Top Diaries

REUTERS | Macron, Merkel seek common ground on EU Commission president pick: official

winding up
AP | Merkel wants quick deal on head of EU Commission

because the European Parliament will meet at the beginning of July and it would of course be desirable if there were already a proposal at that point" from heads of state and government.

The third-largest group in the European Parliament, the liberal centrists to whom Macron's party belongs, must be part of the selection process, Macron told his German counterpart.

euractiv | Parliament calls for Spitzenkandidat to be respected, liberals oppose it

ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt responded in a written statement that 'a Spitzenkandidat that you cannot vote for in the whole of Europe is simply not serious'.

POLITICO.EU

After election, EU turns to fight over top jobs
"over dinner in Brussels on Tuesday at the invitation of European Council President Donald Tusk"
Rasmussen swings Vestager for EU top job
Danish "liberal" and "social liberal" dream team
Belgian government deadlock complicates EU commissioner appointment
head of state pro temp "may even need parliamentary approval"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 10:29:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

No Weber (4.00 / 2)

Merkel got a quick deal, but not the one she wanted, according to (the idiotic but well-informed) Jean Quatremer in Brussels:

Libération : Le successeur du Luxembourgeois Jean-Claude Juncker à la présidence de la Commission ne sera pas l'Allemand Manfred Weber. Les présidents des groupes politiques du Parlement européen, qui se sont réunis mardi matin, n'ont pu que constater qu'il n'existait aucune majorité pour soutenir la tête de liste du PPE (conservateur) qui est arrivé en tête des élections européennes de la semaine dernière. La balle a donc été renvoyée dans le camp des chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement où le constat a été identique. La perle rare reste donc à trouver.

Manfred Weber will not be President of the Commission. The EP group presidents' meeting yesterday morning concluded that there was no majority to support the conservative candidate. The heads of State and government concluded likewise.

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

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 02:06:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: No Weber (none / 0)

< wipes tears >
Can barely contain interest for The Big Reveal in September. Can they keep a secret that long?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 02:23:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

German SPD leader quits in blow to Merkel's loveless coalition

Nahles, whose SPD is a junior coalition partner in Merkel's ruling alliance, said she would resign as party leader on Monday and step down as head of the SPD's parliamentary group on Tuesday.
"The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties," Nahles said in a statement released by the SPD.

Greens, Bremen, Kramp-Karrenbauer, Scholz, Schulz

Earlier, German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, told Germany's Tagesspiegel that he had ruled out entering another grand coalition as the SPD seeks to regroup after losses in the European parliamentary elections.

so much for "Jamaica" coalitions

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 04:48:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe CAMPAIGN 2019 (4.00 / 2)

There is no red in the Jamaican flag.

Jamaica is black-yellow-green, ie CDU-FDP-Green.

So, does this make a snap election likely?

In the single poll after the EP election, the Greens are in the lead. With one percent. Just after a successful EP election. So, not to put to much weight on this single poll, but it is still interesting.

by fjallstrom on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 10:37:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Snap election?
Hellifino! It seems to be a thing. But so is "caretaker" government. Set me straight.

I wasn't much impressed by MEP-Referendum-Prism campaign by the press in the first place. Since "transnational lists" are not well understood (until summer's end, the big EP group sort, ascension of the Spitzenkandidat or excommunication of the Merkel) I really wouldn't know which coalition colors to pick for DE federal elections. Scheduled 2021, right?

archived German Elections Open Thread 2017
It's really difficult for people in the US to figure out Germany.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 01:47:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

KTHNX

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 08:38:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

OpEd | The EU conclave

The decision-making for the top jobs in the European institutions bears some similarity to how Roman Catholic Cardinals elect the new Pope. There is a lot of unpredictability and a long wait for the outcome of a less than transparent process.
[...]
The sequence should be the following. First, the Spitzenkandidaten system needs to be killed.

archived April punters
Der Schmiegel
M. Barnier, the reluctant "lead candidate" for EC president

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 11:43:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Groups are ready, EU Parliament is ready to play

The first of the two big national parties without a Parliamentary group is the British Brexit Party (29 MEPs) ... The second of the big national players is Italian Five Star Movement (M5S) with 14 MEPs.

WOOT!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 05:07:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Revealed: The Twitter mug-shot of newly-elected MEPs
data vizualization

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 30th, 2019 at 03:59:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

No way the Grünen are going to enter coalition at this juncture. Their preference will be failed coalition talks precipitating an early election.

Which leaves the CDU/CSU with basically no options, unless they can find another sucker from the SPD.

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

by eurogreen on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 02:03:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What happened or is happening in the SPD youth congress?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 03:20:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

No idea. But I saw some Burschenschaftler (I didn't know they still exist) on a train in Saxony on Sunday. They were carrying a CDU poster.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 08:51:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Center-left looks set to win Denmark election on welfare pledges

Vows by Social Democratic leader Mette Frederiksen, heading the opposition center-left bloc, to boost welfare spending after years of cuts and stick to a tougher stance on immigration, the other big hot-button issue, have gone down well with many Danes. ... Support for Frederiksen's party alliance stood at 54.7% shortly before of the vote, according to an average of polls published by Berlingske Barometer.

"Nordic model" badass chamber slave of the patriarchy

LIBERALS TOPS IN EU ELECTION, NOT AT HOME
Contrary to opinion polls, the Liberals overtook both the Social Democrats and the anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DF) to become the biggest Danish group in the EU assembly.
The staunchly pro-Europe Liberals benefited from record-high popular support for the EU in Denmark, but that recipe for success is unlikely to work in Wednesday's national vote. ...Frederiksen, contrary to Nordic counterparts, has taken a harder line on immigration to lure back some voters from nationalist parties like DF. ...Frederiksen's party backed a large part of tougher legislation on refugees and immigrants passed by Rasmussen's center-right minority government, which relied on DF support.
The package included a ban on wearing the body-covering Islamic burqa and niqab face veil in public, as well as a so-called "jewellery bill" that allows police to seize refugees' valuables to help pay their costs.

archived
Danish PM Calls [General] Election That Polls Show He Is Set to Lose
poll smoke, Pornhub, Detention Project &tc.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 02:11:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The Danish Elections: Social Democracy with an Inhumane Face
"Frederiksen was doing everything to shrink the gulf with her opponents, not accentuate the difference. To that end, her party, in 824 legislative votes since 2015, has voted with the government in over 90% of instances."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:13:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

winding up
OpEd | European Elections 2019 - what now for racial diversity?
What is the goal?

to truly represent the full diversity of its population in the Parliament.

What is the barrier, or problem?

Although this election brought a welcome increase in the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities elected, Brexit will roll back most of the gains.
[...]
The United Kingdom elected the most POC ["people of color"] MEPs, and when they leave in October, it will greatly reduce racial representation in the European Parliament. After Brexit, not only will there be seven less MEPs of colour, but there is a risk that commitment to equality and diversity principles such as equality data collection, positive action, and even the acknowledgement of racism as a major issue, is likely to falter.

waitwut

We also see that minorities are not a monolith and the elected ethnic minority MEPs represent a range of political stances. Far-right parties such as Le Pen's Rassemblement National and the UK's Brexit party will send one MEP each to the European Parliament, and Belgium's New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) - known for its strong opposition to the UN's migration pact - elected Belgium's only MEP of colour, Assita Kanko.

UN: Nearly 71 million now displaced by war, violence at home
cascade of misplaced precision

archived Anglo-merican disease
They are not all going back to where they came from.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 05:11:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe FEMINISM (none / 0)

Statistics are at the heart of achieving SDGs ["Sustainable Development Goals"], says gender equality advocate
What is the goal?

developing public policy ... to set targets [OF WHAT?]. For example, with regard to employment policies, it will be decided that a measure should benefit [HOW?] two million long-term unemployed people [WHERE?] between the ages of 30 and 50 [WHY?].

What is the barrier, or problem?

official statistics are not collected in a systematic manner. Political and statistical experts should work together but, unfortunately, this is not the case.

waitwut

It is more difficult to have statistics on women [?]. For example, the agricultural sector employs many women in the South. However, they are part of the informal [sic] employment sector, which does not necessarily [!] respect labour laws.
So there are many legal violations in this sector. But this finding is not based on sector-related studies [!]. Everyone knows this reality but it is not supported by official statistics, which means that this issue is not taken into account in public policies in the agricultural sector.

What was the question?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 05:30:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

DW got jokes.

Poland: Where Keynes meets Jesus

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 02:25:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Following the gilets jaunes protests last winter, Macron and his cabinet also hastily put together some "social democratic redistribution" measures. This contributed to boost the French economic growth since late 2018. Even "serious" (read: oligarch-owned) papers like Les Echos have reluctantly reported on this.

But don't repeat this Keynesian heresy; especially not on German public media.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 06:53:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

EPP commencement address to class of 2019, Cambridge, MA, USA
A/V, DE/EN, running time 00:34:54

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 31st, 2019 at 03:57:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Farage, Polish populists dash far-right hopes of grand EU alliance

Italy's far-right League was one of the biggest winners in last month's EU elections and its leader, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, has sought to persuade Europe's nationalist parties to set aside their differences and form a 10-party European Alliance for People and Nations in the new assembly.

Italy's 5-Star leader and deputy PM Luigi Di Maio wins party confidence vote
"following a bruising defeat in the European parliamentary elections."

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland's conservative ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), ruled out joining on account of the pro-Russian stance of Salvini, France's National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which won 29 of Britain's 72 seats in the European Parliament, also said it would not join the putative new grouping, though it gave no reason. Britain is due to quit the EU on Oct. 31 but its lawmakers will join the European Parliament in July and stay until Brexit happens.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 07:21:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Macron's call for an 'équipe de France' in EU Parliament shot down

federalist-like power quickens

"We will not score an own-goal against our side in the European Parliament, where we sit as a political group. The members of the delegation belong to the team on the left that wants to change the European Union," Sylvie Guillaume, chairwoman of the joint list between French Socialist Party (PS) and Place Publique, told EURACTIV.
[...]
"Our European delegation will not attend the government's invitation on Friday. As we are committed to fulfilling the promises made to our voters, we will not accept any of their instructions on the positions to take in the next five years of our mandate," said Manon Aubry, who leads the [LFI]'s list.
[...]
"This meeting comes much too early, some groups in the European Parliament are not even formed. Today we are only negotiating the roadmap," said EELV MEP Karima Delli.
[...]
"I cannot be part of any 'team' that includes the Rassemblement National. I feel closer to a Spanish socialist than I do to a French nationalist," [PS/Place Publique Raphaël Glucksmann] said on Twitter.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 11:37:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

An illustration of Macron's doctrine of "en même temps", also known as "n'importe quoi"

-- We are federalists, we want to federate the progressive forces in the EU parliament. [DIDN'T WORK]

-- En même temps, we are Team France, we are nationalists [DIDN'T PASS LAUGH TEST]

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

by eurogreen on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 02:24:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yet Another politician trying to be everything to everybody. I don't know the French for "je ne sais quoi" is but from here Macron doesn't appear to have any.

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

by ATinNM on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 04:30:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Yellow Jackets blinded by police weapons - Politico.eu

The closest US equivalent may be Clinton and his "triangulation" (or Blair in the UK).

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 06:33:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

The legacy of police "non-lethal" weaponry:

Franck Didron was on the phone with his mother when he was blinded in the right eye. It was December 1, three weeks after the Yellow Jackets movement erupted on the streets of France, and the 20-year-old was attending his first big march in Paris. "I turned my head and was shot," he recalled. "Next thing I knew, I was on the ground."
Didron's eye was punctured by a rubber bullet fired from controversial launchers known as lanceurs de balles de défense -- or, more commonly, LBDs -- used by French police despite growing criticism from human rights groups. Seconds earlier, he had reassured his mother that everything was alright.
His is not an isolated case: Since the first Yellow Jackets protest last November, 24 people have been blinded in one eye and 283 sustained other head injuries as a result of police weapons, mostly LBD-fired bullets, according to David Dufresne, an independent journalist who keeps count of the injuries for the news site Médiapart. The French interior ministry, which does not keep individual counts of specific types of injury, said that as of May 13, 2,448 protesters and 1,797 police had been wounded.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 11:43:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

not France (none / 0)

Police Fire on Protesters as Tensions Rise

[Paris] police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who had massed outside government headquarters Wednesday in opposition to a proposed extradition bill that has become a lightning rod for concerns over greater [unitary semi-presidential] control and erosion of civil liberties in the territory.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 05:58:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

NATO secretary-general in North Macedonia for 2-day visit
"before this tiny Balkan country officially becomes the alliance's 30th member by the end of the year."

archived
The Guardian misses the point
Macedonia (sic) has already ratified the deal.
What happens now?
No customs union but the common transit convention which...
What was the question again?
Are you in favour of NATO and EU membership, and accepting the name agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 08:17:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Turkish Cypriot MEP hails bicommunual cooperation

The first Turkish Cypriot MEP, Niyazi Kizilyurek, has described his victory as hugely important because it was a result of cooperation between members of both communities.
[...]
The majority of Turkish Cypriots who did vote, 72 per cent voted for Akel, 23.6 per cent voted for the Jasmine Movement, 1.2 per cent voted for Disy, 1 per cent for the Cyprus Socialist Party, 0.8 per cent for Edek and 0.5 per cent for Diko.

Gesy: 'Biggest social reform since 1960' off to a good start officials say

[HIO board chair Thomas] Antoniou said the new health system was not a single reform but many combined. It is the first time Cyprus has primary healthcare as part of a universal health system. The island is the last country in the European Union to implement a health system but is among the first to have a fully electronic one.
[...]
[HIO director Athos] Tsinontides said in the past few days there was no problem in registrations with the portal operating smoothly. Certain issues that concern third country nationals or Europeans from other member states relate to technical matters that must be resolved in cooperation with other government departments like the civil registry, to enable them to register.

Your View | Many EU Citizens are not registered anywhere, making their GESY registration impossible

archived adjustments
the "alien book" registry and social services portfolio

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 10:28:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

EU legal expert says online defamation enforceable worldwide

social media networks like Facebook could be ordered to take down anywhere in the world any text, photo or other media ruled to be defamatory by a court.
[...]
The case concerns a Facebook user who shared an online article on their personal page about Austrian Greens politician Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek. ...An Austrian court ruled that the comments were intended to insult and defame the politician and Facebook removed access to them in Austria.
In his legal opinion, EU Court of Justice Advocate General Maciej Szpunar said companies like Facebook can be ordered by a court "to seek and identify" duplicate copies of information that a court has deemed illegal posted by any users of a platform.

archived GDPR
political speech
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, just shut down ...
Deal struck on copyright reform after 'intense' negotiations
Green MEP Julia Reda, a staunch opponent of the plans, issued a statement ...
Right to be forgotten should be limited to EU, top court says in Google case
Compliance isn't a geography problem.
We won!
The European Parliament has sent the copyright law back to the drawing board.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 06:55:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

ECB ponders further monetary stimulus to counter trade, Brexit risks

EU gov regulation

Against the backdrop of this uncertainty, the ECB decided to keep its low interest rates unchanged, at least during the first half of next year, but said it stands ready to adopt further monetary stimulus.[...]
Draghi said the conditions were not comparable with those seven years ago, when he said he would do "whatever it takes" to save the common currency in the worst moment of the euro crisis. [BWAH!]

EU cobbles workaround to avoid US block on WTO judges

The proposal, seen by Reuters on Thursday (6 June), would allow the EU and any other WTO member with which it had a dispute to use the WTO's arbitration rules to set up a new judicial procedure, an "interim solution" until the US veto on the appointment of new judges is lifted. The disputants would effectively copy and paste the existing system to create an ad hoc process overseen by former WTO appeals judges.
By moving ahead with alternative arrangements [BWAH!], the EU has signalled it does not expect to resolve the crisis before December.

archived WTO "reform"
Isolate Trump at WTO, says former top trade judge Bacchus, Nov 2018
EU sends WTO reform proposals to break U.S. deadlock

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 12:15:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Facebook has become political parties' main advertiser, illustrated

As the latest advertising reports show, in the three months running up to the European elections, the total amount spent on political advertisements on Facebook was approximately 23.5 million euro. Advertisers in Germany spent the most (3.5 million), followed by those in the UK (3.3 million), Spain (2.7 million), Belgium (2.4 million) and Italy (1.8 million).
[...]
Moreover, member states show distinct approaches from party to party. Two Spanish parties were respectively first and third for spending, leftist Podemos with 751,344 euro spent, and centrist party Ciudadanos with 364,595 euro spent. Flemish far-right party Vlaams Belang comes second with 707,737 euro. Nevertheless, only 3 percent of advertisers invested over 10,000 euro.
[...]
It's worth mentioning that the major spender in Facebook political advertising is not a political party, but the European Parliament itself. Together with a few civil society organisations, such as Kialo, The Good Lobby and Avaaz, the Parliament promoted several get-out-to-vote campaigns to increase public awareness of the elections.
[...]
During the campaign, there were issues with third countries and unidentified organisations sponsoring targeted content. As a result of Facebook's new rules for political advertising in the EU, paid political content is only allowed in the country where the ad buyer is based. Nevertheless, ["]influencers["] could still buy political ads at the national level and reach all European users.

Top Progressive ThinkProgress Site Bleeding Cash and People ANNEX
DNC PR

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 03:13:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

As far as I can see, 100% of the FB ads are asking for campaign contributions. That is not going to convince anybody of anything.

by asdf on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:15:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (4.00 / 2)

Anything that looks like a political ad on FB probably isn't one. They spend money on boosting posts so that they will show up in the feeds of targeted demographics. It "works" best if the target doesn't notice they are being targeted.
As anyone who has curated a fb page knows, you are constantly being invited to pay to boost your reach. Whether you are selling goods or services, vanity publishing or a political influencer, makes no difference to fb, the money tastes the same.

Electoral advertising on fb is illegal in France (and rightly so), so I was surprised at the sum of 1.5 million euros spent in the electoral season on political targeting. Consulting fb's reporting, it turns out to be institutional -- the EU Parliament itself spent half a million, then you've got Greenpeace and various other non partisan outfits.

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

by eurogreen on Fri Jun 14th, 2019 at 10:08:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Seattle campaign finance program gives voters $100 to donate, H.R.1 "child process"

Seattle officials mail each voter four $25 "Democracy Vouchers" that they can give to City Council or city attorney candidates, split among different candidates, or choose not to donate. Voucher money not used by voters remains in city coffers.

in merica "money talks, bullshit" lays around analyzing big data

Candidates took in $1.1 million during the program's first round in the 2017 cycle.
Supporters say the program draws in candidates who otherwise would not consider running and forces politicians to pay attention to smaller donors. The city's 2017 City Council race featured 15 primary candidates, with three-quarters applying for the vouchers and nearly half saying they would not have run without them, according to a report commissioned by the city.
This year, 72 candidates registered to compete for seven seats, making the race by several measures the most competitive in more than 15 years.

But "68 percent of Americans said the country should not pay cash reparations to African American descendants of slaves ", because "rising tide, all boats" has worked so well separating "the chaff from the wheat" in the universe of mixed metaphorical "democracy".

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 02:40:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 1)

Mandate from "heaven"

Massive crowd in Prague call for Czech PM's resignation
"The biggest anti-government protest in Prague since the 1989 pro-democratic Velvet Revolution is underway as Czechs urge Prime Minister Andrej Babis to resign."

archived bloodless progress
What protest?
Babis, the country's second richest person, has long fought ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 23rd, 2019 at 05:09:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Germany: Climate activists end coal blockade in Garzweiler

DW is funded in part or in whole by Germany government.

Police have cleared 250 climate activists who stayed overnight at the Garzweiler brown coal mine in western Germany, officials said Sunday. However, some protesters were still blocking nearby train tracks that usually serve as a coal transport route from one of Germany's biggest open-pit mines, near the cities of Düsseldorf and Cologne.
[...]
Although the Ende Gelände protest grabbed most of the headlines, it was a small part of a much larger rally on Saturday from the town of Keyenberg along the edge of the mine.

AP | Climate activists end their blockade of German coal mine

The Garzweiler lignite coal mine has been the focal point of environmental protests in Germany's Rhineland region since Friday, when 40,000 students rallied for more government action against climate change in the nearby city of Aachen.
[...]
The mine has been the focus of many protests in recent years because the operator, German utility company RWE, planned to cut down a forest to enlarge it. Later Sunday, Aachen police tweeted that RWE had filed a criminal complaint against those protesters who had locked themselves to the tracks. The utility company had stopped mining during the three days of protests.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 23rd, 2019 at 06:01:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Reports in Swedish media this morning claims that the new Finnish government will be presented this afternoon and that it will consist of Social Democrats, Centre Party, Greens, Left and the Swedish minority party.

by fjallstrom on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 07:18:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (4.00 / 2)

The news at the moment is that there will be 19 ministers. It's assumed that Social Democrats will get at least (besides the prime minister) employment- , transport- and local government ministries, Center Party gets finance, defence and agriculture. Greens will get foreign-, internal- and environment ministries.
Left Coalition will get social and health ministry and education, while Swedish Party gets justice and Nordic collaboration.
The remaining 5 positions are still open. Or at least not leaked yet.

So far there's a strong promise to end the austerity, but I won't hold my breath. The goon squad in ministry of finance can turn any politician to the dark side.

They will publish the manifesto today, and putative list of ministers, but then the parties have to officially agree on the names, so we expect to get the final list of names by the end of the week.

by pelgus on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 09:40:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Swedish media is reporting that the local court has decided not to remand Assange in absentia. This is reported as an Assange win, but I am less sure.

The court found that he is not a flight risk because he is locked up in London, which changes as soon as he is released. Also, the real risk of extradition to the US should be higher if he stays in the UK.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 01:11:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Missed a relevant part: no remand in absentia means no European Arrest Warrant. For now, the prosecutor and police keeps working the case.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 01:13:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

A Swedish Court Injects Some Sense

Readers of this blog are amongst the very few people who have had the chance to learn the information that the original European Arrest Warrant for Julian Assange from Sweden was not issued by any court but by a prosecutor; that this was upheld in the UK Supreme Court despite the Court's open acknowledgement that this was not what the UK Parliament had intended by the phrase that the warrant must come from a "judicial authority"; and that the law had been changed immediately thereafter so it could not be done again.
The European Arrest Warrant must be issued from one country to another by a judicial authority. The original Swedish request for Assange's extradition was not issued by any court, but simply by the prosecutor. This was particularly strange, as the Chief Prosecutor of Stockholm had initially closed the case after deciding there was no case to answer, and then another, highly politically motivated, prosecutor had reopened the case and issued a European Arrest Warrant, without going to any judge for confirmation.
Assange's initial appeal up to the UK Supreme Court was in large part based on the fact that the warrant did not come from a judge but from a prosecutor, and that was not a judicial authority. I have no doubt that, if any other person in the UK had been the accused, the British courts would not have accepted the warrant from a prosecutor. The incredible and open bias of the courts against Assange has been evident since day 1. My contention is borne out by the fact that, immediately after Assange lost his case against the warrant in the Supreme Court, the British government changed the law to specify that future warrants must be from a judge and not a prosecutor. That is just one of the incredible facts about the Assange case that the mainstream media has hidden from the general public.
The judgement against Assange in the UK Supreme Court on the point of whether the Swedish Prosecutor constituted a "judicial authority" hinged on a completely unprecedented and frankly incredible piece of reasoning....
Consequently in seeking a new European Arrest Warrant against Assange, Swedish prosecutors had finally, eight years on, to ask a court for the warrant. And the court looked at the case and declined, saying that the move would be disproportionate. It therefore remains the case that there is no Swedish extradition warrant for Assange. This is a desperate disappointment to the false left in the UK, the Blairites and their ilk, who desperately want Assange to be a rapist in order to avoid the moral decision about prosecuting him for publishing truths about the neo-con illegal wars which they support.

## Rule of law is not well understood.

archived calumny 2012
Clinton/Nuland 2020
"That case has nothing to do with us"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 11:58:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

In 2010 the prosecutor asked the Stockholm district court to remand Assange in absentia. It agreed and the prosecutor issued a European Arrest Warrant.

In 2019 the prosecutor asked the Uppsala district court to remand Assange in absentia. It did not agree, finding it would be unpropotional as Assange is serving a jail sentence.

Nothing changed in the procedure on the Swedish side.

Now, it is possible that something has changed on the UK side, but I doubt it.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 06:39:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

prohibition of arbitrary detention/arrest: Let us recall, you and I disagreed about the legitimacy of arrest by law enforcement agents absent bill charge(s) in Sweden--the pretext of an "investigation" of indeterminate duration which permits detention/arrest. This prescription for "democracy" is as heinous as any human rights violation fabricated by inscrutable Chines communists or alt-right Americans--a star chamber.

What has changed since 2010?
Authority of the ECJ(CJEU) with respect to 1. national laws; 2. "due process" criteria for warrant; and 3. proscription of EAW exercised by national "judicial authorities". (See FDEA/EAW discussion above.) EU directives and judicial opinion seeks administrative uniformity among member-states.

It is presumed that the criminal law authorities of other Member States comply with the right to a fair trial and other (related) fundamental rights. In practice, however, this presumption does not necessarily hold true.3
[...]
In other words, the political institutions did not make full respect for all fundamental rights a precondition for the lawful application of the EAW-system.5
[...]
Hence, it is important to establish what actually constitutes a judicial authority. The FDEAW requires Member States to establish which judicial authority shall be competent to issue and/or execute EAWs,24 but it does not define the term `judicial authority' itself. In practice, this has led to divergences among the Member States, with some of them having designated authorities that would appear to be political rather than judicial authorities.25
[...]
The CJEU's conclusions are logical.31 Common sense simply dictates that police services and ministries cannot be regarded as judicial authorities. It would be odd and indeed undesirable if the courts in the executing Member State were obliged 'to act on the orders of foreign policemen'32 or politicians.

As evinced in Sweden v. Assange and other cases plausibly directed by "non-judiciable" issues. UK and SE have since modified review of FDEAW application; codified in UK, temporarily remedied in SE (reverse of Stockholm district ct, 2010, by Uppsala district ct, June 2019, notwithstanding foreclosed review by SE appellate or supreme courts. wtf.)

What has not changed since 2010?
Enumerated civil rights of the person with respect to state authorities: It appears to me that protection of individuals, domestic or foreign, against police actions are limited or conditional. (Chapter 2: Fundamental rights and freedoms, Part 3: Rule of Law, Art. 9-11; Part 9: European Convention; Part 10: Conditions for limiting rights and freedoms, Art. 25) Concepts of civil rights and "rule of law" are not well developed in SE. One might argue specious, given the ambiguity of their applications. However, unilateral Prosecutorial Authority in SE government to exercise and conflict of interests in exercising EAW is closing with BREXIT. I bet, Ny knows this.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 10:44:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Remand pending charges is not indefinite detention, it is for fourteen days, count starting when you are remanded. It can be renewed, and each renewal needs a new court hearing. Of course it can be abused, but most systems can. I still consider it better than the bail system.

As far as I understand your position, it is that the world should just use identical processes as the UK and its former colonies. I have found this position among many supporters of Assange, and I find it rather focused on form over content. If you never had a Star Chamber, you won't find an act of parliament abolishing it, ie the Habeas Corpus Act. It could very well be that I have misunderstood your position, as I often find you hard to understand.

As far as your quote in the middle, I am uncertain what you are quoting.

In any case the process in Sweden hasn't changed. Prosecutor asks the court for a remand in absentia decision. If court grants remand, prosecutor issues European Arrest Warrant. The Uppsala court is quite clear in its statement that it finds that Assange is still suspected, and is still a flight risk. They only find differently than the Stockholm court because Assange is presently jailed and he wasn't then. I don't see how that constitutes any change in the process.

by fjallstrom on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 11:41:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe HABEAS CORPUS (4.00 / 2)

I think the confusion for many in common law jurisdictions is that here, if a court finds probable cause, it issues the arrest warrant; the prosecutor has no such authority. And it's kind of a big deal because I personally have dealt with several situations where cops have tried to intimidate clients with "warrants" they issued themselves. Hence we are leery of any warrant issued by an enforcing authority rather than a tribunal.

As a side note, I think the inherent differences between common law and civil law systems (which were never identified and addressed when Maastricht was being hammered out) provided much of the grist for the "We have to take control back from the Brussels bureaucrats" elements of the Brexit campaign.

by rifek on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 01:41:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

(WaPo syndicated file)
Julian Assange: US submits formal extradition request for WikiLeaks founder
"A US official who spoke on background to discuss a sensitive matter said the request was sent on Thursday [6 June]."
US submits extradition request [to UK] for WikiLeaks founder Assange
(not front page Guardian, "Spotlight" Grenfell)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 11:29:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Still no US extradition request at Guardian.

US submits formal Assange extradition request, 10 June

Is this another North Korea execution spoof?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 05:48:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

How would Italy's `parallel currency' work?

US Extradition Case Against Assange Set for Next Year, 14 June

The judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday set a full extradition hearing for Feb. 25, 2020. It is expected to last about five days. Interim hearings are expected in July and October.
[...]
Assange also complained that he has not yet received the full U.S. indictment against him because his lawyers aren't allowed to give him documents and can only send him papers through the mail.
[Judge Emma] Arbuthnot said the paperwork only arrived Thursday [13 June] and that "no one" has had a chance to fully read it. ... Assange also complained that he has not yet received the full U.S. indictment against him because his lawyers aren't allowed to give him documents and can only send him papers through the mail.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 06:58:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (4.00 / 3)

Facing €3.5bn in fines from the EU for failing to tighten its fiscal belt, the far-right League which is part of the ruling coalition has adopted a strategy which "is to offer EU leaders a choice: reform the EU treaties to enable fiscal expansion and allow the European Central Bank to act as lender-of-last-resort; or face the consequences", writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Daily Telegraph.
Fresh from an emphatic European election victory in which his party swept up nearly 40% of the vote in Italy, League leader and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini struck a defiant tone, saying "I don't govern a country on its knees".
His answer is to revive the threat of introducing so-called "mini-BOTs", named after Italy's short-term Treasury bills, which would act as a form of parallel currency in competition with the euro.
Reuters says the Treasury "would print billions of euros of non-interest-bearing, tradeable securities which could then be used by recipients to pay taxes and buy any services or goods provided by the state, including, for example, petrol at stations run by state-controlled oil company ENI".
Claudio Borghi, Lega chairman of Italy's house budget committee and long-time critic of the euro, said the plan for minibot treasury notes is written into the coalition's solemn "contract" and will be activated to flank the tax reform package.
"It is a way to mobilise credit that is badly needed and put money into circulation," he said.
"This scrip paper creates parallel liquidity - akin to what [former Greek finance minister] Yanis Varoufakis wanted to do in Greece - to be used to pay €50bn of arrears to state contractors and households", says Evans-Pritchard.

(Links in the original)

That which can't stand must fall. So just do it already.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 04:06:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (4.00 / 4)

Regrettable that it's the Fascists doing this eminently sensible and necessary thing.
Even more regrettable that they will quite likely get away with it, and that it will probably work just fine.

In fact what is truly regrettable is that Tsípras didn't have the guts to do it.

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 04:23:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Yeah.

I thought it would be 5* that would pull it of, given Italy's economic strenght within the EU, and 5* opposition to austerity. But now it looks like it is the fascists who will do it and be credited for breaking the economic prison of the euro. One more reason not to ally with fascists, if it was needed.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 08:06:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Then again, the same fascists plan to introduce this neo-lib wet dream: a regressive "flat tax" of 15 to 20% max, regardless of income.

What is Italy's flat tax and who would it benefit? - The Local

After initally proposing a flat tax of 15 percent, the party now proposes a two-tier flat tax of 15 percent on annual earnings of up to €80,000, and 20 percent for incomes above this threshold.
The 2019 budget law introduced a 15 percent rate for self-employed people on up to €65,000 a year.
Forza Italia politician Renato Brunetta said that the idea of the flat tax is to cause a "fiscal shock that will enable the country to escape the trap it's stuck in", and increase growth levels to "more than three percent".

Oh, and in addition to other tax breaks for wealthy foreigners:

Super rich buying up Italy's mansions under new tax regime - Guardian

The client, a northern European entrepreneur who Heath declined to identity, is part of a growing influx of the global super-rich to Italy exploiting a little-known tax break that allows the world's millionaires to pay a "flat tax" of just €100,000 no matter how much money they earn.
"There has been a huge spike in interest among the global wealthy since the tax change," Heath says in his office overlooking a picture postcard perfect view of the Ponte Vecchio in the heart of Florence. "There was an immediate 17% increase when the law changed in 2017 and, now that they [the wealthy and their advisers] are convinced that the tax break is here to stay, we are getting 350 qualified requests a month.
"People love this. You get the same sort of tax savings you get in Jersey [and other tax havens] but you get to live somewhere you actually want to live."

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 06:14:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (4.00 / 2)

It is 'natural' for this to be done by fascists. This is well explained by Kaleki in Political Aspects of Full Employment.

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

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 04:34:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Point, though I don't think Italy has a fascist economy yet:

One of the important functions of fascism, as typified by the Nazi system, was to remove capitalist objections to full employment.
The dislike of government spending policy as such is overcome under fascism by the fact that the state machinery is under the direct control of a partnership of big business with fascism. The necessity for the myth of `sound finance', which served to prevent the government from offsetting a confidence crisis by spending, is removed. In a democracy, one does not know what the next government will be like. Under fascism there is no next government.
The dislike of government spending, whether on public investment or consumption, is overcome by concentrating government expenditure on armaments. Finally, `discipline in the factories' and `political stability' under full employment are maintained by the `new order', which ranges from suppression of the trade unions to the concentration camp. Political pressure replaces the economic pressure of unemployment.

I think it is more along the line of the Two Santa Theory:

The only thing wrong with the U.S. economy is the failure of the Republican Party to play Santa Claus. The only thing wrong with President Ford is that he is still too much a Hoover Republican when what the country needs is a Coolidge Republican.
These statements, seemingly absurd, follow naturally from the Two-Santa Claus Theory of the political economy. Simply stated, the Two Santa Claus Theory is this: For the U.S. economy to be healthy and growing, there must be a division of labor between Democrats and Republicans; each must be a different kind of Santa Claus.
The Democrats, the party of income redistribution, are best suited for the role of Spending Santa Claus. The Republicans, traditionally the party of income growth, should be the Santa Claus of Tax Reduction. It has been the failure of the GOP to stick to this traditional role that has caused much of the nation's economic misery. Only the shrewdness of the Democrats, who have kindly agreed to play both Santa Clauses during critical periods, has saved the nation from even greater misery.
It isn't that Republicans don't enjoy cutting taxes. They love it. But there is something in the Republican chemistry that causes the GOP to become hypnotized by the prospect of an imbalanced budget. Static analysis tells them taxes can't be cut or inflation will result. They either argue for a tax hike to dampen inflation when the economy is in a boom or demand spending cuts to balance the budget when the economy is in recession.

With turned around roles of course. The traditional big parties has taken turns to take out Santa behind the shed and beat him up - and if they stopped the Troika was there to remind them that the beatings must continue or ECB would put on the brass knuckles. Now the fascists has discovered that they can use Santa - in the form of tax cuts mostly - to give to their local rich elite while ignoring Troika, ECB etc. And thus they can combine looking like they are standing up for the little guy while actually opening the spiggot for the bosses.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 08:35:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Reading that Wall-Streetwalker Wanniski's Laffer-Curve-promoting drivel makes me go all Luke Skywalker: Impressive. Everything you just said is wrong.

by rifek on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 01:55:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 1)

Doesn't Kalecki assume lack of elections in order for this to work?

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 07:42:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Not even necessary. It remains to be seen if the frame will hold, but it looks like they've got ten years ahead of them.

One imagines that the Berlusconian economic actors are easily flipped to Salvinism. At least, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.

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

by eurogreen on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 09:24:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe (none / 0)

Seems like this could be used to take a step towards the dreaded European federation...

by asdf on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:18:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Complicated laws (none / 1)

Seehofer

Für eine besondere Form des Humors ist Innenminister Horst Seehofer bekannt. Mit der Absicht, es lustig zu verpacken, muss der CSU-Politiker auch über das Datenaustauschverbesserungsgesetz gesprochen haben, gestern, als ihn Teilnehmer einer Konferenz danach fragten: "Ich habe jetzt die Erfahrung gemacht in den letzten 15 Monaten, man muss Gesetze kompliziert machen, dann fällt es nicht so auf. Wir machen nichts Illegales, wir machen Notwendiges, aber auch Notwendiges wird ja oft unzulässig in Frage gestellt."

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 9th, 2019 at 10:57:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Freedom in Russia and the UK (none / 0)

Upon what appears to have been Golunov's unjust arrest and detention by the police in Moscow, the Russian press united in demanding his release. Largely as a result of the media's stance, which galvanised public opinion in Russia, Golunov's detention ended in a matter of days. It stands as a pristine example of how a free and independent press functions in holding the authorities to account on behalf of the people.
Today in Britain, in grim contrast, we have a mainstream media that operates more along the lines of holding the people to account on behalf of the powerful; the plight of Julian Assange being a case in point.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 12:26:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe 10TH ANNIVERSARY (none / 0)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 25th, 2019 at 11:45:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe 10TH ANNIVERSARY (none / 0)

hmm, yes, well

Saving migrants from drowning at sea should be a crime, says VVD

The plan has a working majority in parliament, thanks to the support of cabinet partner the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the opposition PVV, FvD and SGP, according to NRC. However, the two smaller coalition parties, D66 and the ChristenUnie, are strongly opposed to the move.

French court rules to end life support in landmark right-to-die case

President Emmanuel Macron had in May rejected calls by Lambert's parents and others to intervene to keep him alive, saying the decision to stop treatment "was taken after a constant dialogue between his doctors and his wife, who is his legal representative". The European Court of Human Rights also rejected an appeal by Lambert's parents.

Italy rebuffs German migrant appeal as rescue boat disembarks at Lampedusa

"Dear German government, I'm not reopening the ports ... if anything we're going to put ... (the migrants) in a car and take them to the German embassy," [Salvini] said.

One in 4 Europeans cannot afford holidays away

"Not being able to travel is a sign of poverty, which finally must be tackled effectively," said Zimmermann, a member of Germany's ex-communist Left party and a former trade union organizer in Germany's eastern state of Saxony.

UK's 'County Lines' Drug Cartels Now Employing Children as Young as Seven

British children as young as seven are being targeted for grooming, violence and exploitation by drug gangs enslaving them into criminality, a report from the Children's Society has warned.

Police break up huge `modern day slavery' ring, Poland-UK

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 at 11:52:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

AfD supports the SPD (none / 0)

Bei der ersten Sitzung des neu gewählten Stadtrats am Montag waren zwei von acht AfD-Mitgliedern entschuldigt. Als es um die Wahl zur Besetzung des Hauptauschusses ging, stimmten die anwesenden sechs allesamt versehentlich für den Wahlvorschlag der SPD. Oberbürgermeisterin Jutta Steinruck (SPD) wollte daraufhin erneut abstimmen lassen. Doch die Mehrheit der Mitglieder des Stadtrats stimmte gegen eine Wahlwiederholung, die CDU enthielt sich. Damit hat die AfD keinen Sitz im Hauptausschuss.
Um den Vorgang zu belegen, wurde zum ersten Mal der Videobeweis eingesetzt, denn die Sitzungen werden neuerdings aufgezeichnet. Und der zeigt: Die AfD hat sich tatsächlich selbst abgewählt. ,,Damit wird die Stadt Ludwigshafen in die Geschichte eingehen", scherzt Bürgermeisterin Jutta Steinruck.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Jun 28th, 2019 at 12:08:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe ECONOMICS & FINANCE (none / 0)

Deutsche Bank to cut 18,000 jobs in 7.4 billion euro overhaul

As part of the overhaul, the bank will scrap its global equities business, scale back its investment bank and also cut some of its fixed income operations, an area traditionally regarded as one of its strengths.
The bank will set up a new so-called bad bank [another one?] to wind-down unwanted assets, with a value of 74 billion euros of risk-weighted assets.
The depth of the restructuring shows that Deutsche is coming to terms with its failure [!] to keep pace with Wall Street's big hitters such as JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N).

o, the humility.

Soon after becoming CEO last year, Sewing started to cut jobs and promised to bring staffing "well below" 90,000. There were media reports from Reuters and others that Deutsche Bank could cut as many as 20,000 jobs -- more than one in five of its 91,500 employees. ...Deutsche bank gave no geographic breakdown for the job cuts. The equities business is focused largely in New York and London. A person with direct knowledge of the matter said job cuts would be distributed around the world, including in Germany.
[...]
Stephan Szukalski, head of the DBV union, told Reuters that the measures were in the right direction, echoing the sentiment of the Verdi labor union.
"This could be a real new beginning for Deutsche Bank," said Szukalski, who also sits on the bank's supervisory board.

First year DB (GRS) listed on NYSE: 2001

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 at 11:24:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Brexit (none / 0)

BREXIT

by Bjinse on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:47:52 AM EST

Re: Brexit FEMINISM (none / 1)

(3) chamber slaves of the patriarchy, (1) AP, (1) SF, (1) DUP

Naomi Long secured the cross-community party's best ever result after taking the second of the region's three seats. Incumbent MEPs Diane Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin's Martina Anderson took the other two seats. It is the first time NI has selected an all-female European Parliament line-up.
[...]
'Anger and frustration'
The pro-Remain Alliance Party is not aligned to Northern Ireland's traditional Catholic or Protestant voting blocs, and its success comes after a strong performance in this month's council elections.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 04:47:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit FEMINISM (none / 0)

Eight Tory leadership candidates declare themselves feminists

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 at 11:21:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit FEMINISM (none / 0)

EU chamber slaves of the patriarchy: BREXIT rewards

EU job carousel keeps turning as new hires announced

Michel Barnier's deputy Brexit negotiator, Sabine Weyand, will lead the trade directorate from 1 June, a decision that elicited praise from her former French boss, as well as from Swedish trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.
[...]
It means that as of next week EU trade policy will be helmed by five female managers: Malmström, Weyand, a head of cabinet and two deputy DGs.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 04:25:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit FEMINISM (none / 0)

Failing to hire women, ECB extends supervision job deadline: sources

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 at 11:24:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit PAGEANT (none / 0)

The under-study, Corbyn, backs soft Brexit and says second referendum 'some way off'

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 02:33:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit PAGEANT (none / 0)

Trump tells UK to 'walk away' if EU does not give what it wants in Brexit

"I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer - he is a very smart person," Trump said.
[...]
On the Brexit divorce bill, Trump said: "If I were them, I wouldn't pay 50 billion dollars. That is a tremendous number."
[...]
he would have "to know" veteran Socialist Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn before authorizing U.S. intelligence to share its most sensitive secrets with a hard-left government.

Corbyn accuses Trump of interfering in UK politics with Johnson comments

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 at 11:22:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit PAGEANT post-mortem (none / 0)

Change UK loses six of its 11 MPs after dire EU elections result

Change UK announced that it now had just five MPs, who will be led by the former Conservative business minister and anti-Brexit campaigner Anna Soubry.
The others remaining are the former Labour MPs Mike Gapes, Chris Leslie, Joan Ryan and Ann Coffey. In their statement, they said they would embark on a "nationwide programme of deliberative democracy", across the UK.

TIG o' Libertines:

[Heidi] Allen and [Chukka] Umunna have both been advocating closer cooperation with Vince Cable's party. Some of their erstwhile colleagues suspect they may have been offered plum seats, or the backing of Lib Dem activists in their existing constituency, if they defect.
The other four MPs to quit the party were Luciana Berger, who fronted its slick press launch on London's South Bank in February, Gavin Shuker, who had spent months drawing up secret plans for the breakaway group, Sarah Wollaston and Angela Smith.

Hair & Make-up:

"If I were running it, we would have one leader and a different name and we would have done a deal with all the other remain parties. Then we would be able to give the Brexit party a fight."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 11:03:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit PAGEANT BULLETIN (none / 0)

-1 chamber slave of the patriarchy
MP Heidi Allen has quit yet another political party.
story developing ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 11:23:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit PAGEANT BULLETIN (none / 0)

Heidi hi, Heidi ho'
(sorry)

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

by eurogreen on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 09:26:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)

Brexit, data privacy rules damaging markets, report says

The International Organization of Securities Commissions [IOSC], which groups market regulartors from the United States, Japan, China, the European Union and 30 other jurisdictions, said in a report that regulators were already working together more closely to avoid rules from disrupting cross-border trade.
[...]
IOSCO looked at how willing countries are to "defer" to each other on rules after trust among regulators was damaged by the [Panic '08] ...It took the United States and the EU four years of politicized negotiation to accept a subset of their respective derivatives rules.
[...]
The [EU] bloc rejected a proposal from Britain's financial sector for "mutual recognition" or broad deference, saying it wants to maintain regulatory autonomy after Brexit. It has imposed tougher requirements on foreign derivatives clearing houses, a step aimed at clearers in London after Brexit, but which triggered concerns at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

EU's markets watchdog warns of split share trading if no-deal Brexit

London is the centre for share trading in Europe, even for many non-UK shares, leaving EU asset managers facing a split pool of liquidity and less competitive prices.
After a spat with Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) last week partly reversed its "share trading obligation" (STO) so that EU investors could still trade the 14 shares in London.
"Despite this adjustment ... the STO will fragment markets and, being a supporter of open markets, I regret that result very much," ESMA Chair Steven Maijoor told a Federation of European Exchanges conference in Dublin. The STO, however, is due to Britain deciding to leave the bloc and the risk of a no-deal Brexit, Maijoor said. Britain has said that it will not disclose its approach to securities trading until it is clear there is no deal.

archived
North Korea of Europe &tc.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 01:37:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)

Share trading these days are networked server farms that can be, and are, anywhere with reliable electricity and data links. 'London,' as such, has as much to do with the process of trading as Phoenix Arizona.

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

by ATinNM on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 02:51:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit ECONOMY &amp; FINANCE (none / 0)

Well, remote locations do reduce the benefits of co-location or proximate location for high speed trading algos. But I don't know what the policies of London exchanges are on this subject.

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

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 04:29:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 1)

The dispute is not HOW trades are exchange. It is not WHERE.

It is WHO is licensed to exchange FX, commodities, and securities by EU gov.
Brief reminder: MiFID passport

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 06:44:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)

Swiss ready to retaliate against EU over stock market access

SIX, the operator of the Swiss bourse, said it welcomed the Swiss decision to activate the protective measures, as this meant EU market participants could still access the Swiss domestic market and continue to be able to trade Swiss shares directly at SIX.
Pan-European stock trading platform Aquis Exchange Plc said; "If equivalence is not extended, and if the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) rescinds recognition of EU trading venues for the trading of Swiss securities, then Aquis Exchange will take the necessary steps to comply with the directive."

archived
Swiss labour leader declares draft EU treaty 'dead'
cross-border competition

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 05:22:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

A Clean Managed Break, 5 June 2019, Exiting the EU: A proposed Government policy for UK withdrawal from the EU following the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declation ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 12:57:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Parliament has rejected the Negotiated Deal and No Deal in favor of some CloudCuckooCuckoo opium pipe dream Wonderland.

Also the Tories are off having one of their (patented) Prime Minister faction fights.

Expect nothing sensible until both conditions have improved.

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

by ATinNM on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 04:49:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

front page | MPs defeat motion seeking to block no-deal Brexit
"309 votes to 298 on Wednesday"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 05:51:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

1922 Committee announces results of first Tory leadership ballot - video
constitutional monarchy "instrument of" parliamentary government

Savage!
"'Doesn't the House of Commons realise that they can't stop a No Deal?' a Commission official asked this reporter following a debate last week."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 02:39:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"'Doesn't the House of Commons realise that they can't stop a No Deal?'

No.

Next question.

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

by ATinNM on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 04:52:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Brexit MEPs turn their backs (Image: PA)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 09:15:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

Today's 75-year-olds didn't fight the war - so why do we think they did?

But I think there's another, less comprehensible reason, which is that so many of the older generation actually are going around talking as if they fought the war themselves. The red-faced old men, who show up on Question Time to opine that if Britain survived the Blitz, it can survive a little no-deal Brexit, seem genuinely to think that surviving the Blitz was their own, personal achievement.

by generic on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 06:13:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

I think a lot of it has to do with the extensive color photographs and movie clips of WW2 that have been assembled into "history" TV shows. Not to mention thousands of films showing how heroic and handsome everybody was back then. Watch enough of them and maybe it starts to turn into a "memory."

by asdf on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:22:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

As I pointed out to a number of people last week, the absolute youngest people involved in the Normandy landings are 92 now. If you're 80, you have little memory of the war and NO memory of the Blitz.

by rifek on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 02:03:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

So you are going to do it? (none / 0)

BREAKING: Boris Johnson cements his lead in the race to be Britain's next prime minister after a secret ballot knocks out three rivals https://t.co/VovlQCAVHK pic.twitter.com/0ATrxHfSrY
— Bloomberg Brexit (@Brexit) 13. Juni 2019

by generic on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 02:00:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So you are going to do it? (none / 0)

I first read that as "cements his head". The fact that it didn't even make me bat an eye rather says something about Boor-Ass de Piffle.

by rifek on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 04:31:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

"I'll kick my own ass," tory edition pic.twitter.com/qoP7ZbDabk
— Crowsa Luxemburg (@quendergeer) June 18, 2019

by generic on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 12:05:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Sir Mark Ivan Rogers, the former Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union has given another of his detailed analyses of the diametrically opposed opinions of Tory Leadership Candidates and the rest of the 27 and concludes that no-deal, (the consequences of which he describes) is no more / most likely.

The Spectator has an edited transcript (paywall with a limit on the number of articles you can view for free).

You can download the 15 page text of his speech as a pdf here (which seems to be a safe link).

by oldremainmer48 on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 03:33:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 1)

Oops:

no more likely == NOW more likely!!

by oldremainmer48 on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 03:35:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 1)

Tusk & Co. are making a lot of noise about not giving the UK another extension, and not renegotiating the separation, and how the British are wasting time, but that the EU is solidly all-for-on-and-one-for-all, etc. Do they believe it themselves?

Has there been a clear statement made to European commercial interests to use the next few months to set themselves up for a no-deal Brexit? Or is Europe, like the UK, waffling on this and just procrastinating in the hopes that BoJo will pull out some kind of a miracle?

by asdf on Sat Jun 22nd, 2019 at 03:02:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

yes (none / 0)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 22nd, 2019 at 03:43:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

I'd assume it's part genuine and part negotiating position - the aim being to force the UK moderates towards forcing an election and/or ref to avoid No Deal.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Sat Jun 22nd, 2019 at 03:50:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (4.00 / 2)

Has there been a clear statement made to European commercial interests to use the next few months to set themselves up for a no-deal Brexit?

There has been some preparations back in February - March, when the first March 29 was approaching and the WA still stuck in the HoC. Since then, the things have been put mostly on hold. Contingencies are one thing, but no point on planning now when we cannot tell what the new PM will be up to. Folks in Brussels affect not to take BoJo's bluster at face value and they have more urgent things on their plate right now, with the increasingly ugly fight for the EU's top posts.

Once PM, BoJo could go any direction and has already flip-flopped more than once in the past; actually, since we're talking about Brussels, the term "waffling" is definitely appropriate.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Jun 22nd, 2019 at 06:52:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

Big companies have plans, small ones can't afford them, given the uncertainty of them being applied. If it all goes bad they'll go out of business or be bailed out. Creative destruction I guess.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Sun Jun 23rd, 2019 at 06:15:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 1)

Are they quite sure about this? | Richard Seymour on Patreon

Johnson's acolytes can only deflect their despair and panic for so long. To be sure, Johnson will probably rebound at some point with an entertaining speech. But it has to hit them, at some point. Even if they fundamentally believe that he did nothing wrong, or could do nothing wrong. Or even if they're cynical to the point of ethically desiccated and simply don't care what he did. They have to realise. They've been warned by friend and enemy alike that Boris Johnson is only good at self-promotion, but is otherwise lazy, undisciplined and incompetent. Now it's one thing for them to realise that he's undisciplined enough to risk a 'domestic incident' loud enough for the police to be called in the middle of a crucial leadership election. But the response to that story, to which they've willingly been conscripted, is to vilify the neighbours who called the cops, spark a culture war conflagration, and drag this out for days and possibly weeks. That's their man? That's their future Prime Minister? Are they quite sure about this?

by generic on Mon Jun 24th, 2019 at 12:54:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

wut (none / 0)

All of this is similar, in a way, to Brett Kavanaugh's battle plan in the US: don't neutralise the anger, redirect it.

Seymour spelled either Donald Trump or US Congress rong

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 24th, 2019 at 01:59:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 0)

The Tories would be willing to burn down the UK for Brexit. They think Boris will give them Brexit. Anything else doesn't matter.

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

by ATinNM on Tue Jun 25th, 2019 at 12:37:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brexit (none / 1)

Hasn't hit the Trumptards yet, and Donny Drumpfenfuehrer has been busily making their lives worse (except for the entertainment value of being able to harass women and minorities again) for over two years now.

by rifek on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 04:37:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Trump (none / 0)

TRUMP

by Bjinse on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:47:55 AM EST

The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA-50) says he's taken photo with enemy corpse
"re-elected last November as he face[d] corruption charges". No black face or dick pic mementos cited.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 04:15:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Indiana Fetal Burial Rule Reinstated by High Court

Reinstating Indiana rules that require aborted fetuses to either be buried or cremated, the Supreme Court chided the Seventh Circuit
PER CURIAM decision: Q1 reversed, Q2 denied
Kristina Box, Commissioner, Indiana Department of Health, et al.
vs.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, et al.
on Tuesday for failing to recognize the state's legitimate interest.

Which is? "proper disposal of fetal remains ... even it it [the statute questioned] is not perfectly tailored to that end. ... rational basis review."

Though Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg complained in a partial dissent that the case represented "a waste of the court's resources," Justice Clarence Thomas devoted 20 pages to Indiana's "Sex Selective and Disability Abortion Ban."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 05:18:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Kristina Box, Commissioner, Indiana Department of Health, et al. vs. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, et al.
AP WTF | Supreme Court signals more openness [?!] to state abortion rules

the justices declined to ~~take on an issue closer to the core of abortion rights, rejecting~~ review the state's appeal of a lower court ruling that blocked [the state] ban on abortion based on gender, race or disability.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:20:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 1)

US Energy Department
"spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America's allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 12:04:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Rescued by `Yon Americans (none / 0)

Nice news item .... picked up all over the Internet and spreading like wildfire. So the 20th century was about "oil" and the New American Century will be about "molecules of fossil fuel".

DOE and "Molecules of Freedom"
A reporter at the order signing jokingly asked whether the LNG shipments should be called "freedom gas," and Perry said, "I think you may be correct in your observation."
If the DOE is still running with the term as a joke, then the wit in the Energy Secretary's office is bone dry. Ars contacted the DOE to see if "freedom gas" and "molecules of US freedom" are now going to be standard in department communication with the public. We are also curious if any potential drop in LNG exports could result in patriotism bloat.

From E&E news reporter ...

TFW you delete a DOE press release thinking it's just another DOE press release. And then you realize it's not just another DOE press release (_link) pic.twitter.com/Pbbo5JTgDO
— Ellen M. Gilmer (@ellengilmer) May 29, 2019

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 03:36:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Rescued by 'Yon Americans (none / 0)

For it to make any sense at all, remined me of an excellent diary in 2005 ...

○ Iraqi Oil - the $250bn gift to Saudi Arabia and Russia by Jerome a Paris @EuroTrib on Dec. 12, 2005

Of course is was not the intent to help the Russians, so the Western powers weaponized NATO to turn approachment into confrontation Cold War style at the Bucharest Meeting in 2008. (Part 2) Thanks guys, it was an excellent strategy for the accumulation of wealth by the fascist powers in the Middle East. A true Bilderberg blueprint.

Related reading ...

○ US seeks to cement military foothold in Balkans by vladimir (??) @EuroTrib on May 17, 2009

Key words: War on Georgia (2008) - War on MENA states (2011) - War on Syria (2011) - War on Ukraine (Maidan 2014)

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 08:56:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Actually, (none / 1)

I immediately recall the "sense of the Congress" in 2003, when Rep. Bob Ney renamed a menu item, in response to France's opposition to the proposed invasion and liberation of Iraq oil production, freedom fries. More elaborate ridicule and devious threats however produced the desired number of allied troops for the adventure.

US foreign policy is as juvenile as ever.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 03:40:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (4.00 / 2)

Shale Pioneer: Fracking Is An "Unmitigated Disaster" OILPRICE.COM

"The shale gas revolution has frankly been an unmitigated disaster for any buy-and-hold investor in the shale gas industry with very few limited exceptions," Steve Schlotterbeck, former chief executive of EQT, a shale gas giant, said at a petrochemicals conference in Pittsburgh. "In fact, I'm not aware of another case of a disruptive technological change that has done so much harm to the industry that created the change."
He did not pull any punches. "While hundreds of billions of dollars of benefits have accrued to hundreds of millions of people, the amount of shareholder value destruction registers in the hundreds of billions of dollars," he said. "The industry is self-destructive."

You ain't seen nothing yet!

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

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 04:14:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Pelosi Slams Facebook for Not Removing Altered Video, paraphrased by anonymous AP reporter

Pelosi said in San Francisco that she is no longer giving Facebook the benefit of doubt that it is "unwittingly" spreading false information. She said Facebook is serving an accomplice and enabler of false information and Russian elections interference.

IMPEACHMENT 2019 official trailer

archived derivative work
"PELOSI STAMMERS THROUGH NEWS CONFERENCE" (Twitter) and link to event, A/V source (full running time); USAToday "false information", link to second event, A/V source (full running time).

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 03:19:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

gibberish
Pelosi rules out Trump censure [?!] if House can't impeach [?!] him

Pelosi also said a less redacted version of Mueller's report on his investigation would be made available this week to more lawmakers, rather than [?!] just restricting its viewing to congressional leaders .

wut

She said while she initially wanted the entire public to be allowed to see any less redacted report, she'd changed her mind.

wut

"I accepted that because I'm afraid. I really don't trust the attorney general of the United States," she said. "And I'm afraid that he may, depending on what is in there [?!], try to deal with ongoing matters in a way that is not constructive [?!] for our Constitution. I can't say anything more than that."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 04:47:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Pelosi is a Platonic Ideal: the spineless Democrat from which all other spineless Democrats are mere reflection.

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

by ATinNM on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 04:56:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Drag Queen Story Hour: 'Love your family no matter what'

The Spokane Public Library on the South Hill hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour on Saturday for about 50 children and their families, but dozens of children were turned away because the reading room filled up.
Outside, on the library's lawn and sidewalk, about 400 gay-rights activists stood in support of the library, while across South Perry Street, about 200 protesters held signs and voiced their opposition, several speaking through megaphones.

Snipers Defend Drag Queen Story Hour From Mom-Led Protest:"Drag is Misogyny"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 24th, 2019 at 05:39:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Trump blames Dems (a), Dem blames Trump (b)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 27th, 2019 at 05:12:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (4.00 / 2)

Jeffrey Epstein arrested for sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York: [racketeering]

The arrest comes after a New York federal appeals court ordered last week the release of 2,000 pages of judicial documents related to Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who are suspected of taking part in an international sex trafficking operation.
The decision comes two days after the Miami Herald urged the court to issue a ruling in the civil case in the wake of last week's Justice Department announcement in the federal criminal case that it would not void Epstein's controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement.
Using others as recruiters, Epstein lured underage girls to his waterfront estate in Palm Beach from 1997 to 2006 under the guise that he was hiring them to give him massages. He sexually abused them, the girls told authorities, then paid them to recruit other girls, mostly 13 to 16 years old.
[...]
Maxwell, 57, the daughter of the late publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, has never been charged with a crime and has denied allegations that she acted as a "madam" of the operation. She nevertheless fought to keep the records in the New York civil case sealed.

Epstein was closely connected to former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II, reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Both flew frequently on Epstein's private jet, dubbed the "Lolita Express." President Trump was Epstein's neighbor in Palm Beach and a former friend. He also flew on Epstein's plane.

archived FOSTA/SESTA
Jeffrey Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, and Pals Accused of Sex-Trafficking Ring
## Sociopaths teaching sociopaths manners.
Mann Act revival, illustrated
tears, sippy cups, "neatly combed brown hair to her chin"
PS: Raniere convicted on all counts
$44 million settlement reportedly close
lawsuits accusing Harvey Weinstein or the company of ~~misconduct~~ racketeering

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 at 01:40:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

Very much doubt anything will come from this. The 1% are extremely good at protecting the 1%. Look at what happened with the Jimmy Savile revelations, i.e., not much.

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

by ATinNM on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 at 09:01:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The situation here is still psychotic. (none / 0)

True dat datum.
Organizational hygiene with gender-balance characteristics is hard werk.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 at 11:02:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Justice Not Served (none / 1)

An earlier post this year - Justice Not Served .

○ Epstein was close with Trump, Bill Clinton, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Britain's Prince Andrew, all of whom were known to have attended his parties.

In the Times of Israel ...

○ Epstein case oozes into Israeli political mud as Netanyahu, Barak trade barbs

Linked in 2010 ...

○ Jeffrey Epstein, Billionaire Pedophile, Goes Free

h/t Ceebs on July 21, 2010

I suppose attorney Alan Dershowitz has declined to represent Jeffrey Epstein this round of prosecution by SDNY ...

○ Press release SDNY: Jeffrey Epstein Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking of Minors

○ Perversion of Justice: How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime | Miami Herald - Dec. 2018 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Jul 8th, 2019 at 09:05:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

de jokes, (none / 0)

Trump wishes 'happy Memorial Day' to US, Japanese troops

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 04:23:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

2020 candidate Kamala Harris targets state abortion bans
"she would require states seeking to restrict abortion laws to first obtain federal approval"

archived
this piece on motherhood by @KamalaHarris ...
Kamala!? rents a baby. 28 January 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:36:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

MSNBC | ACTRESS & #METOO ACTIVIST ALYSSA MILANO ON HER INTERVIEW WITH BIDEN
A/V (EN) annotated by comedian J. Dore, no transcript

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 11:11:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

522: gonn be a long winter

The start is the best part "I'm gonna write you a wonger answer." Powerful.
— Nate's Liver (@SilERabbit) May 29, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 09:20:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I'm dying pic.twitter.com/z05Wup2Fgm
— Andrew 'It's Still Easter' Egger (@EggerDC) May 30, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 31st, 2019 at 02:46:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Yeah but it never happened anyway. Ask anybody.

by asdf on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:27:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What day of the week is it?
Biden declares LGBTQ rights his No. 1 legislative priority

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 06:58:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What day of the week is it?
Biden Promises 100% Clean Energy, Net-Zero Emissions by 2050

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 02:21:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Easy for him to promise. He'll be dead long before.

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 03:50:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What day of the week is it?
"I regret it, and I'm sorry for any of the pain of misconception that caused anybody" Day.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 at 03:58:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"No, I didn't know that she was nasty"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 07:14:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

US Envoy to NATO Says Turkey Will Lose F-35 Jets If S-400 Deal with Russia Goes Ahead

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 02:16:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

universal student deb bail out (a), universal student deb bail out (b)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 02:33:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

ur ass muss be dragging, huh?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 02:35:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Tanks, military vehicles take over DC's streets before Trump's 4th of July celebration

Someone is going to run out in front of a tank and someone else will take a picture of them and we will never stop hearing about them for the rest of eternity. Happy 4th of July!
— neontaster (@neontaster) July 3, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 10:07:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

#BlackHillary, What day of the week is it?

"Busing students should be considered by a school district trying to desegregate its locations, but ... it should not be federally mandated Day

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jul 4th, 2019 at 12:12:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

His campaign was only with us for a short time, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we will never forget the candidacy of Derek [sic] Stalwell pic.twitter.com/kFL1EQFO5x
— Sweet Meteor O'Death (@smod4real) July 8, 2019

archived 9 April 2019
"I don't want to do it half-assed"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 9th, 2019 at 04:23:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

tag team
Tom Steyer officially announces presidential bid
"if you think that there's something absolutely critical, try as hard as you can and let the chips fall where they may. And that's exactly what I'm doing."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 9th, 2019 at 06:07:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Democrats up requirements for 2nd round of primary debates

refining unregulated market monopoly

The DNC's outline for its September debate -- the third of at least a dozen promised matchups during the 2020 nominating fight -- decrees that candidates can participate only by reaching 2% in four approved polls released between June 28 and Aug. 28 while also collecting contributions from a minimum of 130,000 unique donors before Aug. 28. That donor list must include a minimum of 400 individuals in at least 20 states. The qualifications would remain the same for an October debate, though the party hasn't set the deadline for measuring fundraising and polling.

archived Ferangi world democracy
DCCC to meet with ["]progressives["] over controversial 'blacklist'[sic] policy
"This is the first time that they are ever making [antitrust violations] open policy."
Welding et al. v. DNC Services Corp., d/b/a Democratic National Committee, final order

Plaintiffs assert several fraud-type claims. But they do not allege they ever heard or acted upon the DNC's claims of neutrality. Plaintiffs also assert a tort claim on behalf of all registered Democrats, even though the harm they allege impacted all Democratic-primary-eligible voters----and under their theory, the entire body politic----the same way.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 01:50:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

California Democrats 2019 State Convention, 31 May - 2 June, 14 candidates
BLOOMBERG | It's Knives Out for Biden as Other Democrats Look for a Foothold

The state moved its primary to the Super Tuesday round of voting on March 3, joining at least 13 other states after votes in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. In 2016, the California primary was held in June.
[...]
Warren's thinly veiled jab at Biden set the tone for others who followed.

m'k

Some dude in a man bun jumping up on a stage full of women talking about pay equality and ripping a microphone out of a US senator's hands so he could talk about the issue HE wants to talk about is perhaps the defining image of our time
— Anti-Alex-Griswoldism (@HashtagGriswold) June 2, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 06:06:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Democrats want to require Pentagon to study climate change risks on military bases, NDAA

"I'm not anticipating a very large pushback," [CO-6 Rep. Jason] Crow said in an interview. "There's already similar language that we've synced up with on the Senate side."
[...]
On Wednesday, [WA-10] Rep. Denny Heck said he would introduce legislation to establish a so-called climate security intelligence center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence [DNI]. And after the Pentagon produced a climate report in January and only studied 79 of its hundreds of military bases, House Democrats directed the department to update its work.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 04:33:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

American Press US history: Dem rivals rebuke Biden for not backing abortion rule repeal, 5 June

As a party, Democrats didn't expressly state opposition to the Hyde Amendment until 2016. The Democratic platform that year also introduced a specific mention of Planned Parenthood, as it was adopted amid a rash of Republican-run state legislatures trying to strip Medicaid financing for the women's health giant whose services include abortion and abortion referrals.

archived
DO Mess with Texas!, 2007
Happy birthday, Roe v Wade., 2009
PPACA ("Obamacare")
ACA-MSM was currying factional acrimony over Hyde Amendment funding prohibition, 2010
longstanding Federal statutory restriction that is commonly known as the Hyde Amendment, 2010
since the US Congress passed the motherfuckin Hyde Act., 2018
You Don't Have to Overrule Roe to Overrule Roe, 2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 11:21:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

FLORIDA MAN
Presidential Primary Debate Tickets - video

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 12:22:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Democrats pounce on citizenship question revelations

NPR is funded in whole or in part by USA government.

Mueller resigns , NPR prepares hagiography

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 05:16:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump BUREAUCRATS (4.00 / 2)

While the new information could inflame the political tensions of the case, it's unclear how it might affect that decision or if the Supreme Court would even consider it.

What was the question for the SCOTUS?

(1) Whether the district court erred in enjoining the secretary of the Department of Commerce from reinstating a question about citizenship to the 2020 decennial census on the ground that the secretary's decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq;
(2) whether, in an action seeking to set aside agency action under the APA, a district court may order discovery outside the administrative record to probe the mental processes of the agency decision maker* ...;
(3) whether the secretary's decision to add a citizenship question to the decennial census violated the enumeration clause of the U.S. Constitution.

reference
State of New York v. U.S. Dep't of Commerce | NEW! exhibits of perjury
"A. He [Tom Hoffler] said that after the long-form data went away in 2000, that the quality of block level citizen voting age population had now diminished. So the -- so the ability to draw a district which would elect a Latino in a population where there were non-citizens was very, very difficult."
The Racial Dot Map | 2010 Census Block Data
"a closer look reveals a greater degree of racial segregation between different neighborhoods"
Segregation's Legacy
"Fifty years after the Fair Housing Act was signed, America is nearly as segregated as when President Lyndon Johnson signed the law."
--
* The "revelation" maintains that Commerce Dept. agents lied about the purpose of the survey question. It is not to improve Voting Rights Act enforcement. It is to improve GOP gerrymandered district mapping by "non-citizen". After gain/loss of House seats among the states. Because GOP "voter fraud" suppression is rife.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 02:49:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Rich and poor increasingly segregated in Paris region

Found in desperately low-profile twitter account serving political ed to millennials
C-SPAN | 12 Nov 1991 | Barr Confirmation Hearing No. 1: Day 1, A/V (EN), transcript
running time 03:16:38

Thx,bro! for this fascinating time capsule, containing usual suspects --personalities (eg. Strom, Ted, "CREEPY AS HELL Uncle Joe") and controversies (eg. DOJ extraditions, BCCI, CIA, Iran money "laundering"). Note: C-SPAN televised live, during business hours; no IP-TV tech existed.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 01:09:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump HOUSE (none / 0)

investigatory power
Government Reform and Oversight Committee: Barr, Ross in contempt
Full chamber: Barr, McGahn in contempt
Judiciary Committee: Mueller report, without Mueller

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 06:14:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump HOUSE UPDATE (none / 0)

H.Res. 430 to sue Barr, McGahn (229-191), no contempt, to produce "Russiagate" grand jury transcript

Oversight! vote (24-15) for Barr, Ross contempt on producing 2020 Census Cabinet-WH docs.

O. Guess what? 2020 Census ENUMERATION by internet survey glided right on by The Citizenship Question to take the crown for mother of all fails.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 01:47:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump HOUSE UPDATE (none / 0)

liberated from de basement of intrigue ... by subpoena
Robert Mueller to testify publicly before 2 House committees

Mueller's unusual back-to-back testimony in front of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees is likely to be the most highly anticipated congressional hearing in years, particularly given Mueller's resolute silence

... possibly to read aloud his Report in its entirety or in parts 17 July.

Democrats say it is now the job of Congress to assess the report's findings.

Ima call this "back-to-back" event Just Us Story Hours.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 03:52:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Île-de-France co-incidents (none / 1)

[T]the report (FR) "Gentrification and growing poverty in the heart of Île-de-France" published Monday by the Planning and Urbanism Institute (IAU) shows that inequality has grown considerably since the early 2000s.
[...]
"What we've seen since 2010 in particular is a further concentration of wealth in the wealthy areas, while poverty has become more entrenched in the poorest areas," said [author Mariette Sagot] Sagot. The wealthy are particularly likely to live among themselves. Half of the wealthiest households (the top 10 percent) live in just 26 of Île-de-France's 1276 communes.
Meanwhile the overall poverty rate in Île-de-France hit 15.9 percent in 2015, up from 12.3 percent nine years earlier. The poorest areas are seeing "a concentration of under-qualified workers, often immigrants, with higher rates of unemployment or of precarious employment, and a growing number of single-parent households that have contributed to stigmatisation and deteriorating economic conditions," emphasised the report.
[...]
Housing as a [stigma]
As housing prices tripled between 1999 and 2018, housing has become a greater indicator of economic status, with home owners growing richer and public housing residents growing poorer compared to the average household. Mobility in the housing market is also down. High housing prices and low economic mobility mean that populations in rich and poor areas are crystalising as people stay in their homes for longer.

European Parliament resolution of 26 March 2019 on fundamental rights of people of African descent in Europe

archived European migrant crisis
Wilding
How will EU member-states prevent or avoid replicating the caste/class system of integration, typified by US custody of American black d.o.s.?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 10:30:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Île-de-France co-incidents (none / 0)

Increasing inequality and housing segregation to US-like levels. Neo-lib "third way" in action.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Jun 9th, 2019 at 02:35:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Île-de-France co-incidents (none / 0)

Hey, it's working for the Ueberklass, so it's working as intended.

by rifek on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 02:09:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump BUREAUCRATS (none / 1)

under the radar
Digitizing the 2020 Census

The 2020 Census will be the first to be completed largely online - if the Census Bureau's plan goes off without complications. An online census is one of several technological innovations that the Census Bureau has designed to respond to the challenges of counting an increasingly large and diverse society, while also complying with strict cost constraints that Congress has imposed.

data collection -> sampling error forthcoming

Under the Bureau's plans for 2020's online census, 80 percent of households will receive an invitation to submit their responses over the internet. The Bureau estimates that 45 percent of those households will respond to the census online. The Bureau will mail paper questionnaires to the remaining 20 percent of households, targeting those with low internet access or large older-adult populations. Questionnaires will also be mailed to those households that do not respond online in the first instance.

"undercounted" [sic], "overcounted" [sic], and "hard-to-count" [wtf]: Wealthy populations may be overcounted because some families own a second home

the move to an online system faces another hurdle that the Census Bureau must overcome: the difficulties many traditionally undercounted communities face accessing the internet. Racial and ethnic minorities, urban and rural low-income households, immigrants, and young children have been historically undercounted at disproportionately high rates.

wut: "The United States has grown more diverse in the past decade and has more renters."

Transitioning to an online platform could lead them to being undercounted even more severely. Some rural areas lack broadband or any internet service. People with lower incomes are less likely to have a smart phone or internet at home.

data validation forthcoming

In addition to encouraging people to respond ~~online~~, the Bureau is also considering using administrative records - data that people have already given to the federal government for purposes like tax returns, government assistance programs, and the like - to reduce the need [!] for door-to-door visits to ~~households~~ occupied housing and help improve the quality of the data that it collects. The Bureau estimated that using administrative records in these ways could save it $900 million.

Alrighty then. This exercise in statistical description is a farce. The US "citizen question" is now officially dead to me. Do we actually need a census? US gov has gone full 2011 UK Census

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 08:33:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

possibly related "tech" in the wild
Snowball sampling, a/k/a chain sampling, chain-referral sampling, "cold-call" snowball sampling, referral sampling, respondent-driven sampling, "evaluation sampling in the social computing field"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 11:51:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

(merits duplication in "de jokes,")

Aerial photos help census officials pinpoint faraway people

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 02:40:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Key Mueller probe witness George Nader arrested on child porn charge
file in pardons and plea agreements, sex crimes and extortion subfolder

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 05:25:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Prosecutors push back on enforcing new state abortion laws

Also, Louisiana has passed another "fetal heartbeat", "near-total-abortion-ban" bill, because.

archived DICTION CORNER
desuetude

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 04:36:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Louisiana's Democratic governor signs abortion ban into law
"doesn't contain exceptions for pregnancies from rape or incest." Gee.
wut: "Voters overwhelmingly backed President Bush for re-election in 2004 and selected their first Republican U.S. senator since Reconstruction."
wut: a Lousiana democrat
wut: The Louisiana Democrat, 1859-1903

Angola State Prison
House: 59 (R), 35 (D), 3 (I), 7 (VACANT); Fun Fact: $16,800/year salary, 4 year term
Senate: 25 (R), 14 (D)

22 chamber slaves of the patriarchy
10 (D), 12 (R)
wut: "The board's ruling on child care upset several public officials once it went public."

archived public property

"without restriction as to reason"
Europe+ table, world map

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 11:38:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

On Eve of Union Vote, Chattanooga VW Workers Describe Rampant Workplace Injuries
"We need a union because they are a multibillion-dollar company and they treat us like shit."
wut: "Amazon will create a new facility in Nashville with 5,000 jobs."
wut: "Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition."
wut: "Casada called for Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers to bring any missing lawmakers back to the House"
wut: "one of four states considering trigger bills this year"

General Assembly
House: 74 (R), 25 (D), 2 yr term; Fun Fact: $22,667/year salary
Senate: 29 (R), 5 (D), 4 yr term

20 chamber slaves of the patriarchy
7 (D), 12 (R), 1 (OTHER)
wut: "It remains unclear the potential impact on revenue Gilmore's bill would have"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 09:24:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

VW's Tennessee workers vote against union representation, again

The fresh defeat comes at a pivotal time for the UAW, which has been struggling to move beyond a federal corruption probe and faces contentious contract talks this year with General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.
[...]
The loss also raises renewed questions about whether the UAW can gain a toehold in the U.S. South and organize workers at a foreign [!!] automaker. The union's membership peaked at 1.5 million in 1979 and despite gains this decade [BWAH!], it fell to below 400,000 last year.
[...]
Ahead of the vote, prominent Republican elected officials in Tennessee, including U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, had argued publicly against unionization at the Chattanooga plant.

archived Amazon of the DSA
2018 union membership rate, illustrated

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 11:58:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Pew: "There are four lights"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 02:45:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Alabama bill: Chemical castration for some sex offenders, 5 June

Lawmakers gave final approval to the bill last week and sent it to Gov. Kay Ivey.
[...]
The Alabama bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Steve Hurst, would require sex offenders whose crimes involved children younger than 13 to receive the medication before being released from prison on parole. They would then be required to continue the medication until a judge decided they could stop. "If it will help one or two children, and decrease that urge to the point that person does not harm that child, it's worth it," Hurst said during debate on the bill in the House of Representatives.

16 Compelling Chemical Castration Statistics
no trees

archived sex crimes
Legislature
US Bill of Rights, 8th Amd; 13th Amd exception
cockroach alert
the last slave ship
"Egyptian and Italian Black Sea Trade, 1250-150""
Mamluk and christian slave discrimination

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 04:11:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Alabama Becomes Newest State to Approve Castration as Punishment

Alabama joins California, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Texas and Wisconsin as the 7th state that approves of chemical castration. The U.S. territory of Guam also permits this procedure but has never actually implemented it.

Is chemical castration an acceptable punishment for male sex offenders?
feminization: o, the irony
Depo-Provera
ProPublica, #MeToo, #Time'sUp, #WhyIDidn'tReport badass outcry developing ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 04:31:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Alabama woman charged in fetal death, her shooter goes free

## Mental disorder is a communicable disease.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 28th, 2019 at 03:55:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Supreme Court Upholds Expanded [Registration of] Sex Offenders

Backing expanded registration requirements for sex offenders, the Supreme Court found it constitutional Thursday for the law to cover anyone with a ~~prior~~ conviction.

Re-entry "stigma": You don't look like a castrated productive member of society. Are you?

SORNA states only that "the attorney general shall have the authority to specify" how the law applies to such offenders, and different state attorneys general have in turn issued different guidelines.
In New York, the law led prosecutors to accuse Herman Avery Gundy of failing to properly register as a sex offender before attempting interstate travel. Seven years earlier, Gundy had entered what is known as an Alford plea to sexual assault of a minor.

5-3 score; opinion for the court by KAGAN, joined by BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, GINSBURG, Samuel "Scalito" ALITO concurring; GORSUCH dissenting joined by ROBERTS, THOMAS (KAVANAUGH recusal)

"The Constitution promises that only the people's elected representatives may adopt new federal laws restricting liberty. Yet the statute before us scrambles that design. It purports to endow the nation's chief prosecutor with the power to write his own criminal code governing the lives of a half-million citizens," [Gorsuch] said. "Yes, those affected are some of the least popular among us. But if a single executive branch official can write laws restricting the liberty of this group of persons, what does that mean for the next?"

Pennsyltucky and SORNA: Take two

reference
Art. 1, § 9
ex post facto laws
bills of attainder

DICTION CORNER
Alfor plea
SORNA

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 09:19:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

waitwut (none / 0)

Justices Nix Heavy Sentences for Repeat Sex Offenders

In the underlying case, a federal judge sentenced Andre Haymond to an additional five years in prison, the mandatory minimum, after finding that Haymond had violated his parole by possessing child porn.
Probation officers caught Haymond with the images in a surprise 2015 search of his apartment while Haymond was two years into a 10-year term of supervised release for an earlier child-porn conviction.
[...]
"Regardless how this statute describes the additional punishment it imposes, the triggering of a new mandatory minimum prison term requires both factfinding by a jury and proof beyond a reasonable doubt," said Kilaru, whose firm filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the advocacy group Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

5-4 score; opinion for the court by GORSUCH, joined by SOTOMAYOR, GINSBURG, KAGAN; BREYER concurring; Samuel "Scalito" ALITO dissenting joined by ROBERTS, Clarence "Separate but Equal" THOMAS, KAVANAUGH
US vs Haymond

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 09:28:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

(something like all) Hell broke out today in a FLURRY of decisions of UNUSUAL IMPORT and finger wagging at politicians. As one reporter pegged it, "party lines went out the window Monday," top to bottom, yo.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 03:08:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

(merits duplication in "the situation here is pretty psychotic")

In Gamble v. United States, #SCOTUS reaffirms "separate sovereigns" exception to Constitution's double jeopardy clause; ruling means that federal and state governments can prosecute defendant for same conduct without violating Constitution
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 17, 2019

7-2 score; GINSBURG and GORSUCH dissenting
Gamble v. United States, slip opinion for the court by ALITO, joined by BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, KAVANAUGH, KAGAN, Clarence "Separate but Equal" THOMAS concurring.

< wipes tears >
Buh-bye, 5th Amd. We hardly knew yee.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 03:44:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Confused? Bemused? (none / 0)

Top-line is: This decision is a "win" for principles of "states' rights", formerly and pejoratively associated by "progressive" factions with the economy and propaganda of atavistic, southern Democratic Party politicians opposed to "federalist" regulation.

Notwithstanding the facts of this particular case o detailed substance of the opinions filed, SCOTUS appears to agree (across party lines) to limit scope of US gov "common law" enforcement.

While some readers will be immediately delighted by the implication for parallel prosecutions by states of Trump's suspicious conduct, the timing of SCOTUS opinion is portentous. In the short-term, pending voter rights challenge to states' district maps: 15th Amd; in the long-term, high-frequency abrogation to states' "conscience clause" exceptions.

Which "ideological leaning" will progressives blame then?

reference
incorporation doctrine
"selective incorporation", table

archived
US is so headed for a carnival of broke-ass, sovereign states' wildlife.
Limbs va. Indiana
"incorporated protection applicable to the States", Ginsburg vs Thomas

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 05:24:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

hOlYMArYmudderAnEOLogiSMs (none / 0)

Scalito:

[T]he language of the Clause ... protects individuals from being twice put in jeopardy 'for the same offence,' not for the same conduct or actions," Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 529 (1990), as Justice Scalia wrote in a soon-vindicated dissent, see United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688 (1993) (overruling Grady). ... As originally understood, then, an "offence" is defined by a law, and each law is defined by a sovereign. So where there are two sovereigns, there are two laws, and two "offences." See Grady, 495 U.S., at 529 (Scalia, J., dissenting) ("If the same conduct violates two (or more) laws then each offense may be separately prosecuted")

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 12:07:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hOlYMArYmudderAnEOLogiSMs (none / 0)

The language of pschopathy never rests.

wut: "The Do No Harm Act"

Pushing for the government to stop protecting those who wield their faiths to hurt others, a civil rights lawyer urged House lawmakers Tuesday to curb abuse of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by the Trump administration.

< pick teeth, suck vigorously > It was good enough for cake decoration.

At a hearing this morning of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Laser was one of three lawyers and a Presbyterian minister who pushed for lawmakers to amend [?!] the RFRA with passage of H.R. 1450, otherwise known as the Do No Harm Act.

< pick teeth, suck vigorously > Where's the Keep Your Damn Hands to Yourself clause?

Though the agency receives $600,000 in federal funding, it accepts adoption applications only from evangelical protestants, Laser said.

< pick teeth, suck vigorously > Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion includes appropriations and disbursement thereof

"Religious liberty could begin [?!] to subvert the right of other people," said [Representative Suzanne] Bonamici, a Michigan Democrat.

ya think? much? about USC?

The Do No Harm Act would change nothing [?] about the 1993 law specifically, only amending [?] it to specify that it cannot be used to discriminate.

O RLY? 42 U.S. Code § 12187. Exemptions for private clubs and religious organizations , Civil Rights Act of 1964, all titles therein ("subchapters") actually.

Alrighty then. Fortunately for all of them I ain't Solomon of the World. If I were, every conscientious objector would be free to express their religious beliefs WITHOUT any monies from US fed gov.

archived what did I say
"convoluted 18th Century language"
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 Jun 26th, 2019 at 05:00:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

In case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same murders, #SCOTUS holds that the prosecutor's repeated use of peremptory challenges to remove black people from the jury pool violated the Constitution

(merits duplication in "the situation here is pretty psychotic")

KEYWORD: Mississippi (ironically sovereign), double-jeopardy, incorporation doctrine (ironically selective)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 at 06:42:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Confused? Bemused? (none / 0)

Flowers vs. Mississippi

This is a demo of customary SCOTUS sophistry "across party lines" and a pyrrhic victory for "liberal" associates' fans.

The same facts, or same "conduct," on trial did not change. Only the jury's race composition was challenged in the matter of procedural law, "purposeful [race] discrimination" between jurors--as if a jury including Flowers' race "peers" were alone sufficient relief from repetitive prosecution of confounding "facts and circumstances" and mistrial ("double-jeopardy").

Flowers was convicted and appealed five (5) times. MS Supreme Ct. vacated each conviction, ordered NEW! trial. Flowers was convicted by jury No. 6, including one black "peer", and sentenced to death. Flowers appealed.

Enter SCOTUS vacating MS Supreme Ct initial decision on appeal No.6 (denied) for consideration of SCOTUS ruling on FOSTER v. CHATMAN, WARDEN (a 2016 jawjaw capital conviction). MS again re-affirms itself.

Enter SCOTUS, again
7-2 score: opinion for the court by KAVANAUGH,joined by ROBERTS, GINSBURG, BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, KAGAN, Samuel "Scalito" ALITO concurring; THOMAS wholly dissenting, GORSUCH dissenting to Parts I, II, and III, concurring with Part IV.

Manafort's mistrial didn't face this drill. But heis lounging in fed detention now, instead Rikers, preparing a defense for WHICH? state charges on the same conduct.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 at 08:57:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

wut (none / 0)

Man who says Spacey groped him invokes right not to testify

The man who accused Kevin Spacey of groping him at a Massachusetts resort island bar in 2016 asserted his Fifth Amendment [wut] right against self-incrimination [wut] and refused to testify Monday after being questioned about text messages [Spacey's] defense [atty] claims were deleted.

pre-trial hearing

After being pressed by Spacey's lawyer about whether he knew that altering evidence used in a prosecution is a crime, the man invoked [Fifth Amendment protection], and the judge said his testimony Monday would be stricken from the record.
[...]
The judge said he would not immediately dismiss the case, but acknowledged prosecutors would have a tough time bringing it to trial if the man won't testify. "Once exercised, it may be pretty hard to get around this privilege at trial," Judge Thomas Barrett said.

believe! with gender-balance "characteristics"

The allegations were first made in 2017 by the man's mother, former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh. ...Unruh told investigators that she deleted items concerning her son's "frat boy activities" from the phone before giving it to authorities. She acknowledged Monday deleting things that "concerned" her but denied touching text messages or anything else relevant to the case.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 9th, 2019 at 06:32:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

wut: "How 'did we ever reach the point where' we must debate whether a carjacking in which an assailant struck a 13-year-old girl in the mouth with a baseball bat and a cohort fired an AK-47 at her family is a crime of violence?"
5-4 score; opinion for the court by GORSUCH, joined by BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, GINSBURG, KAGAN; KAVANAUGH dissenting joined by Clarence "Separate but Equal" THOMAS, Samuel "Scalito" Alito, ROBERTS except Part II-C [BWAH!]
US vs Davis et al.

wut: "the word scandalous can be narrowed to bar only the registration of 'obscenity, vulgarity and profanity.' "
9-0 score; opinion for the court by KAGAN, joined by GINSBURG, Samuel "Scalito" ALITO, GORSUCH, KAVANAUGH, Clarence "Separate but Equal" THOMAS; ROBERTS concurring joined by BREYER; SOTOMAYOR concurring in part, dissenting in part joined by BREYER
Lancu vs Brunetti

wut: Ihren trade secrets, bitte? No. But not hell no.
6-3 score: opinion for the court by GORSUCH, joined by ROBERTS, KAGAN, Samuel "Scalito" ALITO, KAVANAUGH, Clarence "Separate but Equal" THOMAS; BREYER concurring in part, dissenting in part joined by GINSBURG, SOTOMAYOR
Food Marketing Institute vs Argus Leader Media

reference
Venice Commission, STUDY ON INDIVIDUAL ACCESS TO CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE (2010)
"18. A fundamental shift in the importance of constitutional protection of human rights has occurred over the past 60 years in Europe and beyond. ...

archived
lawyers jealously guard their dictionaries, the lexicons

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 06:29:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

That was quick.

Senators REACT! to emerging "Ihren trade secrets, bitte?" applications of the ruling
Lawmakers talk legislation in response to FOIA changes

"Transparency laws like the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] help provide access to information in the face of an opaque and obstinate government. Unfortunately, a recent Supreme Court ruling and new regulations at EPA and the Department of Interior are undermining access," [Grassley!] said in a late June speech on the Senate floor.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jul 8th, 2019 at 01:11:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Hopkins Hospital and Nurses Reach Settlement On Unionization Efforts

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jul 8th, 2019 at 01:18:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

NHS is NOT FOR SALE!!! (none / 1)

Ahahaha suckers!

Donald Trump has declared he wants the NHS to be on the table in any US-UK trade deal...although May appeared to have to explain to Trump what the NHS was before he answered the question.
May appeared uncomfortable at the suggestion the NHS could be included in a trade deal...however, she did not explicitly rule it out.
That was left to Matt Hancock, the health secretary, who is running to be Conservative leader. "Dear Mr President. The NHS isn't on the table in trade talks - and never will be. Not on my watch," he tweeted.
Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, also ruled it out this week, saying: "I can't conceive of any future prime minister, for any party, ever agreeing that we would allow NHS procurement to be part of trade talks, because the NHS as a publicly run, publicly owned institution is part of our DNA."
Even Dominic Raab, a rightwinger in the Tory contest who has suggested offering tax breaks to companies wanting to provide NHS services, said: "I want to see the UK get fair deals on trade with the US and many other countries when we leave the EU. But the NHS is not for sale to any country and never would be if I was prime minister."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/04/trump-says-he-turned-down-corbyn-request-to-meet

by asdf on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 06:27:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Bal'more rising (none / 0)

This notice, affirming the right of nurses to unionize, will be posted throughout Johns Hopkins Hospital, pursuant to an agreement with @NationalNurses that was reached through the @NLRB. More coming later today. pic.twitter.com/OjYZtkbKF5
— Jaisal Noor (@jaisalnoor) June 7, 2019

Public corruption in Maryland: It's no accident
"Nearly 20 years ago, U.S. District Court Judge J. Frederick Motz referred to a 'culture of corruption that has been tolerated by lobbyists, legislators and the citizens of Maryland.'" You know that's right.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 12:31:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Criminally negligent Current Affairs piece (none / 1)

The Merch Primary | Current Affairs

As of June 2019, 254 candidates have filed with the Federal Election Commission to run in the Democratic primary. There are many criteria by which to sort the major candidates from the minor--who has previously held public office, who has been included in major polls, whether you want to arbitrarily exclude Mike Gravel just because he's being puppeteered by a cadre of savvy teens--but the most important indicator has so far been overlooked: candidate merchandise.

They missed the best one:

Get ready for our official campaign buttons to become available tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/YxSZ0xaP4S
— Sen. Mike Gravel (@MikeGravel) 11. Juni 2019

by generic on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 01:25:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Criminally negligent Current Affairs piece (none / 0)

The Mike Gravel campaign is proud to announce that we've been endorsed by @muntazer_zaidi, most famous for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush. Thank you, Muntadher! https://t.co/sChNL3BfVy
— Sen. Mike Gravel (@MikeGravel) 7. Juni 2019

by generic on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 02:34:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Hum. pic.twitter.com/DtQbx8ty7f
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) 12. Juni 2019

by generic on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:40:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

Student loan debt is crushing an entire generation. That's why Rep. James Clyburn--who has always been a leader on economic justice issues--and I are introducing a truly transformational bill to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for 42 million Americans. #CancelMyDebt
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 13, 2019

I will finish up to all my projects before the deadline.

by generic on Fri Jun 14th, 2019 at 02:33:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

wut "We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We elected an African-American president."

wut: "EU countries are aiming for 40 percent of 30-34-year-olds to have university degrees by 2020"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 03:23:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

aaaaand there it is pic.twitter.com/uY2yfVxHso
— tim (@singlepayertom) June 19, 2019

by generic on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 02:41:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

"Death to America" is a bold re-election slogan, let's see if it pays off https://t.co/S59G5fnYTx
— pixelatedboat aka "mr tweets" (@pixelatedboat) 21. Juni 2019

by generic on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 at 03:04:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 1)

Ah, good. The single most moral statement about war from an American president since FDR . . . possibly since Lincoln . . . comes from the senile fascist building concentration camps for children and not from the opposition. https://t.co/iHNDvpyx6o
— Jacob Bacharach (@jakebackpack) 21. Juni 2019

by generic on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 at 04:56:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

< wipes tears > (none / 0)

I watched a couple of Godwin arguments --illustrated with "think of the children" anecdotes-- spiral out of @AndyGrewal control last night.

I'm not a trifle surprised that Trmp's latest, self serving grasp of international human rights "norms" earned no credit for flash of sanity (EU edition).

OTOH, I am alarmed to find this declaration by someone claiming accreditation by US authorities to teach others.

Never before have we had a President who struggled with a major decision, or one who made the final call at the last minute. Unclear how much longer we can go on like this.
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) June 21, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 at 06:32:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: < wipes tears > (none / 0)

I think the Godwin's law question has been conclusively settled:

Chris, I think they're concentration camps. Keep in mind that one of their functions by design is to punish those individuals and families who are detained. So even the "charged" term is appropriate.
— Mike Godwin (@sfmnemonic) 18. Juni 2019

by generic on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 at 07:21:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

< wipes tears > (none / 0)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 22nd, 2019 at 02:02:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

[ NEOLOGISM ALERT ] (none / 0)

A Brief History of US Concentration Camps
extremely brief

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 23rd, 2019 at 03:22:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: &lt; wipes tears &gt; (4.00 / 2)

Arguing about the definition of "concentration camp" is easier than confronting them as an actual problem.

by asdf on Sun Jun 23rd, 2019 at 06:47:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

"What's the one issue you'll focus on as president?"

"Defeating Donald Trump."

Joe Biden is an idiot.
— Sen. Mike Gravel (@MikeGravel) 28. Juni 2019

by generic on Fri Jun 28th, 2019 at 09:30:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

"Marianne Williamson just gave a real-life demonstration of the values behind her rather unusual campaign for president." https://t.co/HSrzsxC7FK
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) July 8, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 9th, 2019 at 04:11:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

I know nobody wants political content on this account but it's 2:30am and I am awake and putting Marianne Williamson's speech to Twin Peaks music pic.twitter.com/fSjP5wzrnR
— I will meet you on that field. (@BoxrecGrey) June 28, 2019

by generic on Fri Jun 28th, 2019 at 02:08:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

A drawing of @SpeakerPelosi. pic.twitter.com/Pfor0zURTD
— Eli Valley (@elivalley) 1. Juli 2019

by generic on Mon Jul 1st, 2019 at 06:58:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Trump (none / 0)

The hot general returns. In like 15 years it's gonna come out that the Joint Chiefs of Staff hired a male stripper to play a general for the president https://t.co/w3Zyka8Gbu
— The Discourse Lover (@Trillburne) July 2, 2019

by generic on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 12:02:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

World (none / 0)

WORLD

by Bjinse on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:47:57 AM EST

Canadian lawmakers blast Facebook's execs

Canadian lawmakers voted Tuesday to serve a summons on Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg that would COMPEL them to appear before them the next time either visits Canada. The decision comes after Zuckerberg and Sandberg failed to appear before the international grand committee on big data, privacy and democracy, which is being HOSTED BY Canada's parliament this week, despite being called [] to testify.

invitation "snub"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:43:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Sputnik is funded in whole or in party by Russia government.

a portentous sign: Ark
Huawei Pushes Ahead With Trademarks for Own OS in Europe Amid US Crackdown

Huawei Technologies Co is pressing ahead with a top-notch propriety operating system (OS) for smartphones and computers, after the Chinese telecom titan is reported by Global Times to have applied for its OS and other software trademarks on European soil, with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), weeks after the US proceeded with its all-embracing ban.
The EUIPO's website suggests that Huawei filed at least three different trademark application - the Huawei Ark Compiler, Huawei Ark and the Huawei Ark OS as recently as Friday with their descriptions stating that the company is seeking trademarks for compiler software and OS for electronic devices.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 11:45:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

~~Huawei Sues the U.S. Government for Unconstitutional ["]Sales Restrictions["] Imposed by Congress: "Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)"~~, 7 March

TAKE II
Huawei sues the US commerce department over seized equipment, 24 June
"confiscated by the US government and held in a facility in Alaska"
FedEx sues US government over export rules in ~~Huawei case~~ NDAA v2

[FedEx] complains that the rules "essentially deputize FedEx to police the contents of the millions of packages it ships daily even though doing so is a virtually impossible task."
[...]
FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith said the lawsuit was broader than "the Huawei issue ... which was three packages out of 15 million packages a day." ... FedEx wants a so-called safe harbor -- a provision that would protect it from being penalized if it didn't know that a particular shipment would violate the ~~export rules~~ NDAA.

archived POWs
U.S. prosecutors seek to disqualify Huawei defense lawyer, 2 May

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 27th, 2019 at 12:57:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Swedish Sex Pistol [?!] Aimed at Assange

Neurotics to Norms: So many logical fallacies, so little time

If, per the Guardian, the UK really has the ethical obligation [?!] to defend Assange from US prosecution, then it must carry that defense through any process of extradition to Sweden. And it can. The Swedish Prosecutorial Authority tells us so:
Once the British authorities enforce the UK Supreme Court's decision to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden, Sweden is bound by the so-called "Doctrine of Speciality" which means that Sweden cannot extradite him further to a third country, for example the USA, without permission [?!] from the UK. This means that Julian Assange would be in the same position in Sweden as he would be in the UK with regard to further extradition to a third country.
Did you know [?!] about this rather significant point of law, which is publicly posted on the internet? Did the 70+ British MPs, and the entire editorial staff of the Guardian and of liberal politicians and media organizations crying for extradition to Sweden not know about this? Or did they just ignore it? Which is more damning?

archived Mommy, where do norms come from?
PUBLIC PROPERTY BULLETIN:...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 at 11:38:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

uh oh.
Mexican police ["]revolt["] against plans to join National Guard

The protests came as the government officially began deploying the National Guard to try to seal the country's porous southern border and control immigration and crime. The demonstrations threatened to complicate the formation of the new force, which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has bet Mexico's future security on.
[...]
[President Andrés Manuel López Obrador] has been dismissive of the federal police, characterizing them as a failed security force. He gave military officers the bulk of the responsibility for the National Guard. The new agency is also seeking new recruits. Protesting police at the command center in the capital's Iztapalapa borough said their seniority, rank and benefits would not be recognized within the National Guard.
[...]
"I am federal police. I respect the principles of my institution, and I want to have a dialogue," [National Guard Commandant Patricia Rosalinda] Trujillo [Mariel] shouted over the crowd.
Police officer Alejandra Baez Villanueva said the police need their jobs to support their families.
"We aren't protesting. We're just demanding our rights," she said. "We just want them to respect our seniority, because for (members of) the army and the navy, they respect it, and for us as federal police they don't."

Mexico has offered to send up to 6,000 members of its national guard, 6 June
Mexico To Send 15,000 National Guard Troops To Border In Tijuana , 28 June

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 11:55:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

New Zealand teachers strike ahead of 'hacked' budget release

The labor action by almost 50,000 secondary and primary school teachers came a day before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's center-left government was set to release its first "well-being" budget. The fiscal policy has been touted as a new way to measure progress by putting "kindness, empathy and well-being" in focus over traditional economic growth indicators.

like "target inflation" innovations of yore, but better?

The opposition National Party denied involvement in any illegal activity.
"You read my lips: The National Party has acted entirely appropriately," party leader Simon Bridges told reporters on Wednesday, without divulging how the budget information was obtained.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 02:35:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mozambique seeks $3.2 billion to recover from cyclones
from where? from whom?

archived
Living Off BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS a
cholera cases jump to 139 a day after outbreak
Living Off BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS b
High winds and dense clouds hamper military rescue
"debt trap" marketing, 2017
[T]here is no basis -- in either Mozambican or English law ...
re-balance summer/winter production peaks
Desertec PR

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 01:45:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 1)

US reporter/stenographers, having discovered that anyone can dial a Chinese website, are losing their minds. Evidently, at least two news journals, funded in whole or in part by China government, have finally revealed, in one or two editorials, the belligerence of the nation. Fragments from these editorials recur in US circulation, scantily clad with newly acquired "talking points" called from USGS data center estimates.

The government is willing and able to embargo rare earth elements (REE), produced and refined in China. As occurred with 2008-2014 KSA-driven oil boom and bust, analysts are incapable of relating profit motive and marketing strategy, much less pricing market power to political economy.

Interest in the credit position of US farmers has crashed. Comprehension of domestic and global supply chain intervals is still mostly dead. US Americans are ill-equipped either to interpret long-term investment planning and decisions, and US gov possess insufficient information to evaluate those of rivals, adversaries, or enemies.

archived Mommy, what's a long march?
Xi Jinping calls for ne 'Long March' in dramatic sign that China is preparing for a protracted trade war

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 04:26:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I'm sure that damaging Mexico's economy will make people far less likely to seek opportunities here. #TrumpLogic pic.twitter.com/YcoywXC1tS
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) May 30, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 31st, 2019 at 02:17:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Happy Vanuatu Day!

27 May: China, Vanuatu vow to strengthen BRI cooperation
"At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu, Charlot Salwai, is visiting China from May 26 to 31. ... Li welcomed Salwai with a red carpet ceremony in Beijing on Monday morning." (enc: video)
28 May: Chinese president meets Vanuatuan PM
"China is willing to deepen agricultural technology cooperation with Vanuatu, support the development of its competitive industries, and continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Vanuatu, he said. ... Salwai said Vanuatu admires China for its insistence on equal treatment of countries no matter they are big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, and appreciates China's sincere help to his country according to its actual needs."
29 May: China not seeking 'sphere of influence' in Pacific, Xi says
"Vanuatu and China denied reports last year that Beijing wanted to establish a permanent military presence there. ... A top U.S. official said on Friday Pacific Island countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan should maintain them in the face of 'heavy handed' attempts by China to reduce Taiwan's overseas contacts."

archived
PSA 12 Dec 2017

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri May 31st, 2019 at 06:27:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Six Chinese nationals arrested in Vanuatu: media

Authorities in Vanuatu have arrested six Chinese nationals following Chinese complaints they were operating an internet scam from the Pacific island, media reported on Saturday.
Chinese law enforcement officials arrived in Vanuatu shortly before the late Thursday raid

lower overhead than HK

The arrests come at a time of concern in some quarters about growing Chinese influence in the Pacific. The United States and its ally, Australia, are particularly wary of Chinese diplomatic and economic inroads in the region.

wut

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 06:06:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"China backs Hong Kong chief, slams protesters for violence"

Its coverage of the protests and the publication of a harsh editorial in [one of] the official Communist Party newspaper Global Times may indicate it is prepared to take a tougher line against the demonstrators.

The violence has embarrassed some Westerners who have long shown partiality to Hong Kong demonstrators. But some others attributed the violence to a lack of response from the Hong Kong government to opposition demands. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite widespread criticism of the violence, claimed that the Hong Kong protesters "have inspired the world" and their courage should not be ignored.

"These violent assailants in their arrogance pay no heed to Hong Kong's law, no doubt arousing the anger and sadness of all people of the city of Hong Kong," the editorial said.
[...]
Protesters whacked away at thick glass windows until they shattered and then pried open steel security gates before they swarmed into the legislature and vandalized it. Many wore yellow and white helmets, face masks and the black T-shirts that have become their uniform.
Police initially retreated as the protesters entered, avoiding a confrontation and giving them the run of the building. The protesters later vacated it as riot police cleared surrounding streets with tear gas and then moved inside.
[...]
The extradition proposal has heightened fears of eroding freedoms in Hong Kong, which Britain returned to China on July 1, 1997.

with improvements

Lam disputed protesters' complaints that officials had not responded to them, saying the government explained that by suspending the bill with no timetable or plan to revisit it, the legislation would die at the end of the current legislative session in July 2020. For the other demands, she said releasing arrested protesters without an investigation would not uphold the rule of law.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 09:00:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Beijing issues ominous warning after 'atrocities,' but Hong Kong protesters undeterred

The office said it would firmly support the Hong Kong government's prosecution of those behind the "atrocities."
The Global Times, a mouthpiece publication for Beijing, published commentary criticizing the "mob-like behavior" that it said no Western government would allow.
In the West, police enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward vandalism and the destruction of government property. This recent round of rioting will forever be a stain upon Hong Kong's image as a reliable hub for international finance and commerce.
As a media organization headquartered in Chinese mainland, we were dismayed and shocked beyond belief while watching the legislature building under siege. We were also very concerned about the safety and well-being of the Hong Kong community.
In light of the autonomy already in place, law and order are the internal matters of Hong Kong and meant to be handled by the local government. However, with a general and common sense understanding of how justice functions,
"Chinese society is all too aware that a zero-tolerance policy is the only remedy for such destructive behavior," the Global Times said. "Otherwise, and without this policy, it would be similar to opening a Pandora's Box, upending social disorder."
The assault on the Legislative Council building Monday came as hundreds of thousands gathered for the latest in a series of protests of a contentious proposal that would allow extradition of Hong Kong residents to China.
We believe that neither Hong Kong nor the Chinese mainland will allow this type of mob culture to flourish. Problems and disputes are to be resolved through constitutional devices currently in place and readily available to all members of society. Using violence to hijack a society like Hong Kong's is the greatest evil of the modern era.
[...]
Joshua Wong, a leader of the pro-democracy movement, said the protests will continue. He defended the behavior of those who smashed their way into the council chamber, saying they destroyed "signs of tyranny" but preserved antiques and even paid for "cans of drinks even though no officers" were present.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 09:58:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

1 arrested after protesters damage Hong Kong legislature [typo?]

HONG KONG (AP) -- Police said they have arrested at least 13 people for Monday's pro-democracy protests, including one man accused of storming into Hong Kong's legislature building in a break-in involving hundreds of protesters who vandalized offices and the main chamber.

m'k. 13 out of "hundreds of thousands"

The local man surnamed Poon was arrested in Mong Kok for assaulting police, criminal destruction, misconduct in public places and forced entry of the Legislative Council Complex, police said late Wednesday night.
The 12 others, including 11 men and one woman, were arrested in connection with a different protest that took place Monday morning.

waitwut

Police also announced two other [!] sets of arrests Wednesday.
They said five [5] men and one [1] woman were arrested for various incidents during a public meeting on Sunday, when supporters of police staged a large rally. Some clashed with anti-government protesters and members of the news media. They were charged with possession of offensive weapons, assault causing bodily harm, common assault and fighting in a public place.
Also Wednesday, police said eight [8] people had been arrested for posting personal data about police officers on the internet as massive protests against the government and police were held in recent weeks.

running total 27

Protesters are demanding an independent investigation into the crackdown, which was harsher than usual for Hong Kong. Police have said it was justified after some protesters turned violent.

Mueller is free.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 07:27:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

HOLD THE PHONE ... (none / 0)

UK summons Chinese ambassador over Hong Kong dispute
"I ordered chamomile, not darjeeling, Ming."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 09:09:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: HOLD THE PHONE ... (none / 0)

m'k. AP reporting branched to pathos.
Protesters say storming of legislature born of desperation
files exclusive interview with student leadership, cannot "independently verify" all three (3) fatalities, (2 suicides) attributable to HK revolutionary struggle for democracy. Syndication developing ...
MEANWHILE
In Hong Kong, colonial flag still a symbol of prized values
undermines democratic leadership strategy and goals
--
I have never visited HK. I've had no desire to visit HK, but I've made the acquaintance of migratory "Hongkongers" in NYC and London, UK. Incredulouw, yeah, I did a brief tour of HK public data beginning with GINI calculations since 1980, GDP and trade balances (HKMA:USD), historical industrial policy, HK SAR demographic and net migration estimates. Provisional conclusion: AP story unexpectedly yet deftly summarizes British SOP, residual economic impairments. Democracy indeed is not well understood.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jul 5th, 2019 at 07:19:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: HOLD THE PHONE ...P.S. (none / 0)

Hong Kongers with UK passport seek right to stay [in UK] - video
So yeah, I checked out current uk.gov advisory on qualifications and relief, too. Sad.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jul 5th, 2019 at 07:38:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: HOLD THE PHONE ... (none / 0)

meaningful vote on 'no-amendment' deal with freedom fighters, Beijing developing ...

Lam says Hong Kong bill is 'dead' but unclear if demand met 'face time'

Leaders of the monthlong protest movement vowed to keep up pressure until the legislation is officially revoked.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jul 9th, 2019 at 06:03:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 1)

anticipated and published "future partnership" position of China government
REUTERS | China white paper says latest U.S. tariffs won't fix trade issues

reference
China releases white paper on its position on economic and trade consultations with US
(HTML, section index)
China's State Council Information Office, "China's Position on the Economic and Trade Consultations." (MSFT *.doc), 19 pp

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 06:00:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

IMF welcomes Mozambique's debt relief deal
"On Friday the country's finance ministry said it had reached a restructuring deal in principle with holders of its defaulted 2023 bonds and that the new arrangement would not offer creditors instruments linked to future gas revenues"

Mozambique's top court says state-guaranteed Eurobond illegal
"$1.4 billion of undisclosed borrowing that prompted the International Monetary Fund and foreign donors to cut financial support, triggering a currency crisis and a sovereign debt default"

International partners pledge $1.2 billion to help cyclone-hit Mozambique recover, 'build back better'
"UNDP said the Mozambique Government is establishing a Disaster Management Fund that includes a contribution to its capitalization of 0.1 per cent of the State budget, as well as contributions from partners. Regular external audits will be conducted to ensure transparency and accountability."

archived 2017
debt-for-development swap
& "tuna bond" creditors

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 12:45:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

China, Niger state visit 27-30 May.
Xi holds talks with Nigerien President, vowing to boost ties

[Xi} said China will continue to support Niger in fighting terrorism for regional peace and stability, and promote the UN support for the Group of Five Sahel joint force. Calling for more communication and collaboration on major international affairs, Xi promised China will help Niger improve people's livelihood in such field as medical care.
[...]
As for China-Africa cooperation, [Mahamadou] Issoufou said African countries appreciate China's adherence to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, as well as the eight major initiatives put forward by Xi at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Little to no Anglo-american press coverage. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang explained last Wednesday [23 May]that Beijing's interests in Africa, and through the Belt and Road Initiative more broadly, are supported by African leaders themselves.
China counters 'debt trap' claims over African loans

archived 2018
No sooner had Madames May and Merkel glided home ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 05:38:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Chinese state owned "Belt and Road Portal" (domain name ends in .gov.cn) reports that "African countries appreciate China's adherence to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith". Film at eleven.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 06:57:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I idly followed up on 'debt trap' developments in the past year, since the Summit. Looks like Dubai has put the squeeze on Djibouti, not unexpectedly considering its beach head value to ahh adversarial combatant proxy wtfs in the straits forthcoming.

Dispute Between Dubai And Djibouti Over Port Seizure Continues, Despite Tribunal Ruling, 3 Aug 2018

London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ruled that the Djibouti government had acted illegitimately when it seized control of the Doraleh Container Terminal from DP World on February 22 this year.

"English law" vs ROW (ie. Chinese FDI)

Djibouti [had] moved to strip the company of its concession. Under Law No. 202 enacted in 2017, along with a number of decrees issued in 2018, the government gave itself the power to terminate the contract with the Dubai-based port operator.

VOA | Prospect of Chinese Control of Djibouti Port Concerns [US] Senators, 13 Nov 2018b

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said they were concerned about Djibouti's termination of a contract for the Doraleh Container Terminal with United Arab Emirates-based DP World in February and the nationalization of the port in September.
Reports that Djibouti, heavily indebted to Beijing, would most likely cede the port's operations to a Chinese state-owned enterprise were "even more alarming," they said.

Djibouti Ordered To Pay $533M In Compensation to Dubai, 4 April 2019

m'k

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 07:53:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"English law"? Djibouti was a French colony until the independence referendum in 1977. Since then, the US military presence has totally eclipsed the French one.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 08:26:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) is about as French as the Rome Statute and the ICC.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 08:49:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

post-colonial racketeering, yo
Hong Kong Lawsuit Challenges China's 'One Belt, 19 Feb 2018, more detail

DP World, which filed the lawsuit at Hong Kong's Court of First Instance in August 2018, argues that the Chinese firm caused the Djibouti government to violate a 30-year concession agreement, effective since 2004, that allows it to operate the terminal, along with the option for two 10-year renewals.
[...]
According to FactWire, Djibouti began to express dissatisfaction with DP World in 2009, saying that the concession agreement "gave a foreign company the opportunity to oppose the fundamental interests of the Republic of Djibouti by hindering its economic and social development process."
Djibouti authorities eventually sold 23.5 percent of its shares in DCT to China Merchants Port Holdings in 2013, according to the court documents, a violation of the terms of the concession agreement.

If BoC dropped $700M in grant and loan on Djibouti tommorow, DP World would demand $1.3B. If BoC dropped another 700M on Djibouti, and Djibuouti cut a check same day, UAE would sue at WTO, DPW:DU would sue in USA, and US "allies" of unknown origin would embargo [sic] Djibouti goods.

This is the language of psychopathy world can't take no more.

archived
Hong Kong legislators brawl over contentious extradition law

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 08:43:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Chamber slaves of the patriarchy (developed nations division) yawn, because intersectionality.

South Africa's president names Cabinet that is 50% women

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 09:27:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Botswana Decriminalizes Gay Sex in Landmark Africa Case, Republic of

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 11th, 2019 at 05:08:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

China says Tiananmen crackdown was 'correct'

DW is funded in part or in whole by Germany government.

The response was a rare acknowledgment of the killings, which had followed seven weeks of protests in 1989 by students and workers calling for democracy and an end to corruption.
Hundreds, possibly more than 1,000 people were killed when soldiers and tanks chased protesters and onlookers in the streets around the square. One secret British diplomatic cable put the possible number of dead at up to 10,000.

Trade war 'hasn't made America great again,' says China
"White Paper" digest, no link to text

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 09:26:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Donald Trump has praised the Chinese government over Tiananmen Square as well as Kim Jong-un - Independent

Back in 1990, Trump said that it showed "the power of strength":

He was asked whether he meant a "firm hand as in China?", to which Trump replied:
When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak... as being spit on by the rest of the world.
Trump, of course, referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre in which hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were killed by a military presence of as many as 10,000 troops accompanied by tanks.

by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 06:30:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The only thing that cretin understands is brute force. It's his business model. He's a high-velocity blunt object.

by rifek on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 02:31:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"high-velocity" : the velocity of a golf cart.

by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 06:50:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I was thinking of his mouth.

by rifek on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 12:01:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World REPUBLICS (none / 1)

Oh the mouth is definitely quicker than the brain on this one.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 06:20:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Hong Kong slams brakes on extradition bill amid ["excessive police force"]

Hong Kong pupils petition against extradition bill as protests build, Umbrella stand 9 June 2019

In a highly rare move, more than 120,000 pupils, alumni, staff and parents from 185 secondary schools have signed a joint petition against the so-called Fugitive Offenders Ordinance amendment bill. The petition organizers say they are expecting many of their signatories to turn out, with some opposition estimates suggesting some 300,000 could join the rally in what would be the biggest protest since the Occupy pro-democracy street demonstrations in 2014.
[...]
The proposed legislation has stoked mass protests in the freewheeling former British colony, which was promised a high degree of autonomy under a "one country, two systems" formula when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, including its independent judiciary. Embattled government officials have offered tweaks to the bill but have refused to ditch it, saying that suspects at risk of political and religious persecution and torture would not face extradition.
[...]
Hong Kong's independent courts would still have review of extradition cases as the government seeks to extend case-by-case renditions to countries, including mainland China, beyond the 20 nations with whom it has formal extradition deals.

archived
Hong Kong Lawsuit: DP World v. China Merchants Port Holdings (Djibouti)
Hong Kong legislators brawl over contentious extradition law
China changes laws in trade war with U.S., enforcement a concern

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 01:19:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Not Sweden (none / 0)

Hong Kong Authorities Bow to Beijing, Determined to Ignore a Million Protesters, A/V (EN), transcript

SEAN STARRS: Well, so I mean, they're protesting erosion of their basic freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and so on, as you mention. But you know, the immediate rationale for this extradition law is in reference to Taiwan. So I mean, Hong Kong has extradition agreements with about 20 countries, but not with Taiwan or mainland China. So a Hong Konger, Tong Kai Chan, admitted to killing his girlfriend, his pregnant girlfriend, in Taiwan, and then he escaped back to Hong Kong. And so the immediate rationale for this bill is to allow Taiwan to extradite Chan. But actually Taiwan has said that they don't want to extradite Chan, and president Tsai Ing Wen of Taiwan yesterday, Monday, said that this extradition bill represent means that we should not have one country, two systems in Taiwan. So they're using this actually to harden their pro-independence sentiments in Taiwan.
So obviously this is about Beijing's increasing encroachment on Hong Kong's basic freedoms, which is supposed to be enshrined in the the Basic Law until 2047.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 12:21:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

not Macron (none / 0)

Amid the chaos, government officials delayed the opening of debate on the bill, which has drawn massive protests from students and other pro-democracy advocates in the economically free-wheeling city of more than 7 million people.
The legislation, if approved, would allow Hong Kong to extradite suspected criminals to jurisdictions outside the former British colony without a prior agreement - most notably mainland China. It was not immediately clear when formal consideration of the bill would take place.
Lawmaker Charles Mok visited the protest Wednesday, defending the crowd as "well-meaning citizens" exercising freedom of expression.
[...]
The U.S. State Department this week expressed "grave concern" over the extradition proposal, saying it could threaten Hong Kong's "special status" with the mainland. That brought a sharp response from Beijing on Wednesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang saying no country has a right to interfere in its internal affairs.
[...]
"All of this promises a similarly more determined response from the protestors," [Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Michael C.] Davis told USA TODAY. "The government has shown no interest in trying to mitigate this evolving situation. If blocked from protesting around LegCo the protesters may resort to strikes and boycotts. The government holds the cards to pull back and reconsider the bill but has shown no inclination to do so."

Today -100: June 12, 1919: Of treaties and "stolen goods."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 12:59:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: not Macron (none / 0)

"postponed"

The bill is scheduled to be voted on June 20. Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, has said she plans to sign it.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 08:20:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

not USA (none / 0)

What [American] Citizens Have Learned About Hong Kong's Protests

"The reports are mostly intended for domestic readers," said Cheung Siu Wai, a senior lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University. "It's impossible to completely to censor all information, so they still need an official interpretation of the events for Chinese readers."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 11:12:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Mohamed Morsy, ousted Egyptian president, dies in court

Morsy, 67, had been on trial for an espionage case when he suffered a heart attack, Egypt's state-run Al Ahram online reported.
[...]
Last year, in a report from a panel commissioned by Morsy's family and made up of British Parliamentarians said that the conditions of his detention "would constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment," and "could meet the threshold for torture in accordance (with) Egyptian and International law." The panel wrote that Morsy is receiving inadequate medical care "which is likely to lead to premature death."

Is Clinton sending flowers?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 07:12:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

We came, We saw, He died (none / 0)

Brother/sister in arms to send jihadists into Syria and wage another war to remove Assad!

SIRTE, Libya -- An analysis of video obtained by GlobalPost from a rebel fighter who recorded the moment when Col. Muammar Gaddafi was first captured confirms that another rebel fighter, whose identity is unknown, sodomized the former leader as he was being dragged from the drainpipe where he had taken cover.

○ Seven years after Obama's 'worst mistake,' Libya killing is rampant

Related articles, my diary ...

○ From Libyan Jihad to a Strike in UK's Heartland

○ Libya's Fayez al-Sarraj threatens Europe with another flow of migrants

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 09:57:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Diplomats [not really]: Europeans weigh [blockade of] Venezuela's [trade]

Steady progress is being made on building a solid legal case [?!] for [ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS], but the main obstacle is the uncertain impact it could have on a mediation effort by Norway between representatives of Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the sources added.

NEW! "Oslo talks" host concept of "human rights" accords, fail, as is the custom

After two rounds of meetings in Norway, the opposition had not agreed by Saturday to a third round scheduled to begin next week in Barbados, three diplomats told AP. Guaidó ... has pledged not to return to the negotiating table until Maduro is ready to call early presidential elections.
The Swedish government also confirmed Friday that it hosted talks this week between major powers with interests in Venezuela. The talks in Stockholm were not attended by either side in the Venezuelan power struggle but did include diplomats from Russia -- Maduro's main financial and military backer -- as well as Enrique Iglesias, the new EU envoy for Venezuela.

projection

Underscoring that strategy, Lilian Tintori, the wife of prominent Venezuelan opposition activist Leopoldo López, on Friday met with Spain's foreign minister and called on ~~the country and~~ the EU to tighten restrictions and increase "pressure on the cruel dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 10:40:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: World MEH (none / 0)

AP | Israel faces repeat 2019 election after parliament dissolves

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 02:15:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Biden still anti-abortion (none / 0)

NBC

Yet his presidential campaign confirmed to NBC News that Biden still supports the Hyde Amendment, a four-decade-old ban on using federal funds for abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman.
Biden's continued support for Hyde not only sets him apart from the rest of his 2020 Democratic competitors, but it may surprise progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, which promoted a recent tweet by one of its activists appearing to get Biden to commit to ending Hyde during a rope-line exchange in South Carolina. Biden's campaign told NBC he would be open to repealing Hyde if abortion avenues currently protected under Roe were threatened.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 03:55:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Biden still anti-abortion (none / 0)

40 f* years. Congress wasted NO time after Roe to swallow that poison pill.

Yet the mental midgets running around online forming look-like-me foundations and change dot organs, shucking subscribers, candidates, and wallets, can't even spell HYDE.

Give me a migraine.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 04:23:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Biden still anti-abortion (none / 1)

He flips

A day after Joe Biden affirmed his support for the Hyde amendment - a measure that prohibits the use of federal funding for abortions - he reversed course and announced that he could no longer support the ban.

Will an apology to Anita Hill be next?

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 05:21:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Biden still anti-abortion (none / 0)

What day of the week is it?
It's Texass day.

Mr Biden's campaign confirmed he backs the Hyde amendment, a 40-year-old law banning federal funding for abortion other than in cases of incest, rape or to save the life of the mother.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 10:58:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What took them so long? (none / 0)

Guardian

Linda Fairstein has been dropped by her publisher as the fallout continues for the former Central Park Five prosecutor over the wrongful conviction of five teens in the 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger.
On Friday, Dutton spokeswoman Amanda Walker confirmed a statement that the publisher's customer service line has been giving to inquiring callers, saying that it had "terminated its relationship" with the bestselling crime novelist. The publicist declined further comment.

The convictions were overturned in 2002....

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 07:43:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What took them so long? (none / 0)

What took them so long indeed:

`Central Park Five' To Trump: Death Penalty Ad Put A `Bounty On Our Head' - HuffPo

One of the five men who was falsely convicted in the so-called Central Park Five case slammed President Donald Trump for his vicious 1989 attack ads during a Friday event at which the group received a courage award.
Trump infamously took out full-page ads in New York City newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty in conjunction with the arrests of the five teenagers accused of the brutal rape of a white female jogger in Central Park three decades ago. The case is now seen as an example of racial injustice within the U.S. legal system, but Trump has never apologized.

Netflix series renews outcry over Donald Trump's role in the 'Central Park Jogger' case - ABC News

When pressed about his involvement in the case during his 2016 campaign, the then-Republican candidate still maintained his belief that the men who were exonerated in the Central Park Jogger case are guilty. The White House did not respond to ABC News' request for comment about the case.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 06:58:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What took them so long? (none / 1)

The progression of moral fortitude in the US, generally, is historical fiction. For example, a sanitized backgrounder by ABC news accompanies promotion of Ava "Artistic License Thwarted in Selma" DuVernay premiere broadcast. It will become award-winning trash supplanting the pulp made of Fruitvale's fatally flawed black martyr, for example, which has not disturbed the scripture of Harper Lee in the annals of neurotic redemption and cos-play.

I was living in NYC in 1989. Weeks of hysteria were difficult to ignore then or ignore today. As it happens, I reminisced with another NYC 'fugee (Poor People campaigner near 20 years my senior) over lunch the other day. We agree, the opprobium now heaped on Trump's profile at the time is misplaced and disingenuous. The Story of Trump's Ad materializes now instead of, say, 2002 absolves rather than exonerates picaresque journeys of NYC tourists unwilling to grasp a simple truth: Trump's burlesque role in "society" gossip pages --among other symbols of nouveau riche incontinence-- titillated New Yorker subscribers from a distance for 40 years. The jury was never charged. An ensemble (Tawana & The Preppie Killer animated a sub-thread of venal excess which they never tired of until the cretin Tarantino's "virtual integration" of film noir in L.A. years later.

Locally the yella sheets --including the tabloid NYT-- concocted a daily gin of race-baiting and financial crime (also 1989) for strap hangers, as was the custom since god made dirt, frankly, to dispose all mayors. At the time three-term Ed "How am I doin'" Koch days were numbered. Hold that thought. Retcon 2019 delivers short shrift to the antagonistic métier of the Naked City.

How fear of wilding colored the "Central Park Five" case

Koch was succeeded, not coincidentally, by Dave Dinkins. The mild-mannered Dinkins' appearance in the epic cycle of "retail" politics was immediately cast by local press as ineffectual despite his competent performance portraying a pivotal-proto-post-racial-appeaser (first and only BLACK mayor). He was succeeded by the golum f* Giuliani, who viciously campaigned on restoration of law and order and eventually assumed the crown, "America's Mayor", until Wall St. recruited a replacement to avert another demagogue. Three-term Bloomberg deflected the heat from customary, sciencey "racial profiling" back on golum f*'s police commissioners. Sadly, the pendulum of Panic ushered a trend in "criminology" to which the doyenne Fairstein rode to its ignominious end in "transactional" value. The preceding events should put her supporting role in Retcon 2019 in perspective. The answer is: Her useful life coincided with the rise of the second pivotal-post-racial-appeaser de Blasio.

Sufficient popular demand warranted continuous publication of Fairstein's purient literary specialty --sex and crime drama subjects. Fairstein retired from the DA in 1991 to pursue lucrative, artistic projects, the article notes. Besides "writing", Fairstein could easily have secured a retainer as "technical consultant" on production of, say, Law and Order (1990-2010) franchise, of which "Law and Order: SVU" (Special Victims Unit) 1999-present, which was/is shot on location in NYC.

Undoubtedly, too, contractual obligations between the parties specified that Fairstein produce a number of titles for the duration of her contract. Which is to say, no incentive for the publisher to cancel buy-out, release, or litigate the contract existed until liability appeared to exceed benefit of her local notoriety. At which point, say, declining sales or breach or hidden defense costs triggered some lengthy settlement arbitration between the parties. (Add 10 years)

Mystery solved.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 08:28:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What took them so long? (none / 0)

Fairstein wrote that she inspired "Law and Order: SVU."
Confirmation. Not enough yarn to unravel the gullible fan base.

Your welcome.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 06:14:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What took them so long? LOL (none / 0)

Duly noted: Queens Democrats Veer ["]Left["] in Prosecutor Primary Race

Defeating the Democratic Party machine, defense attorney Tiffany Cabán landed one step closer Tuesday to fundamentally reshaping criminal justice in Queens [NY county, NYC borough]. The insurgent candidate for [NY] district attorney wants to end the drug war and decriminalize sex work [BWAH!] in a borough known for the harsh prosecution of petty crimes.

Have I mentioned Staten Island lately? Borough "enclave"? "Amazon of" city unions? heh

In choosing Cabán, Queens Democrats issued a mandate for a radical departure from the policies of late Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, a tough-on-crime prosecutor who died in May at the age of 86.

hmm

Cabán vowed to swap these traditions for those progressive prosecutors such as Philadelphia's Larry Krasner

UPDATE 3 May 2009

running on a platform of reducing mass incarceration and eliminating racial injustice in law enforcement.
In many ways Cabán has gone farther than her predecessors, though, with her slate of ambitious proposals. She has called for prosecuting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for civil rights abuses in a borough whose population is larger than six states and includes immigrants from more than 100 nations.

wikiwtf map is kind of useless, if you're wondering about you-know-who. FYI: Long Island City isn't in NY-14. Name places roughly indicate municipal subdivisions (NYC council districts, 51 total). And the highway boundaries are a better fit with prevailing economic pain points.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 27th, 2019 at 07:42:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Boeing (none / 1)

CNBC

On day one of the show, Boeing did not announce a single new order for any of its airplanes, while Airbus recorded orders and options for 123 planes, according to the aviation consulting firm IBA.iQ.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 08:39:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

Their sales people are on auto-pilot?

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 10:27:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

This is what happened

Acknowledging that certain practical considerations had been overlooked in production, Boeing president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg admitted at a press conference Monday that the company had made a mistake by including an automatic self-destruct function on all 737 Max airplanes. "At the time, we thought that having a simple, one-step option for destroying the aircraft would streamline operations and provide convenience to pilots, but in hindsight, we now see that it probably wasn't the best idea," said Muilenburg, noting that in light of two crashes within the past year, the button to obliterate the now-grounded planes should have at the very least been labeled and located in an area that wasn't directly on the pilot's yoke. "

More at Naked Capitalism

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 05:59:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 09:29:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

They have engaged the MCAS.

by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 06:29:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

Design flaw in Boeing 737 MAX - engines on wings compensated by MCAS software feature.

○ Whatis the Boeing 737 Max Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System?

CEO Muilenberg withheld intentionally MCAS details from airlines ... here

At an employee meeting Jan. 14, 2011, Albaugh dismissed the Airbus A320neo and its potential competitiveness vs the 737NG. He stated "I don't think we will re-engine".

○ Pilots reveal safety fears over Boeing's fleet of Dreamliners

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 09:50:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

Never mind:

BA parent company reveals plans to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max jets - Guardian

The parent company of British Airways has announced plans to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, the first new sales deal for the passenger jet since it was grounded because of safety fears after two crashes.
The short-haul planes would be delivered between 2023 and 2027 and shared among International Airlines Group's carriers, including Vueling, the low-cost venture Level, and BA, for its flights out of London Gatwick airport.

Meanwhile, the A vs. B slugfest goes on (this is not called Paris Air Show for nothing):

Airbus fights back with big name buyers after Boeing's MAX showstopper

LE BOURGET, France (Reuters) - Airbus sealed deals with big name buyers for its latest passenger jet at the Paris Airshow on Wednesday, battling back from the potential loss of a major customer a day earlier when IAG placed a lifeline order for Boeing's grounded 737 MAX jet.
Indigo Partners, the private equity firm of veteran low-cost airline investor Bill Franke, and American Airlines each signed up for 50 of Airbus's new long-range A321neo jet, although some orders were converted from deals on other models.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 08:33:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 1)

BA is going to use them for kamikaze attacks on the EU after Brexit.

by rifek on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 05:12:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 1)

Exclusive: Boeing seeking to reduce scope, duration of some physical tests for new aircraft - sources

(Reuters) - Boeing Co engineers are reducing the scope and duration of certain costly physical tests used to certify the planemaker's new aircraft, according to industry sources and regulatory officials.
But the strategy could be at risk if regulators and U.S. lawmakers probing two deadly Boeing plane crashes require even more rigorous safety tests before certifying new aircraft as passenger-worthy.
As Boeing kicks off the year-long flight testing process on its new 777X, its engineers will cut hours off airborne testing by using computer models to simulate flight conditions, and then present the results to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of the basis for certification, according to two people with direct knowledge of the strategy.

Computer simulations in lieu of real life testing. What could possibly go wrong?

by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 06:49:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 1)

Depends how good their test suite is.

Of course, we have the answer to that question. They omitted the test case "what happens when the single-point-of-failure sensor fails and feeds the wrong angle of attack into the flap control override algorithm?"

But there is no way you can test, whether by simulation or physically, to detect fundamental design flaws like that one.

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

by eurogreen on Wed Jun 19th, 2019 at 10:47:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Boeing (none / 0)

Boeing to [establish] $100 million to crash families, communities

"I wouldn't even say it's a good start."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 11:29:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Flying high (4.00 / 3)

Crew member from Brazilian president's plane detained in Seville with 39 kilos of cocaine - El Pais

The Spanish Civil Guard on Tuesday arrested a military crew member from one of the planes that is used by the Brazilian Air Force to fly the president of the country, Jair Bolsonaro, when he makes international trips. Sources from the Civil Guard confirmed to EL PAÍS that the man was in possession of 39 kilos of cocaine when he was detained.
The arrest was made when the plane in which the suspect was flying made a stopover at around 2pm at Seville airport in the south of Spain. The aircraft was headed to Japan, where it was due to be used as a reserve plane for the Brazilian leader, who was to fly to the same destination in another aircraft to take part in the G-20 meeting taking place this week in Osaka.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 at 08:18:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Flying high (none / 1)

Did he forget to put it in a diplomatic bag?

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

by eurogreen on Thu Jun 27th, 2019 at 02:06:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Flying high (none / 1)

The fellow didn't even bother hiding the packages under clothes in his suitcase.

Cue in the #Aerococa meme:

É um pássaro??
É um avião??
Não...é o #AeroCoca.... pic.twitter.com/g0E4sUXeYO
— Bob Jack (@bobjackk) June 26, 2019

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Jun 28th, 2019 at 07:09:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Is Lapid an antisemite? (none / 0)

Ha'aretz

"Bezalel, damn it, look at the facts," he had tweeted before getting into the shower. It's no coincidence they wrote in the newspaper that Yair Lapid, the No. 2 in Benny Gantz's Kahol Lavan, is the only person in the party with a killer instinct.
The shower didn't take his mind off the argument. "And another thing, Smotrich. Israel has to be a state of all its citizens."
Boom. Smotrich quickly replied: "Thank you, Yair, for finally putting it out there." And Abba Eban's protégé, new Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, hastened to join in: "A seriously outrageous anti-Semitic remark ... the slogan of the enemy." Help.
Now the candidate for prime minister had to dry himself off and do some damage control. "Somebody really misunderstood what he was reading," Lapid tweeted. "I've been totally against a state of all its citizens all my life. Israel is a Jewish and democratic state, and that's how it will remain. What I wrote referred to LGBT rights."

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 08:46:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

LIVING OFF THE PLANET
Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Food

by Bjinse on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:48:43 AM EST

Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

Companies seek clarity on ["]breeding["] innovation to stay in EU

["]breeding["] companies have promised to relocate their advanced mutagenesis breeding programmes outside Europe

O Rly? Where?

"Farmers expect from the EU Commission to give them access to the same innovative tools as their competitors in other parts of the world," [Secretary-general of the European Seed Association Garlich] said.
Von Essen said if one looks at the science in other parts of the world, the EU Court ruling had created "another pretty fine mess" for Europe.
"And that is being increasingly recognised. Right after the ruling, the Commission stated that it was now up to member states to implement the ruling and that it did not see a need for any further action," he said.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 10:40:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 1)

Malaysia to Send Back Plastic Waste to Foreign Nations

[Environment Minister] Yeo said 60 containers stacked with contaminated waste were smuggled in en route to illegal processing facilities in Malaysia and will be sent back to their countries of origin.
[...]
The displayed items included cables from the U.K., contaminated milk cartons from Australia and compact discs from Bangladesh, as well as bales of electronic and household waste from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and China. Yeo said the waste from China appeared to be garbage from France and other countries that had been rerouted after a ban imposed by China.
In one case alone, Yeo said a U.K. recycling company exported more than 55,000 tons of plastic waste in about 1,000 containers to Malaysia over the past two years.

Managing the plastic aftermath

archived pile of filth
BREAKING: UN Decides to Control Global Plastic Waste Dumping
Duterte says he wants the garbage from Canada shipped back by next week.
PolyMatter¹ | Why China Doesn't Want Your Trash Anymore

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 10:55:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

Indonesia returns five containers of trash to US, examines 65 others

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 10:54:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (4.00 / 4)

let's please stay aware of what's happening right now with crops. Things are about to get really weird pic.twitter.com/XJDxdhdmyI
— BuildSoil (@BuildSoil) 29. Mai 2019

by generic on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 06:45:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

Think that's the weird part? The worms are dying, drowning in the soil. Without worms, farmers will likely have to shift back from no-till methods. Which will increase soil erosion. Which will...well I think you know the rest.

by rifek on Thu Jul 4th, 2019 at 09:10:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What else is new? (4.00 / 4)

Guardian: An institute whose experts have occupied key positions on EU and UN regulatory panels is, in reality, an industry lobby group that masquerades as a scientific health charity, according to a peer-reviewed study.
The Washington-based International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) describes its mission as "pursuing objectivity, clarity and reproducibility" to "benefit the public good".
But researchers from the University of Cambridge, Bocconi University in Milan, and the US Right to Know campaign assessed over 17,000 pages of documents under US freedom of information laws to present evidence of influence-peddling.
The paper's lead author, Dr Sarah Steele, a Cambridge university senior research associate, said: "Our findings add to the evidence that this nonprofit organisation has been used by its corporate backers for years to counter public health policies. ILSI should be regarded as an industry group - a private body - and regulated as such, not as a body acting for the greater good.

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

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Mon Jun 3rd, 2019 at 11:09:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What else is new? (none / 0)

Yet another example of the Powell Memo in action.

by rifek on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 02:33:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Figuratively Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

Fiat-Chrysler is ready to pay Tesla up to $2.3B for emissions credits so it can meet European car emissions' standards for 2020

EU target of average car CO2 emissions is 95g per kilometer.
[...]
Why Does FCA Need to Buy Emissions Credits?
In 2018, FCA's average CO2 emissions was estimated at 123 grams per kilometer, moreover, the automaker was sued by the US Department of Justice in 2017 for allegedly using software to mislead regulators into thinking its cars were compliant. FCA resolved those charges for $800 million, but it also recently recalled almost 1 million cars in the U.S. for violating emissions standards.

Fiat Chrysler submits proposal for a merger with Renault -- Emissions? What emissions?

The two companies hold stakes in each other, but that alliance has been strained since the arrest of Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn late last year. Ghosn has been charged in Japan with committing financial crimes while serving as CEO of Nissan, charges Ghosn and his lawyers vehemently deny.

Who? Me? Where?

archived EA2020
China's National Carbon Cap and Trade Program
Cap and Trade is better than nothing ...
cabon market pays off
in 2005 the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) set a cap
Energize America
"It never left DailyKos." Netroots nation.
Banks are pulling out of the carbon-offsetting market after Copenhagen failed
after the failure to make progress at Copenhagen on reaching new emissions targets after 2012. Obama no-show.
Who knows what is going on with CO2 credit trading?
&tc.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 04:45:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Figuratively Living Off the Planet (none / 0)

2020 hopeful Inslee: Build US foreign policy around climate

Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee wants the U.S. to shape all foreign policy decisions around a commitment to combat the climate crisis, including willingness to use tariffs, other trade incentives and international finance rules to compel other nations to reduce carbon pollution.

< wipes tears >

"Our goal is to re-establish American leadership in the fight against climate crisis and use all the tools in the international relations toolbox," Inslee told The Associated Press.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 01:03:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

never mind (none / 0)

Fiat-Chrysler withdraws Renault merger deal, blame French government

A source close to the French carmaker's board said Fiat Chrysler made the move after France sought to delay a decision on the deal in order to win the support of Nissan Motor Co , Renault's Japanese alliance partner.
[...]
The French government, which owns a 15% stake in Renault, had also pushed Fiat Chrysler and Renault for guarantees that France would not lose jobs, and for a dividend to be paid to Renault shareholders, including the government, people familiar with the talks said.

2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion) special dividend: a very, very good deal

Fiat Chrysler stood to gain access to Renault's superior electric drive technology to meet ["]mandates for zero-emission["] cars.
Renault would have had a share of the Italian-American company's lucrative Jeep sport utility vehicle and RAM pickup truck franchises.
Renault's previous alliance and cross-shareholding [joint venture] with Japanese automaker Nissan had loomed all along as a potential snag. Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa met last week with Renault Chief Executive Jean-Dominique Senard, and said he did not see "any particular negative aspect" to the proposed Renault-Fiat Chrysler merger.

another "forced technology transfer" repelled w/e 9 June

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 07:47:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: never mind (none / 0)

Forced or Not? Why U.S. Says China Steals Technology

Another problem is the dominance of state-owned enterprises in some industries. That creates a de facto cartel that China uses to extract concessions from foreign companies, who have no one else to make a deal with.

That concludes lessons on socialism in the USA. There will be no state-owned, "de facto cartel" enterprise in the USA. There will be no single payer.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 10:49:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: never mind (none / 0)

legal "cartel" loses volume advantage, exploits diminishing value advantage
AP analysis [not really]: Legal pot for all takes a toll on ["]medical marijuana["] ~~users~~ producers

When states legalize pot for all adults, long-standing ["]medical marijuana["] take a big hit, in some cases losing more than half their registered patients [MARKET SHARE] in just a few years
[...]
Robin Beverett, a 47-year-old disabled Army veteran, said she resumed taking a powerful prescription mood stabilizer to control her anxiety and PTSD when the cost of her ["]medical marijuana["] nearly tripled after California began general sales [sic].

CA Bureau of Cannabis Control reclassifies controlled drugs schedule, retail licenses

States see a "massive exodus" of ["]medical marijuana["] buyers when they legalize marijuana for all adults -- and then, in many cases, the remaining ones struggle, said David Mangone, director of government affairs for Americans for Safe Access.

["]medical marijuana["] producer pricing power, buyers agitate states for supply increase

["]Medical marijuana["] cardholders, for example, used to buy gummies or chocolate bars infused with 400 mg of THC, marijuana's high-inducing element. Now, edibles are capped at 100 mg for ["]medical marijuana["] buyers but cost the same or more. "Who, with any medical condition, needs to be eating 20 pieces of candy a day?" asked Erich Berkovitz, Oregon's last remaining state-licensed medical marijuana processor.

unknown market boundaries, prevailing prices, substitutability, profit margins, clinical controls

Getting a precise nationwide count of ["]medical marijuana["] buyers is impossible because California, Washington, and Maine don't keep data.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 12:29:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living Off the Planet (4.00 / 2)

Ecuador 'gives US military permission' to use Galapagos island as airfield - Independent

Ecuador has reportedly given the US military permission to use a Galapagos island as an airfield, angering critics in the South American country who say the agreement is unconstitutional.
Under an apparent deal - denied by the US - with Ecuador's right-wing government, the Pentagon will use the tiny airport on San Cristobal island to "fight drug trafficking", defence minister Oswaldo Jarrin said.
A US air force Boeing 707 plane carrying radar surveillance and a Lockheed P-3 Orion plane will patrol the Pacific Ocean, using the Galapagos as a launching off point, Latin American TV network Telesur reported.
But according to Ecuador's 2008 constitution, "the establishment of foreign military bases or foreign installations for military purposes will not be allowed".

by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 06:38:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Why? (none / 0)

film still. The Coming War Against China

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 10:15:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Living On the Planet (none / 0)

LIVING ON THE PLANET
Society, Culture, History, Information

by Bjinse on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:48:55 AM EST

University of Baltimore School of Law

The Supreme Court Mapping Project is an ongoing and collaborative research venture that uses original software technology to enhance teaching, learning, and scholarship about Supreme Court doctrine.

featured "map", Unrepresented Predicate Offenses: Burgett (1967) to Bryant (2016)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 05:48:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Hackers reportedly used a tool developed by the NSA to attack Baltimore's computer systems - The Verge

Since May 7th, the Baltimore's city government has been dealing with a ransomware attack that has shut down everything from its email to the systems that allow residents to pay water bills, purchase homes, and other services. According to a report in The New York Times, the tool that has crippled the city is a National Security Agency creation called EternalBlue, which has been used in other high-profile cyberattacks.

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 07:04:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On DATA VISUALIZATION (none / 1)

Welcome to the world the incompetent Tech Bros of Silicon Valley have created.

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

by ATinNM on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 01:41:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On DATA VISUALIZATION (none / 1)

Report: No 'Eternal Blue' Exploit Found in Baltimore City Ransomware
Perp still at large.
Baltimore ransomware attack crimped home sales for the month of May

It took two weeks for city and real estate officials to develop a manual workaround to check for liens and record deeds after the May 7 attack crippled city systems, temporarily bottling up home sales.

Baltimore won't be able to send water bills again this month as ransomware recovery continues

As the city continues to recover from the attack, Goldstein said officials expect that 95 percent of workers will have access to their computers, electronic documents and emails by the end of the week. The city's information technology teams are restoring the shared serves that house workers' documents and make sure they are secure.

A computer virus has thrown Philadelphia's court system into chaos

Since May 21st, a virus has shut down Philadelphia's online court system, bringing network access to a standstill. ... But there's little other information available: officials said that saying any more "could jeopardize the remediation process," but that they've contracted a cyber security firm to look into the problem.

< pick teeth, suck vigorously >

The damage is particularly severe in housing law. When a mortgaging bank tries to repossess a house (known as foreclosure), a defendant may file for a postponement before it's sold, asking to delay the process while they gather information to fight the decision. But amid the outage, those postponement filings are in danger of being lost in the chaos -- meaning that Philadelphia's cybersecurity problems could cause someone to lose their home unnecessarily.

2020 Census online is going to be great. Once the tubes are secured from Russian meddling and interference. 45% response rate. u betcha.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 04:04:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

"thousands of attacks worldwide"
Florida city pays $600,000 ransom to save computer records

The Riviera Beach City Council voted unanimously this week to pay the hackers' demands, believing the Palm Beach suburb had no choice if it wanted to retrieve its records, which the hackers encrypted. The council already voted to spend almost $1 million on new computers and hardware after hackers captured the city's system three weeks ago.

[X] opportunity -- phishing CRM employees

The hackers apparently got into the city's system when an employee clicked on an email link that allowed them to upload malware.

[ ] means -- not NSA Eternal Blue or Stuxnet, ebola, or 60K other "malware" monitored by MSFT
[X] motive

"We are relying on their (the consultants') advice," she said. The hackers demanded payment in the cryptocurrency bitcoin. While it is possible to trace bitcoins as they are spent, the owners of the accounts aren't necessarily known, making it a favored payment method in ransomware attacks.

[ ] suspects -- excluding Russian and Chinese spies

The U.S. government indicted two Iranians last year for allegedly unleashing more than 200 ransomware attacks, including against the cities of Atlanta and Newark, New Jersey. ... The federal government last year also accused a North Korean programmer of committing the "WannaCry" attack that infected government, bank, factory and hospital computers in 150 countries.

online 2020 Census is going to be GREAT! Once the citizen question is eliminated from "the system" and the tubes are secured. 45% response rate. Plus a paper trail of accurate ENUMERATION. u betcha.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 01:53:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Police in Canada Are Tracking People's 'Negative' Behavior In a 'Risk' Database
One might imagine such a device in Canada were useless.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 at 04:29:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Thomas, RBG align in 5-4 rulings

AP reporter discovers RULE OF LAW "data visualization", exculpates known and unknown professional colleagues' crazy-ass partisan prejudices. Laces AI RULE OF MAN with "human interest" detail.

Is this the start of something new?
Actually, no. Thomas and Ginsburg have been together in 42 cases in the court's closest outcomes during Ginsburg's nearly 26 years as a justice.
[...]
The two cases this term are a bit above the average of 1.6 times per term they have agreed in decisions in which there was a bare majority of five justices.
The numbers are courtesy of Adam Feldman, whose Empirical Scotus website runs all kinds of interesting numbers about the court.
ABOUT Optimized Legal Solutions LLC. "The extent of litigation in the U.S. is staggering..."

LEARN TO DECODE: elementary school "imparitality" and literary criticism

The justices themselves never tire of telling the public that their disagreements are not personal, even when their pointed opinions call out a colleague by name.

archived regression
Free Speech
the "ideological leanings" of the US Supreme Court over time

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 07:35:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

San Francisco prosecutors turn to [redaction] to reduce racial ~~bias~~ prejudice

"The criminal-justice system has had a horrible impact on people of color in this country, especially African Americans, for generations," [DA George] Gascon said in an interview ahead of the announcement. "If all prosecutors took race out of the picture when making charging decisions, we would probably be in a much better place as a nation than we are today."
[...]
Gascon's office worked with data scientists and engineers at the Stanford Computational Policy Lab to develop a system that takes electronic police reports and automatically removes a suspect's name, race and hair and eye colors.

Where's the fun in that?
Kimbrough v. United States, 552 US 85 (2007)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 13th, 2019 at 03:41:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Aid group: Most new Ebola cases were not known contacts

"As few as 32 percent of the new confirmed cases were linked back to known contacts," the group said in a statement. "This means that the listing of contacts and surveillance are not effective. Contact tracing is essential to control the evolution of the outbreak."
More than 1,200 people have now died in the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

archived annual report
ebola marketing UPDATE
escalation, morbidity & mortality, vectors, vaccine efficacy

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:51:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On EBOLA (none / 0)

Alarm as Ebola outbreak reaches 2,000 cases, picks up speed

The deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has surpassed 2,000 cases and is picking up speed. ... The outbreak declared in August, the second-deadliest in history, has killed more than 1,300 people in a volatile region where rebel attacks and community resistance have hurt containment efforts. ... Each attack keeps health workers from the crucial work of vaccinating people and tracking thousands of contacts of victims. ... Misunderstandings have been high in a region that had never [?!] experienced an Ebola outbreak until now
[...]
Amid the challenges, WHO and others have pointed out signs of progress. Notably, more than 129,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine in its first widespread use.
[11 June 2018, unidentified vaccine]
She said the hospital never showed her records confirming he'd tested positive for the virus.
[...]
Congo's health ministry and the WHO rushed in 7,500 doses, created by the Public Health Agency of Canada and owned by Merck.
[...]
The vaccine must be kept at a temperature of minus 76 to minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 to minus 80 degrees Celsius), and can only be kept in mobile freezers for up to seven days.
[...]
Next year, Merck plans to seek approval of the vaccine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, based on previous studies [?] of the shots. While the vaccine is[ not] being formally studied in the current Congo outbreak, regulatory authorities would want to know if unforeseen side effects crop up.
"If it's fully approved then in each outbreak it'll be the first measure and could be used all over the region," Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director general of the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa told the AP.
In ["]West Africa["], a large study is underway that compares the Merck shot and a second vaccine candidate [?] made by Janssen Pharmaceuticals to determine best vaccination strategies and track how long [?!] protection lasts.

archived 4 May 2019
living lab 12 May 2018
Ebola Vaccines Shipped to Congo, WHO Chief Says; AFRICOM Gen.Thomas Waldhauser, Haley, Kabila 2017 bargaining

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 06:20:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On EBOLA (none / 0)

Incidentally, the 2014 grilled-monkey-meat-on-a-stick-pathogen story is branching to favorable-climate-change-reservoir story. Developing ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 07:43:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On EBOLA (none / 1)

UN health agency to remove controversial opioid guidelines

The pledge to remove the guidelines comes a month after U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark and Hal Rogers accused the WHO of being influenced by Purdue Pharma, the American manufacturer of the potent painkiller OxyContin.
[...]
The congressional report released last month tracked how doctors and organizations tied to Purdue, including many of the leading figures who worked to expand opioid prescribing in the United States in the 1990s, influenced the WHO document. ... Clark described it as a "playbook" that the pharmaceutical industry is taking abroad, and that the WHO was "lending the opioid industry its voice and credibility."
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, wrote to Clark and Rogers that the guidelines from 2011 and 2012 would be removed in "light of new scientific evidence that has emerged" and that the removal of the reports should address the allegations of conflicts of interest. Since the reports were first published, he wrote, the agency has strengthened its ethics polices.

preposterous. inconceivable. shocking. unprecedented. egregious.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Jun 20th, 2019 at 09:43:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)

In 1996 Terry Pratchett interviewed Bill Gates for GQ and accurately predicted how the internet would propagate and legitimise fake news. Gates didn't believe him. pic.twitter.com/MqjawT4NVV
— Marc Burrows⚡️ (@20thcenturymarc) 28. Mai 2019

by generic on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 06:44:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Wait, why the hell is the `race to 5G' even a race? - The Verge

Gates only believes those things that support his personal myth. Such as that he's a self-made success and is a brilliant policy maker.

by rifek on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 04:13:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 3)

I have a dumb question that no one seems capable of answering directly: Why is 5G a race?
Everyone -- the wireless industry, Democrats, Republicans, the major media, you name it -- frames the building of next-generation 5G networks as a "race" in which the United States needs to demonstrate "leadership."
Here is The Washington Post declaring America has the lead in the race to 5G. Here's CNN asking "Who's winning the race to 5G?" Here's AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson declaring that China isn't beating the US to 5G "yet," as some sort of ominous warning. Here's T-Mobile CEO John Legere telling the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology that merging with Sprint will let his company "win the race to 5G." Here is an entire microsite from industry lobbying group CTIA titled "The Race to 5G."
Let us never forget AT&T being so desperate to lead this "race" that it rolled out fake 5Ge logos on its phones.
But the stakes of this supposed race are wholly unclear. What happens if we win, besides telecom execs getting slightly richer?

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed May 29th, 2019 at 07:07:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The short answer is Americans are fucking stupid* and can only assimilate competitive sportsball imagery.

* 56% of Americans recently opined they don't want their rug rats learning Arabic numerals and 15% had no opinion.

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

by ATinNM on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 01:45:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Short answer 2 (does not contradict short answer 1): a "race" is naked marketing framing to get 99% of fuckwits (your guess as to % of total population but quite possibly in the high 90s also) to shell out untold sums of money to get the first 5Geewhiz gadgets.

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

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 06:07:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Public to get rare look inside the Congressional Research Service, with attrition, morale points of contention

You spelled advertising campaign rong.

Marketing is the distribution of goods and services ("product") by a "producer" to another producer (B2B) or a "consumer" (B2C).

Advertising information ("advertisement") communicates Q (S), V (D), and site of a good or service to "market participants" (buyers and sellers), ie. those people willing and able to change one good or service into another of value. An advertisement is a public notice.

Synonymous terms (EN) for market exchange between buyers and sellers are trade, business, traffick (antiq.), or commerce. A synonym for an advertisement is a marketing communication. A "public relations" (PR) communication is not an advertisement; such a message is not fit for purpose nor intended to benefit a specific commercial objective.

The media utilized for distributing an advertisement reduce to audio and visual broadcast technology, operated by people, to display product. A specified period for advertising, determined by a seller or seller agent, is known (US-Eng.) as a "campaign". The period terminates at such time seller's funds are exhausted or sales goal is obtained.

The simplest form of marketing an advertisement is word-of-mouth (man is the communication tool). The most complex (to date) is "personalized" digital telecommunication addressed to one buyer's purchase preferences and habits, ie. information collected and transformed into data by one or more sellers.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 12:43:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On PR (none / 0)

Here is an example of a PR message.

Facebook has another incentive to keep its head down. The deeper it gets into editorial decisions, the more it looks like a publisher, which could tempt legislators to limit the liability [sic] shield it currently enjoys under federal law. In addition, making judgments about truth and falsity [sic] could quickly become one of the world's biggest headaches.

What message is this reporter attempting to communicate? It is not an advertisement.

In fact, Facebook business is publishing. Facebook publishes original and derivative A/V properties supplied to this corporation's production apparatus by "registered users", both buyers and sellers, commercial an proprietary producers, non-profit and for-profit trade. All publishers exercise "editorial decisions" that determine production method and product of the enterprise which is reproducing speech of people. Purportedly, all publishers --natural and corporate persons-- enjoy protection from state prosecution of speech activities under the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 01:20:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On PR (none / 0)

in re: censorship, penalties

CRS | Terrorism, Violent Extremism, and the Internet: Free Speech Considerations,* 6 May 2019

At the outset, it is not clear that a foreign national (i.e., a non-U.S. citizen or resident) could invoke the protections of the First Amendment in a specific U.S.prosecution or litigation involving online speech that the foreign national posted from abroad. The Supreme Court has never directly opined on this question. However, its decisions regarding the extraterritorial application of other constitutional protections to foreign nationals and lower court decisions involving speech made by foreign nationals while outside of the United States suggest that the First Amendment may not apply in that scenario. In contrast, free speech considerations are likely to be highly relevant in evaluating the legality of(1)proposals for the U.S. government to regulate what internet users in the United States can post,or (2)the enforcement of existing U.S. laws where the government seeks to hold U.S. persons liable for their online speech.

--
* CRS reports are exclusively commissioned by one or more members of the odious. The neither the specific question nor requesting member(s) is publicly identified with a report. Elements of CRS responses contain forward-looking statements, conjecture. See Disclaimer.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 2nd, 2019 at 03:07:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On PR (none / 0)

Since 1914, the Congressional Research Service, or CRS, has provided expert policy and legal analysis to staff, members and committees in the legislative branch.
[...]
The hearing will examine increasing attrition rates, low employee morale and a lack of diversity at the agency, among other issues, according to a committee spokesperson. Since 1914, the Congressional Research Service, or CRS, has provided expert policy and legal analysis to staff, members and committees in the legislative branch.

archived isolationism
"Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1789-2012", Congressional Research Service (CRS), Washington DC, United States (Sep 2012) 33 pp, single-spaced

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 23rd, 2019 at 01:31:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Here is an example of an advertisement:

Southwest three-day sale kicks off with $49 fares each way; here's what you need to know

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 03:24:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What is the percentage in India? Modi has already created a controversy by using Devenagari numerals on the currency.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 07:19:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Tucker Carlson is trying to claim that the metric system is a conspiracy theory - Independent

Who cares about Arabic numerals? The real enemy is the metric system!

Tucker Carlson has claimed that America is facing a huge and pressing threat and it is... yes, you guessed it, the metric system.
Speaking on Tucker Carlson tonight, the right-wing presenter said:

"Almost every nation on Earth has fallen to tyranny: the metric system.
From Beijing to Buenos Aires, from Lusaka to London, the people of the world have been forced to measure their environment in millimetres and kilograms.
The United States is the only major country that is resisted, but we have no reason to be ashamed for using feet and pounds."

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Jun 7th, 2019 at 06:48:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Wait until he finds out about geometrized units.

by asdf on Sat Jun 8th, 2019 at 04:09:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Given that he hasn't the brain wattage to handle lower elementary school math, I'm not expecting that any time soon.

by rifek on Tue Jul 2nd, 2019 at 05:16:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Living On NUMEROLOGY (none / 0)

Over 40% of newly elected Indian lawmakers facing charges
"The loophole that allows them to take office is that they have not been convicted -- in part because the Indian legal system has a huge backlog of an estimated 30 million cases and trials often last decades."

archived
CAMPAIGN 2019
Modi surges to victory in India on Hindu-first platform
double counting
the first Indian American U.S. senator and the second-ever African American female senator*
US ends waiver but India may continue to buy Iran oil
--
* Carol Moseley Braun, 1993-1999, Rise and Fall

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Jun 17th, 2019 at 01:02:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

○ Winnen of leren - Op jonge leeftijd (over)leven met PTSS
○ Presentation of her book in 2017

'Sapere aude'

"Trump's approval rating hits highest point (48%) in two years"

The Harvard-Harris poll suggests people care more about the economy than about inane tweets . . . https://t.co/oW5cAwiQEw pic.twitter.com/91pj2vW9zD
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) May 31, 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 at 12:07:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Search for A Better Life (none / 0)

R.I.P.

Unbelievably sad

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 06:05:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Self-starvation (none / 0)

Noa Pothoven is believed to have refused to eat and there is no evidence of assisted death
A severely ill Dutch girl widely reported by international media as having been "legally euthanised" in a clinic in the Netherlands died at home, apparently after voluntarily refusing to eat or drink and with no evidence that her death was assisted.
Noa Pothoven, 17, who for several years had been treated in multiple institutions for severe depression and anorexia, and had made previous attempts to kill herself, died at her parents' home in Arnhem on 2 June, local media reported.
Media organisations from Australia to Britain and the US to India reported it as a case of "legal euthanasia" performed by a Dutch "end-of-life clinic", and Noa's name was trending on social media on Wednesday in countries including Italy, where the story was front-page news.

○ Media misreport Dutch teen Noa Pothoven's death as euthanasia | DW |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jun 6th, 2019 at 11:31:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Internet of Insecure Things (none / 1)

Samsung's security reminder makes the case for not owning a Samsung smart TV - The Verge

Samsung has reminded owners of its smart TVs that they should be regularly scanning for malware using its built-in virus scanning software. "Prevent malicious software attacks on your TV by scanning for viruses on your TV every few weeks," a (now deleted) tweet from the company's US support account read alongside a video attachment that demonstrated the laborious process.

Samsung's little PSA about scanning for "malware viruses" (eh hem) might be a sound security practice on a Samsung smart TV, but it's also an excellent reminder for why you might not want to buy one in the first place.

by Bernard (bernard) on Tue Jun 18th, 2019 at 06:55:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Monbiot in the Guardian :

All billionaires want the same thing - a world that works for them. For many, this means a world in which they are scarcely taxed and scarcely regulated; where labour is cheap and the planet can be used as a dustbin; where they can flit between tax havens and secrecy regimes, using the Earth's surface as a speculative gaming board, extracting profits and dumping costs. The world that works for them works against us.
So how, in nominal democracies, do they get what they want? They fund political parties and lobby groups, set up fake grassroots (Astroturf) campaigns and finance social media ads. But above all, they buy newspapers and television stations.

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

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Wed Jul 3rd, 2019 at 09:12:49 AM EST
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On This Date (none / 0)

ON THIS DATE

by Bjinse on Tue May 28th, 2019 at 09:48:57 AM EST

Eschaton: Happy Suck On This Day!

Almost forgot. 16 years. Time does fly.

by generic on Thu May 30th, 2019 at 07:06:45 AM EST
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Today -100: June 9, 2019: WE WUZ ROBBED

Success has many vaters.

Whether it is part of the anti-American propaganda now more or less prevalent in the French press or an isolated attack is not clear, but Le Matin this morning declares that the credit of inventing the jazz band does not belong to the United States, but to France.
The jazz band idea, it says, originated in Paris in the time of the Directory, whe people went to ball concerts.
"In those days as well as now," it continues, "people did not know what to do to amuse themselves; so they made a noice. Those who had great taste for noise went on to the concerts of the Cat Orchestra."...

February 26, 1917: Deutschland in Dixieland

The Original Dixieland Jass Band [Eds.: the name was changed to "Jazz" by mid-1917], from New Orleans, went to Chicago to perform Dixieland jazz, a sound that no one there had heard previously. At the time, ragtime was the dominant style and Dixieland was something completely new.
People in New York also wanted to hear Dixieland music. The band was invited to do a gig at the restaurant Reisenweber, which was a trendy location with a nightclub in Manhattan. The band performed there in January 1917.
Shortly afterwards, the record label Columbia came knocking at their door to record them. But the label found the material too hot, too innovative, so the recordings weren't released.
Another label, Victor, then jumped in and recorded two tracks, "Dixieland Jass Band One-Step" for the A side and "Livery Stable Blues" for the B side, on February 26, 1917. It was a big hit, pressed as a 78 rpm record single and sold for 75 cents. It was a remarkable event for the music market and the history of jazz -- as well as a tremendous commercial success.

yassuh

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 02:04:47 AM EST
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Ethnographic map of Europe and Asia minor from 1919 from the "Le Matin" newspaper.

Switzerland must be part of the US-bashing conspiracy, because Le Matin is a Swiss newspaper.

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

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 05:29:54 AM EST
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< wipes tears > (none / 0)

Fie on Switzerland! Attempting to communicate with a geo-politically-challenged NYT patriot from 1919 is futile. Moderne German revanchists are all together another story!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Jun 12th, 2019 at 05:55:20 AM EST
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