hmmm
End ICE Access to PARS, Says Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner
“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
hmmmmm
Trump’s negotiating shortcomings explained
[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
…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
hmmmm
Queen Elizabeth II Trolled Trump’ with her brooch choices
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?
hmmm
Bernie Sanders’ campaign strategist Tad Devine turns up 16 times in evidence against Paul Manafort
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
hmmmm
Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States
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.”
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Zuckerberg in Holocaust denial row
Facebook has faced criticism over the way the platform can amplify false reports and has been engaged in an advertising campaign both on and offline declaring: “Fake news is not your friend.”
But it has faced questions about why it continues to allow sites such as InfoWars – which has called the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax – to remain on the platform.
Mark Zuckerberg has once again found himself at the centre of a row, after saying posts from Holocaust deniers should be allowed on Facebook.
…They were not, he said, “intentionally” getting their facts wrong.
…In Myanmar, also known as Burma, Facebook has been accused by UN investigators of facilitating violence against Rohingya Muslims by allowing anti-Muslim hate speech and fake news.
…The comments caused a storm of protest.
Editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight Gerry Gable told the BBC: “Zuckerberg could kill much of this dangerous material getting worldwide distribution – but he is a like a spoilt teenager.”
“Because of his financial powers, he just does a bit of tinkering without understanding how this material could inspire crazy people to firebomb synagogues, mosques or churches.”
Zuckerberg in Holocaust denial row – BBC News
Even so-called geniuses can be out-of-touch moronic fucktards when they step outside their area of prowess.
NFL, Players Agree To Temporarily Halt Enforcement Of Anthem Protest Rules
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
hmmmm
Former Diplomats Furious It Took Trump 3 Days To Decide Not To Turn Former Ambassador Over To Putin
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.
hmmmm
What Helsinki agreements? This is not normal
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
hmmmm
Bill Browder: ‘If I were to be handed over to Russia, I would be killed’
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
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
hmmmm
Jill Stein is obstructing investigations by refusing to fully cooperate with the Senate requests for Russia related documents
The Green Party candidate provided documents related to communications with officials tied to Russian media organizations and the Kremlin, as well as documents related to Stein’s 2015 trip to Moscow, which included a dinner hosted by RT that was also attended by both former Trump administration aide Michael Flynn and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But the campaign objected to the committee’s request for communications with “Russian persons, or representatives of Russian government, media, or business interests,” arguing it was broadly targeting the communications of people “because they happen to be Russian immigrants or of Russian descent.”
…Stein has been connected to the Senate panel’s investigation into Russia’s 2016 election meddling in part because of her appearance at a now-infamous dinner that was hosted by RT, the Russian television network. Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser who has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, was sitting at a table with Putin at the dinner — along with Stein.
…Stein has not been accused of wrongdoing or colluding with the Russians. But her political views often align with the Kremlin and mirror talking points heard on Russian state TV: She claims the American political system is rigged, opposes the notion of American exceptionalism, is a vocal critic of US military operations overseas and downplays the impact of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Jill Stein’s campaign objects to Senate request for some Russia documents – CNNPolitics
If she has nothing to hide, she will hide nothing.
Washington’s Russia Circus Comes for Jill Stein
Allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia have already prompted multiple congressional investigations, dozens of targets and witnesses, and resulted in four indictments—with more likely to come.
…It has also turned up several peripheral characters whose motivations remain a source of curiosity, among them former Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who Senator Richard Burr confirmed on Monday is being investigated by the Senate Intelligence Committee for her role in the 2016 election.
…Stein, who received enough votes to tip the scales for Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, has long been a source of frustration among Democrats—and, for some, an object of suspicion. . In 2015, she attended a gala in Moscow hosted by RT, the state-sponsored Russian media outlet, alongside Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Flynn, whose contacts with Russian officials are at the center of Mueller’s probe. Both sat at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s table during the event. Three months earlier, Stein met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Her running mate, Ajamu Baraka, has echoed Russian talking points about the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight 17, which U.S. intelligence sources believe was shot down by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. (Stein herself has suggested that Russia was entitled to invade Ukraine, that NATO should leave Russia alone, and that the overthrow of former Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych was a C.I.A. coup.) During the campaign, Stein made multiple appearances on RT.
…Could Russia have been encouraging Stein’s third-party campaign, too, even if there was no collusion? It’s a question around which Burr, a Republican, has found common cause with Democrats. If Stein, wittingly or unwittingly, helped to derail Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, the Senate Intelligence Committee would like to know why.
Washington’s Russia Circus Comes for Jill Stein | Vanity Fair
hmmmm
Indictment: Russia also helped Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein in election
A 37-page indictment resulting from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation shows that Russian nationals and businesses also worked to boost the campaigns of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Green party nominee Jill Stein in an effort to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The Russians “engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump,” according to the indictment, which was issued Friday.
…On or about Nov. 3, 2016, just five days before the election, the Russians tried to boost Stein’s campaign by buying an ad to post on the Instagram account “Blacktivisit,” according to the indictment. The ad read in part: “Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein. Trust me, it’s not a wasted vote.”
…The indictment charges 13 Russian nationals and three businesses — including an Internet firm tied to the Kremlin — with conspiracy, identity theft, failing to register as foreign agents and violating laws that limit the use of foreign money in U.S. elections.
Prosecutors said officials at that firm, the Internet Research Agency, described their work as “information warfare against the United States” and their goal as “spreading distrust toward the candidates and the political system.”
Indictment: Russia also helped Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein in election
hmmmm
Ex-White House stenographer: Trump is ‘lying to the American people
Beck Dorey-Stein, who worked as a stenographer for the White House during the second half of the Obama administration, told CNN’s New Day on Wednesday that Trump’s refusal to allow stenographers in the room for meetings and interviews with some journalists crossed a line.
…”Mr. Trump likes to call anyone who disagrees with him ‘fake news.’ But if he’s really the victim of so much inaccurate reporting, why is he so averse to having the facts recorded and transcribed?”
Ex-White House stenographer: Trump is ‘lying to the American people’ | TheHill
hmmmm
The Campaigns of Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Jill Stein were all helped by Russian election interference
The indictment outlines the lengths Russia went to influence the election in favor of Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton — including by supporting Bernie Sanders (and, later, Jill Stein).
The Russian operations on social media were meant to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton and other candidates, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. And they were supposed to support Sanders and Trump.
“Use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them),” they were directed, according to the indictment.
Later on, Russian operatives used accounts they controlled — including an account called “Woke Blacks” and “Blacktivist” — to urge Americans to vote for third-party candidates or not to vote at all.
hmmmm
Internal Watchdog Blasts EPA’s Response To Flint Water Crisis In Blistering Report
The 69-page inspector general’s report said that those with responsibility for the crisis at EPA’s regional office did not sufficiently invoke their oversight authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act and, in their reluctance to act, let the crisis worsen.
As is well known by now, the crisis began in 2014 when the city of Flint changed its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Michigan officials repeatedly overlooked complaints from residents—the majority of whom are black—that the water was discolored and had a foul stench.
Behind the scenes, the EPA spent six months arguing with DEQ over whether Michigan was required to add chemicals to the water that would prevent contamination from lead in pipes and plumbing connections.
“We found that the EPA’s internal communications, and communications between the Michigan department and the EPA, did not convey key information about human health risks from lead contamination in Flint.”
Internal Watchdog Blasts EPA’s Response To Flint Water Crisis In Blistering Report | HuffPost
sigh….
Commentary: Banning Plastic Straws Could Make Pollution Worse?
Commentary: Banning Plastic Straws Could Make Pollution Worse | Fortune
1.) Conflates the issue of the preponderance of plastic packaging and one-time use restaurant-ware with the question of the environmental impact of styrofoam vs. other traditional packaging alternatives.
2.) Who pitched this? The Styrofoam/similar materials and plastic packaging and single use items lobby?
3.) Further conflates the issue of plastic packaging and single use products by minimizing how much plastic is used by countries outside of Asia and Africa
4.) Sidesteps around question of whether packaging and single use items being made of alternative materials would lessen the negative impact of these materials on the environment as if the potential didn’t even exist.
5.) Trots out the sly “conventional wisdom” that reducing the use of plastic would lessen negative impact on the environment. Of course it would but in a day and age when plastic isn’t steadily replacing or being added to every other container used to package goods it doesn’t seem very likely. More importantly though, reducing the use of plastic does not mean that replacing plastic with other materials wouldn’t lessen negative impact on the environment as well. It’s not very likely and it’s certainly not an either or. Logic would even suggest both using more biodegradable materials and reducing packing and single use product waste would be the best approach.
The Birth of the New American Aristocracy
Every piece of the pie picked up by the 0.1 percent, in relative terms, had to come from the people below. But not everyone in the 99.9 percent gave up a slice. Only those in the bottom 90 percent did. At their peak, in the mid-1980s, people in this group held 35 percent of the nation’s wealth. Three decades later that had fallen 12 points—exactly as much as the wealth of the 0.1 percent rose.
In between the top 0.1 percent and the bottom 90 percent is a group that has been doing just fine. It has held on to its share of a growing pie decade after decade. And as a group, it owns substantially more wealth than do the other two combined. In the tale of three classes (see Figure 1), it is represented by the gold line floating high and steady while the other two duke it out. You’ll find the new aristocracy there. We are the 9.9 percent.
…As of 2016, it took $1.2 million in net worth to make it into the 9.9 percent; $2.4 million to reach the group’s median; and $10 million to get into the top 0.9 percent.
…Let’s suppose that you start off right in the middle of the American wealth distribution. How high would you have to jump to make it into the 9.9 percent? In financial terms, the measurement is easy and the trend is unmistakable. In 1963, you would have needed to multiply your wealth six times. By 2016, you would have needed to leap twice as high—increasing your wealth 12-fold—to scrape into our group. If you boldly aspired to reach the middle of our group rather than its lower edge, you’d have needed to multiply your wealth by a factor of 25. On this measure, the 2010s look much like the 1920s.
…The Institute for Policy Studies calculated that, setting aside money invested in “durable goods” such as furniture and a family car, the median black family had net wealth of $1,700 in 2013, and the median Latino family had $2,000, compared with $116,800 for the median white family.
The Birth of the New American Aristocracy – The Atlantic
hmmmm
Why American Spies Worry When Trump Meets Putin
Putin has nonetheless gotten himself trapped. His country is heavily sanctioned, economically weak, overextended, and lacking in allies. His unprovoked land grab in Crimea, attack on neighboring Ukraine, electoral interference in the U.S. and Europe, assassination of opponents, support to Syria’s bloody dictator Bashar al-Assad and constant lies have left him ostracized in much of the developed world. He can no longer offer his people wealth or the vision of a better future. He instead relies on the tools of oppression and scapegoats to blame for his failures. The dynamic is unlikely to change anytime soon.
And yet despite all this, and even with the indictments, Putin walks into the summit with a distinct advantage. Just as Putin has unleashed his intelligence and security services, Trump has kneecapped and undermined his own.
Did Bob Mueller Just Spoil Trump’s Putin Summit? – The Atlantic
hmmmm
Comments From The Peanut Gallery 