Category: Domestic Affairs,

Waitress Emelia Holden Has A Message For All Women After Taking Down A Customer Who Groped Her

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

“You have every right to stand up for yourself no matter who it is,” Holden said in an interview with local CBS affiliate WTOC. “No one has the right to put their hands on you. No, means no. You have to have consent.”

…Overall, Holden said she’s received mostly positive responses and comments since the video of her takedown went viral. A few people, however, have attempted to victim blame her by arguing that she somehow brought the groping on herself by wearing shorts. “That shouldn’t matter,” Holden said in regards to her clothing. “It’s hot out. I can wear whatever I want. Don’t touch me.”

Waitress Emelia Holden Has A Message For All Women After Taking Down A Customer Who Groped Her

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Fox and Friends Book the Wrong Guest

On By peanutgallerynhIn Boston,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Race,Leave a comment

“Fox and Friends First” hosts …thought they were talking to Ann Kirkpatrick — a Democratic congressional candidate from Arizona they believed would speak in favor of the policies of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

…Schmitt and Mele kicked off the conversation on live television by asking L’Italien — believing she was Kirkpatrick — “why you do support ICE?”

…“Good morning, I’m actually here to speak directly to Donald Trump. I feel that what’s happening at the border is wrong,” said L’Italien, who is running for the Third Congressional District seat in the US House of Representatives. “I believe that separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane.”
L’Italien went on to identify herself, making it clear that the hosts weren’t speaking to Kirkpatrick, before continuing her message.

In response to questions about whether he had deceived the Fox show, [L’Italien’s campaign] told the Globe: “We showed the exact same commitment to truth, fairness, and accuracy that Fox News always has.”

…Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick, the guest Fox had hoped to have on air, distanced herself from the station’s narrative, and said in a tweet that she is opposed to Trump’s immigration policies.

“This morning, Fox News and other outlets put out false reports on my position on ICE, without a single word from me,” she said.

Error or deception? Mass. congressional candidate hoodwinks Fox News show – The Boston Globe

Endangered Species Act: Trump administration seeks to limit protections

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The short of it is this: There’s greater leniency in setting rules for threatened species on a case-by-case basis, there’s greater permission to include economic impacts in conservation decisions, and the services that enforce the ESA can use discretion in deciding what’s meant by the term “foreseeable future.”

These changes are part of a broad suite of policies advanced by the Trump administration to favor industries like mining and fossil fuels by eliminating or limiting the environmental protection rules they have to follow.

Endangered Species Act: Trump administration seeks to limit protections – Vox

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Remains found of African-Americans forced into labor

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The remains are likely those of people who worked at a plantation through a “convict leasing program” in the late 1800s and early 20th century. Archaeologists estimated the cemetery was used from 1878 to 1910. (To give that some context: The emancipation proclamation was issued in 1863, while the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865).

…The leasing program was a “system in which Southern states leased prisoners to private railways, mines and large plantations,” according to the Equal Justice Initiative. Though states profited from this arrangement, “prisoners earned no pay and faced inhumane, dangerous and often deadly work conditions. Thousands of black people were forced into what authors have termed ‘slavery by another name’ until the 1930s,” the school district continued.

…Between 1885 and 1887, many prisoners worked to build the Capitol building in Austin, while others worked to construct the Texas State Railroad between 1893 and 1909, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

…Out of the 95 burial sites identified thus far, 48 have been exhumed, according to a statement from the school district. All were male but one, archaeologists said. Their ages ranged from 14 to 70 years old.

In addition to finding the remains, archaeologists also uncovered rusted tools and chains laborers likely wore. 

Remains found of African-Americans forced into labor

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Facebook’s rhetoric on misinformation doesn’t match its actions

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Facebook has said it finds claims that survivors of a violent tragedy are actually actors duping the public to be “abhorrent.” The company has said that content with such claims violates its community standards, and has pledged to remove such posts.

But when contacted by CNN over the last week about two InfoWars videos on Facebook which strongly suggest survivors of the Parkland shooting were acting, the company chose to leave the videos online.

…The company has pledged to tackle the issue of false news and misinformation, but it has allowed pages like InfoWars that produce such content to remain on the platform and to escape punitive measures it says are in place to stop bad behavior.

…Facebook has failed to affix much of InfoWars’ conspiratorial and false content with fact checks. A Facebook spokesperson said when a piece of content is fact-checked, it is demoted and its audience is reduced by about 80% on average.

…In a video it created in May promoting its efforts to combat misinformation, Facebook specifically pointed to PizzaGate, a fringe right-wing conspiracy theory that falsely linked top members of the Hillary Clinton team to an underground child sex ring, calling it “dangerous.” But multiple posts on InfoWars’ Facebook page share the theory — and do not appear to be affixed with a Facebook fact check. Nor was one added after CNN brought the posts to Facebook’s attention.

…On Wednesday, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempted to explain Facebook’s position on the matter, he gave new fuel to the controversy by saying he did not know if Holocaust deniers intended to deceive others when sharing Holocaust-denying material. Zuckerberg later walked back his comments.

Facebook’s rhetoric on misinformation doesn’t match its actions

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Mueller team wants to talk to ‘Manhattan Madam’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Davis, who went to jail as a part of the scandal surrounding former Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, has worked for Roger Stone, an outside political adviser President Donald Trump. They are close — Stone is the godfather to Davis’ son.

The same source said Davis did clerical and website work for Stone.

Mueller team wants to talk to ‘Manhattan Madam’ – CNNPolitics

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Michael Cohen recorded Trump discussing payment to ex-Playboy model

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

The FBI is in possession of a recording between President Donald Trump and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen in which the two men prior to the election discuss a payment to a former Playboy model who has alleged an affair with Trump.

…Part of the criminal investigation of Cohen by the US attorney’s office has examined possible election law violations related to payments made to women who alleged sexual encounters with Trump. One focus of the searches in April, CNN has reported, was to seek records on Cohen’s payments to Daniels, who has alleged such an encounter, and on an agreement set up between McDougal and American Media Inc., the company that owns the National Enquirer tabloid and whose chairman and CEO is a close friend of Trump.

Michael Cohen recorded Trump discussing payment to ex-Playboy model – CNNPolitics

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Woman harassed over Puerto Rican flag shirt says officer “blatantly ignored” her pleas for help

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Race,Leave a comment

Irizarry, a veterinary technician, said Friday Trybus and two other people were sitting in a picnic shelter for which she had purchased a permit, so she approached them and asked them to leave. Trybus asked her twice if the flag on her T-shirt was a Texas flag, she said, and she replied both times that it was a Puerto Rican flag.

That’s when she said Trybus moved closer to her and stepped on a table.

…In the video, Trybus is seen telling Irizarry not to wear a T-shirt celebrating Puerto Rico if she’s an American citizen — despite the fact that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.

…Officer Connor then arrived, but the video shows he didn’t intervene even as the Trybus invaded Irizarry’s personal space and continued to harangue her as she asked for assistance.

…Her cousin, who had stepped away before the encounter, returned from the car and intervened. At that point the officer told the cousin to step back. 

…Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo called the video of “appalling, gut-wrenching, and a real wake-up call to everyone.” 

…The officer “embarrassed many of our law enforcement officers and tarnished the whole department with his failure to act,” Arroyo said.

….Irizarry said she finds the actions of Trybus and the officer “equally offensive.” She said she was “severely disappointed” that the officer stepped down from the force before he explained his motivations.

“I will never get to hear from this man, this protector, the reason for why my safety — no, my life — had such little value to him,” Irizarry said. “Why an American citizen would not reap the benefits of the police force when it was most needed.”

…Irizarry called the officer a “coward” for resigning.

“I just want justice for the whole thing, and I want the ex-officer to really be held accountable, whatever that looks like,” Irizarry said. “Of all the people who have apologized to me, the one person that hasn’t is him.”

Woman harassed over Puerto Rican flag shirt says officer “blatantly ignored” her pleas for help – CBS News

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State Dept trafficking report includes ill effects of family separation

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,Leave a comment

The State Department trafficking report, in addition to drawing attention this year to “modern day slave markets” in Libya, the dislocation of thousands of Rohingya in Burma, “untold numbers” of North Koreans subject to forced labor and the punishment of trafficking victims in Iran, also includes a section on the negative effects of family separation.

…”Studies have found that both private and government-run residential institutions for children, or places such as orphanages and psychiatric wards that do not offer a family-based setting, cannot replicate the emotional companionship and attention found in family environments that are prerequisites to healthy cognitive development,” the report reads. “The physical and psychological effects of staying in residential institutions, combined with societal isolation and often subpar regulatory oversight by governments, place these children in situations of heightened vulnerability to human trafficking.”

The report made reference to “ill-managed facilities” as a prime target for traffickers.

State Dept trafficking report includes ill effects of family separation – CBS News

Sigh….

End ICE Access to PARS, Says Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

“Quite frankly, cooperating with ICE at this time makes our city less safe because it makes undocumented individuals fearful of coming forward to report crimes or testify in criminal cases. That’s simply unacceptable.”

…“It creates a whole category of victims … because American criminals know that they could rob these people, they can hurt these people, they can rape these people, and there will be fear and the witnesses will not come forward,” he said. 

End ICE Access to PARS, Says Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner – NBC 10 Philadelphia

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Trump’s negotiating shortcomings explained

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

[Trump] sees all dealmaking as what we call “distributive bargaining.”

Distributive bargaining always has a winner and a loser. It happens when there is a fixed quantity of something and two sides are fighting over how it gets distributed. Think of it as a pie and you’re fighting over who gets how many pieces. In Trump’s world, the bargaining was for a building, or for construction work, or subcontractors. He perceives a successful bargain as one in which there is a winner and a loser, so if he pays less than the seller wants, he wins. The more he saves the more he wins.

The other type of bargaining is called integrative bargaining. In integrative bargaining the two sides don’t have a complete conflict of interest, and it is possible to reach mutually beneficial agreements. Think of it, not a single pie to be divided by two hungry people, but as a baker and a caterer negotiating over how many pies will be baked at what prices, and the nature of their ongoing relationship after this one gig is over.

The problem with Trump is that he sees only distributive bargaining in an international world that requires integrative bargaining. He can raise tariffs, but so can other countries. He can’t demand they not respond. There is no defined end to the negotiation and there is no simple winner and loser. There are always more pies to be baked. Further, negotiations aren’t binary. China’s choices aren’t (a) buy soybeans from US farmers, or (b) don’t buy soybeans. They can also (c) buy soybeans from Russia, or Argentina, or Brazil, or Canada, etc. That completely strips the distributive bargainer of his power to win or lose, to control the negotiation.

One of the risks of distributive bargaining is bad will. In a one-time distributive bargain, e.g. negotiating with the cabinet maker in your casino about whether you’re going to pay his whole bill or demand a discount, you don’t have to worry about your ongoing credibility or the next deal. If you do that to the cabinet maker, you can bet he won’t agree to do the cabinets in your next casino, and you’re going to have to find another cabinet maker.

There isn’t another Canada.

…Trump has the same weakness politically. For every winner there must be a loser. And that’s just not how politics works, not over the long run.

For people who study negotiations, this is incredibly basic stuff, negotiations 101, definitions you learn before you even start talking about styles and tactics.

…From a professional negotiation point of view, Trump isn’t even bringing checkers to a chess match. He’s bringing a quarter that he insists of flipping for heads or tails, while everybody else is studying the chess board to decide whether its better to open with Najdorf or Grünfeld.

Getting to No: Trump’s negotiating technique explained | Later On

Sigh…

Russian Mariia Butina charged as foreign agent who eyed NRA, pols

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

…The FBI said in court papers Butina sought to establish relationships with a “gun rights organization.” The organization was not named but a senior U.S. official confirmed it was the National Rifle Association, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

…Butina also attended the National Prayer Breakfast in 2016 and 2017 and told an unidentified American that the other Russians there were handpicked by her and Torshin and “are coming to establish a back channel of communication,” the FBI wrote.

A criminal complaint shows that the FBI obtained Twitter messages and emails between Torshin and Butina in which they plotted strategy.

…The unsealing of the charges against Butina came within hours of a stunning press conference in Helsinki in which President Donald Trump refused to say he accepted the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community over Putin’s denials that Russian had meddled in the election.

Butina is a gun-rights advocate who cozied up to conservatives in the nation’s capital. In February 2017, the Daily Beast reported that she was close to Republican activist Paul Erickson, who appeared at her birthday party months earlier dressed as Rasputin. Public records show she and Erickson registered a corporation in South Dakota together in 2016.

Russian Mariia Butina charged as foreign agent who eyed NRA, pols

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Queen Elizabeth II Trolled Trump’ with her brooch choices

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Europe,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Despite the fact Her Majesty is strictly neutral when  it comes to political matters, social media is convinced otherwise.

…Julie [@SamaruiKnitter]: Arrival day was the one that got the most attention. That day, she wore the brooch the Obamas gave her on their last visit to England. …This one was purchased out-of-pocket by Michelle and Barack Obama and given to her as a personal gift.’

…’And for the day of the tea, …the brooch worn [worn by the Queen also appeared] in the famous “Three Queens in Mourning” photo, worn by the Queen Mum. …’QE rolled up to tea with the Trumps wearing the brooch her mother wore to her father’s STATE FUNERAL.’

….For Trump’s final day in the UK …[The Queen wore a] sapphire brooch [given to her by the] Canadian people to mark her sapphire jubilee during an event in London celebrating 150 years of the Canadian Confederation in 2017.

…’You know, [the country that] Trump’s been screaming about and insulting. The commonwealth country and one of the UK’s greatest allies. Them.’

Did the Queen ‘troll Trump’ with her brooches?

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Bernie Sanders’ campaign strategist Tad Devine turns up 16 times in evidence against Paul Manafort

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

The former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump and Devine worked together nearly a decade ago for former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Kremlin Party of Regions, and the pair remained in contact until at least 2014.

According to the new court filing, Manafort and Devine communicated by email through June 2014, about five months before he joined the Sanders campaign that November.

…The evidence in the upcoming trial shows Manafort communicated with Devine about their work for Yanukovych, who fled to Russia following his ouster, and other issues related to the Ukraine political activity.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign strategist Tad Devine turns up 16 times in evidence against Paul Manafort

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Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Privacy,Leave a comment

The nation’s top voting machine maker has admitted in a letter to a federal lawmaker that the company installed remote-access software on election-management systems it sold over a period of six years, raising questions about the security of those systems and the integrity of elections that were conducted with them.

The statement [indicates that previous comments they offered on this subject were outright lies. For example] in February …a spokesperson said ES&S had never installed pcAnywhere on any election system it sold. “None of the employees, … including long-tenured employees, has any knowledge that our voting systems have ever been sold with remote-access software,” the spokesperson said.

…ES&S is the top voting machine maker in the country, a position it held in the years 2000-2006 when it was installing pcAnywhere on its systems. The company’s machines were used statewide in a number of states, and at least 60 percent of ballots cast in the US in 2006 were tabulated on ES&S election-management systems. 

…Election-management systems are not the voting terminals that voters use to cast their ballots, but are just as critical: they sit in county election offices and contain software that in some counties is used to program all the voting machines used in the county; the systems also tabulate final results aggregated from voting machines.

Software like pcAnywhere is used by system administrators to access and control systems from a remote location to conduct maintenance or upgrade or alter software. But election-management systems and voting machines are supposed to be air-gapped for security reasons—that is, disconnected from the internet and from any other systems that are connected to the internet.

…The presence of such software makes a system more vulnerable to attack from hackers, especially if the remote-access software itself contains security vulnerabilities. If an attacker can gain remote access to an election-management system through the modem and take control of it using the pcAnywhere software installed on it, he can introduce malicious code that gets passed to voting machines to disrupt an election or alter results.

[Sen. Ron] Wyden told Motherboard that installing remote-access software and modems on election equipment “is the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.”

…Security researchers discovered a critical vulnerability in pcAnywhere that would allow an attacker to seize control of a system that had the software installed on it, without needing to authenticate themselves to the system with a password. And other researchers with the security firm Rapid7 scanned the internet for any computers that were online and had pcAnywhere installed on them and found nearly 150,000 were configured in a way that would allow direct access to them.

Although Wyden’s office asked ES&S to identify which of its customers were sold systems with pcAnywhere installed, the company did not respond.

“ES&S needs to stop stonewalling and provide a full, honest accounting of equipment that could be vulnerable to remote attacks,” [Wyden]e told Motherboard. “When a corporation that makes half of America’s voting machines refuses to answer the most basic cyber security questions, you have to ask what it is hiding.”

Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States – Motherboard

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NFL, Players Agree To Temporarily Halt Enforcement Of Anthem Protest Rules

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

The National Football League and the NFL Players Association have agreed to suspend enforcement of new rules requiring players to stand during the pregame rendition of the national anthem, after a report that the Miami Dolphins would fine and/or suspend players for up to four games for violating the policy.

…”In order to allow this constructive dialogue to continue, we have come to a standstill agreement on the NFLPA’s grievance and on the NFL’s anthem policy,” it said. “No new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks while these confidential discussions are ongoing.”

NFL, Players Agree To Temporarily Halt Enforcement Of Anthem Protest Rules : NPR

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Former Diplomats Furious It Took Trump 3 Days To Decide Not To Turn Former Ambassador Over To Putin

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

President Donald Trump’s three-day consideration of whether to heed a request from Russian President Vladimir Putin to send a former ambassador to Moscow for questioning will make current diplomats less willing to put themselves at risk while representing the U.S. government’s interests abroad, predicted former State Department officials.

…Diplomatic immunity: a concept that was codified in the Vienna Convention of 1961. Countries that are party to the convention agree not to detain or prosecute diplomats for actions carried out in accordance with their jobs. The point of diplomatic immunity is to allow diplomats to carry out their work without constantly fearing that they will be imprisoned if they do something the host country’s government doesn’t like. Without diplomatic immunity — or confidence that the U.S. government will invoke its protections — diplomats couldn’t do their jobs, several former ambassadors said.

…The former diplomats who spoke to HuffPost said that Trump’s comments about McFaul appeared to be more of an indication of how little the president understands about international relations than a sign that he meant to upend part of the Vienna Convention. But that he apparently didn’t know or care about how diplomats perform the basic functions of their jobs doesn’t bode well for the State Department, which has seen a high resignation rate under Trump.

Former Diplomats Furious It Took Trump 3 Days To Decide Not To Turn Former Ambassador Over To Putin | HuffPost

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What Helsinki agreements? This is not normal

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Three days now have passed since Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Helsinki. Russian officials are talking about agreements coming out of that meeting, but Americans have no idea what was agreed. 

…What we do know about Helsinki largely comes from the joint Trump-Putin press briefing, perhaps the most embarrassing post-summit press conference performance ever by an American president. The presidents described the topics they discussed but offered no detail on any agreements.

…The White House has discussed one possible agreement, however. Putin said Special Counsel Robert Mueller could meet with Russian investigators to discuss the hacking of the Democratic National Committee emails if Russian investigators could question former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and other U.S. officials regarding the activities of British businessman Bill Browder.

That would yield nothing of value for the United States.

…Bizarrely, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump considered this an “interesting” idea that would be considered. The State Department spokesperson more properly dismissed the idea as “absurd.”

What Helsinki agreements? This is not normal

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Bill Browder: ‘If I were to be handed over to Russia, I would be killed’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,, Europe,Leave a comment

In exchange, however, Putin wanted Russian officials to interrogate those whom he accuses of involvement in “illegal actions” on Russian territory, notably Browder, former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and nine others. 

Trump called it an “incredible offer”, sparking widespread and bipartisan outrage. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders [contradicted Trumps own words] on Thursday, saying Trump “disagreed” with the proposal to turn over Americans for questioning.

Bill Browder: ‘If I were to be handed over to Russia, I would be killed’ – France 24

oy….

Jill Stein’s Recount Cash Pays for Her Russia Legal Defense

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Former Green Party nominee Jill Stein promised her donors they would have a say where the leftover money they gave to fund the 2016 recount was spent. They didn’t.

Money that Jill Stein raised to recount votes in 2016 swing states is being used by her campaign to pay for legal bills stemming from the investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential election.

Jill Stein’s Recount Cash Pays for Her Russia Legal Defense

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