none / 0)

A non-perfect non-sequitur:

by das monde on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 10:53:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hOLyMArYmuTTRgoTt! (none / 0)

nature trap.

heh.

I followed this story for 7 days. Its evolution --publicized details, character development-- is fascinating to me. Who tells a story is as significant as the story's moral. Matter of fact, the Jupiter (Martin County) police "charge sheet" (17pp narrative, commercial sex act surveillance narrative) for Hua Zhang, owner/operator of Orchids of Asia Day Spa (cross-counties locations) makes a decent punch line for ahh focus group ahh mating preferences.

A few days later USAToday reporters editorialize.

The six-month investigation revealed human traffickers were luring vulnerable girls to massage parlors in Indian River County, where they were coerced into working as prostitutes, according to Vero Beach Police.
[...]
"Some of them may tell us they're OK, but they're not. We know that... even though we may have charges on some of them, we'd rather them be victims."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 11:00:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

Trump was out of his depth in Hanoi. This failure is his greatest flop yet | The Guardian - Opinion |
Donald Trump's self-reverential style of personalised, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants diplomacy just crashed and burned in Hanoi. It is fitting, perhaps, that Vietnam - scene of past American humiliations - was the setting for the blunderer-in-chief's greatest flop. Trump tried to wing it in nuclear talks with North Korea's more canny leader, Kim Jong-un, and got what he deserved: precisely nothing. The summit, like last year's effort in Singapore, was a Trump vanity project - and proved a labour in vain.

Donald Trump is the Charlie Brown of negotiation ... #HanoiSummit #TrumpKimSummit #TrumpFail pic.twitter.com/MNXfnRV1AR
— Social✽Fly (@socflyny) February 28, 2019

○ North Korea leader Kim Jong-un pays tribute to Ho Chi Minh on the way home from Vietnam visit | SCMP/AFP |
○ Ho Chi Minh: Founding of the Viet Minh and North Vietnam
○ With Growth of Coal Power Plants, Vietnam's Future Is Grim | The Diplomat |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 08:45:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

The interesting angle is that Trump's minders didn't let him sign the deal that Kim conned him into.
Somewhat reassuring, sort of.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 10:58:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

The interesting question is, Who accepts Trump's version of the event?

The mind-boggling supposition is, Any ultimatum is negotiable proposition.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 01:59:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Even if he had signed it, he could always unsign it later....

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 02:21:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Frankly I fully support Kim and Moon in conning the Orange One into peace in Korea. And they would have gotten away if it wasn't for those meddling Boltons.

by generic on Tue Mar 5th, 2019 at 03:55:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

World (none / 0)

WORLD

by Bjinse on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 at 08:28:50 PM EST

Re: World (4.00 / 2)

How's this for convoluted:

An American Humvee, gifted to Iraq's Golden Division, stolen by the Islamic State, captured by the Syrian Army and finally given to the Russian military to be displayed as a war trophy on a tour of 61 Russian cities.

H/T @RALee85 pic.twitter.com/0D8y3Iko5o
— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) February 15, 2019

by generic on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 01:30:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 1)

That's a good news story - thx!

Finally at a destination it's safe and does no harm.

This contrary to the global arms sales ... end destination: no questions asked.

"IS overran Mosul, Iraq's second city, in June 2014, routing a far larger force of 30,000 Iraqi soldiers who retreated in disarray, stripping out of their uniforms and abandoning their equipment as they fled."

○ Iraqi security forces lost 2,300 Humvee armoured vehicles when IS overran Mosul

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 12:19:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Deadly crackdown stokes fear among protesters in Venezuela
AP/Guiado finds police brutality in Venezuela.
Try to look surprised.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 02:46:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

U.S. Air Force Sends Aid to Town Near Venezuelan Border

21 Feb
Venezuela-Colombia Border Churches Fill Aid Gap in Migration Crisis

Around 42,000 Venezuelans cross Cúcuta's border bridge every day
[...]
The Diocese of Cúcuta alone serves 10,000 meals a day across the city, according to Cúcuta Bishop Victor Manuel Ochoa Cadavid.
The migrant shelter started from a small, almost involuntary move by Ochoa and other Cúcuta leaders in 2015, when the Maduro administration began deporting thousands of Colombians from Venezuela.

10 days ago
Churches at Colombian border work to help Venezuelan refugees

The crowds of hungry Venezuelans seeking a free meal become bigger each month, as thousands of people flee food shortages, hyperinflation and crime in the South American country, with almost no savings to start their new life abroad.
[...]
The Divine Providence soup kitchen in Cucuta now provides around 4,000 free meals per day to migrants and refugees, four times as many as when it opened in 2017.

Venezuela's Maduro threatens border closure to block humanitarian aid
"as opposition leader Juan Guaido and some 80 lawmakers ran a gauntlet of roadblocks trying to get to the frontier to receive humanitarian aid"

Blumenthal Tours a Supermarket in Caracas
finds thin crowd, WHOLE FOODS® pricing
eg. VEF 66,000 (~ USD 20.00) 2 lbs (0.9 Kg) dry pet kibble
VEF 85,000 (~ USD 30.00) 32oz (0.9 l) olive oil

archive border amenities
USAID.gov | THE UNITED STATES PRE-POSITIONS FIRST PHASE OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE AID TO VENEZUELANS - CUCUTA, COLOMBIA, 8 Feb
SANCTIONS AGAINST TRADE WITH VENEZUELA since 2006
How's that EU-IRAN SPV coming along?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 11:34:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Someone is impatient.

Venezuela's military has a choice: Embrace democracy, protect civilians, and allow in humanitarian aid; or face even more sanctions and isolation. https://t.co/KNdncJbPDH
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 23, 2019

I reckon, the "clash" at the border with Brazil has produced the desired "flash point."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Feb 24th, 2019 at 02:07:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Is Ahn Hee-Jung's Prison Sentence a Victory for the Feminist Movement or the Political Climate?
"According to South Korea's laws, 'sexual intercourse by abuse of occupational authority' is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 12:14:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

India will not be cowed in internet consultations: tech minister
"burdensome obligations" imposed by regulating "sovereignty and integrity of India"

archived
Global Tech Companies Renew Push for Control Over All Data

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 08:37:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

More than 150 IS Fighters Handed Over to Iraq From Syria
"repatriation," boring.

Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi said this month that Iraq will take back all Iraqi IS militants in Syria, and thousands of their family members

o. look => UIGHURS!!2!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 09:52:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

US Embassy Urges Russia to Allow Visit to Jailed US Investor
"international law," boring.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement on Thursday that its staff has still not been able to visit Calvey seven days after he was detained despite multiple requests. Four days is the typical limit.

o. look =>

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 21st, 2019 at 10:01:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Gangnam Style

Get it done Potus! pic.twitter.com/TOYvnzCdID
— Sol 🎬 (@Solmemes1) February 25, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 04:50:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World OFF THE RADAR (none / 1)

Florida Man on Thursday defended President Trump
"saying that 'no deal is better than a bad deal' after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended without an agreement."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 11:09:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Republica de Cuba | 21 Feb 2019

In PDF the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba that was approved in the Second Ordinary Period of Sessions of the IX Legislature of the National Assembly of the Popular Power. The new constitution will be submitted to a popular referendum for ratification on February 24, 2019.

Cubans overwhelmingly ratify new socialist constitution, 24 Feb
top-line electoral figures
Cuba Adopts a New Socialist Constitution (EN)
detailed reporting on constituent participation with summary of notable political alterations in la Nueva Constitución.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 06:02:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

Microsoft employees are unhappy that Hololens - a tool billed as a device for gaming, or work - is at the centre of a US miltary contract designed to increase soldiers' "lethality". Microsoft tells employees: thanks for the feedback https://t.co/Np24GW4Kvy
— Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) February 22, 2019

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Feb 22nd, 2019 at 11:49:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 0)

Right, what do they think the entire DOD runs as an OS?

by asdf on Sat Feb 23rd, 2019 at 12:03:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World (none / 1)

Netanyahu to be indicted ...

Latest petition by the Likud party has been rejected by the Israeli Supreme Court ... the last month of campaigning will become even uglier if that's even possible ...

Friends of Trump ... respect:
Putin - Bolsonaro - Kaszynski - May - Kim Jong-un - Modi - Mohammad bin Salman - Netanyahu - Khalifa bin Zayed

https:/www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-to-stand-trial-for-bribery-and-breach-of-trust-pending-heari ng

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 04:23:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World POW CAMP (none / 0)

Canada Set to Extradite Huawei Exec to US

On the eve of the March 1 deadline, attorney Gary Botting said in a phone interview that ordering extradition hearings to proceed would be "a foolish thing to do," especially for Canada's newly minted justice minister and attorney general since his predecessor and the Trudeau government are now engulfed in a made-in-Canada corporate corruption row over Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.
[...]
"If the authority to proceed is issued by the minister of justice, there's no end of grief that we're going to have for the next 10 years. If he refuses to issue it, that's the end of the story because America frankly doesn't seem to be that interested," he said. "Sure, the Southern District of New York is interested in prosecuting Huawei but it's no great skin off anybody's nose if Canada says, 'No we're not going to send Ms. Meng down to suffer prosecution down there and possibly a sentence of 20 years.' Anybody can see that she would become a political prisoner in effect, and certainly China would make that case.

Canada allows extradition hearing to proceed against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou

Canada's Justice Department has granted permission for an extradition hearing to proceed on whether to deliver Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou into the hands of U.S. law authorities.
[...]
The Trudeau government took pains to defend Friday's decision, emphasizing in a news release that Canada is merely sticking to the letter of the law governing extraditions. ..."Canada is a country governed by the rule of law," a Department of Justice statement said. "The decision on whether to issue an authority to proceed was made by Department of Justice ... officials who are part of a non-partisan public service."
[...]
Hours before the Department of Justice announcement, China's Foreign Ministry questioned Canada's judicial independence as Mr. Trudeau faces accusations of trying to stop a corruption prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

New justice minister says it would have been appropriate for PMO to discuss SNC-Lavalin with Wilson-Raybould

[Justice Minister David] Lametti took over the justice and attorney general roles from Wilson-Raybould in a cabinet shuffle in early January. He was the first witness today at the House of Commons justice committee as it began an inquiry into allegations that Wilson-Raybould was improperly pressured by the PMO to cut a deal with the Montreal engineering giant.

archived Lima Group
How Chrystia Freeland Organized Donald Trump's Coup in Venezuela
"The Maduro regime has violated the constitutional law of his country ..."
my mistake
"Our extradition partners should not seek to politicize the extradition process"
World POW CAMP
"The pretext for her arrest is that Huawei has violated US sanctions against Iran. ..."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 12:21:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World POW CAMP (none / 1)

UH OH | Globe and Mail OpEds careening off the reservation 1 March 2019. Evidently former justice Minister Wilson-Raybould had her day in hearings and aired all manner of calumny heaped on mendacity.

I'm ashamed for my country

"Justin Trudeau may be more corrupt than Donald Trump," tweeted New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who may have a point. No nation where the political class interferes with the administration of justice can claim the moral high ground. I'm embarrassed that Canada, the land renowned for the cleanliness of its government, appears to be just as grubby as everybody else.

Justin Trudeau is uniting all of Canada - against him

As Ms. Wilson-Raybould described it in her testimony, the Prime Minister, his political staffers and even the assumed-to-be non-partisan Clerk of the Privy Council repeatedly impressed upon her the electoral consequences in Quebec of failing to offer a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin.

&tc
< wipes tears >
"trade war" is ugly.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 12:45:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World POW CAMP (none / 1)

ransom note

I have asked China to immediately remove all Tariffs on our agricultural products (including beef, pork, etc.) based on the fact that we are moving along nicely with Trade discussions....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 02:00:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World POW CAMP (none / 0)

ransom note P.S.

....and I did not increase their second traunch of Tariffs to 25% on March 1st. This is very important for our great farmers - and me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

Farm loan delinquencies highest in 9 years as prices slump

< wipe tears >

Smoot-Hawley is laughing with you

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 02:07:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

LIVING OFF THE PLANET
Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Food

by Bjinse on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 at 08:29:55 PM EST

EU Commission to crack down on recalcitrant member states over neonicotinoids

EU pesticides law gives the Commission a number of options to ensure these derogations are not abused. It can draw on EFSA [!] to assess the emergency authorisations. It can then take measures so that countries withdraw or amend their derogations (Article 53(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009).

archived
Three neonicotinoids down, more bee-killing pesticides to go
greenpeace.org reporting
Invoking [MAJORITARIAN UNITARY EXECUTIVE THEORY], Europe shuts the door to neonics
AYE: "18 member states, including France, Germany, Italy, UK"
NAYE: Hungary, Romania, Denmark, Czech Republic
ABSTAIN: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Finland
Top EU court rules new breeding tech counts as GMOs
in the midst of a "trade war"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 07:19:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

DISCLAIMER | British farmers fear US pressure on GMOs after Brexit

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 07:25:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

US ambassador to UK slams [UK] critics of American agriculture

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 07:10:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

○ Post Brexit: Amb. Johnson on US Food Trade Deal

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 10:50:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

North Korea requests Finnish food aid

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Mar 3rd, 2019 at 01:26:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

'upcycling', 'downcycling', recycling waste plastics

In a study published in the journal Joule on Wednesday, the team unveiled a recycling process that transforms the typical single-use plastics found in everyday objects like beverage bottles, carpets and clothing into another item of [fiber-reinforced plastic].
[...]
But the development isn't solely about dollars and cents or reducing litter in the ocean, as the scientists believe it would take 57 percent less energy to develop the stronger plastics from the weaker PET. Another result would be a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of the composite plastic.
But work remains to be done. Further material testing is required to perfect the upcycling and scalability remains an unresolved issue.

IDK. Umans have only 12 years to clean up their act. Some uncertainty about the urgency of recycling anything mediates rational discourse, for example, the alternative and most expedient solution: criminalize* all PET production!
How to keep a sustainable PET recycling industry in Europe, 2017
"1.923 million tonnes of PET bottles were collected for recycling in 2017. This is an increase of 2.9% compared to the previous year."
PET bale yields on the decline in Europe, 2017
"reclaimers have seen their average bale yield decrease from 73 percent to 68 percent in the past six years"
--
* hey, tax the behavior you don't want, right?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 04:29:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Cyprus: ExxonMobil Finds 3rd Biggest Gas Deposit in 2 Years

the discovery of an estimated 5-8 trillion cubic feet of gas offers hope for more discoveries in waters off the east Mediterranean island nation, which wants to become an alternative energy source for Europe.

The Green New Deal

A carbon tax is an "upstream" tax on the carbon contents of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and biofuels. A carbon tax is the most efficient means to instill crucial price signals that spur carbon-reducing investment. A carbon tax can also be used to recapture some of the costs pushed on to taxpayers and consumers from burning fossil fuels. Unlike cap-and-trade, carbon taxes don't create complex and easily-gamed "carbon markets" with allowances, trading and offsets. Also, because carbon taxes / fees are predictable, unlike volatile cap-and-trade markets, it is easier to plan clean energy investments to avoid carbon taxes.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 08:29:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 1)

Naked Capitalism:
The Inevitable Death of Natural Gas as a `Bridge Fuel'

Building new natural gas infrastructure looks like a bad investment right now to cities like LA when renewables are already competitive. Natural gas seems poised to join coal as another fuel that just couldn't compete with renewables.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Feb 28th, 2019 at 11:31:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

o, yes! Market Solutions vs Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Can't wait to see which Oppression wins.

archived
'We're Like the World Is Going to End in 12 Years if We Don't Address Climate Change'
That'll get 'er done

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 1st, 2019 at 09:16:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off UH OH (none / 0)

NYPost: Verrezano Bridge toll is $17?
NYPost reporting dodgy as always. The Bridge&Tunnel GHG Tax regime is more onerous than reported (of which differential rates of entry to Staten Island, NYC first responders' "enclave" and the borough's ahh non-residents)
OMG. Srsly.
12 years is not going to cut it.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Mar 4th, 2019 at 12:09:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

interfluidity » Michal Kalecki on the Great Moderation

Switzerland puts geoengineering governance on UN agenda, MIT conspiracy theorists debunked

Switzerland will introduce a resolution at the UN Environment Assembly in Kenya in mid-March, calling for an assessment of the potential methods and governance frameworks for each one by August 2020. It would be an early step towards an international system for regulating the suite of technologies.
"There is a risk that geoengineering could be applied by someone without any international control, and we are very concerned about that," Franz Perrez, head of the international affairs division at Switzerland's Federal Office for the Environment, told Climate Home News. "Some are already testing solar radiation management, scientific research is already going on. We cannot close our eyes anymore and say 'This is only science fiction'."
The resolution is backed by Burkina Faso, Micronesia, Georgia, Lichtenstein, Mali, Mexico, Montenegro, Niger, South Korea and Senegal, according to the latest version dated 25 February.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Mar 4th, 2019 at 07:00:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Living On the Planet (none / 0)

LIVING ON THE PLANET
Society, Culture, History, Information

by Bjinse on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 at 08:29:58 PM EST

One more for the list (none / 0)

So, it is to my great discredit that I had not read Kalecki's Political Aspects of Full Employment (html, pdf) before clicking through from a (characteristically excellent) Chris Dillow post. There is little I have ever said or thought about economics that Kalecki hadn't said or thought better in this short and very readable essay.

by generic on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 02:15:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: One more for the list (none / 0)

Graeber's Meaningful Work Bulletin w/o 24 Feb 2019
The Trauma Floor

Officially, moderators are prohibited from approaching QAs and lobbying them to reverse a decision. But it is still a regular occurrence, two former QAs told me.
One, named Randy, would sometimes return to his car at the end of a work day to find moderators waiting for him. Five or six times over the course of a year, someone would attempt to intimidate him into changing his ruling. "They would confront me in the parking lot and tell me they were going to beat the shit out of me," he says. "There wasn't even a single instance where it was respectful or nice. It was just, You audited me wrong! That was a boob! That was full areola, come on man!"

## Misplaced precision
## Surplus labor never gets old.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Feb 25th, 2019 at 08:16:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 3)

A letter to Steven Pinker (and Bill Gates, for that matter) about global poverty -- Jason Hickel

First, the long-term poverty graph (1820-present) developed by Max Roser and recently tweeted by Bill Gates is misleading and has little empirical legitimacy. There are a few reasons for this.
Real data on poverty has only been collected since 1981, by the World Bank. It is widely accepted among those who research global poverty that any data prior to 1981 is simply too sketchy to be useful, and going back to as early as 1820 is more or less meaningless.
The data for 1820-1970 comes from a source (Bourguignon and Morrisson 2002) that draws on the Maddison database on world GDP. That data was never intended to assess poverty, but rather the distribution of GDP - and that for only a limited range of countries. Data for the global South is particularly thin, and there is very little that exists for prior to 1900. The data is not robust enough to draw meaningful conclusions about what was happening to people's livelihoods during the colonial period.
It is important to recognise that the graph mixes two very different measures. The measure for 1820-1970 is based on estimates of GDP per capita, with only rough guesses about household share, and takes little if any account of the goods and resources that people may have acquired from their land, from trees, from forests, from rivers and the sea, and in the form of gifts from relatives. We might try to speculate about the share of GDP that the poorest people had, but that's very different from telling us anything very useful about poverty. By contrast, the World Bank's measure for 1981ff is based on surveys that seek to assess household income and, wherever possible, consumption of all non-monetary goods.

A letter to Steven Pinker (and Bill Gates, for that matter) about global poverty -- Jason Hickel

Here are a few points to keep in mind. Using the $1.90 line shows that only 700 million people live in poverty. But note that the UN's FAO says that 815 million people do not have enough calories to sustain even "minimal" human activity. 1.5 billion are food insecure, and do not have enough calories to sustain "normal" human activity. And 2.1 billion suffer from malnutrition. How can there be fewer poor people than hungry and malnourished people? If $1.90 is inadequate to achieve basic nutrition and sustain normal human activity, then it's too low - period. It's time for you and Gates to stop using it. Lifting people above this line doesn't mean lifting them out of poverty, "extreme" or otherwise.

A letter to Steven Pinker (and Bill Gates, for that matter) about global poverty -- Jason Hickel

Here's how well it's working: on our existing trajectory, according to research published in the World Economic Review, it will take more than 100 years to end poverty at $1.90/day, and over 200 years to end it at $7.4/day. Let that sink in. And to get there with the existing system - in other words, without a fairer distribution of income - we will have to grow the global economy to 175 times its present size. Even if such an outlandish feat were possible, it would drive climate change and ecological breakdown to the point of undermining any gains against poverty.

by generic on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 03:48:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

CC: Jared Diamond (none / 1)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 at 06:59:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Never Tweet (none / 0)

Tesla -4.3% as SEC reportedly seeks contempt charge for Musk (updated) - Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) | Seeking Alpha

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has taken a 4.3% dip after hours amid Bloomberg reports that the SEC has asked a judge to hold CEO Elon Musk in contempt for violating their deal.

by generic on Tue Feb 26th, 2019 at 04:55:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

On This Date (none / 0)

ON THIS DATE

by Bjinse on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 at 08:30:01 PM EST

People & Klatsch (none / 0)

PEOPLE AND KLATSCH

by Bjinse on Mon Feb 18th, 2019 at 08:30:04 PM EST

Re: People & Klatsch (none / 0)

This "news" ran for a couple of days on USAToday.
Blackface, KKK hoods and mock lynchings: Review of 900 yearbooks finds blatant racism
Pretend to be shocked. Furthermore, pretend sampling error.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Feb 22nd, 2019 at 05:46:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: People &amp; Klatsch (none / 0)

reproduction

so this is how students at @SpainPark High School in Hoover, Alabama act? pic.twitter.com/CMOjCVJZlM
— MALLORY MOORE☆★☆ (@MMoorw) March 4, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Mar 4th, 2019 at 08:11:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Discovering smartphones (none / 1)

.@SenFeinstein told me she was surprised she went viral, because: "You know what somebody said to me?--I didn't see any of this--they said anybody with a cell phone in their hand can get you on international news in two minutes. I never knew that."
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) 26. Februar 2019

by generic on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 06:58:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

A Trip to the Woodshed @ 00:49:24

FEINSTEIN: Could you say that again? Impressions? I don't quite understand.
EDGETT: Okay. Thank you. Thank you for your question so we're all on the same page.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 at 07:16:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Born in 1933. Of voting age during the Korean War. Still living in the 1950s.

by asdf on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 02:58:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

An octogenarian headed towards nonogenarian! Congrats and many more. I was worried when we hadn't heard from you so long and the last thing we knew was that you were in an area at risk from wildfire.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 04:18:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Discovering smartphones (none / 1)

That just might be Sen Feinstein using asdf's nick ;)

I used to be afew. I'm still not many.

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Sat Mar 2nd, 2019 at 07:10:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]