"The House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the fourth president in American history to face impeachment." I tell yeah, the republican counter arguments yesterday were an extreme example of double-though. The procedure was both too fast and too slow, done for ratings and to appease the base even though the ratings were low and the democrats were losing their base, just wild.
"Crows have long been considered cunning. But their intelligence may be far more advanced than we ever thought possible." Well all corvids are very smart.
"The suicide of that construction worker for RK in 2014 became a pivotal event for the company, shaking its 1,500 employees, including co-owner Jon Kinning… The death brought home some painful facts. Construction and mining (including oil drilling) have the highest suicide rates of all occupations, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." Changing cultures to help each other (and the business).
"Video showing a hacker talking to a young girl in her bedroom via her family's Ring camera has been shared on social media amid warnings people need to secure the devices better." Big Brother gets hacked. Love how the story is framed as "well, they just didn't set up the security protocols well enough" instead of, "the tech being sold to the homeowner is inherently flawed."
"Los Angeles Police Department officer David Rojas was charged Thursday with one felony count of having sexual contact with human remains without authority, officials said, after he allegedly fondled a dead woman's breast… A two-minute buffer on the camera captured the incident even though Rojas had turned it off, sources told the affiliate." Oh look, something the police union actually won't defend.
"Facebook users are sharing a fake document from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), which allegedly outlines a seven-step strategy to strip civilian populations worldwide of all their weapons. UNODA is a real agency with a goal to limit weapons of mass destruction and illegal small arms circulation, but the reference number on the document does not exist, and the agency told AFP the entire document is forged." The pro-gun lobby will lie to get their way?
"Three days after two shooters killed four people, including a veteran police officer, in Jersey City, questions still remained about the pair that carried out the crime and the circumstances that led to it."
"Search crews in New Zealand recovered six of eight bodies Friday from an island where a volcano erupted, killing up to 16 people, authorities said."
How goes Brexit. "Boris Johnson will return to Downing Street with a big majority after the Conservatives swept aside Labour in its traditional heartlands." Hard Brexit here we come. TO my UK friends, notice all the people celebrating today? Remember their faces and names. Because next Christmas (2020), as you dig out of the smoking crater that is your economy, have lost Scotland, and the return of Northern Ireland's Troubles (v2), those assholes are the ones responsible. Don't let them off the hook.
"When he's done celebrating his thumping election victory, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going to realize he's got a problem -- some constituent parts of the United Kingdom are heading in different directions."
How go the Trade Wars? "U.S. stock index futures pointed to a third day of gains Friday as investors hoped China and the U.S. would finalize a so-called phase one trade agreement. Gains were kept in check as doubts remained about the deal’s details." This is the moment where in the future people will say the stock market became uncoupled from economic reality. Buy on rumor, sell on news.
"According to a recent survey by the National Association for Business Economics, seven out of 10 economists expect a recession by the end of 2021." And I agree, although I will note I thought a recession would start in 2018. "An economic downturn may tempt investors to put even less into retirement savings while waiting for a bull market to return. On the surface, it seems like this strategy protects savings. During the last recession, personal savings as a percentage of disposal income fell from 6.4% to 3.7% between December 2008 and January 2009." One, don't pull money out of your 401k unless you really, really need it. Two, a Bear Market is exactly the time to increase your 401k savings. It's easy to mistake money in with value out. As you're actively investing, don't mistake your 401k for a savings account, like you'd have at a bank. You are buying shares (value). What you're hoping is to "buy low, sell high." You're gambling on the magic of compound interest and that the stock market, overall, will be higher when you retire than now. To that end, you want as many shares as possible. Now, if you're near retirement, a down market sucks. But if you're in the middle (or better, the start) of savings in your 401k, a down market is what you want. But here I'll just say the 401k retirement swap that happened in the late 80s was a terrible and cynical bait and switch on the American public. The 401k was only for the uber rich (and they're the only ones who really benefit from it). But it's the game we have, best play your hand as well as you can.
"Each year the UNDP looks at human progress around the globe. This year the authors say that major societal shifts around technology, education and climate change are creating a 'new great divergence.' Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator, sums up the problem this way: 'an increasing number of young people are educated, connected and stuck with no ladder of choices to move up.'… Global inequality is now more about disparities in opportunity than disparities in income." I'm not sure those two things are uncoupled.
"Russia's only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, caught fire on Thursday morning during repair work in Russia's Arctic Sea port of Murmansk, according to Russian state news agencies… The fire broke out during maintenance work in the first power unit and a thick plume of black smoke was seen from the upper deck." So much for the Syrian shakedown cruise.
"The Senate on Thursday passed a measure officially recognizing the century-old Armenian genocide — a move that was vociferously opposed by the Turkish government and that had been blocked by the White House… The resolution passed unanimously after having been blocked three times by three different Republican senators." History like this is not controversial, except for those who would also deny history. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Instead of demolishing NAFTA and starting over, 'it’s a renovation of North American trade,' Ujczo said. 'We put a fresh coat of paint on about 60 percent of the deal, so we kept what worked in the original NAFTA. But we have upgraded some applications and fixtures in terms of the technology chapters and customs chapters. And then we knocked down some walls.'" USMCA is NAFTA v2.
"A Pentagon watchdog is auditing the contract awarded to a North Dakota company to build a portion of President Trump’s border wall… Thompson requested the probe last week after worries that 'inappropriate influence' affected the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s decision to hire Fisher to construct 31 miles of the wall in Yuma County, Arizona." Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. is a big supporter of the president, and he has called them out by name.
On the Media podcast with… "On Monday, the Washington Post released the fruits of a three-year investigative effort: the "Afghanistan Papers," a once-secret internal government history of a deadly, costly, and ultimately futile entanglement. The hundreds of frank, explosive interviews — along with a new tranche of memos written by the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — revealed the extent to which American leaders misled the public on their efforts to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, rout the Taliban, expel Al Qaeda, install democracy, and undo corruption."
How nationalism rises… "It wasn't the content of White House adviser Stephen Miller’s leaked emails that shocked Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, Texas, but the silence of her Republican colleagues that has followed."
"President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at tackling anti-Semitism on college campuses on Wednesday ― but one of the speakers at the event has said that Jews are going to hell… But the president also called upon evangelical Christian leader Robert Jeffress to speak, claiming he’s a 'tremendous faith leader.'" (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)
"On a hunting trip to Mongolia earlier this summer the US president’s son Donald Trump Jr killed a rare species of endangered sheep. A permit for the killing was retroactively issued after Trump met with the country’s president, according to new reporting from ProPublica." Asshole. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Is Trump profiting off the presidency?… A trio of lawsuits claiming that Trump's business dealings are violating the Constitution have been ping-ponging in federal courts for months, but all three cases are now advancing to critical stages."
"As House leaders begin drafting articles of impeachment, examples from the Nixon and Clinton eras abound. This week, On the Media rewinds to the 19th century — and the turbulent impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Plus, what a debate between two right-wing intellectuals means for the future of conservatism." History may not repeat, but it sure does rhyme. Highly recommended, especially the second part of the show.
"Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee considered amendments to the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump during a Thursday session that lasted more than 14 hours ahead of Friday's expected vote."
"Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Fox News that Republicans would be in sync with the White House counsel when impeachment proceedings against President Trump advance to the Senate." Mitch McConnell is a traitor to the US. He has erased the separation of powers. He's ceded his authority to the executive.
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