Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

1 - 7 October 2019

by Bjinse Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:41:43 PM EST

Your take on this week's news

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1 - 7 October 2019 | 544 comments (544 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Europe (none / 0)
EUROPE
by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:42:50 PM EST
Re: Europe (none / 1)
Germany Seeks to Limit EU Budget Contribution
Germany's permanent representative to the EU made an unpopular announcement to his counterparts on Monday in the European Council building. His country, said top diplomate Michael Clauss, does not want the EU budget to grow beyond 1 percent of gross domestic product in the coming years.

For some of the diplomats present, it was an alarming signal. It means that Germany isn't prepared to increases its contributions to the EU over the course of the next multi-year budget, a message that contradicts what Berlin was saying just a year and a half ago. Back then, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) agreed on a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) that included the generous pledge: "We are prepared for Germany to make higher contributions to the EU budget." But because clouds seem to be gathering on the economic horizon, German conservatives have agreed with the SPD to establish a 1 percent limit, even if it puts the EU in a tough spot.
What's new?

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 03:35:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
German Unity Day: Reunification is 'ongoing process' says Merkel
"On the 29th anniversary of reunification, Merkel said more work is needed to create equal conditions between Germany's eastern and western states. Politicians have gathered in Kiel to mark this year's German Unity Day."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 07:29:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
There have always been two Germanys
While early medieval western Europe was developing its unique signature, the power-sharing of international Church and national-state, the lands beyond the river Elbe were still populated by pagan, illiterate tribes. No real attempt was made to exert German control and settlement beyond that point until 1147; Cologne had already been a flourishing western European city for 1,200 years when the first German conqueror-farmers reached Berlin.

[...] psychologists, philosophers and sociologists can all be wrong and often are. Electoral maps, however, do not lie. They show that ever since Germans have had votes, eastern Germans have voted very differently from western Germans.

[...] when the deluge finally came in 1933 it was, again, only thanks to heavy votes in the East that Hitler got 43.9% nationally, enabling him (with support from the rump DNVP) to seize power by semi-constitutional means. If the whole country had voted like the Rhineland or Munich, he could only have attempted an armed coup, which the Army would have crushed.

by das monde on Wed Nov 6th, 2019 at 09:29:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (4.00 / 3)
"Electoral maps, however, do not lie."

But if you are cherry-picking election data to get his desired pattern, you get a lie. And he does.

He is also rather inconsistent, for example:

"Religion in Germany is really just a sign of the Germany you come from: the one which partook centrally of western European civilisation right from the start -- or the one which has a completely different trajectory. The classic line between these two Germanies is the River Elbe, which the Romans thought the natural limit of Germania. Charlemagne's restored "Roman" Empire ended there, too."

So, does the dividing line between Catholicism and Protestantism go along the river Elbe? I don't think it does.

Or perhaps he is consistent, Germany can be divided along many lines, and any of those lines will be used for him to argue his thesis.

Most annoying:

"If the whole country had voted like the Rhineland or Munich, he could only have attempted an armed coup, which the Army would have crushed."

Hitler was appointed Chancellor by the Hindenburg government and since von Papen had already couped Prussia's social democratic dominated government (and, pray tell, where does the social democrats fit in this dualism?) that gave the nazis power on the streets in Prussia which they used to let SA run free. This is nowhere in his story-telling. Then they used SA to intimidate the parliament to ban the communists and gain a majority they where not elected into, also lacking in the story presented. With a lower voter share they would have needed more intimidation and banning more parties to get a majority, but they would have. It was a coup from above and the Army stood by and their leadership accepted it, indeed in many cases welcomed it.

And if Nazism could spread across the Elbe in the 30ies - as it did - why wouldn't it be able to now?

It feels like I have argued against this author's ideas before, but then he was more focused on economic structure and now its more culture.

by fjallstrom on Thu Nov 7th, 2019 at 02:42:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
by das monde on Wed Nov 13th, 2019 at 09:32:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Supreme Court authorizes immediate exhumation of Francisco Franco
A ruling made public today removes the final obstacles in the way of the transfer of the former Spanish dictator's remains, and rejects appeals filed by his grandchildren


"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 03:40:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 1)
Beach towels and Brexit: how Germans really see the Brits

The strategy that Germany's diplomatic corps proposed to keep Britain in the European community was unconventional and bold. In November 1974, the then German chancellor Helmut Schmidt was desperately searching for the right words to convince British Eurosceptics to vote to remain a member of the European Economic Community. Schmidt had been offered a generous slot of 10 to 15 minutes at the Labour party conference, but a number of leftwing MPs had already announced they would walk out on his speech if he tried to "lecture" them.

Katharina Focke, the German federal minister for youth, family and health, had some ingenious advice to offer after an informative meeting with her British counterpart Barbara Castle: "The only way to keep Britain in the European Community," she wrote to Schmidt, "is not to remind it that it is already in."

But the show, which has already attracted 60,000 visitors since opening in July, not only tells the story of Britain's effort to first join and then pull out of the European Union, but paints a mournful picture of what Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper called an "unrequited love".

"The Germans love the Brits and everything that is British," House of History's president Hans Walter Hütter told the regional newspaper Rheinische Post. "In exchange, we have mainly got British reserve."



"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 03:58:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 1)
"The Germans love the Brits and everything that is British,"

That's not the impression I got when I lived in Munich, in particular at the opera, when people commented on the English group that was running the place.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 04:49:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 1)
I am thinking that when/if BoJo requests his Brexit extension of the EU it might be the Germans who are the problem. Because cars.

Germany's automobile industry is a huge part of its economy, and it is on the ropes for a variety of reasons. The VW diesel lawsuits, plus the invasion by Tesla, plus the climate change regulations, plus reduced demand, have put them under a lot of financial pressure.

Meanwhile, the UK (mostly Japanese) car industry is under threat of collapse if there is a no-deal Brexit. That reduction in competition would be helpful for the Germans.

Combine the industrial planning uncertainty associated with deal vs. no-deal Brexit waffling together with the potential reduction of competition from the UK if there is no deal, maybe Germany will just pack it in and tell the UK to get lost...

Opel slashes hours at main German factory

by asdf on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 08:40:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
EU States That Deny LGBT Rights (4.00 / 2)
Not the total truth looking at too many states where LGBT rights are still denied ... Eastern European states and Russian mentality or moral values.

○ Where Europe stands on gay marriage and civil unions

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 12:11:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: EU States That Deny LGBT Rights (none / 1)
This comment and the other about NI prompted me to step back for a long view.

The situation in NI is miserable of course, and judgment in X (2017) seemed to reinforce the intractability of ECHR deference to member-state sovereignty. (The ECHR Unanimously Confirms the Non-Existence of a Right to Gay Marriage, 2016, with the spirit of the double-edged sword known in the US as the 10th amendment.)

BUT the game is afoot to by-pass conservative opposition to civil liberty entrenched in legislatures. Ironically, a vanguard emerges from the EC wielding "freedom of movement." Let's recall the ECJ judgement in Coman (2018) narrowly reversed its own position. Finding in favor of a third-country petitioner seeking same-sex "marriage" permit in Romania, the court liberated definitions of "spouse" and "family" to allow the EC to prosecute discriminatory treatment of "gendered" persons in the inter-state, or international, venue of EURLEX. Lithuania's constitutional court fell in line (ECJ ruling on same-sex marriage begins to have repercussions across emerging Europe, 2019). Estonia (Estonian court: Right to protection of family life also to same-sex couples, 2019) and Bulgaria (Bulgaria Court Recognizes Gay Marriage in Landmark Case, 2019) courts also voluntarily responded. I for one am encouraged by this show of judicial "activism."

Though mores in former communist or Central Europe are in the spot light, comparative analysis in "More and more together: Legal family formats for same-sex and different-sex couples in European countries" (2017)  shows that legal defense and enforcement of LGBT civil rights is pretty weak across EU28/EEA. Let's be honest: Realizing a uniform standard of "human rights" in Europe isn't another Cold War front. EU gov's ground campaign to reinforce the sentiment and electoral prerogatives of the "76%" is a good thing though.

EPRS Briefing | The rights of LGBTI people in the European Union, May 2019

Combating discrimination has become part of EU internal and external policies, and the subject of numerous resolutions of the European Parliament. However, action in this area remains problematic when  it touches on issues pertaining to areas traditionally reserved to Member States, such as  marital status and family law.
Finland's Presidency + EC | Advancing LGBTI Equality in the EU: from 2020 and beyond, 23 Sep 2019


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 07:53:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: EU States That Deny LGBT Rights (none / 0)
Northern Ireland set to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage
"Monday was the last chance for opponents of change to restore Stormont and avert the legislation."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 05:31:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: NI JUSTICE (none / 0)
Decriminalisation of abortion in North leads to confusion, not really
Abortion was decriminalised from midnight on Monday in Northern Ireland despite a last-ditch attempt by unionist Assembly members to override Westminster legislation.
[...]
The Northern Assembly met for the first time in more than 1,000 days on Monday to consider a DUP Private Members' Bill that would have put any change in the law in the hands of the Assembly rather than Westminster.

Acting speaker Robin Newton ruled that the motion could not proceed without a new speaker first being elected. This would have required a cross-community vote but because of a Sinn Féin boycott and an SDLP walk-out this could not be achieved and the Assembly had to be adjourned.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 08:24:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: EU States That Deny LGBT Rights (none / 0)
Protest calls for equal rights for same-sex parents
"They say the fact that only one parent in LGBTQ+ families can put their name on a child's birth cert leaves parents and children without adequate legal protection."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 10:19:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: EU States That Deny LGBT Rights (none / 0)
(merits duplication in any PUBLIC PROPERTY subthread)
'I am a legal stranger, you have as much rights over my son as I do' - children 'left out' in birth cert reform
"Health Minister Simon Harris signed the commencement order for sections of the Children and Family Relationships Act which clarify the legal parentage of children who are conceived by a donor."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 05:43:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio'! w/e 4 Oct 2019

Commissioner hearings: Sefcovic/Hogan/Gabriel
Sefcovic: Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight
Hogan: Trade
Gabriel: Innovation and Youth
Commissioner hearings LIVE: Schmit/Wojciechowski
Schmit: Jobs
Wojciechowski: Agriculture
Commissioner hearings LIVE: Urpilainen/Johansson/Kyriakides
Urpilainen: International Partnerships
Johansson: Home Affairs
Kyriakides: Health

archived
Romanian, Hungarian Commissioner nominees rejected
The new cabinet in figures

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 08:44:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio' cont'd.

Commissioner hearings LIVE: Goulard/Lenarcic
Goulard: Internal Market
Lenarcic: Crisis Management
Commissioner hearings LIVE: Reynders/Dalli/Ferreira
Reynders: Justice
Dalli: Equality
Ferreira: Cohesion and Reforms
--
about 1/2 complete

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 06:24:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Goulard (Round 2): Thursday at 9:30 a.m., following a meeting with representatives of political groups on Wednesday morning

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 05:12:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Goulard bites the dust! (none / 1)
Woo-hoo!

Sounds like the fundamental problem was not so much the run-of-the-mill using of EU staff for domestic politics, as accepting 10k a month as a lobbyist while she was an MEP...

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

by eurogreen on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 12:59:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goulard bites the dust! (4.00 / 2)
Politico

The vote went 82 to 29 against her...

The left and greens voted her down because of her integrity issues.
The PPE, not known for such qualms, took revenge on Macron for the presidency of parliament...

Couldn't happen to a nicer person. Now he's got to find her another job. And find a squeaky-clean commissioner.

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

by eurogreen on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 01:04:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goulard bites the dust! (none / 0)
EPP's revenge on Macron. And they were not even subtle about it.

Euractiv

The conservatives showed the most animosity, even aggressiveness towards the French candidate, even though on substance, the group was very close to the candidate.

The EPP tweeted, and then deleted, a message that was supposed to be kept internal, which read "Guys, we are going to kill her in the vote later but do not say until then". The communication blunder demonstrates Goulard's uphill-battle with the EPP group.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 06:17:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goulard bites the dust! (none / 0)
Finger-pointing and charges of betrayal follow Goulard's defeat - Politico.eu
Commission officials said it was impossible to know how long it would take to name and approve replacements for Goulard, and for the Romanian and Hungarian nominees, who were also rejected.

Officials now predict that von der Leyen and her Commission will take office during the first week of December, at the earliest.

Some smart ass even coined the term: von derlayed.

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 08:46:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goulard bites the dust! (none / 0)
Moonlighting in a $10k a month job at ...
Berggruen ... a Senate should be appointed, not elected.

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 11:32:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Macron proposes replacement Commissioner candidate
"'What matters to me is the portfolio! I fought for it,' the head of state said"

Breton: Internal Market

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 04:54:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Statement by the European Commission following President Jean-Claude Juncker's phone call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 1 Oct
(NOT A COMPLETE AND UNREDACTED TRANSCRIPTION OF DIALOGUE AS CALLED FOR BY NATIONAL SECURITY INTEREST IN US EXECUTIVE BUSINESS WITH HEADS OF STATE)

TEXT-UK PM Johnson's letter to EU's Juncker on new Brexit plan, HTML text "compiled" (abridged) by REUTERS, 2 Oct

B. Johnson letter to J-C. Juncker, 2 Oct (SCRIBD facsimile, 4 pp) in , Guardian,"Juncker voices fears for Northern Irish peace over Stormont veto plan"

Transmittal date of UK draft "legal text" unavailable.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 01:24:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Thread.
by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 06:40:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 1)

20 Visions for Europe: 'Eternal Brexit'

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 04:58:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Brexit extension means UK must propose new EU Commissioner, von der Leyen says
"a new Commissioner would be a further embarrassment" like the 72 MEPs killing time

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 04:57:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio' cont'd.
Commissioner hearings LIVE: Gentiloni/Sinkevicius/Schinas
Gentiloni: Economy
Sinkevicius: Environment
Schinas: Protecting European way of life

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 08:00:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Gentiloni wins broad approval with 'ambitious' EU economic and social agenda
EP Economic and Monetary Affairs, Employment and Budgetary Affairs committees
"One of his first tasks will be to validate the Italian budget for 2020. The draft plan submitted by Rome slightly surpassed the 2% of GDP deficit target, agreed with Brussels to reduce Italy's massive public debt (132% of GDP)", issues discussed during the hearing

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 09:29:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
MEPs approve Schinas despite 'protecting European way of life' controversy
"over [the] portfolio name that critics said plays into the hands of far-right extremists because the job includes management of migration and asylum policy"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 01:27:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
eudebates | LIVE Hearings: Virginijus Sinkevicius Commissioner - Environment and Oceans, 3 Oct
EP Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)committees, "WhoIs" Virginijus Sinkevicius?
euparl.europa.eu |Hearing of Commissioner-designate Virginijus Sinkevičius
instroductory speech, video recording of the full hearing, vdL mission letter?
euparl.europa.eu | Hearing of Virginijus SINKEVIČIUS, Commissioner-designate, Environment and Oceans, 24 Sep, A/V
After the hearing by the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) of the European Parliament, the committees prepare an evaluation letter on the candidate. Parliament is expected to vote on the new Commission as a whole on 23 October.
#EUFORM democracy?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 08:42:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 1)
Branded as a young talent.

First 'millennial' Commissioner to address challenges for Generation Z

But Von der Leyen also made clear who the real boss in determining the EU climate and environmental political strategy will be, writing in Sinkevičius' mission letter that he is supposed to work under the guidance of the Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans.

The mission letter also says that his task will be to ensure that Europe's environment, blue economy and fisheries sector form an integral part of the European Green Deal, which will be Timmermans' main job.

by das monde on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 11:27:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio' cont'd.

Commissioner hearings LIVE: Hahn / Šuica
Hahn: Budget and Administration
Šuica: Democracy and Demography

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 08:04:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Simson: Energy

'Acceptable': EU's new energy czar wins guarded backing from Parliament
"During her three-hour grilling yesterday, the former Estonian energy minister repeatedly underlined her commitment to climate goals as she was pressed by EU lawmakers over her country's reluctance to back the bloc's ambitions for zero emissions by 2050. ...During the hearing, Simson said she would support 'diversifying' gas supply routes, and backed investments in new pipelines and LNG terminals."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 09:37:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Belgium joins INSTEX, 18 Sep
"Meanwhile, the Belgian bill could join INSTEX's shareholders."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 01:24:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Six European countries join EU-Iran financial trading mechanism INSTEX, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden will join the INSTEX mechanism for trade with Iran, the six countries declared in a joint statement on Friday (29 November) ahead of further talks between parties to the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna next week.
[...]
They also urged Iran to return without delay to full compliance with the terms and provisions of the nuclear agreement.
[...]
The Commission on the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal is set to meet for talks in Vienna next week.
Iran's 'Only Crime Is We Decided Not to Fold', OpEd
Zarif's intervention was extremely forceful. He stressed how Iran "complied with every agreement and it got nothing;" how "our people believe we have not gained from being part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action; how inflation is out of control; how the value of the rial dropped 70 percent "because of 'coercive measures' - not sanctions because they are illegal."
Interview With Hadi Nili of BBC Persian, Nov 2018
SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, we're going to work to do two things: that things that are sanctioned don't happen, and things that are permitted to happen are permissible, and can in fact happen.

Well, remember, just so you remember, the leadership has to make a decision that they want their people to eat. They have to make a decision that they want to use their wealth to import medicine, and not use their wealth to fund Qasem Soleimani's travels around the Middle East with - causing death and destruction. That's the Iranian Government's choice on how to use Iranian wealth.

free Great Britain

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 29th, 2019 at 07:18:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Iran says hundreds of banks were torched in 'vast' unrest plot
Iran has rejected Amnesty's death toll. It says several people, including members of the security forces, were killed and more than 1,000 people arrested. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based advocacy group, said the number of arrests was probably closer to 4,000.

The protests took place as new U.S. sanctions imposed this year cut off nearly all of Iran's oil exports, and as similar protest movements erupted in Iraq and Lebanon against governments that include heavily armed pro-Iran factions.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 30th, 2019 at 07:37:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio'! resumes w/e 11 Oct
Jourová: Values and Transparency
Borrell: High-Representative (foreign policy)
Wojciechowski (Round 2): Agriculture

DW lobbies hard for Borrell

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 11:51:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Not getting lost in translation, Wojciechowski wins nod from MEPs
"'Last time, I received a very clear signal from you: you don't want a Commissioner only open to dialogue but you expect concrete actions,' Wojciechowski said today."
Politico.eu | acceptable
"a European Parliament official said 'quite a lot' of the political groups had expressed 'big reservations' about him during a closed door meeting after the hearing"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 12:34:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio'! cont'd. w/e 11 Oct
Verstager: Europe fit for the Digital Age
Verstager's written responses to MEP questions and VdL's mission letter

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 12:39:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Vestager wins Parliament support after smooth-sailing hearing
"the poisoned chalice of digital taxation", "MEP Christel Schaldemose disclosed that 'All the groups except Identity and Democracy supported her,' in talks, but an official confirmation letter is still to be sent."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 05:08:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH waitwut (none / 0)
Identity and Democracy group?

hooked up by EP to ...Facebook page? G.T.F.O.

Identity and Democracy Party, in the wild

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 01:37:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
archived (none / 0)
comedy gold: 'Channel of dirt', Jourová describes her Facebook experience

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 04:58:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 1)
GDPR writing on the wall

Facebook launches a ["]news section["] - and will pay publishers
but of course charity begins at homeland security under a compound assumed names ("alias")-- "News Tab".

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 05:57:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio'! cont'd. w/e 11 Oct

"The Dutchman": European Green Deal
Timmermans gets broad support at Parliament hearing: the main points
"passed his European Parliament hearing with flying colours on Tuesday evening (9 October) and was confirmed the following day as Ursula von der Leyen's climate paladin"; mission letter.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 05:16:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
EC governance

Timmermans takes over from Juncker
"The Dutchman is on track to lead the Commission for about two weeks, while Juncker recovers from surgery on an aortic aneurysm in his abdomen."

reference
PROCÉDURE ORALE | DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 06:53:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
euobserver | Borrell hard on Russia in EU hearing, 6 Oct
Borrell's "eastern" priorities included a tough line on Russia, which has tried to harm EU ties with Balkan capitals. And the best way to counter Russian "expansionism" in Europe was to help Ukraine, which Russia invaded five years ago, he said.

"Ukraine remains central to the strategic challenge that Russia poses," he said. "Until such time as Russia changes its attitude on Crimea and territorial violations, those sanctions must remain," he added.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 05:27:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio'! resumes w/e 11 Oct

eureporter | Hearing of Vice President-designate Věra #Jourová, 8 Oct
The Constitutional Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committees, her introductory speech, video recording of the full hearing

On democracy, Jourová spoke of her support for enhancing European electoral processes, for example by revisiting the Spitzenkandidaten process and transnational lists. Additional issues of concern discussed relate to "cash for passports" schemes, online disinformation and freedom of speech, and EU legislative transparency issues.
o, my.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 08:06:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
[More than €4] Billions of euros of EU funds misspent last year
The European Court of Auditors (ECA), which is responsible for assessing the annual 155-billion-euro EU budget, estimated that an average of 2.6% of last year's EU expenses were irregular, up from 2.4% the previous year
[...]
Irregular payments are usually the result of mistakes or the wrong application of EU rules but in the worst cases they can hide full-fledged fraud. Only for a handful of payments did the court raise concerns to investigative authorities, the report said. Last year, the EU anti-fraud office OLAF recommended the recovery of 371 million euros of EU funds because of criminal abuses.

The irregularities detected are likely to represent a fraction of all errors in EU spending because of the limited resources available to auditors to conduct checks.

ECA | governance, collegiate body of 28 Members, appointed by the Council with advice of EP for renewable terms of six years
Members, Committees

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 12:58:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Commissioner delays, offset options & Jumbo japes
The EU's next transport Commissioner is still a mystery. Ursula von der Leyen has not confirmed candidates proposed by either Hungary or Romania and the toppling of the government in Bucharest has made matters even more complex.

Current MEP Siegfried Mureșan [?] has been touted as a possible EPP-backed option but more details are expected either today or Wednesday. The transport gig is not guaranteed to go to Romania, as von der Leyen might have to reshuffle portfolios.

COMISH dings
Trocsanyi: Enlargement
Plumb: Transport

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 09:44:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COMISH (none / 0)
Name Your 'Portfolio'! cont'd. w/e 9 Nov
Valean: Transport

Romanian MEP Adina Valean, accepted as European Commissioner for transport, 6 Nov
"Romania has today nominated two candidates for the position of Commissioner. Both candidates held interviews with the president-elect and performed well."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 06:47:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: APsplainin Europe (none / 0)
EU Parliament's Brexit official cautious on plan
Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt said "the first assessment of nearly every member in the Brexit Steering Group was not positive." He said the group would flesh out objections on Thursday.
There's more.
The British government says it will ask Queen Elizabeth II to suspend Parliament for a few days next week ahead of ["]a speech["] laying out the administration's plans. ...The new proposal is likely to be far less controversial. The government wants Parliament to break from Tuesday evening [8 Oct?] until Monday, Oct, 14, when the government will launch a new session and a fresh legislative program with a Queen's Speech [ohhh, "a speech"].

A short suspension of that kind is routine and usually happens about once a year.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 11:15:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
Guardian editorial board policy has something in common with those of the NYT and other US publishers. That is  self-referential "journalism" respecting public notice of matters bearing significant import. That the despicable practice of omitting reference by proper name and technical access to public documents in their reportage, especial judicial opinions and legislation--bills or acts.

Women not entitled to pension age change compensation, high court rules

The coalition government of 2010 accelerated the timetable. The 2011 Pensions Act brought the new qualifying age of 65 for women forward to 2018. The qualifying age for both men and women will be raised to 66 by October 2020.
R (on the application of Julie Delve and Karen Glynn) -v- the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
--
Northern Ireland abortion law ruled to breach human rights
Keegan held off making a formal declaration of incompatibility because recent legislation, passed in Westminster, was due to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland unless the Stormont assembly was restored by 21 October.
PRESS RELEASE, Summary of judgment [Sarah Ewart v  NI Departments of Justice and Health]
NOTES TO EDITORS 1. This summary should be read together with the judgment and should not be read in isolation. Nothing said in this summary adds to or amends the judgment. The full judgment will be available on the Court Service website (www.courtsni.gov.uk)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 04:54:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
PRESS RELEASE, EU law does not preclude a host provider such as Facebook from being ordered to remove identical and, in certain circumstances, equivalent comments previously declared to be illegal
Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek v. Facebook Ireland Limited

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Third Chamber), 3 Oct, full text

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 05:11:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
60 Years of the Court
"The Court was set up 60 years ago, 10 years after the establishment of its parent organisation the Council of Europe. To mark the anniversary the President of the Court, Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, reflects on the strength of the European system of human rights protection and the impact of the Court's case-law."

[ECHR]  Rules Holocaust Denial Not Protected by Rights Law
"Settling a years-long dispute, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that denying the Holocaust happened is not protected expression under Europe's human rights convention."

CASE OF PASTÖRS v. GERMANY, judgment (fifth section)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 05:25:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
Troubles proceedings: ["]Mandela-style["] truth [and reconciliation] process may be set up
down the Irish Sea

reference
Welcome to the official Truth and Reconciliation Commission Website


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 09:57:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
British Family to Sue American Suspected of Killing Their Son
"We are bringing claims against both Mrs. Sacoolas in the USA for civil damages as well as the Trump administration for their lawless misconduct and attempt to cover that up," family spokesman Radd Seiger said.
[...]
The family has already filed a lawsuit against the British government for letting Sacoolas leave the country in the first place.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 at 01:28:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
ECJ | Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa et al vs. Sąd Najwyższy, Prokurator Generalny et al., JUDGMENT OF THE COURT-Grand Chamber, 19 Nov
Poland: "states' rights", cold dead hands affirmed

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 06:08:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
Poles protest over rule of law after judge suspended
Protestors gathered in at least 105 towns and cities according to organizers, and television coverage showed them waving Polish and European Union flags and brandishing placards with slogans such as "Without law there is no justice".
[...]
Juszczyszyn, a judge delegated to the regional court in Olsztyn, eastern Poland, from a lower level court was abruptly revoked when he questioned the appointment of a judge by a new body under rules introduced by PiS.

practice, practice, practice

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Dec 2nd, 2019 at 12:14:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe JUSTICE (none / 0)
Polish reform erodes judicial autonomy: top court
Now what? practice, practice, practice

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 09:41:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
French police march in Paris for better working conditions, 2 Oct
"Thousands of French police officers marched in the streets of Paris on Wednesday...denounced what they described as a rising anti-police sentiment in the wake of the "Yellow Vest" violent protest movements, during which some officers have been accused of using excessive force. Also among the grievances aired by protesting police officers was a plan by French President Emmanuel Macron to reform pensions."

Knife attack at Paris police headquarters, 5 dead
"The attacker was shot dead by another officer. He killed one woman and three men in the attack. Three of them were police officers, one was a civilian employee. The attacker was a technology administrator in the police intelligence unit. The French interior minister said he 'had never shown any behavioural difficulties.'"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 07:35:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
WTO allows US to hit EU exports with record tariffs over Airbus case
"A parallel case filed by the EU against the financial aid given by Washington to Boeing will come to a similar conclusion early next year. The EU is expected to be awarded with similar compensatory rights."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 08:09:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
WTO Existential Crisis (none / 0)
Trump didn't pull the plug in time. 😊

Trump threats, demands spark 'existential crisis' at WTO | Reuters - Oct. 24, 2018 |

The WTO rules on dumping are ambiguous, the result of a political compromise at the WTO's creation in 1995. The U.S. reading is that, when in doubt, the judges should defer to the U.S. interpretation of the law - a view that judges often have not shared.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 08:59:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
EU member states SHOCKED by US tariffs, seek response
In Brussels, the European Commission said applying countermeasures now would be "shortsighted and counterproductive". The Commission stated that it aims to negotiate and find a comprising solution, adding that US consumers would be the most affected.
[...]
EURACTIV's network looked into the different reactions and main challenges the bloc could face because of this trade row with Washington.
DE, ES, FR, IT, GR, PL, CZ, HR (+ UK) sneeze
The impact of US sanctions on European goods: a closer look, not really

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 09:22:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 10:43:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
"Deep Space Wine", S3E10

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 07:00:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 1)
Fire in Rouen: fear of an "over-accident" and risk of pollution of the Seine
"In Rouen, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, a very important fire broke out in the Lubrizol factory, which manufactures additives for lubricants. This plant is classified Seveso "high threshold" (refers to industrial sites presenting risks of major accidents). The "over-accident" and a risk of pollution of the Seine are to be feared."

file in hydrocarbon/oil/refineries/feed stock/immense pile of filth

archived
How Do You Pay for the Green New Deal: Cost of Fuel

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 02:13:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (4.00 / 3)
`We want the truth!' Fear and suspicion in Rouen after chemical plant blaze - France24
Durand said tests had found no harmful toxins in the air or city water, though suggested that older people susceptible to breathing difficulties "may want to avoid going outside". As for the River Seine that flows through Rouen, downstream from Paris, Durand said there had been some pollution from the blaze, but insisted it had been contained with floating barriers.

Only hours later, however, France's health minister sounded a more cautious note after visiting the site.

"The city is clearly polluted," minister Agnès Buzyn told reporters, adding: "I cannot guarantee that there is no danger. There are of course traces of hydrocarbons."

Buzyn was the second of five ministers dispatched to Rouen amid government efforts to appear proactive in tackling the crisis. Last in line was Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who on Monday acknowledged the "unpleasant" odours that continued to hang over the city, but insisted they were "not harmful".

Critics were quick to point out the apparent contradiction between his claim and Buzyn's. If Philippe was so certain, they asked, why did local authorities order a precautionary ban on crops and produce of animal origin from the region?

French authorities have a long history of systematically hiding the true extent of industrial catastrophes to the public ("for their own good", presumably). The most infamous example being the 1986 denial of any contamination in France by the Chernobyl radioactive cloud.

"The French have not forgotten the tale of the Chernobyl cloud stopping at the border," remarked an editorial in French daily L'Union on Tuesday, referring to the infamous government claim that radiations from the 1986 nuclear disaster had miraculously stopped along the River Rhine, leaving France untouched.

"In seeking to reassure the public, this bizarre communication strategy has resulted in the opposite effect: an immense suspicion," added the paper, in a stinging rebuke of the present government's handling of the Lubrizol incident.

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 06:39:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Spanish national day march in Barcelona flops, on eve of Catalan trial verdicts, 12 Oct

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 06:52:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
wut: "preventive prison"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 05:42:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
APsplainin | Spain targets ["]online["] group behind Catalan separatist protest
"Authorities said that three people were arrested and more than 170 others injured, including about 40 police officers and a person who lost an eye, during the clashes well into the early hours of Tuesday between angry protesters and riot police at Barcelona's international airport and elsewhere across the northeastern Spanish region."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 06:13:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 1)
Edinburgh judge releases exiled former minister without travel restrictions
"Ponsatí has been summoned to court on December 12 as part of the ongoing extradition case against her for her allegedly seditious role in the 2017 independence referendum while she was part of the Catalan cabinet."

Extradition hearings for three exiled leaders in Belgium to be held on December 16
"It is the third time the two former ministers have faced an extradition request by Spain over their role in the 2017 independence bid, with the first being withdrawn by the Spanish Supreme Court in December 2017, and the second rejected by Belgium due to 'procedural defects' and 'irregularities.'"

Council of Europe denounces lack of Spanish compliance in judicial independence

The Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), the institution's anti-corruption monitoring body, calls for "an overall anti-corruption strategy and effective implementation of laws" in the country.
[...]
Indeed, Sánchez was involved in controversy in the build up to the November 10 election when he boasted of controlling the public prosecutor when discussing his attempts to extradite exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont from Belgium.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 03:34:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
EU condemns Turkey's military action, stops short of common arms embargo
What a relief!
As you all know by now,
Loiseau: Without arms exports, there won't be a European defence industry

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 11:50:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
German parliament passes record budget
€362 billion ($399 billion, of which 12% NATO defense spending, 11% shovel-ready, 40% pensions: balanced budget Trump wrath, forthcoming

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 29th, 2019 at 10:33:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (4.00 / 2)
Denmark to strip foreign fighters of Danish citizenship
European states are trying to accelerate a plan to shift thousands of foreign Islamic State militants out of Syrian prison camps and into Iraq, as a fresh conflict in Syria has raised the risk of jihadists escaping or returning home.

"There is a risk that the Kurdish-controlled IS-camps in the border area will collapse and that foreign warriors with Danish citizenship will move towards Denmark," [PM Mette] Frederiksen said in a statement.

Authorities believe at least 158 people from Denmark have joined militant Islamist groups in Syria or Iraq since 2012, about 27 of whom remain in the conflict zone. Twelve of these are believed to be imprisoned.
[...]
The proposed new law, which has broad support among lawmakers of different parties, would allow the government to strip fighters abroad who also hold another nationality of their Danish citizenship without a court order. The law would not apply to single nationality Danes who could be left stateless.

archived
Copenhagen Wakes Up to New World Order as Police Roam Streets 2015
Danes Plan to Banish Unwanted Migrants to Remote Island 2018
--
ISIS bride Hoda Muthana's family files lawsuit against Trump Feb 2019
The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back ... Feb
Britain strips citizenship from ["kidult"] who joined Islamic State in Syria Feb
Saudi Arabia Revokes Citizenship of Hamza bin Laden
'The compassionate thing to do' - Isil* suspect Lisa Smith will be allowed return home Mar
Report: Children returning to Finland from ISIS Mar
Baby of British-born ISIS Bride Has Died In Syrian Refugee Camp
"Nordic model" badass chamber slave of the patriarchy June

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 09:34:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
APsplainin | Turkey starts returning IS[ISIL/ISIS/DAESH] fighters; deports US national
(minus NE, NW Syria geography lesson, BETRAYED Kurdish "detention camps," US military ahh advisors, and "Isis bride" roll call)
The move comes just over a week after the Turkish interior minister said Turkey was not a "hotel" for IS fighters and criticized Western nations for their reluctance to take back citizens who had joined the ranks of the ["]extremist militant["] group as it sought to establish a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
[...]
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said last week that about 1,200 foreign IS fighters were in Turkish prisons and 287 members, including women and children, were recaptured during Turkey's offensive in Syria.
[...]
Several [?] European countries, including Britain, have stripped IS fighters of their nationalities to prevent their return.
Really?
Seven other German nationals were scheduled to leave the country on Thursday, he said. Two Irish nationals, two German nationals and 11 French nationals who were captured in Syria were also to be transferred to their home countries soon, Catakli said.
[...]
In Denmark, Justice Minister Nick Hakkerup told Danish broadcaster TV2 that any Danish citizens who fought for IS and are repatriated to the country "must be punished as severely as possible." ... In Bosnia, government officials announced on Monday that citizens who had fought with IS could return to the country, while a Dutch court ruled on the same day that the country must attempt to bring home children whose mothers traveled to Syria to join ["]Islamic extremist["] groups. The decision came in response to a case filed by lawyers on behalf of 23 women and their 56 children who are housed in camps in northern Syria.
free Uighurs

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 09:19:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
APsplainin | Shootings, blasts prompt Denmark to tighten border controls
"Authorities believe an Aug. 6 explosion at the Danish Tax Agency 'was committed by criminals that had crossed the border from Sweden.' ...[Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup] said the temporary border controls should protect Denmark against both 'foreigners who do not live up to the entrance criteria and foreigners who may intend to commit serious organizes [sic] crime or terror in Denmark.'"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 09:29:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Up to 750 European children trapped in north-east Syria
"Among them, the largest group of children in the range of 300, is reported to be French," Dominique Parent from the UN Human Rights Regional Office told MEPs on Thursday (6 November). Another 200 are from the Netherlands, 160 from Belgium, and 60 are UK nationals. The largest camp is known as Al-Hol and controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
[...]
Politics aside, the numbers are significant. An estimated 28,000 children from more than 60 different countries remain trapped in north-east Syria. Of those, less than 20 percent are 12 years or older, and half of them are under the age of five. Some 20,000 are Iraqis. The remaining 8,000 come from other countries of which up to 750 are from EU member states.
[...]
The European Commission is pressing EU states to step up the repatriations but its role is limited given the national security prerogatives of EU states. Instead, it is financing projects worth some €68m to help get food and shelter to people displaced by Turkey's military invasion into the territory.
separating families

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 03:12:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Germany to take back 'Islamic State' mother from Syria
According to media reports, German authorities have been investigating the mother on suspicion of membership in a terror organization and child neglect.
irony
Germany: 1 in 4 children suffers from mental illness
Certain school children have a higher risk for depression. These children often suffer quietly before they receive an appropriate diagnosis. We all have to pay more attention"


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 01:13:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Denmark offers to lead NATO training mission in Iraq from 2021
"With the contribution we will be able to deliver an even stronger effort in our fight against the terror group ISIL by training Iraqis," Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said. Denmark will present the offer at a NATO summit in London next week. It would send around 213 people to the mission which trains Iraqi security forces.
Try to act like you're surprised.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 26th, 2019 at 07:08:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Norway drops missile defense program, 10 Oct
After what it called a "broader security policy evaluation," the Norwegian government announced that even though it's significantly boosting its defense budget for 2020 because of Russia's own military activity in the Arctic, it won't include acquisition of the sensors or anti-ballistic missiles. As newspaper Klassekampen reported this week, the evaluation clearly presented a dilemma for Norway, putting it in a squeeze between its biggest ally (the US) and its mighty neighbour in the north, Russia, which also has complained bitterly about installation of the missile defense system in both Romania and Poland.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 04:19:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)

europol | Who is hiding under the mask?
Click [Find out more] to see the big reveal. Leave your stereotypes behind.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 19th, 2019 at 09:21:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Wilmès becomes first female PM of Belgium
"Wilmès is a member of the Francophone liberal Reformist Movement (MR), the party of Charles Michel - who stepped down as prime minister to prepare for the presidency of the European Council, starting on 1 December."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 08:27:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Michel vows to push for a more assertive Europe under the radar
"And perhaps, I will be more cautious with my tweets, at least at the beginning," Michel added. "But certainly I will speak out when needed".

Tusk has been known for being a straight talker who never refrained from speaking his mind, including on Twitter.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 29th, 2019 at 07:22:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Asda gives workers more time to sign new contracts before facing dismissal, "right to work"
Of Britain's big four grocers -- market leader Tesco (TSCO.L), Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), Asda, and Morrisons (MRW.L)--Walmart (WMT.N) owned Asda is the last to implement more flexible* working contracts as it seeks productivity improvements in a fiercely competitive market. All the big four grocers are continuing to lose market share to German-owned [!] discounters Aldi and Lidl, which are aggressively opening new stores.

Asda's new standardised contracts increase the base rate of pay for retail workers to 9 pounds [!] ($11.64) per hour from Nov. 3 and to 9.18 pounds [!] from April 1 2020, plus premiums [over-time rate?], while maintaining benefits including an annual bonus, share save scheme, and staff discount.

The new contracts also remove paid breaks and require employees to work across departments and on some bank holidays.

GMB | Asda delay deadline as company prepare to sack workers closer to Christmas

* "Flexible working" smells like US-Eng. "flex time" (retail JIT) scheduling, as little as 24-hour notice, and min. hr/wk depending on employment status of each hire/annum, full-time or part-time. Individual agreements instead of GMB structured contract looks like GMB has not (yet?) organized a collective bargaining unit in Asda. Because Walmart, of course.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 12:51:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"Amazon of" grocers (none / 0)
ayep, not organized. GMB letter to Asda Sr. VP, HR
We are writing once again to ask you to postpone the contract imposition, ensure no one faces dismissal and come back to the negotiating table with talks through ACAS.

reference
gov.uk | Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
"Acas is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy."
acas.org.uk

What is the difference between Acas Collective Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration?
Watch our simple explanation of the difference between the three.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 01:07:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "Amazon of" grocers (none / 0)
Asda could face consumer backlash as it enforces new contracts
The retailer, owned by US giant Walmart, has been at the centre of a lengthy and high-profile row over the imposition of the new contracts, which it says help it remain competitive in a "challenging market".

The hashtag boycottAsda has been trending on Twitter after one employee, Duncan Carson, announced his bid to take legal action against the supermarket, which is being warned that its actions might trigger a consumer backlash in the crucial run-up to Christmas.

ACAS fail, as is the custom: 'Why I want to sue Asda over new employment contract'
"I have an appointment with my union officer on Thursday to start the process," he said.
[...]
"We are working with every individual member with a view to lodging a claim," [GMB regional officer Neil Derrick] said, which might be based on unfair dismissal, sex discrimination or potentially disability discrimination.
wut
However, Sarah Crowther, a barrister at Outer Temple Chambers, noted that other retailers had made similar contract changes and that they were perfectly [?] legal. She said employees that refused to accept the changes had two potential ways to make a claim: unfair dismissal or indirect discrimination [?].
"Business needs" vs "market power": Asda To Be Sued Over New Employment Contracts...
"Whilst the frustration with the major changes is entirely understandable, it is not illegal and does not violate any of the Employment laws under the English legal system provided that proper process was followed."

o. That's new.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Nov 10th, 2019 at 07:52:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Parting the lace curtain again: Paging Pelosi
Nurses brand trolley crisis 'obscene' as number of patients waiting for a bed SOARS to 679
"UCC's Prof. Jonathan Drennan identified a need for at least 180 extra emergency department nursing posts across Ireland to care for admitted patients, in a report commissioned by the HSE and Department of Health. However there was no provision made in the recent budget for the roles."

trials and tribulations of the nouveaux riches
Homeowners express anger after they're given 'filthy' water as back-up supply by Irish Water

She fears Christmas will be ruined because it will be difficult to safely cook or cater for guests without clean water.

"Even small things, things you'd normally do - you'd invite your friends round for dinner of an evening, but they're always saying to me, 'Ah no, you can't, you'd have all the water lifting and everything trying to make the dinner.'

"Or even inviting people to stay when you have, and when I say filthy bathroom, there are times you walk in and say oh my god, if someone uses or flushes the toilet, or the showers. There's grout and silicone, everything destroyed with rust.

"Even planning Christmas, you lose family Christmases because the volume of work involved in preparing food and having water for a group of people. Then people in the house saying, 'Make sure the kids don't drink the water, make sure they don't brush their teeth'," she said.

"Our confidence is shattered, and shattered with good reason."

A brief history of water charges in Ireland: "From Fianna Fáill's abolishment of water charges in 1978, through to Minister Alan Kelly's revised package today" (Nov 2014). Deregulation, refund, ray-geem drama to follow annually to Nov 2019, because not-Lansing, MI.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 06:08:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Ireland's growth to power ahead of EU peers, € 0 paywall
EC "lifting": "GDP up 5.6% this year, compared with a 4pc rise it was predicting as recently as this summer "

reference
European Economic Forecast. Summer 2019
European Economic Forecast. Winter 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 07:18:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Irish exporters seek [Nordic markets]
"Last year, Enterprise Ireland client companies increased exports to the region by 28.6pc, reaching a total value of €877m."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 03:41:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe RECONNAISSANCE (none / 0)
Chinese group to create 200 jobs in Dundalk with €217m investment
landssakes, two birds, one stone

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 12:43:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe ELECTION 2019 (none / 0)
Antonio Costa's Socialists ahead in Portuguese election
exit poll: PS 35%-39%, PSD 27%-31%, Marxist Left Bloc (BE) and the Green-Communist alliance on the sidelines again.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 12:02:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe ELECTION 2019 (none / 1)
Politico.eu | Socialists victorious in Portuguese election, illustrated
The Socialists won 36.6 percent of the vote with over 99 percent of stations reporting, followed by the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) on 27.9 percent, its worst result since 1983. With the smaller conservative CDS-People's Party (CDS-PP) getting just 4.2 percent, the night was a serious reversal for Portugal's mainstream right.

On the left, the old-school Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) saw its support drop to a historic low of 6.5 percent and the Left Bloc, a media-savvy, urban-based party, confirmed its position as Portugal's third party, falling slightly to 9.7 percent.

EP election-results.eu | Portugal - Official results, illustrated

COMISH candidate
(27.08.2019) Ferreira: Cohesion and Reforms

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 09:44:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe ELECTION 2019 (none / 0)
Conservatives sweep Polish vote, put EU rule of law to the test
PiS 43.76% of the votes, centre-left Civic Platform (KO) 27.4%, The Left (Lewica) 12.4%, PSL (EPP) 9.1%, far-right KONFEDERACJA 6.4%; "PiS fell short of a 276 seats constitutional majority"
Politico.eu | Poland's PiS wins election, but its grip on power is weakened
However, the party appears to have lost control of the upper house, the senate, and is looking like taking 49 seats to 51 for the opposition; in most districts, opposition parties united around a single candidate. The senate is less powerful than the lower chamber, the Sejm, but it can slow the passage of legislation and appoint key officials -- for the first time in four years complicating PiS's control of the legislature.

EP election-results.eu | Poland - Official results, illustrated

COMISH candidate
(04.10.2019) Wojciechowski: Agriculture

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 12:13:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe ELECTION 2019 (none / 0)
Politico.eu | Spain's Socialists win election, but deadlock continues, illustrated
About 37 million people were eligible to vote on Sunday to elect the 350 lawmakers of the Congress of Deputies (the parliament's lower chamber) and 208 senators (out of 266 in the upper chamber). Turnout by 6 p.m. was almost 57 percent, four percentage points lower than in April.

EP election-results.eu | Spain - Official results, illustrated

COMISH candidate
(09.11.2019) Borrell: High Rep, Foreign Policy

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 12:00:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe ELECTION 2019 (none / 0)
UPDATE: The referendum to stop the cutting of parliamentarians
The debates inside and outside the courtroom are therefore going in opposite directions, a situation that is creating considerable political schizophrenia. On a parallel track to all this the discussion on the new electoral law proceeds with alternating speed , with on the one hand the referendum proposed by the League to bring the Rosatellum to a pure majority, on the other Pd and M5s more inclined to a mixed system..
12 Jan deadline
EP election-results.eu | Italy - Official results, illustrated
COMISH candidate
(20.10.2019) Gentiloni: Economy

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 03:47:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
French fugitive Xavier DuPont de Ligonnes arrested at Glasgow airport

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 10:44:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Nope (none / 0)
Police confirm man arrested at Glasgow Airport is not French fugitive Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès - GlasgowLive
French and Scottish investigators have determined the fingerprints of the man detained in Glasgow on Friday do not match those of a missing suspect who killed his wife and children.
by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 12:34:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL (none / 0)
Summit concludes with no progress on EU's long-term budget, 18 Oct
nothing to see here.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 12:39:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL (none / 1)

Somewhere, not at this URL, people are exchanging arguments about the prudence of this amount to be distributed among EC "portfolios" as well as appropriations requested by EU states' legislatures to fund it.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 23rd, 2019 at 07:26:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL (none / 0)
It's pretty small compared to the US Federal Budget of $4.4 Trillion for 2019 - in fact only about 4% of the US Budget... but then the EU doesn't have to fund the arms industry.

Index of Frank's Diaries
by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Oct 23rd, 2019 at 10:01:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL (none / 0)
Draghi's farewell demand: the eurozone budget
"EU grandees send Draghi to 'euro pantheon'"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 03:36:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL messenger (none / 0)
The future of the euro area economy, Lagarde, 22 Nov
Resilience and rebalancing: "Good institutions exist to ensure that people are not forced into actions that are rational at the individual level but self-defeating collectively."
--
Caption Contest Call for "memes" featuring (a) Keynesian (b) circular (c) liquidity (d) QE or (e) stim-pak by any other name

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 12:58:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL (none / 0)
Member states reject adding €50 million for Brexit preparedness, not really
EP, Council, and COMISH disagree on several budget items by portfolio share.

The discarded point of the headline, illustrated in the photo caption: Current UK port capacity and utilization of customs declarations and duties collected for EU members unlikely to benefit from additional €50M capital investment ("bribe", sop).

Lorries pass through customs checks at the Port of Dover in Dover, Britain, 15 February 2019. [EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL]



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 15th, 2019 at 09:59:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe COUNCIL (none / 0)
Happy Vanuatu Day!

Premier of Bermuda: 'Global minimum tax is anti-competitive'

Given that you are the only jurisdiction, together with Switzerland, with equivalence regime (recognition of financial frameworks) both with the EU and the US, do you have any advice for London for the future relationship talks?

I will save any advice that I have for London whatsoever. I know that the Solvency II Directive (negotiations for equivalence recognition in insurance) took us six years to achieve. I wish them the best of luck.

archived 2017
a raft of documents addressing tax avoidance and evasion

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 09:58:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (4.00 / 2)
Swedish Social democrats have lost the unions.

https:/www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-for-forsta-gangen-ikapp-s-bland-lo-medlemmar

For the first time ever, the social democratic party (SAP) is not the largest in the unions (LO - "Landsorganisationen"). The Sweden democrats are now slightly bigger, 31% to 30.6%.
Ten years ago, the social democrats had 60% of union votes.

The most recent changes have been among women in "Kommunal". They have had to deal with constant cuts for years, and were not impressed with the extra burden of poorly thought out projects that brought in as "extra help" many people who were, among other things, unwilling to listen to female managers.
Violence and insecure public spaces have meant that women increasingly cannot move freely at night. The government is seen as all talk, no action.

The call centres set up and manned by the unions were instrumental in the "not terrible" result for SAP in the last general election, 2018.

Is this the beginning of the end of the party of racial biology, mass sterilisation, appeasement towards Hitler, Stalin and the Soviet Union, close ties with DDR, more recently a security risk to all of Europe with lax terror legislation, and of course always, always "power at any cost"  ... ?
Not a decade to soon.

by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 08:15:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
 Is this the beginning of the end of the party of racial biology, mass sterilisation, appeasement towards Hitler, Stalin and the Soviet Union, close ties with DDR, more recently a security risk to all of Europe with lax terror legislation, and of course always, always "power at any cost"

duuuuuuuuude what are you smoking?

by generic on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 02:45:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 1)
Well, six years behind the the rest of the EU in making it illegal to support Hamas. Critiziced by the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council for having weak anti-terrorism laws and not being able to assist neighbors.

Criticized by the EU for having basically no border control meaning they have no idea of who is there. The report "Evaluation of Sweden in the field of management of the external borders" was suppressed in 2017 so as not to affect the election in 2018.  The head of the Border Police estimated earlier this year that it would take at least five years to fix.  

A free haven for ISIS supporters - basically being a supporter has until recently fallen under "freedom of association." Being slow (14 years) to ratify Resolution 1373.

(Granted a lot of this goes back to the "conservative" government 2006-2014. And the previous Social democratic government 1996-2006.)

(Man, it's been years since I had to html tag by hand. Good times!)

by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 03:45:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Perhaps a poor choice to mention Hamas, a resistance movement in Gaza. No chance of free movement and cross over into Europe as refugiee.

In Gaza, Hamas is a Sunni Muslim organization getting funds from Qatar and other Gulf States. The leadership of Al Qaeda is a joint Wahhabist and Muslim Brotherhood criminal terror organization.

Terrorist threat level three in Sweden. Threat of rightwing terror underrated - study.

So very fortunate the alarm raised of intrusion by a Russian mini submarine was a dud.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 05:09:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
This place doesn't disappoint!
by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 07:02:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (4.00 / 2)
Does it make anyone in Europe saver in any way if you make Hamas illegal? And while there is a lot of hysterics about the border, as far as I remember there was not a single effective terrorist that sneaked over the border. I'm actually not sure if the combined effort of the European right managed to locate even a single one. Compare that to the usual pattern of three letter fuckery(eg. Manchester) or failed counter-terror ops(Berlin).
And ISIS is of course a problem, but we're also not banning the moneyed ISIS on the Gulf anywhere in Europe.

(I really like the manual html stuff. Easily macroed and won't break if you block scripts.)

by generic on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 05:27:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Well, Rakhmat Akilov had been denied asylum and was in hiding. Police knew he supported ISIS.
by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 07:11:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Europe (none / 0)
Uzbek national entered Sweden in 2014, his asylum application was rejected in 2016.

○ Violent Extremism among Central Asians: The Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and New York City Attacks

    Radicalization in the Uzbek and Central Asian global diaspora is becoming a growing threat to international security. In 2017, there were no fewer than four high-profile international terror attacks carried out by ethnic Uzbeks: the Islamic State-directed attack in the early hours of the new year on a nightclub in Istanbul, the St. Petersburg metro bombing in April, a truck attack in Stockholm later the same month, and a truck attack in Manhattan in September.

ISIS connection to the caliphate in the Levant? Radicalization on-line, closing borders?

○ US Congress: Chechen insurgents were portrayed as Afghan-style "freedom fighters"

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 08:06:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
free Uighurs (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 08:08:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: free Uighurs (none / 0)
Be careful ... your next NBA game may show snow.

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 09:07:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Larry Bird or Pete Buttlegig? (none / 0)
Great White Hopes

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 09:36:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
PFEFFLE'S BREXIT
by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:43:09 PM EST
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Opposition parties disagree over move to see off no-deal Brexit
Labour have continued to insist Jeremy Corbyn must be the leader of any temporary government to secure a Brexit extension, despite the Liberal Democrats' leader, Jo Swinson, suggesting he would be unable to secure a majority.

Speaking to reporters outside parliament after cross-party talks, the Liberal Democrat leader said there would not be a vote of no confidence in the government this week as opposition parties continue to disagree about the best way forward.
....
The opposition parties and former Tories believe there is no need to
add to the Benn act right now because it is legally watertight.

Former attorney general said on Monday that the Queen could dismiss Johnson if he sought to break the law requiring him to seek a Brexit extension.The prime minister would be "gone within five minutes" if he chose to defy parliament by ignoring the legislation, Grieve said. The i newspaper reported this week that the Queen sought legal advice on the circumstances in which she can dismiss a prime minister prior to Johnson's defeat in the supreme court.

Realistically, could the Queen pick anyone but the Opposition Leader?

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 02:18:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 1)
by generic on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 07:12:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (4.00 / 4)
The LibDems (LDP) are terrified of allowing corbyn to look like a statesman for even 5 minute, let lone the 5 weeks necessary to sort out an extention and call an election.

Many LibDems have good cause to fear for their seats, not least Swinson herself who is almost certain to lose to the SNP.

However, the Scottish leader of the LibDP gave th game away in an interview where he admitted that a no-deal brexit was prefereable to a Corbyn led coalition. Quite an admission from the party that claims to be against brexit under every circumstance. No amount of trying to unsay it is gonna stop that one, they are the MeatLoaf party, "they'd do anything to stop brexit, but they won't do that".

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 11:35:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Jo Swinson: 'I could do a better job as PM than Corbyn or Johnson' - video
Our country needs us to be more ambitious right now, and we are rising to that challenge. This choice is about the future of our country for GENERATIONS to come. It is not about the red team or the blue team, because on this issue they merge into one.

< wipes tears >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 04:07:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)

< wipes tears >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 26th, 2019 at 02:13:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's CONFERENCE (none / 0)
'Woman of Color' says she will end free movement of people - video

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 10:09:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's QUEEN'S SPEECH (none / 0)
PM seeks to thrust law and order on to agenda in Queen's speech , 14 Oct following "suspended" parliament
Heavier sentences for violent criminals among policies aimed at wooing Labour voters
wut
With just days to go before the deadline for Boris Johnson to clinch a last-ditch Brexit deal in Brussels, the Queen will on Monday set out his government's priorities for a new session of parliament, including 22 new bills.
[...]
Meanwhile, amid claims from the home secretary, Priti Patel, that the UK has been a "soft touch on foreign criminals" for too long, maximum sentences for foreign nationals who breach a deportation order will be "drastically increased" from the present six months.
[...]
In her party conference speech in Manchester, Patel said the Tories' message to criminals was: "we are coming for you".

But her Labour shadow, Diane Abbott, said it was the Tories who had been soft on crime by relentlessly cutting funding for police and the criminal justice system.

"Priti Patel is right that the Tories have been a soft touch for criminals, with policies that predictably led to more crime. We always argued that cuts have consequences, and now the Tories are trying to pretend the consequences have nothing to do with them," Abbott said.

She added: "This Queen's speech is farcical. It is just an uncosted wish list which the government has no intention and no means to deliver, and nothing more than a pre-election party political broadcast."

Happy Black History Month 2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 04:25:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's QUEEN'S SPEECH (4.00 / 3)
the UK has been a "soft touch on foreign criminals" for too long

Damn right, Priti. But they own much of London's real estate, and are often major Tory donors. So expect no change.

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

by eurogreen on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 04:35:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's CONFERENCE (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 05:04:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's CONFERENCE (none / 0)
Guardian | How unusual was the language of Johnson's first Queen's speech?
"We compare Boris Johnson's script for the Queen to 100 years of precursors to see where the PM stuck to - and where he departed from - tradition"

< wipes tears >

Guardian | Boris Johnson wins more backing from MPs for Brexit deal  
"Tory 'Spartans,' chile

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 09:48:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's CONFERENCE (none / 0)

A bit of brogue o'er a bridal procession - BBC News

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 12:27:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's CONFERENCE (none / 0)
Of finger puppets and understudies
Jeremy Corbyn hits out at 'farcical' Queen's speech
He signalled Labour was still prepared to vote for a general election [!] as soon as the threat of a no-deal Brexit was off the table, potentially meaning it could be held in early December [!].
< wipes tears >
More than a third of the new bills announced by the Queen relate to arrangements to be made after Britain's departure from the EU.
< wipes tears >
"This legislative programme is a propaganda exercise that cannot disguise that this government [!] has failed on Brexit for over three years, that they are barely beginning to undo the damage of a decade of cuts to our public services, that it does nothing for people struggling to make ends meet, does nothing to make our world a safer place or tackle the climate emergency."

archived
AG Cox: 'This Is a Dead Parliament'

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 08:35:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's CONFERENCE (none / 0)
It's almost as if she doesn't allow herself to be defined by the colour of her skin - how dare she!
by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 11:11:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
content of the character (none / 0)
Let's not let color and organs interfere in our esteem of dignity and human "rights", let's do.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 05:17:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
wut: "Indeed, Johnson has suggested that the single regulatory zone for agricultural goods should be permanent, citing Ian Paisley's refrain that the people of Northern Ireland may be British but its cattle are Irish."

wut: "Greggs is preparing to stockpile bacon and tuna and has switched to buying all its cheese in the UK as the bakery chain tries to avert shortages in the event of a chaotic Brexit."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 10:13:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 1)
understudy

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 05:00:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
there had been anglo-Indians elected before this, perhaps even as early as the 1840s (it's disputed if he took his seat). but I was genuinely surprised to find that the first anglo-Caribbean MPs were as late as 87.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 11:40:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
When I lived in London, England, coming on 20 years ago, every immigrant ("émigré) not "white" was lumped in the "black" category. Casual observers, including, notably, an English RAF capt. (ret'd.) recovering from deployment in Scotland, solicited my US American advice or sympathy regarding "racial" status. Ostensibly because of my phenotypical features ("brown" skin), stereotypical "black" political orientation. This sort of solicitation was not unusual in my experience having traveled the world from days of my early adolescence.

Perhaps the time for you has arrived to study British India and British West Indies historiography more closely, if you are "surprised" by British race hierarchy.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 03:13:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
case in point

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 05:14:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (4.00 / 4)
Pfeffle the blusterer has a new line: I am making my final offer to the EU, take it or leave it.

Never mind that he has made no offer to date. This one is some non-starter concocted with the now-dispensable DUP, for a sort of backstop till 2025, when its future would be decided by... wait for it, Stormont!

Rafael Behr has a good summary of the situation in The Guardian:

There is no reason why Merkel or Macron should fashion a deal to the specifications of a Tory campaign. While Downing Street is thinking about clap lines for a speech, the EU wants legal guarantees that can withstand future changes in the political weather. The two sides are not operating to the same time horizon. Both say they want a deal, but Johnson means a headline to get through the week; Brussels means a treaty to secure the integrity of the European project for a generation.

That misalignment of perspectives has plagued the Brexit process. Eurosceptics constantly underestimate EU states' readiness to prize collective solidarity over relations with a splitter nation on its way out of the club. It never occurred to them, for example, that an Irish voice could carry further across the continent than an English one. They did not anticipate the difference between a European negotiation among member states (the kind where Britain often got its way) and a negotiation between the EU and an exiting country issuing unrealistic demands backed by improbable threats.

Johnson still has not grasped that shift in the balance of power. He is committed to the fiction that Britain stands equal in global stature to the EU, and wedded to an electoral strategy that treats cooperation as cowardice.



Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing, Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen
by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 07:02:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
cheiftains on the warpath

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 09:50:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (4.00 / 3)
IDIOT voters, pundits and broadcasters are still referring to the prime minister as `Boris' as if he were a cuddly children's toy not a neo-fascist monster.

Recent weeks have seen Johnson face accusations of being an unprincipled liar, racist, coward, lawbreaker, groper. philanderer, blusterer and misappropriator of public funds whose dog would make a better leader.

And yet literally millions of people who should know better continue to address him as `Boris' as if he was a much-loved children's character like Paddington fucking Bear.

I fear I am much to blame for comparing him to a children's story toad who drives powerful motor cars into horse ponds. It's true he's a lot fucking nastier than that.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing, Nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen

by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 12:49:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 1)
I've taken to the acronym TWBJ , "that wanker B... J..."

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 06:19:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Corbyn must lead any interim government, says shadow chancellor
"John McDonnell insists party would not back an alternative to Labour leader as PM"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 06:59:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit 'rebranding' (none / 0)
Former Tory MP Heidi Allen joins Liberal Democrats
"'Shifting to the extremes, the Conservatives and Labour have turned their backs on the liberal, progressive centre ground our country is crying out for,' she said."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 10:09:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit 'rebranding' (none / 0)
given that the libdems are practically Thatcherite these days, I'd say that the centre ground of Westminster politics was somewhat adrift from the centre ground of retail politics out in the country

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 03:03:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
all for one, one for SCHEDULE FORM LETTER

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 09:54:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
[Scotland Court of Sessions] rejects latest request to force PM to ask for Brexit extension
appeal! Here it comes ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 10:00:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
their view, that a crime has not yet been comitted and so therefore there is nothing on which to seek judgement, makes sense. What people seem to have missed is that the evidence to the Scottish case on progoguing involved a declaration before court that the Prime Minister intended to obey the Benn Act and seek an extension.

Therefore if TWBJ attempts to weasel out of this commitment, he will have automatically committed perjury and be subject to genuine jail time. Non negotiable.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 03:08:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
quite. (none / 0)
archived: in a legible format, published by THE PRIME MINISTER AND ADVOCATE GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND'S FURTHER SUBMISSIONS ON RELIEF
--declaration scenarios and remedies

archived: JUDGMENT, R (on the application of Miller) (Appellant)vThe Prime Minister (Respondent)Cherry and others (Respondents) vAdvocate General for Scotland (Appellant) (Scotland)

70. It follows that [the Crown in] Parliament has not been prorogued and that this court should make declarations to that effect. We have been told by counsel for the Prime Minister that he will "take all necessary steps to comply with the terms of any declaration made by the court" and we expect him to do so. However, it appears to us that, as [the Crown in] Parliament is not prorogued, it is for  Parliament to decide what to do next.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 03:54:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
Waiting for that crime to occur is not satisfying, is it?

Refuting "the deal" proffered by a PM to the EU Council which cannot reasonably agree to parliament's inchoate acts is also unsatisfactory.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 04:11:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
Well then. Everyone should be happy with this sensible ruling :
A Scottish court has delayed a decision on whether Boris Johnson should be forced to ask for a Brexit extension until after the final deadline has passed next week.
Anti-Brexit campaigners had asked the three judges, Lord Carloway, who is the lord president, Lord Brodie and Lord Drummond Young, to issue court orders forcing Johnson to send the letter to the EU as required under the Benn act.
That legislation, the European Union (Withdrawal) (No 2) Act, requires Johnson to write to the EU asking for an extension until 31 January if he fails to get a Brexit deal agreed at Westminster by 19 October.
In an unusual move, Carloway said the issues were so significant and time-sensitive that the court could not make a definitive ruling on whether the prime minister had broken the Benn act until 19 October had passed.

He said the judges would suspend a final ruling on whether to order Johnson to comply, or send the Benn act letter to the EU itself, until Monday 21 October. Then, he said, "the court will expect to be addressed on the facts that present themselves".



It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 04:28:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
< wipes tears > (none / 0)
Release the SCHEDULE FORM LETTER!
The SCHEDULE FORM LETTER will fix ekonomie!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 04:35:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
The bluff behind the blame game
Many of us had long assumed that next week's European Council summit would be the final deal or no-deal showdown. That meeting may well now go ahead without the attendance of the UK leader.

Instead, the Saturday after the summit, 19 October, is likely to be a more significant date, as UK lawmakers will be summoned to Westminster for an unusual weekend session.

They and Johnson will both face a decisive moment.

Johnson will have to formally request an extension or resign. An extension will allow him to keep to the law, but breaking his promise of taking the UK out of the EU on 31 October will cost him the support of a hefty portion of Brexit voters when election day finally comes.

The events which have not occurred.

archived deadlines
Regardless of the date of submission ...
Regardless of the prorogation period, UK parliament response to it ("debate") is limited to the period between 18-31 Oct.
The event which has has not occurred is Mr No-Deal "breaking" one or more laws ...
Call me crazy (and I know you will) but I'm thinking that the first item of business...
...Perhaps you confuse "bluff" (pretext) with threat?
Johnson will send the letter, that I do not doubt ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 06:39:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)

APsplainin Johnson election bid fails | Did your MP vote for an early general election?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 07:46:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Why the European Council Must not Reject an Article 50 Extension Request
This blogpost argues that, as a matter of EU law, the European Council is not entitled to refuse the United Kingdom's request for an extension, in the present circumstances. In a nutshell, the argument runs as follows. The decision to ask for an extension emanates from the United Kingdom's highest authority, its sovereign Parliament (as confirmed by the UKSC in the prorogation cases). It is a democratic decision which the EU must respect, for else it would be expelling a Member State against its own sovereign and democratic will. Art 50 does not allow this, as the ECJ confirmed in Wightman.
no. Wightman decided, establishd, EU member right of notification to withdraw A.50. Doesn't say a ding dong thing about A.50(3) extension period notification, procedure, or conclusion except unanimous agreement by every member except the secceding party.
The European Council may determine the length of the extension, and impose certain conditions, in agreement with the United Kingdom. But it cannot refuse this extension.
m'k. Duly noted. Next ...
EU nationals lacking settled status could be deported, minister says

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 06:16:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 10:37:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (4.00 / 3)
This will not make Americans puke, for two reasons.

First, everybody knows these rules already, and they are categorized under the heading "Freedom." We live in a free society, while the British live in a socialist hell. Not even to mention the French, Germans, Swedes, etc.

Second, while rules like "employers are not required to provide maternity leave" are true, if you are a normal, salaried, professional white person, and work for an organized company, you do get maternity leave. It is only hourly workers, often on a gig contract basis or paid under the table, mostly minorities and/or those who goofed off in school, who don't get the benefits. They don't count.

This arrangement is one of the foundational concepts of the political right in the US of A.

by asdf on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 10:26:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Reality Show Set in Wilderness Taken Off Air, No One Tells Contestants - Variety
The Channel 4 program, "Eden," assembled 23 men and women and dispatched them to a remote corner of the Scottish Highlands, where they were told to set up a self-sufficient community. The group was cut off from any contact with the outside world, and had to "decide on their own rules and laws, build their own shelter, grow their own food and raise their own livestock," according to a statement released when the show was first announced.

The year-long experiment was recorded by a four-strong crew as well as personal cameras and a fixed rig. Four episodes of the show - covering March, April and May - were broadcast last summer. But ratings slipped from 1.7 million to 800,000, leading Channel 4 to pull the plug on further updates.

No one bothered to tell the remaining contestants, who reportedly endured boredom and infighting, were reduced at one point to eating chicken feed, and only emerged last week from their less than splendid isolation to discover that their fellow Brits voted to leave the European Union and Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.

by generic on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 10:26:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 1)
a very old story.

Seems that sometimes mundane reality of normal people being petty minded and unkind is just...boring office politics. And you need a really good scriptwriter to make that into interesting TV.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 09:54:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Real punks don't vote to REVOKE
yeah, I said it.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 19th, 2019 at 09:25:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's LETWIN AMENDMENT (none / 0)
wut:
His latest amendment would withhold approval of the prime minister's deal until the legislation to enact it agreement with EU Council - the EU withdrawal bill- is passed approved. This might happen next week. Passing the Letwin amendment would trigger the Benn act European Union (Withdrawal)(No. 2) Act 2019 [no], which compels Johnson to request an extension to article 50 if a deal cannot be agreed.

Letwin said he supported Johnson's deal and it was "sensible", but that he wanted to make sure there is an "insurance policy" that if the Brexit deal is approved but something goes wrong at a later stage the government has an extension already in place so there is no possible way the country can crash out without a deal. The deadline in the Benn act is 11pm on Saturday, so this is an attempt to close down a potential loophole [?].

WHO IN HELL WANTS TO DO BUSINESS WITH THESE WANKERS?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 19th, 2019 at 09:38:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
Key vote on Brexit deal debate fails in Parliament
First, Members of Parliament (MPs) approved a motion calling for the legislative body to start formally debating the prime minister's Brexit deal with the European Union. The motion passed by 329 votes to 299.

However, the evening's most hotly anticipated vote -- on whether the House approves of the government's plan ["programme"] to conclude the process ["debate"] by Thursday evening -- ended in a 308-322 defeat for the government

The bill itself, stretching past 100 pages, was only published on Monday evening. Skeptics argued that the proposed time-frame to scrutinize and debate it was insufficient.

Of particular interest: EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill Delegated Powers Memorandum. This is the "key" to decoding legislative language in the bill that retains or proscribes EURLEX in UK domestic law through the "transition or implementation period" and repeals same, not previously specified in EUWA2018, the day after exit from the WA, literally.
Amending the bill greatly is not really in Parliament's power, though. Any changes not relating purely to the UK would need to be tolerable on the EU side as well.
My favorite motifs so far (3.5 hrs, pp 1-45, illustrated) are "For the purpose of this clause, the devolved authorities are the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and Northern Ireland departments" and "'appropriate authority' for the purpose of this clause as meaning, a Minister of the Crown, a devolved authority or a Minister of the Crown acting jointly with a devolved authority", because of known and unknown SI's hiding in the "constitutional law".

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 09:28:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
needs more Yes Minister or Evelyn Waugh

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 10:42:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
EU signals it is likely to give UK a Brexit delay up to 31 January, NEW! Tusk flextension
An extra hurdle to the Johnson's hopes of leaving by 31 October appeared to be put in the way by Guy Verhofstadt, the coordinator of the European parliament's Brexit steering group. He told MEPs the chamber should withhold its approval for the deal until further assurances were received over the UK government's treatment of EU citizens, including 200,000 people who are regarded as being vulnerable. "We do not want EU citizens involved in another Windrush scandal in Britain," the former prime minister of Belgium said. "That cannot happen."
EU nationals lacking settled status could be deported, minister says *
"The3million, a group representing EU citizens living in Britain, said it was the first time the government had confirmed what would happen to those who did not apply for settled status."
The EU citizens struggling for the right to stay in Britain
"'I find your comparisons to Windrush inappropriate,' Priti Patel, the home secretary, told the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, this month."
Labour to back general election once EU approves Brexit delay, 91 day "no-deal" politics
Seven of the group subsequently published a statement saying that, while they had reservations about the deal, they believed it was right to allow it to continue to be debated, to "give us a proper chance to get a Labour Brexit". Only five Labour MPs then supported the government's programme motion, which would have resulted in the deal being rushed through the House of Commons by the end of Thursday. Labour frontbenchers discussed the timing of a potential election at a testy shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday, with Corbyn loyalists Laura Pidcock and Dan Carden calling for the party to back an early poll.

--
* This URL has been significantly edited since 10 Oct to omit Home Office application and processing figures.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 23rd, 2019 at 04:13:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
42 (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 23rd, 2019 at 05:36:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: 42 (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Dec 3rd, 2019 at 08:51:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit waitwut (none / 0)
Belfast Telly | EU ready to negotiate trade deal once Brexit happens, incoming president says, next deal
The incoming president of the European Council has said the EU stands ready to negotiate a trade deal once Brexit happens.
ratification of WA or end to A.50 extension period requests by UK
On a visit to Dublin, Charles Michel [WHO?] would not be drawn on whether it was realistic to anticipate an [trade] agreement being struck in the 11 months between the current [A.50 extension period] exit date in 31 January and the end of the [unratified Withdrawal Agreement] transition ["or implementation"] period in  31 December 2020.
[...]
While the UK is set to leave in the EU at the end of January, the Prime Minister parliament has yet to ratify the withdrawal agreement in parliament.
[...]
"But it will be very important for us to be ready and we are ready, I repeat, we are ready to negotiate, we are ready to be loyal in these negotiations, and we will be transparent and we also be very committed in order to promote the ["]level playing field["] and in order to protect the either ["]single market["] and to try to find the best possible agreement for the ["]future relationship["] [ETA] - and I hope it will be possible in the next months to reach an agreement, I think it would be excellent for our common future."


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 15th, 2019 at 10:30:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
John Bercow denies Boris Johnson second vote on Brexit deal
"The withdrawal agreement bill was expected to be published later on Monday, with the key second reading vote likely to be held on Tuesday."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 05:27:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 07:04:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
No-deal Brexit would lead to direct rule in Northern Ireland - Gove
The Bastid Queen Arlene won't like that one bit.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 12:21:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Fintan O'Toole: DUP's treatment proves we must not trust Johnson DUP? Really?
"Deal with Brussels limits damage to Ireland by increasing damage to Britain"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 08:29:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Deserters turning on Corbyn - Former Labour MPs urge voters to back Johnson for Number 10
Ian Austin (any relation?), John Woodcock (Earl of Rochester's third leg?)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 07:07:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
See earlier post ...

Ian Austin

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 07:11:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
So no resemblance to ... (none / 0)
Jane.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 01:25:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Independent | 'We believe in the Union' - [Bastid Queen] rules out taking part in Citizen's Assembly
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he would not rule out a Citizens' Assembly, but questioned whether unionists living in Northern Ireland would take part in it. Mr Varadkar said if unionists living in Northern Ireland did not take part in the Citizens' Assembly, it would risk becoming a "pan-nationalist" [?] assembly.
[...]
The Irish News reported on Friday that Mr [Nigel] Dodds said the DUP will consider proposals for a Citizens' Assembly examining Irish unity but that dialogue must be conducted "first and foremost" through political representatives.
Belfast Telly | Queen's professor Colin Harvey proposes date for Irish unity polls
"The academic said votes on the issue should be held in Northern Ireland and the Republic on May 22, 2023 - 25 years on from the referendum ratifying the Good Friday Agreement. He explained this would give both governments time to allow for 'the required levels of preparation'."
Lace Curtain | Stephen Collins: Varadkar, Martin right to rebuff united Ireland citizens' assembly
"The leaders of the two biggest parties in the Dail, Leo Varadkar and Michael Martin, have have done the State some service by rebuffing the ill-considered request by 1,000 luminaries who have written an open letter calling for the establishment of a citizens' assembly to pave the way for a united Ireland."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 30th, 2019 at 03:31:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
by generic on Sat Nov 16th, 2019 at 02:45:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
by generic on Tue Nov 19th, 2019 at 12:04:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Remain Labour Campaign Pledge
"150 Labour Parliamentary Candidates have currently signed our General Election pledge, which reads: 'Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.' Below is the current list of signatories to the pledge, which we fully expect to grow during the campaign."
Labour's 2019 Manifesto | 10.47am Labour's likely to launch their manifesto this Thursday, 21.11.2019

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 02:22:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
Labour's 2019 Manifesto, "It's Time for Real Change", 107 pp inc. cover, a/o 22 Nov
(Always read the footnotes.)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 22nd, 2019 at 02:58:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)

What do papers obtained by Labour say about NHS and drug pricing?
no link
Britain's health service is for sale, leaked trade docs suggest
UK Department for International Trade, "UK-US Trade & Investment Working Group," minutes ("readouts"), 201-2019, not redacted


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Nov 28th, 2019 at 10:17:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)

Leaked Brexit paper negates PM's Northern Ireland claims - Corbyn
no link
NI Protocol: Unfettered access to the UKIM, 15 pp, courtesy of politico.eu
("red tape" NI customs declarations for EU "down the Irish Sea"

## Mental disorder is a communicable disease.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 05:17:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Royal Navy to World (none / 0)
What's this we hear about borders?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 05:22:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
APsplainin | Reddit bans accounts, suspects possible UK vote interference
"Russia leaked confidential British government documents on Brexit trade talks just days before the general U.K. vote. ... suspect accounts shared the same pattern of activity as a Russian interference operation dubbed 'Secondary Infektion' that was uncovered earlier this year."

< wipes tears >
secret of customs checks in the Irish Sea are safe

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Dec 8th, 2019 at 01:30:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
(merits duplication in "the situation here is pretty psychotic")

Britain investigating whether leaked trade papers were hacked: sources
"Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, part of the GCHQ signals intelligence agency, is helping the government to investigate how the documents got into the public domain. ... A third source said the investigation was looking at whether the documents were leaked from inside the United Kingdom."

APsplainin | Reddit bans accounts, suspects possible UK vote interference
"It said the suspect accounts shared the same pattern of activity as a Russian interference operation dubbed 'Secondary Infektion' that was uncovered earlier this year."
--
Dec 13 Headlines: EXPLOSIVE Kremlin exposé defeats (Tory | Labour) SURGE!

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Dec 8th, 2019 at 10:59:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
full circle firing SQUAD (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Dec 10th, 2019 at 01:54:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
by generic on Mon Dec 2nd, 2019 at 11:52:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)
by generic on Mon Dec 2nd, 2019 at 11:54:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Strong endorsement (none / 0)
by generic on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 03:42:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Strong endorsement (none / 0)
I don't have a problem with that assessment.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 05:06:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 1)
For all intents and purposes, the WTO court no longer exists.

Trump vs. the WTO

Britain in particular stands to be a big loser post-Brexit, since WTO rules are the backstop default option in the event of a "hard Brexit." If those rules are worthless, Britain will have even less negotiating leverage against trading partners like the U.S. and the EU.


She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Tue Dec 10th, 2019 at 02:47:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 1)
Trump sure liked the Airbus ruling ... the one on Boeing is in the design phase.

U.S. to slap tariffs on European planes, whiskey after WTO ruling

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Dec 10th, 2019 at 02:57:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Pfeffle's Brexit (none / 0)


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Dec 11th, 2019 at 09:57:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Trump's USA (none / 0)
TRUMP'S USA
by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:43:38 PM EST
Best Twitter bot (none / 0)

by generic on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 08:03:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Second Best Twitter bot (none / 1)
Big Cases

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 09:38:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
'Our task was to set Americans against their own government'  BI
Recently revealed details about how an infamous Russian "troll farm" operated and its role in Russia's disinformation campaign shed new light on Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential race. One former troll, who was interviewed by the independent Russian news outlet Dozhd and went by "Maxim," or Max, spoke of his experience working for the Internet Research Agency, a well-researched Russian company in St. Petersburg whose function is to spread pro-Russian propaganda and sow political discord in nations perceived as hostile to Russia.
....
The Internet Research Agency, Max told Dozhd, consisted of a "Russian desk" and a "foreign desk." The Russian desk, which was primarily made up of bots and trolls, used fake social-media accounts to flood the internet with pro-Trump agitprop and made-up news throughout the US presidential campaign, especially in the days leading up to the November election.

The foreign desk had a more sophisticated purpose, according to Max, who worked in that department. "It's not just writing `Obama is a monkey' and `Putin is great.' They'll even fine you for that kind of [primitive] stuff," he told Dozhd. In fact, those who worked for the foreign desk were restricted from spreading pro-Russia propaganda. Rather, Max said, their job was more qualitative and was geared toward understanding the "nuances" of American politics to "rock the boat" on divisive issues like gun control and LGBT rights.

"Our goal wasn't to turn the Americans toward Russia," he added. "Our task was to set Americans against their own government: to provoke unrest and discontent, and to lower Obama's support ratings."

Accusations confirmed.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 01:53:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
The Russian government seems unconcerned that this has come out. Why should they worry. Brags by Russian trolls will not phase those who want to believe.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 01:56:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
Top Republican demands protection for whistleblower amid president's call to identify him
A top Republican politician has demanded protections for the CIA whistleblower, amid efforts by Donald Trump to identify them....On Monday, the president told reporters he was trying to learn the identity of the whistleblower who made a formal complaint to Congress...He said he had the right to meet his accuser "face to face", remarks that led lawyers for the whistleblower to raise concerns for their client's safety.

On Tuesday, Republican senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate judiciary committee, called for the whistleblower to be properly protected. "This person appears to have followed the whistleblower protection laws and ought to be heard out and protected. We should always work to respect whistleblowers' requests for confidentiality," said Mr Grassley, who represents Iowa.

"No one should be making judgments or pronouncements without hearing from the whistleblower first and carefully following up on the facts."

The comments from Mr Grassley, 86, are significant, given his seniority in the party. While few Republicans have spoken out openly either in support of the efforts by Democrats to push ahead with an impeachment probe, or to condemn Mr Trump's often aggressive rhetoric, many have indicated they are unhappy about the allegation he sought to interfere in the 2020 election.



"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 03:51:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
Present and past GOP administrations have blown the cover of serving CIA agents, even those stationed abroad, so it's no surprise that they exxpect to unmask a CIA whistleblower

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 11:44:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
Russia says White House cannot publish Trump-Putin phone calls without its permission
The Kremlin said on Monday that Washington would need Russian consent to publish transcripts of phone calls between the US president, Donald Trump, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Congress is determined to get access to Mr Trump's calls with Mr Putin and other world leaders, the US House Intelligence Committee's chairman said on Sunday, citing concerns that the Republican president may have jeopardised national security.

Asked about those comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would be prepared to discuss the issue with Washington if it sent Moscow a signal.

Russia wishes. Next it might be the translator's notes on the Helsinki Meeting.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 02:25:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
APsplainin | Trump scolds Romney over criticism about Trump's CHINA WORDS
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said in a statement to the Omaha World-Herald: "Americans don't look to Chinese commies for the truth. If the Biden kid broke laws by selling his name to Beijing, that's a matter for American courts, not communist tyrants running torture camps."
[...]
The question of whether to dodge or defend [WHAT?] is perhaps most critical for the Republican senators in competitive races next year. Those Republicans have little incentive to criticize the president because they can't risk alienating Trump's base voters. But their futures also depend on peeling off enough swing voters who turned against Trump last year. An impeachment vote will force them to pick sides -- and lose some support.

archived
Republican Party ad hominem character assassination is much easier to identify

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 08:50:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Federal judge upholds Harvard's use of racial preferences in case that could go to Supreme Court
The case against Harvard was brought five years ago by opponents of affirmative action using the moniker Students for Fair Admissions, the brainchild of conservative legal strategist Edward Blum. In a TWIST, chile, the group charged that Harvard discriminated against Asian American [not really] students in order to boost African American and Hispanic enrollment.
litigant, SFA, is packed with affluent Chinese families rolling over the diversity of "Asian" ethnic groups whose REPARATION rely on affirmative action consideration of low-income  "disadvantages" and status

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 09:05:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC. v. PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE (HARVARD CORPORATION), US Dist ct. findings of fact and conclusions of law. 130 pp
Harvard's admissions process survives strict scrutiny.  It serves a compelling, permissible and substantial interest, and it is necessary and narrowly tailored to achieve diversity and the academic benefits that flow from diversity. [...]  The use of race benefits certain racial and ethnic groups that would otherwise be underrepresented at Harvard and is therefore neither an illegitimate use of race or reflective of racial prejudice.  Accordingly, judgment for Harvard shall enter on Count I, intentional discrimination.
f* crackers exploding
They will have the opportunity to know and understand one another beyond race, as whole individuals with unique histories and experiences.  It is this, at Harvard and elsewhere that will move us, one day, to the point where we see that race is a fact, but not the defining fact and not the fact that tells us what is important, but we are not there yet.  Until we are, race conscious admissions programs that survive strict scrutiny will have an important place in society and help ensure that colleges and universities can offer a diverse atmosphere that fosters learning, improves scholarship, and encourages mutual respect and understanding. SO OR
fuck off warren


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 09:29:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 1)
2020 White House hopeful Bernie Sanders hospitalized after suffering chest pains
"'He will be resting up over the next few days. We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates.' ...The medical issues led to the postponement of a $1.3 million television advertising buy in Iowa this week, the campaign's Midwest spokesman, Bill Neidhardt, said." Because dated?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 08:09:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Because it makes no sense to advertise for an ill candidate. Best to wait and see.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 08:16:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
That is terribly bad news.

Even if he makes a full recovery, his campaign may be mortally wounded, and with it the best chance of ending the US empire in a somewhat peaceful way. Not that he intends to, but reforming an overstretched empire often leads to breaking it and the impulses of the person on the throne at that time has great importance.

Sanders winning the primary was always a long shot, and appearing on death's doorstep isn't a good sign.

by fjallstrom on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 09:49:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Maybe, or maybe the Sanders supporters will move to Liz Warren.
by asdf on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 10:56:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Right now the Progressive - such as it is - vote is split between Sanders and Warren giving Biden* a clear shot at the nomination.  

* Just Go Away, Joe

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

by ATinNM on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 11:07:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
No, don't go away, we want a "Creepy Uncle Joe" vs "Grab'em By the P**" election!

Hilarity ensues!

by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 11:20:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
It's gonna be Warren. Which is good.

Unless Trump gets impeached, during which process it appears that he intends to take Pence down with him, in which case the republicans might accidentally run somebody sensible which could be a close race.

by asdf on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 02:27:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Editorial | In the case of Donald Trump and Ukraine, Hunter Biden is guilty of poor judgment

< wipes tears >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 11:00:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Facebook Bybee-Yoo Chair of bidness law (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 07:24:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Facebook Bybee-Yoo Chair of bidness law (none / 0)
"Living my life." FDI ! FDI !  FDI !



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 05:54:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Facebook Bybee-Yoo Chair of bidness law (none / 0)
Under duress? Only Bill Hill knows for shure.

MPs demand Zelensk[i][y]y, Trump investigate suspicion of U.S.-Ukraine corruption involving $7.4 bln
uh oh
Exclusive: Ukraine to fire prosecutor who discussed Bidens with Giuliani - source
"Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka has already fired more than 400 prosecutors, or around a third of all staff." well, 400 scofflaws/15K nothing compared to the reduction to 10K total forthcoming.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 08:03:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
#forgiveness
"Civil rights advocates shared their opinions"

< wipes tears >

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 06:39:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Hunter Biden will resign from board of CHINESE firm, says he won't serve on foreign boards IF Joe Biden elected president
George Mesires, Hunter Biden's attorney, wrote in a statement posted on Medium that Hunter Biden had decided to resign his seat on the board of the Chinese investment firm BHR.

Mesires said Biden had not received any compensation for being on the board, nor did he receive any equity in it while Joe Biden was vice president.

"To date, Hunter has not received any compensation for being on BHR's board of directors," Mesires wrote. "He has not received any return on his investment; there have been no distributions to BHR shareholders since Hunter obtained his equity interest. Moreover, Hunter played no role in directing or making BHR's investments."

m'k.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 07:01:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Rep. Elijah "Baltimore MD-7" Cummings died.

Rep. Elijah Cummings' death comes after procedure kept him away from office for WEEKS

The Maryland Democrat died at Gilchrist Hospice Care, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital, around 2:30 a.m. EDT from "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," his office confirmed in a statement.

Rep. Elijah Cummings dies UNEXPECTEDLY AT 68


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 04:19:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Allegra! wut those chi'ren doin' out there?


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 09:32:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Amanda! How Elijah Cummings' unexpected death gone affect the impeachment inquiry?
Cummings, who served as chairman of the POWERFUL House Oversight and Reform Committee, will be succeeded by New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney on an acting basis.
The baloney now?
Carolyn Maloney. The former New York City teacher with a first-degree black belt in Taekwondo has a reputation as a tenacious champion for women's rights and consumer protections over her nearly 14 terms in Congress


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 10:18:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D, NY-14/NY-12] wins election to chair House Oversight Committee
"the FIRST WOMAN to lead the House Oversight Committee," secret ballot

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Nov 21st, 2019 at 02:05:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Yesteryear (none / 0)

Operation Enduring Oversight! - The early years

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Nov 22nd, 2019 at 11:42:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
APsplainin is going to ride this yellow dog o' ORIGINAL SIN until they all fall off.

Congressman and CIVIL RIGHTS ICON Elijah Cummings Dead at 68
< picks teeth, suck vigorously >
That's all you got, huh.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 01:23:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA HOLD THE PHONE (none / 0)
ICON of civil rights. Fallen Oversight! Warrior. Great ORATOR. Drone MASTER.
FIRST BLACK president of the USA
"You're not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect," he said.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 06:53:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA HOLD THE PHONE (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 05:08:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
John Conyers died so that Nadler could live.

Roll Call | John Conyers Jr., former ["]dean of the House["], has died
add to "his list of legislative achievements" unsanctioned H.R. 676, three year "inquiry" for impeachment of George W. Bush, and H.R. 40

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 27th, 2019 at 11:29:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 05:09:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
circling vultures
Elijah Cummings' widow weighs run for congressional seat; former Rep. Kweisi Mfume to announce plans Monday
"Cummings, who had cancer, died Oct. 17."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 10:32:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
tears, sippy cup
Amber Guyger, who is white, had testified that she was exhausted from an extended [Dallas Police Dept.] shift when she walked into the apartment of Botham Jean thinking it was her own. Guyger said she believed Jean, 26, was a burglar and shot him in self-defense.

But prosecutor Jason Hermus said Guyger should have known she was in the wrong apartment and was distracted by a phone call with a lover. Jean, an accountant from St. Lucia, never posed a threat to Guyger and was eating a bowl of ice cream in his living room when she walked in on Sept. 6, 2018, Hermus said.

Guyger, 31, is facing five to 99 years in prison. The jury, which took only hours to render the verdict after six days of testimony, went into the punishment phase of the trial Tuesday afternoon. It's not clear how long it will take the jurors to decide on the sentence. The trial has recessed for the day.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 11:45:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 11:51:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Missouri executes killer despite concern about painful death

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 05:31:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)

Judge Tammy Kemp told the jury Wednesday that they could consider a "sudden passion" defense that could reduce a sentence to as little as two years."

I think, this means that the jury can discard the previous castle instruction that Kemp given.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 05:51:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Case closed pending appeal by defendant, naturally.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 09:33:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 01:42:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 09:03:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (4.00 / 2)
Back-to-school essentials:

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 06:44:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 07:24:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
There is so much more from where this comes that I do not post. ...

Indiana mother who warned authorities about son's planned school shooting facing criminal charges
one count of dangerous control of a child, four counts of neglect of a dependent, and one count of criminal recklessness

9-year-old charged with murder in 5 Illinois fire deaths
five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of arson, and one count of aggravated arson

Yle investigates: One in ten foster homes in Finland has broken the law
"People don't believe us"

... because HRM BoJo and Trump.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 02:01:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 09:20:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Guess he never heard about how the break up of Standard Oil netted to owner millions

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 06:28:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Taft, not Teddy

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 01:11:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 09:27:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 02:13:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Sounds like a climate denier plant.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 06:04:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Independent - live blog - Clark Mindock - 4 October 2019 17:31

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that the woman who suggested people eat babies to deal with climate change wasn't a Democrat, but instead a Trump supporting troll who showed up to make her look bad.

Here's the odd statement from the woman:

"I'm so happy that you are really supporting a Green New Deal, but it's not enough," the woman told Ocasio-Cortez at the town hall in Queens. "Even if we were to bomb Russia, we still have too many people, too much pollution. So we have to get rid of the babies. That's a big problem. Just stopping having babies is not enough. We need to eat the babies."




"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 06:38:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Swifts original text was more eloquent.
by Number 6 on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 11:25:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
m-m-moles

Constituent at AOC town hall claims there's a British coup to unseat Trump
"'Returning to the impeachment question later during the town hall, Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd gathered in the Queens neighborhood of Corona that they should "read the transcript and come to [their] own conclusion.'"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 07:40:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
SCOTUS Fall 2019 term has begun. Prepare for ... controversy.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 07:12:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
"'They are both crazy,' [Assoc. Justice Stephen] Breyer said. 'And why does Kansas say one is guilty, the other is not guilty?'"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 08:08:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
What was the question?

Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, consolidated w/ Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda (deceased)

Whether discrimination against an employee because of sexual orientation constitutes prohibited employment discrimination "because of . . . sex" within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2.

R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. EEOC

1. Whether the word "sex" in Title VII's prohibition on discrimination "because of . . . sex," 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(1), meant "gender identity" and included "transgender status" when Congress enacted Title VII in 1964.
2. Whether Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989), prohibits employers from applying sex-specific policies according to their employees' sex rather than their gender identity.

--
yes, despite every ahh ...ontological proposition and category error argued by planitiffs or defendants besides visceral protest against ARCH-CONSERVATIVE RAPIST Kavanaugh, cascading from the peanut gallery. watch.

And, yes, amendment of the CRA is redundant. Ima tell you just one reason why: The bill of particulars one may prefer is not "settled" science. Ain't nobody in the odious got time nor aptitude to "debate" and enumerate every variant by phase of moon. So y'all best get reacquainted with concepts of determiners--no one, no, none, all, every, any, a, person--as codified in the first instance by the US Constitution and Declaration of Human Rights.

Fly your flag. The burden of proving discrimination by your employer will remain yours, personally, to bear and file < 180 Lily Ledbetter days. Better keep records. Good luck.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 04:28:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
y'all have heard of CA prop 8. I checked eurotrib search. archived: US supreme court strikes down Defense of Marriage act and kills Prop 8 - live | Law | guardian.co.uk (2013)

What you probably haven't done is read Perry v. Schwartzenegger (2010). The judgment laid the rational foundation of the SCOTUS decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013), then Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

Obergefell:KENNEDY delivered the opinion joined by GINSBURG, BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN.

ROBERTS, filed a dissent joined by SCALIA and THOMAS; SCALIA filed a dissenting dissent joined by THOMAS;
THOMAS filed a dissenting dissent joined by SCALIA;
ALITO filed a dissenting dissent joined by SCALIA and THOMAS.

KAVANAUGH and GORSUCH are NEW! swingers whose judicial competence is neither well nor rationally understood by the #MeToo "generation" of media consumers, retaining attys on contingency basis.

Among seven (7) purported defenses for Prop 8 were two particularly specious propositions, "traditional" gender and sexual intercourse ("orientation"), that were rejected by the courts. The ct's logic bears on their inapplicability to labor law, too, under the CRA and 14th Amd. Wherever you see the word "marriage" (below) insert the word "employment."

The evidence shows that the movement of marriage away from a gendered institution and toward an institution free from state-mandated gender roles reflects an evolution in the understanding of gender rather than a change in marriage. The evidence did not show any historical purpose for excluding same-sex couples from marriage, as states have never required spouses to have an ability or willingness to procreate in order to marry. FF 21. Rather, the exclusion exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed.
[...]
Proposition 8 targets gays and lesbians in a manner specific to their sexual orientation and, because of their relationship to one another, Proposition 8 targets them specifically due to sex. Having considered the evidence, the relationship between sex and sexual orientation and the fact that Proposition 8 eliminates a right only a gay man or a lesbian would exercise, the court determines that plaintiffs' equal protection claim is based on sexual orientation, but this claim is equivalent to a claim of discrimination based on sex.
GIVEN the cert questions (above), SCOTUS judgment is unlikely now to differentiate "sex," "gender," or "sexual orientation" --despite appellant Funeral Home disingenuous religious freedom "identity". It also follows, GIVEN the current ct's composition and rulings since 2015, SCOTUS order forthcoming is more likely to defer to "states' rights" and political processes (sovereignty) than to incorporate ("nationalize") its ruling with US Code and 14th Amd. In conlaw or statute some states already provide prohibition of specific (LGBTQ) discrimination; all provide for categorical prohibition of sex discrimination.

archived
incorporation doctrine

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 19th, 2019 at 11:38:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
ping

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 29th, 2019 at 10:41:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Legislate? Preposterous.

What was the question?

1. Whether DHS'sdecision to wind down the DACA policy is judicially reviewable.
2. Whether DHS'sdecision to wind down the DACA policy is lawful.
Make no mistake about isolated "conservative" opposition to either sustainability of DACA or desuetude by DHS. All the associates agreed on the merits of rescinding Obama's EO, and even Sotomayor wasn't buying what Olson (counsel for respondents/appellees) was shoveling--the agencys' explanations for policy changes are "unreasonable" under Administrative Procedures Act! Where else have we heard that argument recently? o, right. Census 2020 citizen issue.

Oral arguments podcast | transcript


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Nov 18th, 2019 at 03:13:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
9th Circ to Regents:


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 07:03:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)

Not coincidentally, Netflix cancelled The Pinkertons, a Wild West historical fantasy, after one season's broadcast.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 10:27:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Strongly worded letter from Pat A. Cippolone, WH Counsel, to Pelosi, Engels, Schiff, Cummings, CC: minority "leadership" McCarthy, McCaul, Nunes, Jordan, facsimile

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 11:07:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 1)
I'd love to see "Pinkertons : The Led Zeppelin Yeras", about when they were employed more or less full time to keep plod off their back during their American excesses

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 03:11:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
< wipes tears > (none / 0)
doomed to repeat it

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Nov 27th, 2019 at 01:31:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)

Oppo tweeter: "Republicans are grand standing as distraction ploy.  First off, in a grand jury situation, such as the inquiry they are running, the participants are only the ones the prosecutor calls and has authorized to be there."


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 08:09:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Grayzone Editor Max Blumenthal Arrested Months After Reporting on Venezuelan Opposition Violence
Scores of US representatives appeared at his arraignment, chanting, "Donate!"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 29th, 2019 at 06:49:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
US government drops case against Max Blumenthal after jailing journalist on false charge, 7 Dec
Lawyers representing Blumenthal and Rubinstein placed multiple and highly specified discovery requests to the prosecutor for Secret Service call recordings and reports logged on May 8 at the location of the embassy food delivery. The US prosecutor was unable to satisfy the request, verbally confirming that if the documents had existed, they no longer did.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Dec 9th, 2019 at 12:58:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)

The Bal'more MD-3 office? High rent, yo.
< wipes tears >


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Wed Oct 30th, 2019 at 09:24:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
If a Bal'more domino falls in the forest ...

Are you guilty? The plea was "yes," but Catherine Pugh's gestures said "no"

Pugh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of tax evasion, all stemming from what the government described as a criminal enterprise designed to profit from the sale of her "Healthy Holly" children's books.

Under the terms of the plea, Pugh did not acknowledge guilt in seven counts of wire fraud that were part of the indictment that U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur announced yesterday.

Her convictions could theoretically bring her decades in prison, but the sentencing guidelines agreed to by both parties would allow Pugh to come away with something more like five years, Hur told reporters afterwards.

in exchange for what?

archived "women and minorities" edition
Strongly worded letter UPDATE

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Nov 30th, 2019 at 05:39:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
... does it make a sound?

Baltimore's disgraced ex-mayor has $1 million in her campaign coffers. What might become of it?

No comment from federal prosecutors, Maryland State Prosecutor and election board officials on the fate of Catherine Pugh's political war chest
[...]
That was the case with two high-profile convictions: those of Nathaniel T. Oaks and Thomas L. Bromwell.

Both were veteran Maryland legislators who were convicted of bribery and other corruption charges and went to federal prison.

In each case, their campaign committees remained intact - not receiving any new contributions, but also not forced to return contributions, transfer funds to other candidate committees, or donate funds to charitable causes and liquidate. ...

archived "blue" states
Public corruption in Maryland: It's no accident

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Nov 30th, 2019 at 05:58:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
When party "branding" is dead, but you have not noticed.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 08:47:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
No.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 08:53:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
o.m.f.g.
Montana Supreme Court to Decide Whether Dinosaur Fossils Are Minerals
cleverly disguising profit motive

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 07:48:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Google plans to offer checking accounts

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Nov 13th, 2019 at 07:29:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Google to limit targeted political ads
"Under a new policy announced Wednesday, election messaging on Google's ad platforms can target audiences based on only three general categories demographic attributes: age, gender and location, down to a and 5-digit or 9-digit postal code level."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Nov 21st, 2019 at 02:00:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Guardian attempts to communicate to English speakers Trump remarks about NATO obsolescence and undesirable NHS assets. I assume, this LIVE blog is a demo of compulsive telecommunication capability known as a "hot take."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Dec 3rd, 2019 at 01:50:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Meanwhile pple of European persuasion formerly known as "The Allied Forces" gird loins for another ATTACK.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Dec 3rd, 2019 at 01:53:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The situation here is still pretty psychotic. (none / 0)
Pelosi says House will move to impeach President Trump
Dec 3. Public hearing, 300 pp
Dec 5. Judiciary Committee vote


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Dec 5th, 2019 at 09:48:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA ILL-CONCEIVED HEADLINES (none / 0)
Pence, a loyal No. 2, ["]finds himself caught up["] in impeachment

alias Vice-President of the United States

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 07:09:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA ILL-CONCEIVED HEADLINES (none / 0)
Democratic demands test Trump's impeachment strategy

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 07:14:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA ILL-CONCEIVED HEADLINES (none / 0)
Microsoft: Iran government-linked hacker targeted 2020 presidential campaign
Is it 2021 already? Who won?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 07:02:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA ILL-CONCEIVED HEADLINES (none / 0)
Reaganism Must Be Defeated Once and for All
tentatively related to Monroeism, "the Other Side of Jim Crow, the Side Facing South"?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 07:50:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA ILL-CONCEIVED HEADLINES (none / 0)
Verbal autopsies used in push to better track global deaths

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 04:49:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA ILL-CONCEIVED HEADLINES (none / 0)
One year until the most important election in American history

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 04:21:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
diplomatic sexting
co-signed Engel (foreign affairs) and Schiff (house permanent select committee on intelligence ha ha)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 03:00:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
re: antitrust

APsplainin | PayPal drops out of Libra, Facebook's ["]payments project["]

"Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue to partner with and support Facebook in various capacities," PayPal said.

Facebook has [re]presented Libra as a currency that could be used for digital payments, particularly outside the U.S. It would be backed by real currency, unlike [?] other digital currencies like Bitcoin or Etherium.

no
The Libra Association [cartel], based in Switzerland, was supposed to give the currency project a comfortable arm's length distance from Facebook, which wouldn't own Libra.
[...]
PayPal Holdings Inc., which is based in San Jose, California, is the first company to publicly end its partnership with Libra [Association], but other companies have been reportedly having second thoughts. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Mastercard and Visa, the world's largest payment providers financial services firms, were considering ending their Libra [Association] relationships.

archived
EU antitrust regulators raise concerns
about the possible competition restrictions that may result from the [Libra] Association
Always Read the Footnotes

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 04:57:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
Presidential Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System
... authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)) and section 301 of title 3, United States Code
"the walls are closing in"

reference
EO 11030--Preparation, presentation, filing, and publication of Executive orders and proclamations: "The provisions of Executive Order 11030 of June 19, 1962, appear at 27 FR 5847, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 610, unless otherwise noted. ..." as amended
CRS, Executive Orders: Issuance, Modification, and Revocation, 2014

Executive orders, presidential memoranda, and proclamations are used extensively by Presidents to achieve policy goals, set uniform standards for managing the executive branch, or outline a policy view intended to influence the behavior of private citizens. The U.S. Constitution does not define these presidential instruments and does not explicitly vest the President with the authority to issue them. Nonetheless, such orders are accepted as an inherent aspect of presidential power. Moreover, if they are based on appropriate authority, they have the force and effect of law. This report discusses the nature of these written instruments, executive orders in particular, with a focus on the scope of presidential authority to execute such instruments, as well as judicial and congressional responses to their issuance.
[...]
A widely accepted description of executive orders and proclamations comes from a report issued in 1957 by the House Government Operations Committee:  ...'he President's proclamations are not legally binding and are at best hortatory unless based on such grants of authority.'
norms and conventions: "lawyer up"

## Rule of law is not well understood.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 11:09:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
OBSCURE "public charge" arguments heating up in a district ct

Judge SKEWERS Rule Change on Immigrants Receiving ["]Welfare["]

"I think a low credit score is an indication of someone who has made decisions that are not necessarily financially sound," Davis said.

"Poor people are likely to become a public charge," the judge shot back.

ooooo boiz, is DDG "Immigration and Nationality Act" auto-suggestion HOT today or wut!
8 USC 1182: Inadmissible aliens a/o 7 Oct 2019. oops
(1) Health-related grounds
(2) Criminal and related grounds
(3) Security and related grounds
(4) Public charge
   (A) In general
Any alien who, in the opinion of the consular officer at the time of application for a visa, or in the opinion of the Attorney General at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible.
   (B) Factors to be taken into account...
   (C) Family-sponsored immigrants ...
   (D) Certain employment-based immigrants ...
   (E) Special rule for qualified alien victims ...
(5) Labor certification and qualifications for certain immigrants
(6) Illegal entrants and immigration violators
(7) Documentation requirements
(8) Ineligible for citizenship
(9) Aliens previously removed
(10) Miscellaneous [uh oh AG and cabinet duties]
landssakes. Who enrolled and enacted these "hoops"?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 06:01:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA Today (none / 0)
< wipes tears >

[District court] blocks Trump administration 'public charge' rule targeting poor immigrants

The nationwide injunction from District Judge George Daniels in New York City halts the administration's attempt to REDEFINE what constitutes a "public charge," or immigrants who are, or who might become, OVERLY DEPENDENT on government assistance.
f* crackers
wut: PPACA "Individual Responsibility"
The scheduled enactment [sic] next week of the rule comes as the Trump administration last Friday announced another rule, a proclamation effective Nov. 3 that bars immigrants from coming to the United States unless they will be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have the financial wherewithal to pay for any medical costs.

It's an ironic stance from a government that has repeatedly attacked the Affordable Care Act, which helps provide health insurance for millions of U.S. citizens.

archived Mental disorder is a communicable disease.
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
The question advising applicants of their "rights" is on every form. ...*
New 'public charge' rule could affect millions of immigrants
Hello?! Trump proposal seeks to crack down on food stamp 'loophole'..
--
* Ima tell y'all how I know the real dealio, the "deep dive". Being indigent, unlike bloviators polluting US 'policy analysis', I, a "natural born" US citizen burdened by a "privileged" education, have actually submitted applications for state 'public charge' (US HHS "benefits," formerly known as "welfare"). Filled diverse forms online and offline 2009-present. Shocking, I know. Even family members question my primary reports of "benefits" processing, because they prefer to trust "media". What is the matter with you people?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 01:56:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"What is the matter with you people?" (none / 0)
MEMORABLE QUOTE
of my "meal ticket", the physician, RIP 07.11.2008

< wipes tears>

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 02:12:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
Who in hell did not see this coming?

Census Bureau seeks state data, including citizenship info

Experts caution that inaccuracies in state motor vehicle records also make them a poor choice for tracking citizenship, if that is the bureau's goal.
morons, Your turn is coming. REAL ID verification and replacement has been rolling since 2018. It was endorsed by AAMVA from the beginning. It's been litigated by "privacy orgs" since at least 2007, when the US visa regs first changed US passport controls. I WAS SUMMONED June 2019 by the state to appear with three (3) proofs of residence and nativity or lose my license. The motor vehicle dept scanned each piece into a digital record.
The bureau also is seeking more state records on individual recipients of public [assistance] programs. A new request published last month in the Federal Register said the records would be used for the 2020 Census and other research, and they're needed to "improve efficiency and accuracy in our data collections, and to improve measures of the population and economy."
[...]
States already share records on food public assistance and other programs to help the bureau track traditionally ["]undercounted["] populations and pinpoint vacant houses. The states' administrative records could cover a host of topics attributes, including citizenship, said John Thompson, a former Census Bureau director in the Obama administration.
They. still. don't. get. it.
Several civil rights organizations filed a new challenge in federal court in Maryland last month, claiming Trump's executive order is "motivated by a racially discriminatory scheme to reduce Latino political representation" and gives an advantage to white voters at the expense of Latino voters.
IF fed gov wants you, fed gov will find you. You know what that means? Fed gov could find who is and who is not a descendant of US slaves, IF it wants, if only by sorting the last 100 years' State department records. Fed gov has the CPUs and "pivot tables" that you don't.

So back the fuck up. Reparations are coming, and UST bondholders are going to pay for it.

archived
Federal government is the "central registry" of the Unied States' population.
the press discredited agencies' "data sharing" capabilities and invented the yella cake of stormtrooper surveillance traps. ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 11:17:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
APsplainin | [13 out of 50 states and US Territories] not giving driver's license data to Washington
based on AP requests for comment on "philosophical" personal property rights.

m'k.

Let's check the wikiwtf Real ID article. oops. dead links.

Let's skim Pub.L. 109-13, DIVISION B-REAL ID ACT OF 2005, enacted 11 May 2005, incorporated with 8 USC. Immigration and Nationality Act. (p 72-86) under the GWOT. oops. It appears that states' motor vehicle departments are required to shared license data with several federal agencies who are required to report data analysis periodical to several senate and house committees. What's more, TITLE II--IMPROVED SECURITY FOR DRIVERS' LICENSES AND   PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS [...] Sec. 202 Minimum document requirements and issuance standards for federal recognition.--failure to comply jeopardizes applicants by subjecting them to SCRUTINY of the several federal agencies in WHICH? coourts and possible deportation. Good going, APsplainin. So. I ask myself, "SELF, why would the department of commerce request data to which it already has access from states' motor vehicle departments? What could fed gov learn from this test?"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 05:46:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
U.S. Code § 2721. Prohibition on release and use of certain personal information from State motor vehicle records, (b)1
may be disclosed as follows:
(1) For use by any government agency, including any court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out its functions, or any private person or entity acting on behalf of a Federal, State, or local agency in carrying out its functions. ...


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 1st, 2019 at 06:08:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
Less than a year to obtain 'Real ID' licenses
"For security reasons, Nizer noted, the federal government requires MVA to have one proof of age/identity and Social Security, plus two forms of residency, scanned and on file for each Maryland resident."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 3rd, 2019 at 03:33:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
California DMV data BREACH exposed THOUSANDS of drivers' information, agency says
A data breach at the California Department of Motor Vehicles may have exposed some drivers' Social Security number information to seven government ENTITIES, according to the DMV. The breach affects about 3,200 individuals over at least the last four years, the agency said in a statement. The DMV insists it was not hacked and information was not shared with private individuals or entities.
Gee. Seems like an inside search to me.
The information was improperly disclosed through the Government Requester Code Account Program, which allows government agencies to access information on file with the DMV and is "permitted only for limited purposes under state and federal law."
18 USC § 2721 (b) permits 14 different types of "disclosure", 11 without "consent" of the individual "to whom the information pertains". Then there's Real ID ahh disclosure purposes.
The DMV said it has "implemented several additional layers of review" for any new requester that seeks to access any social security information.
o. look. California is compliant with the REAL ID Act.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Nov 7th, 2019 at 12:12:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
NY Law Giving Licenses to Noncitizens Upheld
The Green Light Law allows people to apply for driver's licenses without handing over a social security number, allowing the use of foreign identification documents. The law also expressly states that people do not need to prove they're legally present in the U.S. in order to get driver's licenses, and that the DMV cannot question them about their immigration status.
New York State DMV began issuing REAL ID licenses, permits, and ID cards on October 30, 2017

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 10th, 2019 at 02:28:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
No bars

Fed cuts rates again, hints it will pause


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 at 12:54:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY FINANCE (none / 0)
Who in hell did not see this coming?

Facebook, other social media sites pressured to protect census

Russia or another country may try to push the census off course, they say, and Facebook and other companies should be prepared.
[...]
"We're extending the current set of policies we have around voter suppression to a new census suppression policy too," Zuckerberg said. "We recognize this is important and rises above normal hoaxes or misinformation where we may allow someone to post it and mark it as potentially false by independent fact-checkers."
wut
"The biggest thing about our partners already, though, is their ability to be a set of eyes and ears where the census is not, and in some places cannot be, to try to catch that misinformation and disinformation before it even gets to the level of a few social media posts," Ahmad said.
[...]
Arturo Vargas, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund, a census outreach partner, said Trump's unsuccessful effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census may spill out online during next year's count.

"I'm expecting the president to use his Twitter platform to say who should be counted and who should not be counted," Vargas told CQ Roll Call. "I don't know if (census officials) are going to be prepared to handle that."

Census 2020 online! 48% response rate! 83% of households! It's going to be great.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Nov 9th, 2019 at 01:18:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Wur. All the way down. (none / 0)
APsplainin | Inmate headrights
When the U.S. Census Bureau counts residents of Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods next year, a significant portion of their population will be missing: prisoners.
[...]
"When you undercount people for the census, they end up losing in that community dollars that could go toward services that can help remediate poverty," said state Rep. David Bowen, a Milwaukee Democrat co-sponsoring legislation to end what critics call prison gerrymandering.

Democrats argue the system shifts resources from traditionally liberal urban centers -- home to many inmates who are disproportionately black and Hispanic -- to rural, white, Republican-leaning areas where prisons are usually located.

archived Dred Scott revisited
Prison Gerrymandering Lawsuit Moves Forward in Connecticut
"Though most of these inmates have lost their voting rights because of their felony convictions, the NAACP says that Connecticut since 2011 has been counting the inmates as residents of the communities where they are incarcerated."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 07:07:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
yeah?
APsplainin | America's ["]last slave ship["] could offer a case for reparations
"Now, the history of Meaher and the slave ship Clotilda may offer one of the more clear-cut cases for slavery reparations, with identifiable perpetrators and victims."

No. AP published this story to suggest proscribing the cause of action and class certification of claimants demanding reparations for multiple injuries by the US federal gov. More despicable than contradicting the pertinent legislative bill, by omitting state liabilities in this specious  "narrative" and reducing standing to sue to private parties, the plot seemingly verifies the conviction of 63% of McConnell's crypto-libertarian residents that they are not beneficiaries of historical slave labor, much less systematic economic frauds, peonage, and political discrimination harming descendants of US slaves.

reference
H.R.40 - Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act
"SEC. 3. Establishment and duties. ...(b) Duties.--The Commission shall perform the following duties:..."

DICTION CORNER
cause of action
class action

archived APOLOGIES! ACCIDENTS! STAINS!
Trump STATE cockroach alert
1860 at Mobile, ALABAMA
I'll be dead and goddamed before that happens.
immediate action on today's problems

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 12:28:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
uh oh (none / 0)
Trump: "African Americans built this nation. You built this nation. You know, you're just starting to get real credit for that, OK? I don't know if you know that ... You built the nation. We all built it. But you were such a massive part of it. Bigger than you were given credit."

He said the C-word. Twice. Alrighty then.

Here it comes ...violating NORMS ...black DUPES ... cynical PLOY ... RUSSIAN bots ... b-b-but FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT ... DIVIDING the country ... INSANITY defense and 25th amendment ... OLD WHITE MEN ... It's not me ...

Have I forgotten anything?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 10:56:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: ohhh (none / 0)
That's it. NATIVISM.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 10:58:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: uh oh (none / 0)
3-way TIE: RUSSIAN bots, DIVIDING the country, black DUPES

Senate Intelligence Committee has released Vol 2 of its report on 2016 election interference, redacted

against Clinton?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 09:20:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
HOLD THE PHONE ...


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 01:43:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
HOLD THE PHONE ... for 10th Amendment!
HuffPoo | These States Are Considering Reparations In APOLOGY For Slavery
US Constitutional CRISIS averted? I. don't. fucking. think so.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 06:10:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
APsplain | poll: Most Americans oppose reparations for slavery
FUIGM. Wow. That's new.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 05:50:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
NYT, the publisher that invented yellow cake and the "1619 Project" for Dummies (Oct 2019), reports:
"'We're Self-Interested': The Growing Identity Debate in Black America," an exposé of #ADOS agitators for restitution, reparations payments ($0 paywall)

I declined to support NYT advertising sales plans. Pre-view its reporter's sources before you register or review four years' weekly YouTube broadcasts PR by Antonio Moore and Yvette Carnell preparing for the 2nd ADOS Conference. It's as close to Niagra Movement, politically and ideologically, as post-racial 21st cen. USA is going to get during the 4th red scare and without commie benefactors.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 11:44:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
America's Education System: Teaching the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing

archived 1619 Project
an accidental encounter with original sin
STAINS, vibranium

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 01:44:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp; FINANCE (none / 1)
....the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 06:27:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 1)
Women Are CEO's Of Top Weapons Manufactures
Fabulous. Are they progressive voters?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 24th, 2019 at 08:43:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
He's done.

Farm Bankruptcies Rise Again
There are other weaknesses in PPI fed gov has tried to paper over. Closing a "China deal" by FYE or Q1 will be too little, too late. Ima call it Trump's "own goal" when #Resistance celebrates.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 01:34:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp;amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
Perception is what matters ... low unemployment, consumer spending and 401(k) plan. NYSE at all-time high.

The American Dream .... wealth!

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 08:52:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
< pick teeth, suck vigorously > (none / 0)
btw, how's that CAP reform coming along? in reality.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 04:31:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp;amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
Congress struggles to agree on funding as November deadline looms, podcast, no transcript. darn.
Congress needs to reach agreement on a second continuing resolution before funding runs out on Nov. 21 to avoid a partial government shutdown. But that deadline is going to be difficult to meet.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 04:26:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY & FINANCE (none / 0)
UPDATE

v1: Majority of Senate votes for bill to fund federal government through Dec. 20, voting continues
link to ... nothing
v2: Senate passes stopgap spending bill, sends it to Trump for signature--enacting the enrolled bill

The continuing resolution is the second temporary spending bill Congress has passed since fiscal 2020 began on Oct. 1. Once Trump signs it -- as his aides say he will -- the stopgap measure will fund the government through Dec. 20, giving appropriators more time to hash out numerous divides over policy riders and programmatic spending levels. The vote was 74-20. ...
links to self

FETCH FACT: congress.gov

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Nov 21st, 2019 at 08:00:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp;amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
See that? MSM "perception" of market failure trails customary 2-month lag in reporting by fed gov, every admin.
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, September 2019
The September figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($5.0), Hong Kong ($2.1), Brazil ($1.0), OPEC ($1.0), Singapore ($0.9), United Kingdom ($0.7), and Saudi Arabia ($0.3). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($28.0), European Union ($15.7), Mexico ($9.1), Japan ($5.9), Germany ($5.0), Italy ($3.0), Canada ($2.5), Taiwan ($2.1), India ($2.0), France ($1.7), and South Korea ($1.2).

  • The deficit with Germany decreased $1.9 billion to $5.0 billion in September. Exports increased $0.7 billion to $5.6 billion and imports decreased $1.2 billion to $10.7 billion.
  • The deficit with China decreased $0.9 billion to $28.0 billion in September. Exports decreased $1.0 billion to $9.0 billion and imports decreased $1.9 billion to $37.0 billion.
  • The deficit with Canada increased $0.9 billion to $2.5 billion in September. Exports decreased $0.3 billion to $24.5 billion and imports increased $0.6 billion to $27.0 billion.
Accumlating export losses over the past 24 months. Unless miracle "u-turn", he's done.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 06:41:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's ECONOMY &amp;amp;amp; FINANCE (none / 0)
Calculated Risk | chart pr0n
From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

Industrial production fell 0.8 percent in October after declining 0.3 percent in September. Manufacturing production decreased 0.6 percent in October. Much of this decline was due to a drop of 7.1 percent in the output of motor vehicles and parts that resulted from ["]a strike["] at a major manufacturer of motor vehicles. [BWAH!] The decreases for total industrial production, manufacturing, and motor vehicles and parts were their largest since May 2018, April 2019, and January 2019, respectively.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 07:17:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
by generic on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 12:11:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
magnificent

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 03:13:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
Apparently there is an account that does nothing else
by generic on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 05:48:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
Judge Threatens Betsy DeVos With Jail In Student Loan Case
A federal judge has tacitly threatened Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos with jail for her ongoing failure (or refusal) to comply with court orders in a student loan case.

By way of background, in 2016 the Obama administration finalized rules for the Borrower Defense to Repayment program. This program was created to allow federal student loan borrowers to request loan forgiveness on the basis that their school engaged in unfair, deceptive, or illegal practices. When DeVos took over the U.S. Department of Education in 2017, she stopped processing Borrower Defense applications, and ordered the department to rewrite the rules governing the program, effectively gutting it.

Do it! That might give Donald a preview of his fate.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 03:56:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
1837 called. A Hillbilly with a Red Stick sez ...
To that business, I shall direct them to devote themselves, in preference to any illegal and unconstitutional calls for information, no matter from what source it may come, or however anxious they may be to meet it. For myself, I shall repel all such attempts as an invasion of the principles of justice, as well as of the constitution; and I shall esteem it my sacred duty to the people of the united states, to resist them as I would the establishment of a spanish inquisition.

If after all the severe accusations contained in the various speeches of yourself and your associates, you are unwilling of your own accord to bring specific charges, then I request your Committee to call on yourself and your associates and every other member of Congress who has made the general charge of corruption, to testify before God and our Country ...

< wipes tears >

archived
The Dictator and The Decider
"constitutional crisis" case load per term has increased from 1,195 in 1950 to 7,000-8,000 in the 21st century...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 02:55:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
senate version | Senate Censures President
featuring the passion of the patron saint of the Democratic Party, flayed (no STAIN, no stigma) on first bank (now on 4th life), and Henry Clay (lesser known sumbitch)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 06:50:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
by generic on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 09:13:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
TV personalities (none / 0)
are friends with Bush
by generic on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 12:23:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Fake it 'til you make it. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 02:24:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Fake it 'til you make it. (none / 0)
when he gets half so worked up about Trump's entire existence of lying, sexism and racism, I'll start thinking that this criticism is legitimate.

You can certainly claim that the the Democratic usp is that they are truth tellers, but you can't say they are hypocrites when you totally ignore that the GOP have totally thrown truth, morality and basic plain human decency out of the window.

You have to treat both sides the same. And you don't compare mountains with molehills and say both sides are equal.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 10:04:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Fake it 'til you make it. (none / 0)
42

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 10:58:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Fake it 'til you make it. (none / 0)

< wipes tears > for youtube auteurs

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 04:26:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Fake it 'til you make it. (none / 0)

archived rule of law in the peanut gallery
Free Speech
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 at 08:35:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: TV personalities (none / 0)
"much of the media cannot square Giuliani of today with the towering gollum fuck of the 1980s and '90s" : "America's Mayor"

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 02:58:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: TV personalities (none / 0)
They are called "media" because "moronically idiotic" was already taken.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 10:42:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Hill: Fingers in wind. (none / 1)

POLL: 40 percent of Democrats say candidates should be discussing Hunter Biden
Respondents overall were almost evenly split on the issue.

< wipes tears >

Next week: Do gestational carriers' rights need ENHANCED protection under Obamacare?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 07:31:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: TV personalities (none / 0)
ayep. Still rollin' with Mcluhan!


AllSides Media Bias Ratings help you identify different perspectives so you can know more, understand others, and think for yourself.: Paranormal "messaging" FTW.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 07:53:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: TV personalities (none / 0)
Where is the actual left in that chart? If the New Yorker is set on the extreme left, there's a problem. Democracy Now and Mother Jones are quite a ways further over, it seems to me.

Maybe in the interests of "balance" they have skewed their center over to the right a ways. Like having the WSJ news in the center, but the CNN and NYT news considered left.

<eyeroll>

by asdf on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 10:29:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
President dealz is at it again (none / 0)

I imagine it is hard if you have to end every news cycle on a cliffhanger.
by generic on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 09:13:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: President dealz is at it again (none / 0)
Won't happen. All that Erdoğan has to do is threaten to close the Trump Towers Istanbul and the US will fold.
by asdf on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 10:48:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: President dealz is at it again (none / 0)
Who even knows at this point. The brain worms are talking.
Why go for the tripple-cross? Who is supposed to be impressed? The NatSec ghouls are mad at him because they hate the very idea of the US closing even one single  base, anti-war people hate him for having the YPG remove their border fortifications before greenlighting the Turkish advance and preventing any timely SAA-YPG raprochement, and now he sets fire to all the Turkish goodwill the doublecross might have given rise to. Who is that even supposed to pander to?
by generic on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 01:56:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: President dealz is at it again (none / 0)

archived Andrew Brunson, the face that launched 1,000 wtfs.
Well, it certainly seems like the coup did have NATO involvement.... Aug 2018
Never forget commercial paper. I almost did. ... Aug 2018

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 11:37:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA back-biting! (none / 0)
Power struggle begins atop the House Appropriations Committee
Unlike the Senate, which predominantly relies on seniority to determine who serves as a chairman or ranking member
Order! ORDER! OR-DERRRR!
he House weighs several factors before deciding who will lead a committee. And right now, signs may be pointing in the direction of Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who will be the third-ranking Democrat on the powerful committee in 2021. ...


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 12:53:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
At least Bernie is still alive. (none / 0)
#DemDebate

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 02:59:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: At least Bernie is still alive. (none / 0)



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 12:33:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: At least Bernie is still alive. (none / 0)
Inspiring ...

Damn ... I'd figured with this Nobel Prize, science found hell with no escape possible!

Yeah, the legacy of John the plane wrecker.

○ Senator John McCain by an SETF organizer, Mouaz Mustafa inside Free Syria, May 27, 2013.

○ Russia, Iran Prevail - Syrian Rebellion Ends

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 01:43:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"viewed face-on" (none / 0)
Funniest caption of the week until further notice.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 05:43:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Welcome to the resistence (none / 0)

Who hacked his account?

by generic on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 07:14:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nate's Liver LIVE tweets savaged (none / 0)
dem debates. oooo boy howdy.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 09:08:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Nate's Liver LIVE tweets savaged (none / 0)
by das monde on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 11:28:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
pay your fire pirates people (none / 1)
by generic on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 11:31:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
still giggling a week later (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 07:06:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Nate's Liver LIVE tweets savaged (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 12:10:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Nate's Liver LIVE tweets savaged (none / 0)
NY Times: Why Are Democrats Jilting G.O.P. Voters Who Want to Like Them?

According to the Zero Hedge crowd, this must be related to the debates qualification rules.

by das monde on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 03:57:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Nate's Liver LIVE tweets savaged (none / 0)

file in channeling/DKos '08/Naomi Wolf/Niebuhr/Hillel the Elder

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 08:57:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (4.00 / 2)
by generic on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 08:16:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Not third rate, third grade. (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 09:01:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Not third rate, third grade. (none / 0)
For those seeking "clarity" in the "news" of 16 Oct 2016
Trump calls Pelosi 'third-rate politician' as Democrats walk out of meeting
Schumer Says Trump Called Pelosi A 'Third Grade Politician' During White House Meeting
"After Schumer addressed the media, Pelosi corrected Schumer's comments, saying Trump in fact called her a 'third-grade politician.'"


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 11:58:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
arf! arf! grrrrr, ARF! (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 09:18:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
Invasion of European cars.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Oct 20th, 2019 at 01:17:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
What Would Trump Do (none / 0)
Amazon-owned Whole Foods is cutting medical benefits for part-time workers, 13 Sep
The decision, according to the company, is designed "to better meet the needs of our business and create a more equitable and efficient scheduling model," a Whole Foods spokesperson told BI.
wut
[JEFF "Pecker-stole-my-dick pics" BEZOS] purchased Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion, and the grocery chain currently employs roughly 95,000 people. Amazon, on the other hand, is worth nearly $910 billion, making it the third most valuable company on the planet behind Apple and Microsoft, both of which passed trillion-dollar market valuations over the past 12 months.
[...]
"The small percentage of part-time team members ... who previously opted into medical benefits through Whole Foods Market's healthcare plan -- less than 2% of our total workforce -- will no longer be eligible to buy into medical coverage through the company," the Whole Foods spokesperson told BI. "We are providing team members with resources to find alternative healthcare coverage options, or to explore full-time, healthcare-eligible positions starting at 30 hours per week."  
'Go back to work': outcry over deaths on Amazon's warehouse floor , 16 Oct
[FILE PHOTO A woman works at a packing station at the 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images]
[...]
An Amazon worker on the same shift told the Guardian: "Bill was on the floor for quite some time and nobody knew that time until cameras were reviewed, but in 20 minutes a worker in a nearby department [?] saw him lying on the floor and then began radio callouts for 911. It really is unbelievable how Bill was laying there for 20 minutes and nobody nearby saw until an Amnesty* worker with a radio** came by."

The worker, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, noted the Amnesty worker started CPR after finding Foister. Amnesty workers are Amazon floor monitors who ensure the warehouse floors are clear and reset robot units when necessary.

The incident is among the latest in a series of accidents and fatalities that have led to Amazon's inclusion on the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health's 2019 Dirty Dozen list of the most dangerous employers in the United States. The report cited six Amazon worker deaths between November 2018 and April 2019, and several news reports over the past few years that have detailed dangerous working conditions.

Foister, a stower who scanned and stocked warehouse shelves with products at an Amazon warehouse in Etna, Ohio, just outside of Columbus, went into cardiac arrest on 2 September 2019.


archived
search AMZN, Amazon for SOP, rumors, and just plain bullshit
--
* "Amnesty" is a task of the Inventory Control and Quality Assurance (ICQA) "department". ICQA "associates" assigned to amnesty retrieve damaged, misplaced, broken unit packs, etc. from pick/pack/stow stations. "Stow" stations receive inventory off transport (INBOUND ops) to be sorted by "pick" department into KSP bot or stationary storage racks. "Pack" department is OUTBOUND ops.
** at Bal'more fulfillment radio were stationed at one end and manager's "desk" of each floor, not ty[ically in good working order.
 

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 04:41:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
PTSD errata (none / 0)
"Pick" pulls collated orders from KSP (sorts units) into the yellow bins [PHOTO] sent to "pack". (Pack assembly config varies according to FC layout; PHOTO shows a high-frequency, pre-sorted "singles" set-up, units/ship < 4. "Multiples" set-up incorporates pickers and packers in one assembly location from "stow" by conveyor belt. ICQA (not on amnesty task duty) scan/store units into KSP sent from "stow."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 05:01:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: What Would Trump Do (none / 0)
APsplainin | Detroit-area men who sent millions to Yemen spared prison
One by one, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn declined to send them to prison, despite guidelines that call for a few years or more behind bars. He noted that Yemen's financial system is a mess and its residents desperately need help.
[...]
"Only people without compassion" would object to the light sentences, the 95-year-old judge told The Associated Press. "As I've been here longer," Cohn said, "I've come to the realization that the rules are flexible -- at least to me."
[...]
Since 2018, federal prosecutors in Detroit have charged nine people in an investigation of cash transfers to Yemen. Bank accounts were opened in the names of shell businesses, then used to deposit and wire roughly $90 million over a seven-year period, according to plea agreements filed in court.
[...]
It's unfair to "shed the traditions and practices of your homeland," Cohn told Hazem Saleh, who possibly faced five years in custody for handling $22.6 million. Judges don't have to follow sentencing guidelines, and Cohn rejected prison terms. He placed Saleh and five others on supervised release, a form of probation. Three others await sentencing.

"Please look at me as you would look at your own son," Ahmed Al-Howshabi told the judge in July. "I can truthfully say I did not understand the laws and regulations of operating such a business."



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 05:55:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: What Would Trump Do (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 03:19:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: What Would Trump Do (none / 0)
APsplainin | Pentagon hands Microsoft $10B 'war cloud' deal, snubs Amazon
"Amazon said Friday it was surprised by the decision."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Sun Oct 27th, 2019 at 11:03:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: What Would Trump Do (none / 0)
APsplainin | possible Amazon challenge over [JEDI contract]
"inappropriate and improvident" comments by Trump, sez Steven Schooner, a professor of government procurement law at George Washington University. Rly? That's all you got?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Nov 1st, 2019 at 04:41:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: What Would Trump Do (none / 0)

Cry me a river, World.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Dec 5th, 2019 at 11:39:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: What Would Trump Do (none / 0)
The wall is back up: "Unlimited Articles From $2/Wk - The New York Times"

Pay-to-play Forbidden Stories:
Activists Build a Grass-Roots Alliance Against Amazon - The ...(26 Nov 2019)
eurotrib archived: AMZN, amazon

Uber Says 3,045 Sexual Assaults Were Reported in U.S. Rides ... (5 Dec 2019)
DW: Uber: Nearly 6,000 reports of sexual assault in US over 2 years


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 11:22:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
In the primary (none / 0)

by generic on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 04:46:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
House Democrats Win Access to Mueller Grand Jury Records
The ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell dismissed arguments from House Republicans and the Justice Department that the House Judiciary Committee failed to demonstrate a particular need for the material hidden behind the veil of grand jury secrecy.

Howell, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote in her 75-page opinion that the "need for continued secrecy is minimal" and "easily outweighed" by committee's compelling need for the material.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 08:20:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Trump's USA nyet (none / 0)


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Tue Nov 19th, 2019 at 12:00:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Born to be in it (none / 0)


by generic on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 03:13:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Born to be in it (none / 0)
by generic on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 03:33:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Born to be in it (none / 0)
It would probably help to be a young Texas Democrat to understand his appeal.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 04:04:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Born to be in it (none / 0)
Seems like there is not all that much appeal to understand.
by generic on Sat Nov 2nd, 2019 at 04:10:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Born to be in it (none / 0)
Especially outside of Texas.


"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Nov 4th, 2019 at 06:36:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Matt B on Warren's Health plan (none / 0)
Elizabeth Warren's Plan to Finance Medicare for All Is a Disaster
Elizabeth Warren released her Medicare for All financing plan today. The main purpose of the proposal appears to be to find a plan that you can message as "not increasing middle class taxes," which is of course a nonsensical goal insofar, as Warren herself has said, what matters is middle-class health care costs, not whether you categorize those costs as premiums, taxes, or out-of-pocket expenses.

Nonetheless, bowing to the stupid media discourse on this, Warren put forward a financing proposal that is clearly unworkable and bad. The proposal is as follows:

   

  • Employers will be required to pay an "employer Medicare contribution" equal to 98 percent of their per-employee health care costs in the year prior to Medicare for All's implementation. This will mean that initially some employers pay more than others since that is already the case in the status quo. But over time, each employer's contribution will be gradually converged to average employer Medicare contribution until every qualifying employer is paying the same amount per employee.

    •    
  • Employers with less than fifty employees would be exempt from the employer Medicare contribution both initially and forever.

    •    
  • Independent contractors (and the companies who hire them) will also be exempt from the employer Medicare contribution both initially and forever.

    • He really doesn't like it.

    by generic on Wed Nov 6th, 2019 at 07:44:26 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Matt B on Warren's Health plan (none / 0)
    Elizabeth Warren Offers to Meet With Bill Gates and Talk Wealth Tax After His Criticisms
    Gates said, "If I had to pay $20 billion, it's fine. But when you say I should pay $100 billion, then I'm starting to do a little math about what I have left over."

    When asked if he would meet with Warren, Gates responded, "I'm not sure how open minded she is - or that she'd even be willing to sit down with somebody who has large amounts of money."

    The 2020 candidate herself responded on Twitter tonight, "I'm always happy to meet with people, even if we have different views. @BillGates, if we get the chance, I'd love to explain exactly how much you'd pay under my wealth tax. (I promise it's not $100 billion.)"

    by das monde on Thu Nov 7th, 2019 at 09:06:11 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Matt B on Warren's Health plan (none / 0)
    He is fine with paying 20 billion but not 100 million?

    Then I have a win-win solution, let him pay 20 billion!

    by fjallstrom on Thu Nov 7th, 2019 at 02:25:44 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Matt B on Warren's Health plan (none / 0)
    It keeps getting worse:
    by generic on Sat Nov 16th, 2019 at 01:46:03 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
    by generic on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 08:15:24 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
    by generic on Thu Nov 14th, 2019 at 02:08:55 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
    Far right drowning out the far right 😎
    Can't get much better ... where are the socialists? 😖



    'Sapere aude'
    by Oui (Oui) on Thu Nov 14th, 2019 at 02:25:41 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
    If she were 40 years younger, she could be sitting next to Don The Younger, and the fans would be all hers.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Nov 14th, 2019 at 11:53:28 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (4.00 / 2)


    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Nov 16th, 2019 at 10:45:26 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA uh oh (none / 0)
    Attorney General William P. Barr Delivers the 19th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture at the Federalist Society's 2019 National Lawyers Convention

    ## Ancestor worship is not well understood.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sat Nov 16th, 2019 at 10:57:31 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA uh oh (none / 0)
    I come to praise Ed Meese, not to bury him.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Nov 18th, 2019 at 07:52:23 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
    by das monde on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 at 08:35:02 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)
    Chairman Schiff revives The 40 Questions rumored by NYT, archived May 2018.

    Nov 2019, House investigating whether Trump lied to Mueller. Trump solicites twitterverse for reply to Pelosi "invitation" to testify about "Russia-related" questions, boost flagging House broadcast ratings.

    Read: Trump's written responses to special counsel Robert Mueller interrogatory, delivered Nov 2018 (facsimile)

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Mon Nov 18th, 2019 at 06:50:55 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 1)


    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Nov 16th, 2019 at 10:50:33 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
    by generic on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 11:18:21 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    The apple does not fall far from the tree. (none / 0)
    Hunter Biden, who initially denied having sexual relations with Roberts, eventually agreed to take a DNA test, according to documents filed by Roberts' attorney, Clint Lancaster.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 11:57:07 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Ukraine delivers the quid (none / 0)
    Or should that be the quo? RT
    Joe Biden's son, Hunter, is mentioned in several probes relating to Burisma's founder, the Ukrainian prosecutor has said, as leaked documents allege that he was part of a money-laundering scheme.

    Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka said that a long-running probe into Mykola Zlochevsky, the founder of Burisma natural gas company, has been expanded to include allegations of large-scale embezzlement of government funds. Hunter Biden sat on the firm's board of directors.

    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Nov 21st, 2019 at 09:34:09 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Why the US military is such a mess (none / 0)
    NYT
    A few years ago, I was standing in a South Korean field, knee deep in mud, incredulously asking one of my maintenance Marines to tell me again why he couldn't fix a broken generator. We needed the generator to support training with the United States Army and South Korean military, and I was generally unaccustomed to hearing anyone in the Marine Corps give excuses for not effectively getting a job done. I was stunned when his frustrated reply was, "Because of the warranty, ma'am."

    At the time, I hadn't heard of "right-to-repair" and didn't know that a civilian concept could affect my job in the military. The idea behind right-to-repair is that you (or a third-party you choose) should be able to repair something you own, instead of being forced to rely on the company that originally sold it. This could involve not repairing something (like an iPhone) because doing so would void a warranty; repairs which require specialized tools, diagnostic equipment, data or schematics not reasonably available to consumers; or products that are deliberately designed to prevent an end user from fixing them.

    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Nov 22nd, 2019 at 05:06:58 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    [INCONTINENCE ALERT] (none / 0)
    Reminds me of G.H.W. Bush on price of milk; and Chuck Schumer questioning garnishment at Baucus' 2009 ACA hearing.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 08:10:34 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    GQ confuses Vidman and Trump (none / 0)
    GQ correction
    This story has been updated. Alexander Vindman received a Purple Heart after being wounded by an IED, or improvised explosive device, not an IUD, or intrauterine device. We regret the error.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 12:51:03 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    [INCONTINENCE ALERT] (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 08:02:50 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Biden tells a voter to vote for Trump (none / 0)
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 02:27:31 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: EU tells Biden to vote for Trump (none / 0)
    Tougher US asylum policy follows in Europe's footsteps

    APsplainin

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Tue Nov 26th, 2019 at 02:44:54 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Biden vs. Biden (none / 0)
    Joe Biden website
    Crack down on private lenders profiteering off of students and allow individuals holding private loans to discharge them in bankruptcy.
    I wonder why they can't do that now.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Mon Dec 2nd, 2019 at 09:46:17 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    "Electability" (none / 1)
    Nate Silver
    Klobuchar probably has one of the best electability arguments in the field, so the fact that she's tied for last here is a sign that voters don't really think about electability in the same way that political analysts do.
    Oh.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Dec 5th, 2019 at 03:19:27 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: "Electability" (none / 1)
    Credentials of Nate Silver?

    I do recall the 2016 election ... HRC couldn't lose. 😖

    'Sapere aude'

    by Oui (Oui) on Thu Dec 5th, 2019 at 03:31:26 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: "Electability" (4.00 / 2)
    Of course she couldn't. She was the most electable. Just like Biden.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Dec 5th, 2019 at 03:37:57 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Trump's USA (none / 0)
    by generic on Fri Dec 6th, 2019 at 03:35:08 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    World (none / 0)
     WORLD 
    by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:43:56 PM EST
    Re: World (none / 1)
    Bolsonaro tells students to read book by dictatorship-era torturer
    Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been accused of "drinking from the sewer of history" after urging teenage students to read a book by a notorious dictatorship-era torturer accused of directing interrogation sessions where victims were were whipped, given electric shocks and pounded with vine wood canes.

    Bolsonaro, an outspoken fan of the 1964-1985 military regime during which hundreds of political opponents were murdered and thousands more tortured, met with students at the gates of the presidential palace in the capital, Brasília, on Monday.

    Trump's protege.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 02:37:54 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HAITI (none / 0)
    basic background:
    Thousands of Haitians took to the streets in October and November 2018, in response to revelations that billions of US dollars meant for infrastructure were missing from the Venezuelan-sponsored PetroCaribe fund. They resumed in early February after the government declared a state of economic emergency, with demonstrators expressing discontent over the cost of living and calling for President Jovenel Moïse to resign.

    The UN Mission said that during the October protests, police using excessive force injured 44 protestors and killed 3 others. It also reported allegations that police using excessive force caused 21 casualties, including 6 deaths, during the November protests.

    The government announced in January that it would pursue civil and criminal action against individuals implicated in the PetroCaribe scandal.

    US Embassy in Haiti Security Alerts
    VOA interviews Haiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Bocchit Edmond , 19 Sep 2019
    "During the interview, Minister Bocchit addressed a number of key diplomatic issues currently affecting Haiti."
    Violent clashes between protesters and police, 21 Sep
    Friday 261st birthday of the Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines, several thousand protesters took the streets for the 5th day and express their anger and frustration against the fuel shortage that lasts for 3 weeks, the expensive life and the adjustment announced the rise in the price of diesel at the pump.
    [...]
    In addition, demonstrators responding to the call of the radical opposition came to support the popular movement and demand, among other things, the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. Me André Michel Spokesperson of the radical opposition movement known as "Popular Democratic Sector" describes the mobilization as a "total success" and took the opportunity to condemn the violent repression of the police against the protesters...
    10,000 soldiers at the border protect the Dominican territory, 30 Sep
    "He explained that this border surveillance device, additionally to prevent the entry of people fleeing violence in Haiti, also aims to fight against smuggling of any kind."
    APsplainin | Deadly protests squeeze Haitians in shrinking economy

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 02:19:36 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HAITI (none / 0)
    #forgiveness #Haiti
    Carlos Dorestant, a 22-year-old motorcycle driver, said he saw the man next to him shot, apparently by police, as protesters dismantled a barrier near the U.N. office.

    "We are asking everyone in charge to tell Jovenel to resign," he said, his shirt stained with blood. "The people are suffering."
    [...]
    Several protesters held up signs asking the U.S. for help. "Trump give Haiti one chance" read one, while another quoted a tweet by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. A third referred to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who discussed the crisis with Haitians in Miami on Thursday.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 04:35:17 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HAITI (none / 0)
    VOA | Pelosi Discusses Haiti Crisis with Diaspora, 4 Oct
    The speaker traveled to Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood to discuss Haiti's political crisis and hear the Haitian diaspora's concerns. Pelosi was joined by Florida Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, whose district includes Little Haiti. Fourteen members of the Congressional Black Caucus also attended the meeting.

    Pelosi, whom Wilson introduced as "the most powerful woman in the world," received an enthusiastic welcome.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 05:29:39 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Florida Man (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 02:43:41 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 0)
    REUTERS | Brazil's leftist former president Lula released from prison
    "Investors were jolted by the prospect of Lula returning to the political stage and uniting opposition to the market-friendly government, although he is barred from running in upcoming elections."

    So yeah. What is Paul Singer up to these days?

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 10:44:39 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World COLOMBIA (none / 0)

    archived 2018
    NATO Comes to South America: Colombia Becomes Alliance's Official Partner

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sat Nov 23rd, 2019 at 01:52:29 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 0)
    Egypt's Tahrir Square on lockdown as regime moves to stifle protests

    Egyptian security forces have blocked access to Cairo's Tahrir Square, the highly symbolic focal point of the 2011 revolution, as part of a wide-ranging crackdown aimed at heading off planned protests against the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

    Barricades and checkpoints on surrounding streets and the Qasr al-Nil Bridge diverted traffic on Friday afternoon, and three metro stations underneath the square were closed. Security officials stopped and searched pedestrians in the vicinity.

    The Sisi regime appeared to have been caught off guard last weekend when hundreds of protesters took to the streets in major towns and cities. Security forces responded with live fire and teargas. More than 2,000 people have since been detained, including high-profile activists who do not appear to have had any involvement in the protests, according to civil society groups.

    The Arab winter.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 04:05:51 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 0)
    Thousands in Indonesia Protest Bills to Limit Rights and Ban Extramarital Sex
    JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Thousands of protesters gathered outside of Parliament and in cities across Indonesia on Monday urging the president, Joko Widodo, to halt legislation aimed at crippling anti-corruption efforts and sharply reducing personal freedom.

    Efforts by the outgoing Parliament to rush through a series of contested bills with the president's approval before its five-year session ended Monday have aroused national concern over the measures, which opponents say would transform Indonesia into a less tolerant and more repressive society. Protesters fear the reintroduction of the measures after the new Parliament is sworn in on Tuesday.

    One far-reaching measure, a proposed revision of the criminal code, would outlaw abortion except in cases of rape and incest and prohibit sex outside marriage, effectively banning gay and lesbian relations. It also would restrict free speech by strengthening laws on blasphemy and treason and making it a crime to insult the president.

    Fighting corruption turns into puritanism.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 04:33:12 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 1)
    Authoritarianism and puritanism are simply means of control, because they co-opt plebian authoritarians into doing all the controlling for you.

    Which leaves you free to be as corrupt as you please.

    keep to the Fen Causeway

    by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 11:52:46 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 0)
    The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism
    It is Benjamin Franklin who preaches to us in these sentences, the same which Ferdinand Kürnberger satirizes in this clever and malicious Picture of American Culture [3] as the supposed confession of faith of the Yankee. That it is the spirit of capitalism which here speaks in characteristic fashion , no one will doubt, however little we may wish to claim that everything which could be understood as pertaining to that spirit is contained in it. Let us pause a moment to consider this passage, the philosophy of which Kürnberger sums up in the words, "They make tallow out of cattle and money out of men". The peculiarity of this philosophy of avarice appears to be the ideal of the honest man of recognized credit, and above all the idea o a duty of the individual toward the increase of his capital, which is assumed as an end in itself. Truly what is here preached is not simply a means of making one's way in the world, but a peculiar ethic. The infraction of its rules is treated not as foolishness but as forgetfulness of duty. That is the essence of the matter. It is not mere business astuteness, that sort of thing is common enough, it is an ethos. This is the quality which interests us.
    [...]
    But the origin and history of such ideas is much more complex than the theorists of the superstructure suppose. The spirit of capitalism, in the sense in which we are using the term, had to fight its way to supremacy against a whole world of hostile forces. A state of mind such as that expressed in the passages we have quoted from Franklin, and which called forth the applause of a whole people, wwould both in ancient times and in the Middle Ages [12] have been proscribed as the lowest sort of avarice and as an attitude entirely lacking in self-respect. It is in fact, still regularly thus looked upon by all those social groups which are least involved in or adapted to modern capitalistic conditions. This is not wholly because the instinct of acquisition was in those times unknown or undeveloped, as has often been said. [Weber: 51-56]

    ## Ancestor worship is not well understood.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 01:22:18 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    < wipes tears > (none / 0)
    underdeveloped sense of codified bankruptcy relief available to "captains of industry," from the observations of de Tocqueville ...
    In America there is no law against fraudulent bankruptcies; not because they are few, but because there are a great number of bankruptcies. The dread of being prosecuted as abankrupt acts with more intensity upon the mind of the majority of the people than the fear of being involved in losses or ruin by the failure of other parties, and a sort of guilty tolerance is extended by the public conscience to an offence which everyone condemns in his individual capacity. [...] The Americans, who make a virtue of commercial temerity, have no right in any case to brand with disgrace those who practise it. Hence arises the strange indulgence which is shown to bankrupts in the United States; their honor does not suffer by such an accident. In this respect the Americans differ, not only from the nations of Europe, but from all the commercial nations of our time, and  accordingly they resemble none of them in their position or their wants.
    ... to the legacy of Jack "The Parachute" Welch.

    Trump, Impeachment & Forgetting What Brought Him to the White House
    "To win reelection, Trump, a corrupt con man (who jumped ship on his own bankrupt casinos, money in hand, leaving others holding the bag) will cheat and lie.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 08:15:08 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 0)
    by das monde on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 04:16:23 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World IMF (none / 0)
    APsplainin | IMF chief: trade conflicts fuel synchronized global slowdown
    The new head of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that the world economy is in the grips of a "synchronized global slowdown" that will result in slower growth for 90% of the world this year.

    IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that an updated IMF forecast to be released next week will show growth falling to its lowest point since the beginning of this decade.
    [...]
    "The key is to improve the system, not abandon it," she said.

    Georgieva's first speech as head of the IMF was billed as a preview for next week's annual meetings in Washington of the IMF and its sister subsidiary lending organization, the World Bank.

    There is one ECONOMY. The one ECONOMY is the TRUE MESSIAH.

    archived structural adjustment programming
    And it's ... BCP

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 06:55:12 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONGN KONG SAR (none / 0)
    Hong Kong protester shot as China marks its 70th anniversary
    The [police] officer fired the single pistol shot as protesters swarmed toward him, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo said, hitting the 18-year-old on the left side of his chest. Lo defended the action as "reasonable and lawful," saying the officer feared for his life and had no other choice. ...
    < reckless eyeballin' >
    Local TV stations showed two officers with bloodied faces pointing pistols as protesters who sought to spoil the Oct. 1 anniversary of Communist rule fought pitched battles with riot police.

    Video that spread quickly on social media appeared to show the officer opening fire as the masked teenager came at him with a metal rod, striking the officer's shooting arm. Taken by the City University Student Union, it showed a dozen black-clad protesters throwing objects at a group of police and closing in on the lone officer who pointed his gun and opened fire.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 10:41:58 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONG KONG SAR (none / 0)
    Hong Kong teen shot by police is charged with rioting, attacking officers
    A police statement said the case against Tsang will be heard by a court Thursday afternoon. He will be among seven people charged with rioting and faces two additional counts of attacking police, the statement said.

    It is unclear if Tsang will appear in court, as the charges can be made in his absence. Rioting carries a possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Thousands of people rallied Wednesday to demand police accountability for the shooting, with many saying the use of lethal weaponry [by police] was unjustified.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 01:54:30 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONG KONG SAR (none / 0)
    wut: "This is a Henry VIII situation. This is basically, I say what is law ... and I say when that ceases to be law. That's not how our constitution works."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 12:05:00 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONG KONG SAR (none / 0)
    written Constitutions are showing themselves to be remarkably pliable in the hands of autocrats.

    Laws are no defence when the lawyers and the judges are your creatures

    keep to the Fen Causeway

    by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 02:02:48 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    < wipes tears > (none / 0)
    c'mon. That's what they all say, when they lose a case.

    When they win? OH BOY! Justice has bin SERVED!!!

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 05:10:03 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONG KONG SAR (none / 0)
    Perhaps democratic constitutions should acknowledge (Platonian/Confucian...) discretion of (presumably) wise, virtuous executive leaders, so the voters would have some fear of wrong god.
    by das monde on Mon Oct 7th, 2019 at 07:30:18 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONGN KONG SAR (none / 0)
    BLOOMBERG reports

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 07:06:42 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONG KONG SAR (none / 0)
    Fifth Columnists, freelance division

    Escobar | Behind Hong Kong's Black [Bloc] Terror, 13 Oct

    "Revolution in Hong Kong", the previous preferred slogan, at face value a utopian millennial cause, has been in effect drowned by the heroic vandalizing of metro stations, i.e., the public commons; throwing petrol bombs at police officers; and beating up citizens who don't follow the script. To follow these gangs running amok, live, in Central and Kowloon, and also on RTHK, which broadcasts the rampage in real-time, is a mind-numbing experience.

    I've sketched before the basic profile [16 Sep] of thousands of young protestors in the streets fully supported by a silent mass of teachers, lawyers, bewigged judges, civil servants and other liberal professionals who gloss over any outrageous act - as long as they are anti-government.

    But the key question has to focus on the black blocs, their mob rule on rampage tactics, and who's financing them. Very few people in Hong Kong are willing to discuss it openly. And as I've noted in conversations with informed members of the Hong Kong Football Club, businessmen, art collectors, and social media groups, very few people in Hong Kong - or across Asia for that matter - even know what black blocs are all about.

    Vltcheck | Some in Hong Kong Feel Frustrated, as Their City is Losing to Mainland China, 3 Oct

    While the Mainland Chinese cities have almost no extreme poverty, (and by the end of 2020 will have zero), in Hong Kong, at least 20% are poor, and many simply cannot afford to live in their own city. Hong Kong is the most expensive place on earth. Just to park a car in could easily cost over US$700 per month, for just working hours. Tiny apartments cost over a million US dollars. Salaries in Hong Kong, however, are not higher than those in London, Paris or Tokyo.

    The city is run by an extreme capitalist system, `planned' by corrupt tycoons/developers. The obsolete British legal system here is clearly geared to protect the rich, not the majority. That was essentially why the "Extradition Bill" was proposed: to protect Hong Kong inhabitants from the unbridled, untouchable, as well as unelected de facto rulers.

    But there is this `deal', negotiated before Hong Kong was returned where it belongs, which is - to China. "One country, two systems". It is an excellent contract for the turbo-capitalist magnates, and for the pro-Western "activists" [29 Sep]. And it is extremely bad one for the average people of Hong Kong. Therefore, after months of riots sponsored by the West, the Hong Kong administration scrambled the bill.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 03:57:18 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONG KONG SAR (none / 0)
    APsplainin | Hong Kong says murder suspect wants to surrender to Taiwan
    Chan is wanted by Taiwan authorities for allegedly killing his girlfriend during a trip to the self-ruled island last year. He was not sent back to face charges because there's no extradition agreement. He was however jailed in Hong Kong on money laundering [!] charges and is due to be released this week.
    [...]
    Lam told local broadcaster RTHK that she felt "relief" at Chan's decision to hand himself in to Taiwanese authorities. Taiwan's Ministry of Justice urged Hong Kong on Thursday to keep Chan in prison and investigate him for the killing [?!], but Lam and other Hong Kong officials have ruled that out.
    Anarchists' Journal: 7.5M whathaveyous - 2M "black-clad frontline protesters" and "peaceful marchers" = 5.5M whatnots
    Independent.ie | Hong Kong violence explodes after activist 'attacked by triads'
    Tensions ran high after Jimmy Sham, the leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, which called the march, was attacked earlier in the week by men wielding metal poles and hammers. Witnesses said that those responsible for the assault were associated with pro-Beijing* triads blamed for previous violence against protesters. ... Politically motivated attacks have been on the rise while protesters are now [?!] vandalising shops, banks, and businesses associated with mainland China.
    APsplainin | Hong Kong descends into chaos again as ["black-clad frontline"] protesters defy ban
    following an unauthorized pro-democracy rally Sunday, as protesters set up roadblocks and torched businesses, and police responded with tear gas and a water cannon. Protesters tossed firebombs and took their anger out on shops with mainland Chinese TIES as they skirmished late into the evening with riot police, who UNLEASHED numerous tear gas rounds on SHORT NOTICE, angering residents and passers-by.
    [...]
    Supporters sang the protest movement's anthem, waved colonial and U.S. flags, and held up placards depicting the Chinese flag as a Nazi swastika.
    [...]
    "We're using peaceful, rational, nonviolent ways to voice our demands," Figo Chan, vice convener of the Civil Human Rights Front, told reporters. "We're not afraid of being arrested. What I'm most scared of is everyone giving up on our principles."
    And still no PLA tanks.
    --
    * international criminal organizations are by definition anti-government but whatevs

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 06:46:33 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONGN KONG SAR (none / 0)
    APsplainin Hong Kong vote today. SPOILER: democracy loses because ________.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Nov 24th, 2019 at 06:33:44 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONGN KONG SAR (none / 1)
    #HKDCElection



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Nov 24th, 2019 at 11:39:31 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONGN KONG SAR (none / 0)
    Hong Kong police fire tear gas as thousands take to the streets in fresh protests
    "We had demonstrations, peaceful protests, lobbying inside the council, a lot of things we have done but they all failed," said Felix, a 25-year-old university graduate.

    "There are still five demands," he said, referring to protesters' calls that include an independent inquiry into police behaviour and the implementation of universal suffrage. Some black-clad protesters wearing gas masks built barricades and blocked roads near luxury stores, including Armani, while others headed towards Hung Hom, a district near the ruined campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
    [...]
    Sunday's marches, which were permitted by authorities, came as a top Hong Kong official said the government was looking into setting up an independent committee to review the handling of the crisis, in which demonstrations have become increasingly violent.
    [...]
    Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of protesters waved American flags, with some donning Donald Trump logo hats and t-shirts, as they unfurled a banner depicting the U.S. president standing astride a tank with a U.S. flag behind him.

    m'k.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Dec 2nd, 2019 at 12:08:58 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World HONGN KONG SAR (none / 0)

    reference
    H.R.3289 | S.1838
    Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act: a critical analysis

    Section 6(c)1.A "assesses whether the Government of Hong Kong is 'legally competent' to administer the United States-Hong Kong Agreement for the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders." This would reaffirm the U.S. government's leverage to force the Hong Kong government to surrender individuals for extradition to U.S. authorities, including dissidents and whistleblowers like Edward Snowden.
    doh

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Nov 29th, 2019 at 09:34:39 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World S. KOREA (none / 0)
    Moon unveils plan to convert DMZ into international peace zone
    "'Turning the DMZ into an international peace zone is a matter of building trust through action in return for the actions by North Korea, and through the international community's participation in activities within the DMZ, we can guarantee mutual security for South and North,' he explained."
    Intellectuals around country demand reform of S. Korean prosecutors
    "Cultural figures, educators, and ordinary citizens from Gwangju and South Jeolla Province have responded to the scandal over the appointment of Cho Kuk as Minister of Justice by making a public call for reform of the prosecutors and the media."
    S. Korean Defense Ministry rejects petition from Vietnam ["]War["] civilian massacre survivors
    "South Korea sent 312,000 troops to Vietnam between September 1964 and 1972 -during which around 80 massacres of Vietnamese civilians were committed, with a total estimated death toll as high as 9,000."
    LG Economic Research Institute offers gloomy forecast for South Korea's growth in 2020
    US-China trade conflict and Eurozone slump factors in reduced global growth
    LGERI first predicted that a recovery in the global economy is unlikely to happen next year. To begin with, it argued that a dramatic resolution of the US-China trade conflict is unlikely amid the US' growing fears of losing economic dominance if China catches up in emerging industries. The report predicted the Eurozone growth rate would remain around 0% as the German economic slump spreads to other European countries, with the Chinese economic growth rate dipping to 5% amid limitations with its economic stimulus measures.
    [...]
    "Sales and operating profits for companies dropped sharply during the first half of this year, and the decline in profitability is expected to continue next year," it predicted.
    APsplainin | North Korea, US say nuclear talks to resume this weekend

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 02:35:44 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World S. KOREA (none / 0)
    AP... | North Korea: No more talks until US ends 'hostile policy'
    "The statement didn't say which U.S. policies it was referring to."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 05:49:16 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World S. KOREA (none / 0)
    Just in case, better jot down the name of this NK negotiator ... he may be never heard from again!

    ○ North Korea envoy executed over failed Hanoi summit: S. Korea media | Kyodo News - May 31, 2019 |

    ○ Dead or alive? Confusion on 'executed' envoy Kim Hyok-chol highlights mystery of North Korea | SCMP/Reuters - June 4, 2019 |

    More ...

    ○ North Korea: Fake news on both sides is the norm | DW |


    'Sapere aude'

    by Oui (Oui) on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 07:43:32 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World S. KOREA (none / 1)
    yeah, I followed that lie on reddit/ when it popped up in REUTERS and was repeated by every Anglo-merican "outlet." Over the weekend that lie must have /run around the world 3x before DW noticed Chosun Ilbo is a "far-right" rag (read: US bought client) in S. Korea with a reputation for ... lying. Big up DW for being first, iirc, to slam the breaks on the bullshit.

    In this case, APsplainin is Pompeo's mouthpiece.

    btw, Did you know AP is running a bot? yeah, earlier this year somebody ran PR announcing it at the home page.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 11:34:41 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World S. KOREA (none / 0)
    [AP] falsely reports that China denied visas to Korean musicians for concert
    The AP reported on Thursday that Jamal Rossi, dean of the Eastman School of Music, at the University of Rochester in New York, had canceled the Eastman Philharmonia's concert in China and was delaying the tour until all the orchestra members were able to go. Several South Korean newspapers quoted this information in reports of their own.
    [...]
    American news media played up the visa rejection as an extension of the ongoing US-China conflict into the arenas of culture and sports. The Chinese authorities recently cancelled broadcasts of NBA matches after the owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team tweeted his support for the Hong Kong protests.

    But when South Korean diplomats looked into the situation, they learned that none of the participants in the concert, including the Koreans, had applied for Chinese visas yet. In other words, it's not true that the American orchestra members received their Chinese visas while Korean members were denied them.
    [...]
    During a Chinese Foreign Ministry press conference on Oct. 30, Spokesperson Geng Shuang was asked about the refusal of visas to the Korean members of the Eastman Philharmonia. With the caveat that he was "not aware of the situation," Shuang explained that "in 2018, about 9.5 million visits were made between China and the ROK [South Korea]. If China refuses to issue visas due to the THAAD issue as some claim," Geng continued, "how could those several million people have made it to China?"



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Nov 1st, 2019 at 08:37:21 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World UKRAINE (none / 0)
    Ukraine signs key agreement with pro-Russia separatists, Russia and European monitors
    President Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv that Ukraine agreed to a ["]local election["] only when Ukraine regains control of its borders with Russia. The president has faced criticism that Ukraine is giving concessions to Moscow and for following a policy of appeasement with Russia.
    [...]
    The government of Ukraine and the separatists agreed that the election will be valid if European observers from Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) determined that they were conducted freely and fairly.

    Pro-Russia separatists are seeking a special status allowing for self-governance in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, large parts of which have been under separatist control since April 2014.
    [...]
    The election agreement has been seen as paving the way for a SUMMIT between Zelenskiy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the leaders of France and Germany. Russia had previously refused such a meeting, unless Ukraine agreed to hold a local election in the Donbass region.

    Ukraine publishes text of Steinmeier formula

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 02:24:46 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World UKRAINE (none / 0)
    Zelensky advisors meet with EU ambassadors in Brussels (Photo), 2 May
    "Great to welcome advisors of new Ukraine President Zelensky AlexDanyliuk and Ruslan Riaboshapka for an early visit of Brussels, including speaking to EU Ambassadors in the Political and Security Committee," Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) Katarina Mathernova wrote on Twitter on May 2, 2019.
    archived: Ukraine exit poll results-Rise of Zelennials, 21 Jul
    diplomatic sexting, 9 Aug
    State Department Officials Seek Giuliani's Gudance on Ukraine Statement: On August 9, 2019, after Mr Giuliani met with President Zelsky's aide Andrey Yermak, Ambassador Volker asked to speak with Mr. Giuliani about the Ukranian statement:
    [8/9/19, 11:27 AM] Kurt Volker: Hi Mr Mayor! Had a good chat with Yermak last night. He was pleased with your phone call. Mentioned Z making a statement. Can we all get on the phone to make sure I advise Z correctly as to what he should be saying? Want to make sure we get this done right. Thanks!

    Gordon Sondland: Good idea Kurt. I am on Pacific time.

    Rudy Giuliani: Yes can you call no going to Fundraiser at 12:30

    archived: Ukraine's new parliament approves top Cabinet officials, 29 Aug
    "Steinmeier's formula" seen as state capitulation, protested in Ukraine, 21 Sep
    This suggestion on implementing the Minsk peace accords voiced by the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in 2015 has recently resurfaced after President Zelenskyy's election.

    Tensions especially grew on 18 September 2019, when conflicting messages arose during a meeting of the trilateral contact group in Minsk, a group of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE. Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko informed that Ukraine had given its agreement to Steinmeier's formula at a meeting of the Normandy Four, the meeting of senior representatives of four countries - Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and France, on 2 September. But Ukraine's representative to the Trilateral contact group told that the formula was not recorded in writing at the meeting in Minsk, despite the instructions of the Normandy Four, chile.

    Ukraine starts legal due diligence of case of Hunter Biden-related Burisma - Riaboshapka, 4 Oct

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 05:21:36 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    errata (none / 0)
    s/b "Rudy Giuliani: Yes can you call now going to Fundraiser at 12:30

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 02:45:46 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World UKRAINE (none / 1)
    EU Commission hopeful of Russia-Ukraine thaw as many in Kyiv denounce 'capitulation'
    13,000 people dead, consolidated Minsk agreements, Radio Free Europe promo
    Hanna Hopko: Russia is killing the Minsk Agreement every day, Poroshenko parl, interview
    ...Considering the ["]Normandy process["] - the EU is not really involved, the US neither. Are you worried about the lack of involvement from the rest of the international community?
    Compared to three years ago, we see a lack of interest. We see fatigue of having to deal with the Russian aggression. Macron is talking about the Europeanisation of the Russian Federation to Wladiwostok, Merkel has to deal with domestic problems and Nord Stream 2, the UK is leaving the EU. Unfortunately, the EU has no single voice. But it is really important for us that the EU stays united because the proposed Steinmeier Formula - this is not the implementation of the original Minsk Agreement.

    The key question are the sanctions. It will be really important in December during the decision of the EU to continue imposing the sanctions against the Russian Federation and actually to have this strategic view that they need to be uphold until Ukraine restores its territorial integrity and sovereignty....



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 10:04:59 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World UKRAINE (none / 0)
    What can Ukraine expect from Canada's federal election?
    Under the Liberal government, international assistance in 2018 stood at $6.1 billion and accounted for almost 1.8 percent of federal budget spending. And $57 million of that aid went to Ukraine.
    [...]
    Andrew Rasiulis, a former director of military training and co-operation at the Department of National Defence and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, agrees that the two parties have "pretty much the identical position on the issue of Ukraine." ... Rasiulis believes that if Ukraine implements the Steinmeier Formula as a potential way to reinvigorate negotiations with Russia over the war, which has killed more than 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine, Canada can offer its peacekeeping force to help secure the Russia-Ukraine border during local elections in Donbas and convince Russia that "this force can be objective."
    [...]
    Liberal Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland -- who is of Ukrainian ancestry on her mother's side -- has also been a consistent and outspoken supporter of Ukraine, and is banned from entering the Russian Federation as a result. "It seems clear, therefore, that Ukrainians will not be worse off if Trudeau and the Liberals are granted a second term in office," Marples said.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 07:23:01 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World PERU (none / 0)
    Peru thrown into constitutional CRISIS amid power struggle
    Under Peru's law, Vizcarra is ENTITLED to dissolve congress if it rejects two votes of confidence in his administration. Whether or not two such votes have taken place is at the crux of the conflict between the executive and legislative branches.

    Vizcarra contends a rejection vote during Kuczynski's administration counts as the first because he is continuing his predecessor's mandate. He argues that the second happened Monday when lawmakers proceeded with a vote to select new Constitutional Tribunal magistrates, defying his warning that he would interpret it as a vote against confidence.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 05:38:16 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World PERU (none / 0)
    CRISIS AVERTED
    'Woman of Color' gives up claim to the presidency in blow to opposition
    In a late-night post on Twitter, Araoz said she had reconsidered her role at the center of the dispute, pointing to a regional body that had appeared to back Vizcarra in the dispute earlier in the day.

    Araoz announced her resignation from the vice presidency as well as the interim presidency. "I hope my resignation leads to...general elections as soon as possible for the good of the country," she said.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 11:46:15 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World IRAQ (none / 0)
    Iraq declares curfews as gunfights rage and protests spread nationwide
    Curfews were imposed earlier in three southern cities while elite counter-terrorism troops opened fire on protesters trying to storm Baghdad airport and deployed to the southern city of Nassiriya after gunfights broke out between PROTESTERS and security forces, police sources said.
    basic background: Iraq Trying To End Displacement Crisis By Expelling People From Camps

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 11:35:17 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World IRAQ (none / 0)
    APsplainin | Iraqi protesters DEFY curfew as violence leaves 33 dead
    Authorities cut internet access in much of Iraq since late Wednesday in a desperate move to curb the rallies. By Thursday afternoon, the curfew was extended to three other southern provinces.

    The spontaneous rallies have been spurred mostly by youths wanting jobs, improved services such as electricity and water, and an end to endemic corruption in the oil-rich country. Most of the demonstrators were peaceful; many had their faces covered with masks or Iraqi flags.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 04:49:53 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World IRAQ (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 12:59:39 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World IRAQ (none / 0)
    Iraqi ministry says 104 killed in protests
    spontaneous rallies: "Army soldiers have fired in the direction of about 300 anti-government protesters who gathered in a suburb in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on the sixth day of unrest that has left more than 80 peoople dead."

    Who's keeping score, Hong Kong SAR?

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 05:45:36 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    Any errors in arrest of Huawei CFO were technical, Canadian government tells court
    British Columbia Supreme Court judge Heather J. Holmes quizzed government lawyers on why Canadian border guards would seize and seal Meng's phones in advance of her arrest without reviewing the contents of the phones." Meng attended court, taking notes continuously while seated next to an interpreter.

    Gibb-Carsley said the CBSA had the authority to seize Meng's devices and seal them in mylar bags to protect them from remote wiping, but the border guards did not examine the contents of the phones before providing them to RCMP arresting officers.

    He also said the additional disclosure that Meng's defense is seeking would not help their case and would only complicate the process.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 2nd, 2019 at 11:41:28 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    ELECTION 2019 21 Oct

    basic background: Is Canada Heading Into A Nasty Election Year? Trudeau, Scheer, Singh And May Reveal What's Ahead Oct 2018
    "[PHOTO] Clockwise from top left: Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth May, Jagmeet Singh and Andrew Scheer...."
    Federal election 2019: When is it? Who's running? And other FAQs., 22 Apr 2019

    Who's running?

    It's too soon to answer that question in its totality for each of Canada's 338 ridings--that number will remain the same in 2019--but in general terms, the major parties will be the Liberals, who'll fight to retain their majority, the Conservatives, who'll want to unseat the Liberals to form a government, and the New Democratic Party, who'll want to grow their distant-third-place status into something a bit more competitive with the other two major parties. The Green party will run, of course, and the Bloc Quebecois, in Quebec. Former Conservative MP Maxime Bernier's new People's Party of Canada will have a full slate of candidates in 2019.

    The Globe and Mail: paywall, free tracking poll, 10 Sep 2019

    Trudeau's first debate and his controversial second plane: week three
    "Each week, the National Post will summarize the 2019 federal election in 60 seconds", A/V, transcript; Election 2019 platforms: Here's what the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Greens are promising, 2 Oct

    Election promises: Tax cuts for many--and tax hikes on the rich, 5 Oct
    [PHOTO "Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Leader Elizabeth May"]

    (Please note: This article does not look at taxes on vacant homes or foreign homebuyers or tax breaks and benefits changes aimed specifically at parents.)
    usual suspects

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 06:26:42 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    'An election about nothing' leaves many uninspired, 10 Oct poll smoke
    An Ipsos poll published this week showed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals with 35 percent support in the run-up to the October 21 vote, while the opposition Conservatives, headed by Andrew Scheer, were following closely at 34 percent.
    [...]
    A Leger Marketing poll dated October 2 found that 58 percent of eligible voters in Alberta and 49 percent of voters in Manitoba and Saskatchewan said they would vote for the Conservatives - the party's strongest support countrywide.
    [...]
    The campaign has also largely failed to showcase the policy differences between the parties, said Findlay, and serious issues - from systemic racism to indigenous rights to foreign policy - have been largely left off the table. ..."there's not that groundswell of, 'we gotta get rid of this government', nor has the performance of the Liberals or the Conservatives been sufficient to rise above the fray"
    Cuba asks Canada to help end U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, 28 Aug
    Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez urged Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday to help end U.S. sanctions on Venezuela in their third meeting since May on the South American country's political and humanitarian crisis.
    Network in Defense of Humanity Repudiates the Invocation of TIAR, 13 Sep
    On September 11, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), of which Venezuela is no longer a member, approved the activation of TIAR, which contemplates "the use of armed force" for an eventual intervention in Venezuela.

    The proposal was introduced by the supposed Venezuelan representative (Gustavo Tarre Briceño appointed by the deputy in contempt, Juan Guaidó, who is not recognized by the legitimate Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro) and was approved with 12 votes in favour, 5 abstentions and 2 absentees. The 12 countries that supported TIAR - out of a total of 19 signatories - were: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, United States and Juan Guaidó. Five countries abstained: Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay; Bahamas and Cuba were absent.

    Lima Group willing to impose sanctions on Venezuela's Maduro, 30 Sep
    Latin American countries on Monday said they were willing to implement sanctions to force out Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but expressed deep reservations about any use of force. The Lima Group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Juan Guaidó, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru, did not specify what type of sanctions. But in a joint statement, the countries made clear that they did not support a military intervention to depose Maduro.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 08:20:56 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    wut, Does a Star of David on a Vehicle Traveling with the Migrant Caravan Prove Soros Is Behind It?
    False. ...Sharp-eyed Courtney Tubbs of The Goldwater spotted a tell-tale clue in a Canadian propaganda "news" video:

    CBC/Radio-Canada is funded in whole or in part by Canada government or CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service. You be the judge.

    ## Mental disorder is a communicable disease.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 07:12:41 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 06:25:39 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    Canada votes as Trudeau, his 'sunny ways' clouded by scandals, tries to hold power
    Given the fact that neither of the front-runners could come away with a parliamentary majority, it is the smaller left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) or the separatist Bloc Quebecois that could end up holding the balance of power.
    [...]
    EKOS Research pollster Frank Graves said the Liberals needed turnout to be similar to four years ago or otherwise the Conservatives may have an edge.

    "We may well be waiting until the final vote tallies in British Columbia to see who will win on Monday," Graves said.

    Canadians vote amid some delays, robocalls and power outages
    27.4M eligible voters, 4.7M early ballots, 20,000 polling stations
    GLOBAL NEWS | Decision Canada: Federal Election Results Special | LIVE stream

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 11:15:18 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    ELECTION 2019

    Canada's Trudeau retains power in election but will have minority government
    156/388 LIB, 122 CON, 24 NDP, 32 BQ : "Minority governments in Canada rarely last more than 2-1/2 years."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 07:31:13 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    What the heck is a Wexit?

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 at 07:56:48 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CANADA (none / 0)
    Trudeau taps star diplomat Freeland to tackle 'Wexit' divisions



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Nov 21st, 2019 at 01:50:26 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World WTO, UN (none / 0)
    U.S. set to quickly widen trade war with EU tariffs after WTO ruling: sources
    The USTR submitted a request Wednesday to the WTO to convene a fast-track meeting of its dispute settlement body to adopt these tariffs, two U.S.-based trade sources said. Wednesday's request means the WTO body could meet as soon as Oct. 14.

    The USTR and WTO did not respond to requests for comment.

    The United States won approval Wednesday to tax $7.5 billion in European goods over illegal EU subsidies for aircraft maker Airbus (AIR.PA). The EU is expected to respond with taxes of its own on U.S. products, after the global trade body found U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co (BA.N) also received illegal subsidies.

    U.S. withholds U.N. aviation dues, calls for immediate whistleblower protections
    The United States has been advocating for greater transparency and protection for whistleblowers at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), after an insider's account of a 2016 cyberattack at the agency generated fallout when it was reported in the media this year.
    [...]
    The United States has quit the U.N. Human Rights Council, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, and cut funding last year to the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling its fiscal practices "irredeemably flawed."
    [...]
    ICAO said on Tuesday by email that it had already begun "without delay" to "formalize" a new whistleblower policy endorsed by the United States and other countries.
    German businesses urge EU to protect them after latest WTO decision

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 12:13:02 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World WTO, UN (none / 0)
    China seeks $2.4 billion in sanctions against U.S. in Obama-era case: WTO
    "China's request appears on the agenda of the [Dispute Settlement Body] DSB set for Oct. 28. The United States could challenge the amount of retaliatory sanctions sought, which could send the long-running dispute to arbitration."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 11:22:13 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World WTO, UN (none / 0)
    Sputnik is funded in whole or in part by Russia government.

    WTO Allows China to Impose Retaliatory Measures Worth $3.6 Bln Against US
    (China got a backlog of complaints, actually)

    reference
    Arbitrator issues decision in US-China anti-dumping dispute
    DS471: United States -- Certain Methodologies and their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China
    latest document

    archived
    world self-defense

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Fri Nov 1st, 2019 at 07:38:18 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World WTO, UN (none / 0)
    United Nations Condemns US Embargo on Cuba: 187 to 3
    General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding and are unenforceable, but they reflect world opinion and the vote has given Cuba an annual stage to demonstrate the isolation of the United States on the embargo.
    so what? US voters in Miami
    Former Cuban President Raúl Castro and President Barack Obama officially restored ["]relations["] in July 2016. But Trump administration officials have sharply criticized Cuba's human rights record.

    In 2017, the United States returned to voting against the Cuban-sponsored General Assembly resolution on ending the U.S. embargo on Cuba after the Obama administration abstained in 2016, a first for the United States in 25 years [1994].

    Gee. That's new.

    reference
    U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1789U.S. Department of the Treasury | Cuba sanctions, 2015-2019
    CRS, Cuba Sanctions: Legislative Restrictions Limiting the Normalization of Relations, 1961-present
    "The trade embargo was first imposed in 1962under the authority of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trading with the Enemy Act and soon broadened to include a prohibition on most financial transactions with Cuba", Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and Trade Act of 974 establishing US Trade Representative
    CRS, Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview
    Executive Order 13683, December 11, 2014
    Executive Order 13701, July 17, 2015

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Fri Nov 8th, 2019 at 08:14:54 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World WTO, UN (none / 0)
    US and Israel were lone votes against UN resolutions opposing space arms race, nuclear Middle East, Cuba embargo
    "This roguish behavior predates the election of President Donald Trump."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 02:00:03 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World INDIA (none / 0)
    APsplainin | India's central bank cuts interest rate, downgrades outlook
    "That's the lowest the benchmark rate the Reserve Bank of India charges on lending to commercial banks, its so-called "repo rate," has been since March 2010."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 01:25:01 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Brazil (none / 1)
    The Intercept
    THE SAME BRAZILIAN PROSECUTORS who for years exhibited a single-minded fixation on jailing former President Lula da Silva are now seeking his release from prison, requesting that a court allow him to serve the remainder of his 11-year sentence for corruption at home. But Lula -- who believes the request is motivated by fear that prosecutorial and judicial improprieties in his case, which were revealed by the Intercept, will lead to the nullification of his conviction -- is opposing these efforts, insisting that he will not leave prison until he receives full exoneration.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 03:21:29 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SUDAN (none / 0)
    Sudan has long road ahead before foreign debt relief: World Bank*
    Carolyn Turk made her remarks at an event held in Khartoum on 'Towards Inclusive Economic Growth in Sudan: Stabilization and Recovery' organized by Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs on 3 October.

    Turk in her intervention recalled that Sudan can only benefit from debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative when the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) see that it is committed to poverty reduction through policy change and demonstrate a good track over time.

    "For debt clearance and access to international financing, IFI's need to be convinced that Sudan will not become further indebted and that the Sudanese economy is on a defined a sustainable pathway to reform a arrears clearance," Turk told the meeting which was addressed by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and attended by government senior officials.

    Sudan's removal from terror list "is a process, not an event": U.S. diplomat
    [US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs Tibor ]Nagy made his remarks in a telephone briefing with a number of journalists in response to the growing calls supporting Sudan removal from the state sponsor of terrorism list which limits its access to international financing institutions to rebuild the country after the collapse of the al-Bashir's regime.

    "Removing the state sponsor of terrorism designation is not an event it is a process," he said in response to similar questions by the Sudan Tribune and the Wall Street Journal about hopes of delisting Sudan from the terror list.

    "We can work with Sudan and new government to make that process goes as quickly as possible, but I cannot sit here today and give you dates, how long, when it will happen, what, because there is a number of legal constraints that tight up this process," he added.

    Head of Sudanese presidency, Qatari Ambassador discuss bilateral relations
    The former ruling military council had declined to receive the Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani after his arrival to Khartoum days after the ouster of the former president Omer al-Bashir.

    On 26 June, the then deputy head of the military council admitted their mistake saying "we were wrong, we had not to boycott them, and we are supposed to welcome them like others".


    --
    * archived: The odious World Bank is a subsidiary of the IMF.
    The principle functions of this institution is (1) lead generation to borrowers ...

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Oct 5th, 2019 at 05:22:01 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SUDAN (none / 1)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 07:42:23 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SUDAN (none / 0)
    EU countries to give Sudan €466 million in grants, aid

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 at 09:09:42 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World BOEING (none / 0)
    Southwest pilots sue Boeing over 737 Max grounding, say plane maker 'deliberately mislead'
    Southwest Airlines' pilots union is suing Boeing for damages caused by the prolonged grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, saying a steep reduction in flights has cost pilots an estimated $115 million  in compensation.

    In a 79-page lawsuit filed in Dallas Monday, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which represents nearly 10,000 pilots at the nation's largest domestic carrier, slammed Boeing for what it called negligence and fraudulent misrepresentation and nondisclosure.

    [VIDEO Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to thank well-wishers after he was released from a Las Vegas hospital Friday. His campaign confirmed that Sanders had a heart attack. (Oct. 4)AP ] wut
    Boeing 737 Max crash: Whistleblower complaint alleges corruption in Ethiopian Airlines
    Yonas Yeshanew, who resigned this summer and is seeking asylum in the U.S., said that while it is unclear what, if anything, in the records was altered, the decision to go into them at all when they should have been sealed reflects a government-owned airline with few boundaries and plenty to hide.
    Why not Luxembourg? Belgium? Sweden?

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 8th, 2019 at 02:54:15 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World (none / 0)
    by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 06:32:21 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SYRIA (none / 0)
    Turkish attack against Syrian Kurds has been agreed with #USA & #Russia. Turkish attack against Syrian Kurds has been agreed with #USA & #Russia. It is a limited attack with limited objective. It will create a zone (not a buffer zone) for Syrian refugees to be eventually re-located from #Turkey and #Idlib when the time comes to eliminate Jihadists.

    archived
    Syrian Civil War - Endgame In Idlib? [Update]

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 11:30:30 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SYRIA (none / 0)
    Newsweek | Exclusive: Turkey Attacks US Special Forces in Syria, Apparently by Mistake

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 02:58:48 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SYRIA (none / 0)
    US pulls out a few hundred soldiers from Syria as part of a reduction in force in the Middle East, but adds 14,000 (since May) to Saudi Arabia.
    by asdf on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 at 04:14:10 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SYRIA (none / 0)
    Trump Calls on Erdogan to Stop Syria Offensive, Sends Delegation to Turkey - Pence
    "Trump had a phone conversation with Erdogan, urging him to implement an immediate ceasefire, Pence said on Monday, as cited by Fox News."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 03:19:29 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Assad must go Rearview mirror. (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 07:19:28 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Wikileaks Rearview mirror. (none / 0)
    How is it still controversial to state that the US funded/armed extremists in Syria to overthrow the government?
    It's puzzling to see even progressives deny this. It happened. And the US presence in Syria was ALWAYS illegal, not that international law ever applies to the powerful
    Hillary Clinton Email Archive
    Date: 2001-01-01 03:00 Subject: NEW IRAN AND SYRIA 2.DOC
    ... Bringing down Assad would not only be a massive boon to Israel's security, it would also ease Israel's understandable fear of losing its nuclear monopoly. Then, Israel and the United States  might be able to develop a common view of when the Iranian program is so dangerous that military action could be warranted. Right now, it is the combination of Iran's strategic alliance with Syria and the steady progress in Iran's nuclear enrichment program that has led Israeli leaders to contemplate a surprise attack -- if necessary over the objections of Washington. With Assad gone, and Iran no longer able to threaten Israel through its, proxies, it is possible that the  United States and Israel can agree on red lines for when Iran's program has crossed an unacceptable threshold. In short, the White House can ease the tension that has developed with Israel over Iran by doing the right thing in Syria. ...
    Not Trump. US fed empire SOP.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 07:42:48 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World SYRIA (none / 0)
    One Rocket Provoked the U.S. Withdrawal: Details of the Kurdish-Russian-Syrian Deal, 14 Oct
    The Russian-Kurdish deal consists of the deployment of the Syrian army on all borders with Turkey and the return of all sources of energy (gas and oil) to the Syrian government-controlled forces. ...The initial agreement between the Kurds and Damascus (via Russia) consists in the ending of the self-administration of NES, the integration of the Syrian Kurds under the command of the Syrian Army, and the pursuit and destruction of all ISIS forces.

    A US withdrawal from the al-Tanaf border crossing between Iraq and Syria is also expected when a solution is found for the 64,000 refugees at the Rukhba camp.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 04:07:49 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World NORWAY LOL (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 06:31:42 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World NORWAY LOL (none / 0)
    psych!
    In addition, a well-articulated microeconomic theory appeared on how incentives and information, together with behavioral constraints, shape human behavior. This theory -- rewarded with several Economics Prizes -- gave researchers a powerful analytical tool kit to analyze the determinants of poverty and channels of poverty alleviation. These methodological gains were prerequisites for the transformation to follow, but a core piece of the puzzle was still missing.
    Trump?
    Specifically, a well-articulated theory may be crucial to discovering possible mechanisms behind poverty and to guiding the search for effective ways to combat it.
    YES!
    But it is not sufficient to guide policy. While theory can pinpoint certain incentives, it does not tell us how powerful these are in practice.
    NOOOOooooooo

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 05:58:03 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World NORWAY LOL (none / 0)
    Moynihan's report is back in a new suit, tie, and pumps.

    Traced to Why White Privilege is Wrong--Part 2 (not really), inferred by Brian Thiede, Hyojung Kim, and Tim Slack, "Marriage, Work, and Racial Inequalities in Poverty: Evidence from the U.S". Journal of Marriage and Family, 2017 Oct; 79(5): 1241-1257.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 12:16:21 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World NORWAY LOL (none / 0)
    Norway arrests US white supremacist ahead of far-right conference
    "Johnson was arrested under the country's immigration act and Norwegian authorities are now working 'as quickly as possible to get him out of the country,' said Bernsen."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Nov 3rd, 2019 at 09:34:20 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World IRAN (none / 0)

    WSJ | Oil Prices Climb After Iranian Tanker Damaged in Possible Strike
    "Vessel's owner says it was 60 miles from a Saudi Arabian port when it may have been hit by missiles"
    SKY | Iranian oil tanker damaged in 'rocket attack'
    "The explosion caused an oil leak into the Red Sea but the leak was brought under control, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA."


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 11:46:45 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World ECUADOR (none / 0)
    basic background: Ecuador is a member of OPEC
    2013, Correa "sails to re-election on vows to deepen welfare reforms, but is it sustainable?, then Correa "ruling party" PAIS Alliance loses 2014-2019 local "Elections Heavily, Fears "Fascist Right" Destabilization"
    2017, Correa affirms Assange's political asylum in Britain, while PAIS Alliance Lenín Moreno elected president (51%-49%) over "former-banker" Guillermo Lasso. Amid censorship, corruption and abandoned environmental promises Correa moves to Belgium.
    2018, Correa, dragging 2012 kidnap charge, dodges extradition,"lawfare" protests
    2019, Moreno inks $4.2 billion financing deal with IMF + "$6 billion in loans from multilateral institutions including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the CAF Andean development bank"
    Moreno has begun to implement an austerity plan that includes layoffs of workers at state-owned companies and cuts to gasoline subsidies, also plans to find a private operator for state-run telecoms company CNT and other state-owned firms.

    In his address, Moreno said most of the money would be dedicated to "social investment," citing a rising number of police officers and promising retirees they would not lose out on an annual bonus.

    Skepticism of the IMF runs strong in Ecuador and throughout Latin America, where many blame Fund-imposed austerity policies for economic hardship.

    End of fuel SUBSIDIES, 12 Oct 2019

    The highland capital of Quito was rocked by a 10th day of clashes over Moreno's austerity plan, with the office of Ecuador's comptroller set on fire and access roads to Quito's airport blocked. TV channel Teleamazonas showed images of its own offices in flames and said its employees were unharmed.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 06:01:23 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World ECUADOR (none / 0)
    `The drone revolution'
    Zángano, the Spanish word for a male honey bee, otherwise known as a drone, is a slang term traditionally used by rich, elite parts of society to refer to workers and the poor, whom they denigrate as "mindless" or "uneducated."

    The use of the term by Moreno, a close ally of Washington, reflected the president's resentful attitude toward ordinary Ecuadorians.

    In short order, Moreno's opponents transformed the slang into a buzzword. ...



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 07:09:34 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World ECUADOR (none / 0)
    Ecuador cancels austerity plan in a bid to end unrest, 14 Oct
    President Lenin Moreno will repeal the International Monetary Fund-backed measure, known as Decree 883, that included a significant increase in fuels. Indigenous leaders, in turn, will call on their followers to end 12 days of protests and street blockades. ...The news came as talks concluded in the capital, Quito, between Moreno and groups including the Confederation of Indigenous Nations (CONAIE).
    [...]
    Mercosur released a statement, along with Peru, Colombia and Chile, saying: "We endorse the efforts made by Ecuador's government to maintain peace, public order and democratic institutions by using the instruments provided by the constitution and the law." The bloc, which consists of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, added: "We condemn acts of violence and attempts to destabilize the country, its institutions and the Ecuadorian democratic process."
    Ecuador arrests prefect after Moreno cancels austerity plan, 14 Oct
    Ecuadorian authorities detained Pichincha Prefect Paola Pabon and other current and former officials, prosecutors announced Monday. Police also seized computers, telephones and documents. Pabon posted a video of the arrest to her Facebook page.

    Prosecutors didn't elaborate on their reasons for arresting Pabon. However, over days of protests initiated by indigenous groups, President Lenin Moreno (center in photo) and surrogates accused his predecessor, Rafael Correa, and Venezuelan officials of conspiring with regional authorities and Colombia's FARC guerrillas to destabilize Ecuador.

    The president alleged that Correa, Pabon, former Constituent Assembly member Virgilio Hernandez, who was also arrested, and others had traveled "at the same time a few weeks ago to Venezuela" -- which he does not consider "a coincidence." Correa and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have mocked Moreno's assertions.

    Ecuador's Moreno announces tax reform after rolling back fuel price hike, 18 Oct
    "The proposal includes a new tax on companies with annual revenue of more than $1 million, which he said would raise about $532 million over three years. ..."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 20th, 2019 at 01:58:34 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World VENEZUELA (none / 0)
    basic background: Venezuela is still an OPEC member, REUTERS concedes, Maduro is still president of Venezuela

    Venezuela denies entry to Guatemalan president-elect, scuppering meeting with opposition leader

    Venezuelan authorities on Saturday denied Guatemala's president-elect Alejandro Giammattei entry into Venezuela, where he was scheduled to meet with opposition leader Juan Guaido.

    Giammattei, a conservative who won the Central American country's presidency in August, landed at Simon Bolivar international airport near the capital Caracas but was placed on a departing flight to Panama in part because he had not been invited by socialist President Nicolas Maduro, authorities said.

    Ben Norton reports on effects of US blockade

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 13th, 2019 at 06:35:20 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CHILE (none / 0)
    Chile declares state of emergency amid student riots, 19 Oct
    Student-led protests in reaction to a 4% hike in subway fares have disrupted the city since Monday. What started as mass fare-dodging among hundreds of students turned into violence later in the week, with protesters shattering glass and throwing debris onto the rail tracks. Two buildings in the city center and at least one bus were set on fire.
    [...]
    Police already arrested 133 people on Thursday for vandalizing subway stations. Under state security law, people who damage the subway system or prevent it from operating could face three to five years in prison if sentenced. The leader of the subway workers union reported that at least 16 employees had been injured during the protests. The subway system is likely to stay closed through at least Monday.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 20th, 2019 at 02:04:36 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CHILE (none / 0)
    Three die in fire as Chile hit by riots over wealth
    "The fare increase - 30 pesos, or less than four cents": most useless data point in the reporting

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 21st, 2019 at 05:27:11 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World CHILE (none / 0)
    DW is finally impressed. Maybe the 'tag will send Greens against the neocons.


    Santiago protests: 1 million people take part in 'the biggest march in Chile'

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sat Oct 26th, 2019 at 02:53:35 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World LEBANON (none / 0)
    Protests over economy, corruption target Lebanon's elite, 18 Oct
    In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who leads a national unity government that includes rival Hezbollah, blamed his political opponents for blocking reforms to resolve the economic crisis. He issued a 72-hour deadline for them to cooperate, hinting that otherwise he may resign.

    The boiling public anger has crossed sectarian and political lines, targeting top leaders including the president, prime minister and parliament speaker, whom protesters blame for years of corruption and economic mismanagement. No political leader, Muslim or Christian, has been spared the protesters' outrage. [...]
    Lebanon's economy is in freefall and has one of the highest debt loads in the world. Garbage piles up in the streets, power cuts are common, services are lacking and employers are unable to pay employees.

    "Nothing works here. We have neither enough electricity nor enough jobs. They want a 15% tax from my already low salary," one protester who did not want to be named told DW. "They should increase the taxes of the rich in this country."

    Lebanon reverses plans to tax WhatsApp calls, 18 Oct
    "We are not here over the WhatsApp, we are here over everything: over fuel, food, bread, over everything," said a protester in Beirut who gave his name as Abdullah.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Oct 20th, 2019 at 02:17:53 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World LEBANON (none / 0)
    Will Hariri tweet KSA? Send money soon.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 05:24:04 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World LEBANON (none / 0)
    Evidently not.
    Hariri resigns, protesters celebrate, and uncertainty persists in Lebanon

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Oct 31st, 2019 at 08:25:13 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: World BOLIVIA (none / 0)
    And so he did.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Nov 10th, 2019 at 11:01:52 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Bolivia (none / 1)
    after the teargas
    by generic on Fri Nov 22nd, 2019 at 10:21:26 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    LIVING OFF THE PLANET
    Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Food
    by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:44:18 PM EST
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 1)
    Urban beaches are environmental hotspots for antibiotic resistance after rainfall
    A two year study into the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in urban coastal environments shows that some beaches around Sydney have elevated levels of antibiotic resistant (AbR) bacteria following rainfall.

    The research highlights the exchange of antibiotic resistant microbes between human waste-water streams and natural ecosystems and a mechanism for potentially significant AbR exposure risk to humans, the researchers say.

    The results of the study, published in Water Research, provide clear links between storm-water discharge, which sometimes includes wet-weather sewer overflow (WWSO) events, and the presence of AbR in microorganisms living in urban beach habitats.

    The research suggests that stormwater, sewage and urban waste-stream infrastructure, such as pipes, are potential reservoirs and channels for the spread of AbR into natural coastal waters.

    The rapid rise of antibiotic resistance within medical, agricultural, urban and natural systems is of major global concern, and is largely a consequence of the mis-use and overuse of antibiotics by humans.



    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 02:54:40 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    New standard of reference for assessing solar forecast proposed
    Being able to accurately forecast how much solar energy reaches the surface of the Earth is key to guiding decisions for running solar power plants.

    While day-ahead forecasts have become more accurate in recent years, the solar community lacks a unified verification procedure, and assessing how one forecast compares to another is difficult. New work in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, from AIP Publishing, looks to provide a standard of reference to the field.

    Researcher Dazhi Yang proposed an improved way to assess day-ahead solar forecasting. The proposed method combines two popular reference methods for weather forecasting, namely persistence and climatology. Using a weighted linear combination of both methods, his approach provides a new way to gauge the skill of a forecaster.

    "There is a large collection of solar forecasting works in the literature. However, all papers claim superiority, which is clearly not possible," Yang said. "Without a standardized reference method to gauge forecast accuracy, we cannot compare methods reported in different papers, using different data from different locations and timescales."




    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 03:04:59 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    Reactor turns greenhouse gas into pure liquid fuel
    The catalytic reactor developed by the Rice University lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Haotian Wang uses carbon dioxide as its feedstock and, in its latest prototype, produces highly purified and high concentrations of formic acid.

    Formic acid produced by traditional carbon dioxide devices needs costly and energy-intensive purification steps, Wang said. The direct production of pure formic acid solutions will help to promote commercial carbon dioxide conversion technologies.
    ....
    Wang, who joined Rice's Brown School of Engineering in January, and his group pursue technologies that turn greenhouse gases into useful products. In tests, the new electrocatalyst reached an energy conversion efficiency of about 42%. That means nearly half of the electrical energy can be stored in formic acid as liquid fuel.

    "Formic acid is an energy carrier," Wang said. "It's a fuel-cell fuel that can generate electricity and emit carbon dioxide -- which you can grab and recycle again.

    "It's also fundamental in the chemical engineering industry as a feedstock for other chemicals, and a storage material for hydrogen that can hold nearly 1,000 times the energy of the same volume of hydrogen gas, which is difficult to compress," he said. "That's currently a big challenge for hydrogen fuel-cell cars."

    If powered by renewable energy such as wind and solar such a process could turn CO2 from stationary sources into liquid fuel for fuel cells.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 03:15:36 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    Chemtrail Truthers Are Coming After Greta Thunberg - Daily Beast
    Despite their shared interest in the weather, chemtrail believers and climate activists have little common ground. That, according to Peter Ditto, a professor of psychological science studying motivated reasoning at the University of California Irvine, can be chalked up to conservative politics

    Ditto said climate denialism often functions "like a team sport." Although there's no moral argument against accepting climate data, "for other reasons, probably economic, the Republican party and conservative thinkers have decided they don't want to believe [climate change], that it's threatening to them," Ditto said. "There's such a team, tribal mentality in the United States right now that people just line up and say, `My side doesn't believe that... believing that is almost tantamount to treason, or betrayal.'"

    by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 06:41:01 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (4.00 / 2)
    66% of American reject the Theory of Evolution.

    58% think the Bible is the word of God.

    56% don't want their children to be forced to learn arabic numerals.

    In 2015 41% of Trump voters and 30% of all GOP voters supported the US bombing of Agrabah - the city from the Disney film Sinbad.

    I could go on.

    I'm surprised my fellow countrypeople can simultaneously walk and chew gum without their heads exploding.

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

    by ATinNM on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 07:49:04 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 1)
    56% don't want their children to be forced to learn arabic numerals.

    German politicans are no better

    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 08:19:12 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off DATA VISUALIZATION (none / 0)
    I have a present for you.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 02:26:25 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 1)
    Polish government plans last-minute push on new coal mining law - Politico.eu
    WARSAW -- No matter who wins Poland's election on Sunday, on Monday parliament is set to debate a divisive new law that gives the government additional powers in the process of planning new coal mines.

    That's because the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party government scheduled a parliamentary session immediately after the election to be held by the outgoing parliament's MPs. Although PiS is way ahead in opinion polls, the final outcome is still in doubt -- and the extra-parliamentary session allows the government to push through legislation even if it loses power. The vote on the legislation is due on Tuesday.

    The draft mining law gives Warsaw the power to circumvent local governments and communities if it decides that a mining project is important for "the raw material security of the country."

    by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Oct 11th, 2019 at 05:57:29 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    GMWatch | Scientific study drawing attention to the risks of GM mosquitoes comes under attack , 14 Oct
    A recent journal article about GM mosquitoes has caused quite a stir. It showed that some of the male mosquitoes that Oxitec Ltd released experimentally in Brazil had successfully interbred with the local mosquito population, and that their hybrid offspring were now spreading and propagating beyond the release area. This despite Oxitec claiming its mosquitoes had a lethal gene that made them "self-limiting".
    [...]
    But this time there's a difference because the attacks by Oxitec, the company behind the GM mosquitoes, have since been joined by one of the paper's co-authors, biochemist Margareth Capurro from the University of São Paulo in Brazil. Indeed, according to an article for Science, Dissent splits authors of provocative transgenic mosquito study, Capurro isn't just complaining about the paper - she and "several co-authors have reportedly requested that it be retracted".

    So who are the paper's authors and why are they apparently at war with each other? The study was conducted by a Yale University team led by population geneticist Jeffrey Powell, who collaborated with Brazilian researchers to collect and analyze DNA from mosquitoes before, during, and after the release of Oxitec's GM mosquitoes. Powell's collaborators included Capurro and colleagues at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and these appear to be the authors demanding the retraction.

    NY Yella Cake intervenes for the boys from, coincidentally of course, today.

    archived
    Brazil is 'badly losing' the battle against Zika virus, says health minister 2016

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Fri Oct 18th, 2019 at 12:31:50 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 04:50:00 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    < wipes tears > (none / 0)
    the responses

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 05:19:01 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: &lt; wipes tears &gt; (4.00 / 2)
    I suppose the logical follow up experiment is to give them bigger and bigger cars and test if it eases their anxiety more.
    by generic on Fri Oct 25th, 2019 at 05:26:18 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: &amp;lt; wipes tears &amp;gt; (4.00 / 2)
    Not to mention giving more rats larger cars, making the road surface resemble the cross-Bronx "Express"-way and see what happens.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Oct 26th, 2019 at 05:06:34 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: &amp;amp;lt; wipes tears &amp;amp;gt; (none / 0)
    Does the grant application quote from "The Wind in the Willows?"
    by asdf on Sat Oct 26th, 2019 at 02:55:04 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Progress (none / 0)
    India air pollution at 'unbearable levels', Delhi minister says - BBC News
    An Indian health ministry official said the city's pollution monitors did not have enough digits to accurately record pollution levels, which he called a "disaster".
    by generic on Mon Nov 4th, 2019 at 01:43:26 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 06:21:01 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Virtual reality for cows (none / 0)
    Spiegel
    Experten spekulieren bereits auf eine deutlich steigende Milchproduktion: Virtual-Reality-Brillen (VR) sollen Kühen in Russland weismachen, sie grasten selbst im Winter auf einer sattgrünen Wiese. Ein Prototyp der Brillen werde bereits in einem Bauernhof nahe der russischen Hauptstadt getestet, teilte das Landwirtschaftsministerium des Gebiets Moskau mit.
    by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Nov 28th, 2019 at 03:12:27 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Fri Nov 29th, 2019 at 07:29:32 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Living On the Planet (none / 0)
     LIVING ON THE PLANET 
     Society, Culture, History, Information 
    by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:44:35 PM EST
    Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)
    Evil Research Generates Fake Comments on News Stories

    A new algorithm called DeepCom can read simplified versions of news stories and churn out comments that resemble those written by human internet-goers, according to research shared on the preprint server ArXiv last week. Purportedly designed to help news sites jumpstart new comments sections, the algorithm seems like yet another way to fill the web with pointless spam.

    The engineers, who hail from Microsoft and China's Beihang University, built two versions of DeepCom for English and Chinese-language sites.
    ....
    The research paper provides a case study where DeepCom commented "the rockets are going to have a lot of fun in this series" on a news article about the Houston Rockets, for instance -- while the other algorithms spewed out nonsense that would have immediately been flagged as spam.

    Thanks, Microsoft.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 01:34:54 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 4)
    Baby bottles may go back millennia in Europe
    Chemical signs of nonhuman animal milk in the artifacts suggest that the small clay containers, previously found in three children's graves in southeastern Germany, represent early versions of baby bottles, researchers report. Spouts on these types of pots would have delivered milk to babies and young children during weaning, biomolecular archaeologist Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol in England and colleagues conclude September 25 in Nature.

    Two of the graves where the newly analyzed vessels were found date to between around 2,800 and 2,450 years ago. The third burial dates to between about 3,200 and 2,800 years ago. Two of the youngsters died at around age 1 or 2; the other might have been as old as 6.

    Similar clay vessels with spouts, some of which are shaped as animals, date to as early as 7,500 years ago in Europe. Such finds have been recovered at early farming villages, often in children's graves. Possible uses of these objects, say for feeding babies or perhaps elderly or sick adults, have been unclear.

    Ancient sipi-cups.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 03:25:45 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    APsplainin | Twin births in US now going down, at lowest level in decade
    Why the decline? Experts can't say for sure. But Joyce Martin, the report's lead author, noted the decrease occurred only in white women and in women 30 or older. Those women are the biggest customers of expensive in vitro fertilization treatments, which are involved in roughly 15% of multiple births. And there's been a shift in how that technique is done.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Oct 3rd, 2019 at 07:20:34 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    Apsplainin | ["]Group["] pulls video that stirred talk of designer babies
    The National Academy of Sciences posted the video earlier this week along with a tweet it later removed.

    The tweet read: "Dream of being stronger? Or smarter? Do you dream of having a top student or star athlete? Or a child free of inheritable #diseases? Can human #GeneEditing eventually make this and more possible? #TheScienceBehindIt Take the quiz!" It included emojis of a brain, bulging muscles, a professor and an athlete.



    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 04:47:25 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    French conservatives protest bill allowing IVF for lesbians[?]
    The measure is part of a broader bioethics, chile, draft law under debate at the National Assembly, where Macron's party has a majority.

    France's health care system would cover the cost of the procedures for all women under 43.

    It also would allow children conceived with donated sperm to find out the donor's identity upon demand when they reach age 18, a change from France's current strict donor anonymity protections.

    The new bill doesn't cover surrogate pregnancies, which are banned in France.

    See non-gendered trans faction on the sidelines.

    archived miracles of birth
    DICTION CORNER
    gestational carrier

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sun Oct 6th, 2019 at 05:41:03 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    How does ART work in Europe
    "assisted reproductive technology"

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 07:36:10 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)

    archived public property
    whoa.
    She Wanted To Be The Perfect Mom, Then Landed In A Psychiatric Unit
    infanticide
    "futile quest for a will-o'-the wisp"

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sun Nov 3rd, 2019 at 09:19:53 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 1)

    Natural explanation will-o'-the-wisp

    In modern times of robotic living, massive data collection, anxiety and stress, social media ... empathy for and understanding of mental disturbance has fallen far behind by light years. Living in medieval times and beliefs.

    ○ Perinatal Depression: A Review of U.S. Legislation and Law

    ○ Ronald Reagan and the Commitment of the Mentally Ill:
    Capital, Interest Groups, and the Eclipse of Social Policy

      This paper provides an illustration of this co-optation by examining the policies regarding involuntary commitment of the mentally ill. The shifts in such policies were not the result of overt attempts at change, but rather part of an overall effort to realign the political economy to be more profitable for business. The overall result was that political discourse shifted from a focus on social policy to a focus on fiscal policy. As such, social programs that necessitated financial outlays on the part of the federal government were overlooked in favour of policies that seemed less costly.

      Still, the administration did not, and perhaps could not, act in isolation and without public support. But they didn't have to. By the middle of the 1970s, there was a consensus among interested groups that reform of the Mental Health Care System was necessary. Lobbying on the part of special interest groups and a commitment on the part of President Jimmy Carter led to passage of the Mental Health Systems Act.

      With the planned transfer of responsibility for the mentally ill to the states, reformers needed to build coalitions of fiscal conservatives concerned with the cost of social programs; "law and order" Republicans concerned with crime; and those who dealt with the mentally ill who, in the absence of more comprehensive reform, sought more limited alternatives (Becker, 1993). Within this context, statutes and procedures dealing with involuntary commitment of the mentally ill were attractive. Easing standards cost relatively little, allowed the Administration to claim action simultaneously on mental health care policy, crime, and homelessness, and appeased health care providers and families of the mentally ill.



    'Sapere aude'
    by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 4th, 2019 at 04:37:30 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)
    This argument neatly avoids stigmatizing dumping the mentally ill onto the streets.

    "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
    by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Nov 4th, 2019 at 04:30:55 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On Public Property (none / 0)
    BLOOMBERG | As birthrates fall, countries will be forced to adapt or fall behind, Macroeconomics, Polemical paradox: I'd ignore the bar graphs and hover the trend lines.

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Sun Nov 3rd, 2019 at 09:27:54 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)


    by generic on Wed Oct 9th, 2019 at 01:48:36 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (4.00 / 2)
    Ken Loach looks back over a half-century of mass communications and the people (journalists, TV and cinema gatekeepers) who work in them:

    "People are aware of what the unspoken rules are," says Loach. Otherwise, "the airwaves would be full of outrage at poverty, homelessness, the grotesque inequality, the stupidity of privatisation, the collapse of the NHS. But they're not - because of that pressure."


    Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
    Won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore
    L. Cohen
    by john_evans (john(dot)evans(dot)et(at)gmail(dot)com) on Thu Oct 10th, 2019 at 07:27:27 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet - End Time (none / 0)
    Fundamental Christianity: End Time

    Living in a cellar, a family of young adults who never attended school found in province of Drenthe ...

    Six freed after years living in Dutch cellar 'waiting for end of time' | The Guardian |

    A group described by local media as a man and his adult children have been found after spending several years living in the cellar of remote farmhouse in the north-eastern Dutch province of Drenthe "waiting for the end of time".

    The group of six were discovered after the oldest son, 25, visited a local bar, the Kastelein cafe. On the first occasion, 10 days ago, he "ordered and drank five beers on his own", the owner, Chris Westerbeek, told broadcaster RTV Drenthe. When the man reappeared last Sunday, he "looked confused", Westerbeek said. "He was unkempt, with long tangled hair. We got talking. He said he had run away and needed help, and that he had never been to school. Then we called the police."

    There was no indication of how long they had lived there or the whereabouts of their mother. The Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper reported that police were considering the possibility that she may have died and been buried on the property.

    The bar owner told the local Dagblad van het Noorden newspaper that the man had said he had younger brothers and sisters living in the cellar, they all "wanted to end the way they were living", and he had not been outside for nine years.

    Drenthe police confirmed in a tweet that they had visited a house in the nearby village of Ruinerwold after "being alerted to concerns about the living conditions of a number of people living there in an enclosed space".

    Six adults were removed and were being taken care of, police confirmed, while a 58-year-old odd-job man - Austrian citizen - who was renting the farmhouse was arrested after refusing to cooperate with their inquiry.

     

    ○ Protestantism End Times

    Related reading ...

    ○ Horror in a cellar: woman tells of 24 years of imprisonment and rape by her father | The Guardian - April 2008 |

    'Sapere aude'

    by Oui (Oui) on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 09:10:24 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    Modern Cities Breed Alienation. Insurgent Urbanists Are Pushing Back.
    Recetas Urbanas is perhaps most highly acclaimed for the first method, "alegal" architecture. Cirugeda and the others masterfully exploit legal loopholes in order to develop subversive projects that are both functional and political. In 1997, Cirugeda graffitied a wall and sued himself in order to get a scaffolding permit on the street. With the permit, he built a shelter-structure that could house people without interference from the authorities for several months.
    by generic on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 01:29:10 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Thu Nov 7th, 2019 at 10:24:56 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)

    by generic on Mon Nov 18th, 2019 at 02:24:09 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Fri Nov 22nd, 2019 at 01:24:07 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Fri Nov 22nd, 2019 at 01:26:26 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Living On the Planet (none / 0)
    by generic on Mon Dec 2nd, 2019 at 01:31:46 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    On This Date (none / 0)
    ON THIS DATE
    by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:44:52 PM EST
    People & Klatsch (none / 0)
     PEOPLE AND KLATSCH 
    by Bjinse on Mon Sep 30th, 2019 at 07:45:06 PM EST
    Re: People &; Klatsch (none / 0)
    Elizabeth Warren's Native American Problem Isn't Going Away
    Her reporter-defenders have pointed out that until a certain time in her life, she declined to participate in affirmative-action programs, though even they have had to admit that the crucial leaps in her academic career -- her landing a job at the University of Pennsylvania and then moving on to Harvard -- occurred after she began listing herself as a racial minority. The year before Harvard Law School hired her -- and trumpeted her as the first woman of color so hired -- it had been subject to major, headline-grabbing protests for giving tenure to four white men.
    Have I mentioned Derek Bell lately? Faces at the Bottom of the Well? OK. Derek Bell, HLS 1990
    And then there is the fact that Cherokee Indian is not so much a "socially constructed" racial category as a specific, legally defined identity: You are a Cherokee when the Cherokee nation recognizes you as a member on its rolls. Surely someone who identified as a Native American academically and socially in the way Warren once claimed she did [c]ould have sought such official [political] status. But she didn't.
    JSTOR | "The Last Stand": The Fight for Racial Integrity in Virginia in the 1920s
    legislative background of the so-called "Pocahontas Effect"
    Cherokee Nation responds to Senator Warren's DNA test*
    Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. issued the following statement on Oct. 15 in response to Sen. Warren's DNA test claiming Native heritage.

    "A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship. Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person's ancestors were indigenous to North or South America," Hoskin said. "Sovereign tribal nations set their own legal requirements for citizenship, and while DNA tests can be used to determine lineage, such as paternity to an individual, it is not evidence for tribal affiliation. Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong.

    "It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage." ...

    archived systematic racism
    This statement is not quite incorrect ...
    Females (sex), indigenous nations (origin)...
    Racial Reorganization and the United States Census 1850-1930
    "Native Americans were alternately ignored and categorized down to tiny fractions of black and white 'blood.'[7]"
    * Cherokee Nation responds to Senator Warren's DNA test, 2018
    What have you done for us lately?
    Free Speech
    In the book Faces at the Bottom of the Well (1992) Derrick Bell, attorney ...

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 at 06:04:38 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: People & Klatsch (none / 0)
    Elizabeth Warren's lobby tax may not hold up to legal scrutiny
    Warren has proposed a 35 percent tax on annual lobbying expenses between $500,000 and $1 million; a 60 percent rate for lobbying expenses between $1 million and $5 million; and a 75 percent tax on K Street campaigns exceeding $5 million a year.

    The tax revenue would go toward a Lobbying Defense Trust Fund, chile, which Warren says would strengthen congressional support agencies, such as the Congressional Budget Office. The money would also go toward increased staff at federal agencies "that are facing significant lobbying activity," her plan says.

    Accountable Capitalism Act, 2018

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 at 07:56:54 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Today is a federal holiday in transition. (none / 0)
    Google, Who celebrates Columbus Day?
    In April 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and New York City Italian leader Generoso Pope, Congress and christ Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 be a federal holiday under the name Columbus Day.




    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 05:26:44 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Today is a federal holiday in transition. (none / 0)
    The Creek Nation and the Culture of Consent, book review
    Of One Mind and of One Government: The Rise and Fall of the Creek Nation in the Early Republic, by Kevin Kokomoor, University of Nebraska Press, 516 pages, $80

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 12:44:24 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Yesterday was a federal holiday in transition. (none / 0)
    Thankstaking, podcast
    Brian Becker and John Kiriakou joined by Dr. Gerald Horne

    reference
    Library of Congress, Massachusettes Bay Company d/b/a puritans with muskets 1678
    Library of Congress, Today in History - November 26, 1863
    National Archives, H.J. Res. 41, 1941

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Sat Nov 30th, 2019 at 03:54:07 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    So yeah. (none / 1)
    I'll just leave this here for those who read that twitter feedback.

    Loud and Clear happens to be the title of a weekly podcast produced by Sputnik. Sputnik is funded in whole or in part by Russia government. This week I draw attention to manufactured consent (paraphrased ad nauseum by Chomsky), presented in the epidsode Trump Happy to Make Impeachment the Centerpiece of 2020 Campaign. Here two "false narratives" weigh on STAIN free, "virtual integration" of US American equity which so many ahh legitimate IMMIGRANTS crave during Trump admin, specifically. Propaganda both constructs and destroys consent of teh people.

    On one hand Trump's despicable regard for Somali "communities" in MN, configured as Rep. Ilhan Omar's district instead of Rep. Elijah Cumming's district for example, is treated to an unexpected truthful debrief of US gov military "interventions" in Somalia since the '80s. On the other, unity of 17th-century "workers" against the ruling class treats the contagion of racist stereotypes which aggravate narrations of civil rights' fulfillment in precisely 1965.

    NICOLE ROUSSELL: True, I think, that's exactly right, but it's also important to note that those ideas of racism and the 'other' didn't go away, right.  
    BRIAN BECKER: No. They were pushed down.
    ROUSSELL: They were pushed down over the last few decades, but you know those things were still there.  You just weren't allowed to say them out loud.
    BECKER: Tell me what you think about this--They were still there, but when people can't use racist imagery and can't talk openly about racism, it has a big impact on the consciousness, especially of younger people who are coming up. You know, they're not subjected to all of that caricaturing.
    ROUSSELL: Absolutely, of course, of course. Yeah, I mean language can make a big difference, right. We're watching, I think, this younger generation, generation Z, come up without a lot of that racist imagery, a lot of that real overt racism now, which is great, although Trump is obviously changing that a little bit.

    Yeah, but I mean racism and the idea of the 'other' has been used by the 'establishment', by the 'ruling class', for hundreds of years in this country and in many places, when you think back to the Bacon's rebellion as a slave insurrection between both white and black people who were either indentured servants or slaves working together across racial lines that really didn't exist in the same way that they do now, to really push back against the slave masters, against the ruling class, I mean, that was such an important moment in history, where the ruling class was realized, 'Oh, wait, we need to divided with ... all of these workers standing together, they have all of this power. They will use it against us, and we need to divide them in this way. And that was a lesson well learned, I think, by the ruling class, unfortunately, and they have used that and wielded that against us since then.

    A preponderance of evidence does not validate that interpretation of events however. Bacon's Rebllion was not a "slave rebellion." It was pitched battles and massacre of native Americans over a year chased through MD and VA colonies by a militia formed by Nathaniel Bacon and other officers of the VA Council and Assembly. Noted below, VA planters like Bacon who did brisk business in raids and enslavement of native Americans before and after King Philip's War believed themselves to have been cheated of a commission to carry on thusly by the governor.

    Roussell's source for egalitarian fantasy is ultimately a passage in Edmund S. Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia, (1975). I have not read that but am familiar with diverse historiograhy of the period, including romantic Jamestown canon which have glossed public school curricula "for centuries". If anything research completed since then disabuse normative investment in the origin of colonial independence from Europe by excavating "black history" for what it is and is not.

    This particular Morgan "imagery" is frequently recycled in monographs circulating the innerboobs that dispute US chattel slavery, dispute "white supremacy," feature advertisements for run-away "servants" and serialized adventures about convict transportation from the three kingdoms, and conflate trade in Europeans' indentures with "involuntary servitude". 18th-century INVESTORS' polemic is rife with colonial planters/slaveholders presenting themselves as slaves of the British Crown. Morgan's passage also appears at greater length than amateurs' citations in Zinn, A People's History without further corroboration (unexpectedly), context of Crown chartered governance, or comment on war casualties other than Bacon's executed commanders.

    This episode is one of countless temptations offered by "mass media" to accept a simplistic solution to profound, untenable problems with US Americans' abilities to do the work of inventing democracy.

    archived
    Encyclopedia of Virginia, Indian Enslavement in Virginia
    William "Byrd did not believe the General Assembly acted strongly enough in avenging his losses, and his dissent, combined with trading partner Nathaniel Bacon's longstanding disputes with the governor over when and how he could wage war against the Indians, sparked the failed rebellion" against Gov. Berkeley.
    LOC | Thomas Mathew, 1705, The Beginning, Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, In the Years 1675 and 1676.
    edited by Tho. Jefferson
    LQD: The real orgasmic Puritans
    Bacon's Rebellion edited by wikiwtf

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 at 08:43:27 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    If you have to ask _______. (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 at 11:17:36 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    NY Daily News | Gov. Cuomo drops N-word in radio interview while talking about discrimination against Italian-Americans

    "The [NY] Times also said in an article the other day, apropos of nothing, they were talking about it," the governor told WAMC host Alan Chartock. "Going back to the Italian-Americans because now you have me. They used an expression that southern Italians were called quote-unquote, and pardon my language, but I'm just quoting The Times, n----r w--s. N-word wops as a derogatory comment."

    The [NY] Times published an op-ed titled "How Italians Became White" over the weekend analyzing discrimination faced by Italians in the past. The term was used in piece as an illustration of racist insults Southern Italians in particular faced. ...

    2018: Turley | Cuomo Lands A Wopper Over Italian Slur

    Cuomo declared "You know what wop stood for? Without papers." That is news to me. ... The Online Etymology dictionary would beg to differ.  The slur originated from southern Italian dialect "guappo" or "dandy, dude, stud."... This appears to be a Democratic talking point. James Kinney, the mayor of Philadelphia, reportedly said [wtf] ...
    Yeah. That is I.

    archived CLEAN UP! AISLE 3!
    Fredo
    Bruh!
    "fight me" is the traditional Philly greeting, this guy is legit

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 12:17:24 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    The Irishman Cometh: Teamster History Hits the Big Screen (Again)
    De Niro, Pacino, Pesci directed by Martin Scorsese

    < wipes tears >

    So. How's that UAW strike coming along?

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Thu Oct 17th, 2019 at 07:37:28 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    GM Workers Ratify Contract Though 'Mixed at Best'
    RECORD PROFITS AND THE FBI, 10-tier CONTRACT RECAP, HOW MEMBERS VOTED

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 at 12:02:57 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    APsplainin | Theater owners: 'The Irishman' 'deserved better' release
    Netflix has instead carved out a roughly three-week exclusive run in independent theaters...."Netflix chose to artificially limit 'The Irishman's' theatrical release," [National Association of Theater Owners CEO John] Fithian said.
    but
    Scorsese has praised Netflix for its willingness to bankroll the $159 million film -- the only company will[ing] to do so, he said.
    Violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866? Hate crime?
    "We decided to make it with the understanding that it'll maybe never be shown in theaters. They said, 'You would have a time in theaters' -- a few weeks or whatever. I said fine. The idea was to make the movie, you see," he told The Associated Press in June.
    awwwww

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 04:53:51 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)


    CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON RETROACTIVE CIVIL LEGISLATION
    While the Due Process Clause would  enjoy even greater prominence during the Lochner era, "the original historical and explicit textual basisfor  judicial protection of `fundamental' economic rights, and, in particular, freedom of contract" was to be found in the Contracts Clause.
    Comcast Corp. (appellant) v. National Association of African American-Owned Media, 13 Nov 2019

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Nov 11th, 2019 at 02:29:28 AM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    Comcast Corp. (appellant) v. National Association of African American-Owned Media
    oral arguments podcast | transcript"

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Mon Nov 18th, 2019 at 06:58:38 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    I might have mentioned that SCOTUS associates often have not conferenced according to press "branded" party affiliation. That is evident in diverse opinions (not ruling "scores") and dissenting rationales, if one reads them.

    Here Windsor refers to US vs Windsor, which I have not read. The salient feature of the citation is not in the detail, but unexpected ahh controversy among the associates dissembling "party lines". Most recently, I encountered a memorable, LOL eruption by associates, attempting to communicate with Team Trump's counsel in Comcast. I doubt this incident will make it into yella sheets reporting or "analysis" of their decisions.
    MR. ESTRADA: [...] that the facts especially with respect to mental state will always be in the possession of the defendant.
    JUSTICE GORSUCH:  Well, Mr. Estrada, though --
    JUSTICE KAGAN:  If --
    JUSTICE ALITO:  Can I --
    JUSTICE GORSUCH: -- isn't it -- isn't it -- I'm --I'm sorry.
    JUSTICE ALITO:  No, go ahead.
    JUSTICE GORSUCH:  Isn't it perfectly common when -- when --when you're alleging a mental state of an opposing party and you have yet to have discovery to allege on information and belief mental states ...


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Thu Nov 28th, 2019 at 07:26:29 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)

    Official Philly greeting: as you all know, in How The Irish Became White Ignietev asserts that Bal'more was a suburb of Philadelphia in the 19th cen. This is quite a stretch, geographically speaking.


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Thu Nov 28th, 2019 at 07:04:51 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    Let me google that for you.

    But you can rent the US Congressional Record!


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 at 11:32:04 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 1)
    OTOH, a Tubman twenty buys ...


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Tue Nov 5th, 2019 at 05:00:46 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 1)
    Sarah H. Bradford, Some Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman (1868)
    Sarah H. Bradford, Harriet The Moses of Her People (1886)
    Armstrong and Hill, "Uncovering Inspiration: Current Archaeology Investigations of Harriet Tubman in Central New York," (2009) archaeology, Auburn, NY
    The Truths Behind the Myth of Harriet Tubman,  historiography v. n + 1, Milton Sernett (2007)

    archived 19th cen. abolitionists' charity lit
    Olive Gilbert, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth a Northern Slave (1850)
    extra credit
    Olive Gilbert and Frances Titus, NARRATIVEOF SOJOURNER TRUTH; A Bondswoman of Olden Time, EMANCIPATED BY THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE IN THE EARLY PART OF THE PRESENT CENTURY; WITH A HISTORY OF HER LABORS AND CORRESPONDENCE DRAWN FROM HER "BOOK OF LIFE;" ALSO, A MEMORIAL CHAPTER. GIVING THE PARTICULARS OFHER LAST SICKNESS DEATH. (1884)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

    by Cat on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 09:22:04 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    Re: Short-attention span theater. (none / 0)
    Focus Features' Blaxploitation, A Q&A with screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard
    "When I started on Harriet, many people dealing with black material were writing history lessons--which I hated. I saw her story as a genre piece. I remember someone asking, 'Is Harriet Tubman really supposed to be a superhero?' That's exactly what I wanted--to make her story accessible to a mass audience."

    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 at 09:26:50 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    objects in the rearview mirror (none / 0)


    Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
    by Cat on Wed Oct 16th, 2019 at 06:54:16 PM EST
    [ Parent ]
    1 - 7 October 2019 | 544 comments (544 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


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