A Hong Kong-based security company founded by Blackwater founder Erik
Prince (and brother of Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos) is again operating in southern Iraq, according to BuzzFeed News reports.
Prince,
whose private mercenary group Blackwater won U.S. government contracts
after 9/11 only to get kicked out of Iraq after killing 14 unarmed
citizens during the Iraq War. After Iraq booted Blackwater from the country, the company hanged its name to Academi. Prince later sold the company, and onvictions and lawsuits followed. Prince reportedly founded the logistics company
Frontier Services Group (FSG) in 2014 and has since expanded it into
Africa, China, Southeast Asia and Dubai.
BuzzFeed reports that FSG's
biggest investor is the state-owned Chinese company, CITIC. To many, Prince no longer appears to be operating in the interests of U.S. national security. Prince’s record has remained a point of tension for the company-- when
FSG announced it was shifting from solely logistics to security projects
a couple of years ago, two board members resigned,
Although FSG
has not publicly acknowledged that it is operating in Iraq, an FSG
subsidiary—Frontier Logistics Consultancy DMCC—reportedly registered
with Iraq’s Ministry of Trade in February 2018, and a source told
BuzzFeed its office in Iraq was in Basra. FSG, in its latest annual
report, reportedly mentioned that they had new offices open in the
Middle East—but did not specify the countries where the offices were
located.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Monday, April 29, 2019
The Long Night: GOT's Death Count
At 82 minutes, episode 3 of the HBO drama's last season was the longest of the series. Below is the confirmed casualty list:
- Lyanna Mormont (killed in the act of slaying a giant wight)
- Jorah (died protecting Dany)
- Melisandre (died of old age after removing her necklace)
- Theon (killed by the Night King while protecting Bran)
- Beric (killed protecting Arya)
- Edd Tollett (killed protecting Sam)
- Night King (killed by Arya)
- White Walkers (perished after the death of the Night King)
- Viserion (perished after the death of the Night King)
- Hordes of Dothraki, Unsullied and many others
ASPCA alert: The two dragons, Rhaegal and Drogon, survived. Jon's direwolf, Ghost, also survived.
Petulant Celebrities Bite Back
SNL comedian Michael Che recently went on an Instagram tear about an Uproxx writer who wrote a piece about Che’s colleague Colin Jost, suggesting that the critic, Steve Hyden, was giving out blow jobs to dogs. (Che, surprising no one, has already begun lashing out at critics writing about his response to that criticism.)
Last week, the musician Lizzo, whose new album is otherwise getting great reviews, got bent out of shape about one Pitchfork review by Rawiya Kameir that perhaps wasn’t as glowing as the artist had hoped. Lizzo complained on Twitter, saying “PEOPLE WHO ‘REVIEW’ ALBUMS AND DONT MAKE MUSIC THEMSELVES SHOULD BE UNEMPLOYED.” (She later walked back the comment.)
A couple days later, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber got mad that Morgan Stewart — an E! host best known for her starring role on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and absolutely nothing else — made fun of their Coachella performance. “One day everybody that works at all them blogs will realize how unfulfilled they are and purposeless what they’re doing is,” Grande wrote in a tweet that she later deleted.
And the next episode of Game of Outrage is courtesy of Olivia Munn, who posted a mini essay on Twitter comparing blog posts about her fashion choices written by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan — the writers who run a celebrity fashion criticism blog called Go Fug Yourself — with the abuses of #MeToo.
Why celebrities think the bloggers are masters of the cultural narrative is beyond me. “Lol ill never understand why when they shit on people its criticism. but when i shit on them its harassment..?” Che wrote in an Instagram story — and many of his peers seem to share the same confusion. But most of the celebrities in question have platforms and social media followings that are orders of magnitude larger than those of the people who write about them.
Rapper Nicki Minaj inexplicably punched downward when she DM’d Toronto writer Wanna Thompson on Twitter because she didn’t like her criticism of her music, calling her ugly and jealous, much like what you’d typically tell someone in the seventh grade if you wanted to make them cry in the middle of the cafeteria. But then Minaj’s fandom descended on Thompson too, calling her an “unemployed dark skin black guttersnipe bitch.” Thompson is an independent blogger, far from a famous writer and not affiliated with a major media brand. What power did she have that Minaj felt like she needed to rebalance in the world?
Anne Helen Petersen wrote about Armie Hammer's career last year, and he replied to her on Twitter, saying her perspective was “bitter AF.” He deactivated his Twitter account shortly after, which caused a deluge of Call Me by Your Name stans to go after Petersen online, with one person going so far as to threaten to kill her dog. Months later, Hammer tweeted at Petersen again about her opinion of a Jennifer Lawrence Vanity Fair profile, suggesting that she should be medicated. Armie Hammer is 32 years old.
Writer Shannon Keating wrote an essay in 2016 about the societal pressure on LGBT pop stars like Halsey to downplay their queerness, which Halsey seemed to interpret as a suggestion that she was “not gay enough,” resulting in a predictable Twitter hell as the star’s fans piled on.
Celebrities need to get a clue and realize that bloggers are part of the new media and get a grip on their egos-- one bad review doesn't bring down the house.
Last week, the musician Lizzo, whose new album is otherwise getting great reviews, got bent out of shape about one Pitchfork review by Rawiya Kameir that perhaps wasn’t as glowing as the artist had hoped. Lizzo complained on Twitter, saying “PEOPLE WHO ‘REVIEW’ ALBUMS AND DONT MAKE MUSIC THEMSELVES SHOULD BE UNEMPLOYED.” (She later walked back the comment.)
A couple days later, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber got mad that Morgan Stewart — an E! host best known for her starring role on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and absolutely nothing else — made fun of their Coachella performance. “One day everybody that works at all them blogs will realize how unfulfilled they are and purposeless what they’re doing is,” Grande wrote in a tweet that she later deleted.
And the next episode of Game of Outrage is courtesy of Olivia Munn, who posted a mini essay on Twitter comparing blog posts about her fashion choices written by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan — the writers who run a celebrity fashion criticism blog called Go Fug Yourself — with the abuses of #MeToo.
Why celebrities think the bloggers are masters of the cultural narrative is beyond me. “Lol ill never understand why when they shit on people its criticism. but when i shit on them its harassment..?” Che wrote in an Instagram story — and many of his peers seem to share the same confusion. But most of the celebrities in question have platforms and social media followings that are orders of magnitude larger than those of the people who write about them.
Rapper Nicki Minaj inexplicably punched downward when she DM’d Toronto writer Wanna Thompson on Twitter because she didn’t like her criticism of her music, calling her ugly and jealous, much like what you’d typically tell someone in the seventh grade if you wanted to make them cry in the middle of the cafeteria. But then Minaj’s fandom descended on Thompson too, calling her an “unemployed dark skin black guttersnipe bitch.” Thompson is an independent blogger, far from a famous writer and not affiliated with a major media brand. What power did she have that Minaj felt like she needed to rebalance in the world?
Anne Helen Petersen wrote about Armie Hammer's career last year, and he replied to her on Twitter, saying her perspective was “bitter AF.” He deactivated his Twitter account shortly after, which caused a deluge of Call Me by Your Name stans to go after Petersen online, with one person going so far as to threaten to kill her dog. Months later, Hammer tweeted at Petersen again about her opinion of a Jennifer Lawrence Vanity Fair profile, suggesting that she should be medicated. Armie Hammer is 32 years old.
Writer Shannon Keating wrote an essay in 2016 about the societal pressure on LGBT pop stars like Halsey to downplay their queerness, which Halsey seemed to interpret as a suggestion that she was “not gay enough,” resulting in a predictable Twitter hell as the star’s fans piled on.
Celebrities need to get a clue and realize that bloggers are part of the new media and get a grip on their egos-- one bad review doesn't bring down the house.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Brazil's Bolsonaro Bolsters Bigotry
He added: "If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life. [But] Brazil can't be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families."
Brazil has a reputation of being welcoming to LGBT people. The city of Rio de Janeiro was once named the best LGBT destination in the world and various Pride events, as well as the famous Carnival, attract millions of people from around the world.
The president's comments are the latest in a string of controversial remarks, after he previously said he was '"very proud" to be homophobic.
Bolsonaro once said that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one while also telling openly gay British actor Stephen Fry that "Brazilian society doesn't like homosexuals."
In another attack, he accused "homosexual fundamentalists" of brainwashing children to "become gays and lesbians to satisfy them sexually in the future".
He also once told a female lawmaker she was too ugly to rape, and said the birth of his daughter, after having four sons, was a "moment of weakness."
Congressman and LGBT activist David Miranda told reporters: 'This is not a head of state—this is a national disgrace.'
Renan Quinalha, lawyer and activist, said that Bolsonaro's remarks give a 'green light to already alarming levels of violence against the LGBT community'.
Brazil’s best-selling author, Paulo Coelho, was among those to slam Bolsonaro. “Brazilian women ARE NOT a commodity. Sex tourism is NOT a reason to visit Brazil.”
Daniela Mercury, an openly gay Brazilian pop star, said: “Should Brazilians have to accept state homophobia and the encouragement of sexual tourism with women? We demand that Brazilian women and our LGBTS families be respected.”
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Champion Athletes Continue to Boycott Trump White House
The NCAA men's basketball champions Virginia Cavaliers have declined to visit the Trump White House, saying it would be difficult to schedule the visit. Nobody is buying that, however-- final exams are still three weeks away, and the White House is a mere two-hour drive from campus. The NCAA women's basketball champions Baylor Lady Bears, however, have somehow managed to schedule a White House visit-- despite having to travel over 10 times the distance as UVA.
The Villanova Wildcats, who won the 2018 NCAA men's tournament, didn't visit the White House either.
It used to be that visiting the White House was an honor for winning athletic teams, and reports of players boycotting such visits was a a rarity. But with a jerk like Trump in the Oval Office, things are much different-- and there is a long list (in just over two years) of athletes boycotting the White House to avoid association with the Orangeman and becoming a political prop.
As Trump becomes mired in impeachment and obstruction of justice allegations (and his popularity continues to sink), the list of boycotting athletes is sure to grow even longer over Trump's remaining 21 months in office (or shorter, depending on circumstances).
The Villanova Wildcats, who won the 2018 NCAA men's tournament, didn't visit the White House either.
It used to be that visiting the White House was an honor for winning athletic teams, and reports of players boycotting such visits was a a rarity. But with a jerk like Trump in the Oval Office, things are much different-- and there is a long list (in just over two years) of athletes boycotting the White House to avoid association with the Orangeman and becoming a political prop.
- The 2016 Chicago Cubs moved up their 2017 White House visit to occur pre-inauguration in order to avoid Trump
- A visit of the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles was canceled after only 10 planned to attend
- Over half of the 2017 Super Bowl winning New England Patriots team refused to attend their White House ceremony
- The 2017 NCAA men's basketball champs North Carolina Tar Heels did not make a visit to the Trump White House
- The 2017 NCAA women's basketball champs South Carolina Gamecocks declined a visit after not hearing from the Trump White House for over six months
- The 2017 WNBA champions Minnesota Lynx were never even invited by the Trump White house for a visit (the team was invited for a visit after its 2011, 2013 and 2015 championships)
- A visit of 2017 NBA champion Golden State Warriors was canceled after Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and a number of other players refused to attend
- Two Puerto Rican members of the 2017 Houston Astros refused to attend the White Ceremony for the World Series Champions
- The 2018 NBA champion Golden State Warriors also refused to visit the Trump White House
- Several major players for the 2018 Washington Capitals refused to attend the Stanley Cup champions' visit
- Mexican pitcher Hector Velázquez, American League MVP Mookie Betts and several other players for the 2018 World Series Champions Boston Red Sox are refusing to attend the team's White House ceremony next month.
As Trump becomes mired in impeachment and obstruction of justice allegations (and his popularity continues to sink), the list of boycotting athletes is sure to grow even longer over Trump's remaining 21 months in office (or shorter, depending on circumstances).
Friday, April 26, 2019
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Trump's North Korea Initiative a Complete Disaster
American Otto Warmbier, a college student, was arrested in North Korea in 2016 for taking a propaganda poster. Immediately after his imprisonment he was rendered comatose, with severe brain damage; it was not until 2017 that North Korea acknowledged his condition. An American team flew to Pyongyang to retrieve him, but it turns out that securing Warmbier’s release was even more complicated than we previously knew. The North Koreans demanded that America agree to pay $2 million for Warmbier’s extensive medical care before he would be released.
State Department official Joseph Yun called then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and told him about the bill. Tillerson called Trump. They instructed their envoy to sign the piece of paper agreeing that he would pay the $2 million, the two people said.
Fred Warmbier, Otto’s father, said he was never told about the hospital bill. He said it sounded like a “ransom” for his son.
Trump, for his part, has maintained that Kim did not know about Warmbier’s imprisonment and injuries, based on the dictator’s own say-so.
Warmbier’s brain damage while in North Korean hands and subsequent death caused widespread shock in the United States, but the news that North Korea expected the U.S. government to pay for his care has caused further backlash.
“This is outrageous. They killed a perfectly healthy and happy college student and then had the audacity to expect the U.S. government to pay for his care,” said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
This news comes on the heels of reports that the hermit kingdom has re-started testing of weapon systems and has publicly stated that it no longer wants to deal with Trump's principle negotiator Mike Pompeo.
Kim Jong-un also made a visit to Russia this week, telling Vladimir Putin that "the situation on the Korean peninsula and the region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point." Jong-un warned the situation "may return to its original state as the U.S. took an unilateral attitude in bad faith" during recent talks.
Paying ransom for a hostage and then getting nothing in return-- Trump sure is on the fast track to the Nobel Prize, isn't he?
State Department official Joseph Yun called then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and told him about the bill. Tillerson called Trump. They instructed their envoy to sign the piece of paper agreeing that he would pay the $2 million, the two people said.
Fred Warmbier, Otto’s father, said he was never told about the hospital bill. He said it sounded like a “ransom” for his son.
Trump, for his part, has maintained that Kim did not know about Warmbier’s imprisonment and injuries, based on the dictator’s own say-so.
Warmbier’s brain damage while in North Korean hands and subsequent death caused widespread shock in the United States, but the news that North Korea expected the U.S. government to pay for his care has caused further backlash.
“This is outrageous. They killed a perfectly healthy and happy college student and then had the audacity to expect the U.S. government to pay for his care,” said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
This news comes on the heels of reports that the hermit kingdom has re-started testing of weapon systems and has publicly stated that it no longer wants to deal with Trump's principle negotiator Mike Pompeo.
Kim Jong-un also made a visit to Russia this week, telling Vladimir Putin that "the situation on the Korean peninsula and the region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point." Jong-un warned the situation "may return to its original state as the U.S. took an unilateral attitude in bad faith" during recent talks.
Paying ransom for a hostage and then getting nothing in return-- Trump sure is on the fast track to the Nobel Prize, isn't he?
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Trump Administration Allows Adoption Agencies to Discriminate Against Catholics and Jews
Aimee Maddonna is the kind of foster parent that child welfare agencies dream of: a married mom of three children, two of them with special needs, and hoping to foster kids who also have special needs. No surprise that when she visited the largest child-welfare agency in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, she passed all of the screening tests with flying colors.
Until she told them she was Catholic. That’s when her application was summarily rejected.
That’s because the agency in question, the state-funded, evangelical-run Miracle Hill Ministries only places children with “born again” Christian parents. In 2018, South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, issued an executive order specifically allowing this discrimination and asked for a federal waiver to allow Miracle Hill to receive federal taxpayer dollars disbursed by the state and turn away not just LGBT people, unmarried people, and anyone else they deemed religiously unfit, but non-evangelical Christians and Jews too. (At least two Jewish couples have also been denied by Miracle Hill.)
In January 2019, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services granted that waiverI
In Donald Trump’s America, state- and federally funded adoption agencies and other child welfare agencies (CWAs) can now openly violate anti-discrimination laws and openly flout the “best interests of the child” standard that governs American family law, and can legally refuse to place children with anyone they religiously disapprove of.
If a Catholic diocese doesn’t want to hire a rabbi to celebrate Mass, that is perfectly legal. It’s legal if they want to turn gays away at the door too. But when an organization takes federal money, that money comes with certain conditions, like not discriminating against Jews or gay people, and, in the case of adoption and foster care, making decisions based on the best interests of the child, not theology.
Maddonna is now in court, part of a lawsuit brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. It’s one of several legal actions pending against a national assault against LGBT adoption—10 states specifically allow state-funded CWAs to turn gay people away because of their sexual orientation—that is so overbroad that it has now caught straight Catholics and Jews in its dragnet.
“This was once considered a fringe policy,” said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. “It’s now reached crisis levels.”
Until she told them she was Catholic. That’s when her application was summarily rejected.
That’s because the agency in question, the state-funded, evangelical-run Miracle Hill Ministries only places children with “born again” Christian parents. In 2018, South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, issued an executive order specifically allowing this discrimination and asked for a federal waiver to allow Miracle Hill to receive federal taxpayer dollars disbursed by the state and turn away not just LGBT people, unmarried people, and anyone else they deemed religiously unfit, but non-evangelical Christians and Jews too. (At least two Jewish couples have also been denied by Miracle Hill.)
In January 2019, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services granted that waiverI
In Donald Trump’s America, state- and federally funded adoption agencies and other child welfare agencies (CWAs) can now openly violate anti-discrimination laws and openly flout the “best interests of the child” standard that governs American family law, and can legally refuse to place children with anyone they religiously disapprove of.
If a Catholic diocese doesn’t want to hire a rabbi to celebrate Mass, that is perfectly legal. It’s legal if they want to turn gays away at the door too. But when an organization takes federal money, that money comes with certain conditions, like not discriminating against Jews or gay people, and, in the case of adoption and foster care, making decisions based on the best interests of the child, not theology.
Maddonna is now in court, part of a lawsuit brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. It’s one of several legal actions pending against a national assault against LGBT adoption—10 states specifically allow state-funded CWAs to turn gay people away because of their sexual orientation—that is so overbroad that it has now caught straight Catholics and Jews in its dragnet.
“This was once considered a fringe policy,” said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. “It’s now reached crisis levels.”
Monday, April 22, 2019
Sunday, April 21, 2019
More Lameness From Clueless Collins
In the aftermath of the release of the Mueller report, GOP Senator Susan Collins screwed up the “courage” to concede that the report was “unflattering” to President Donald Trump after it exposed his many efforts to derail the Mueller probe.
The president was “not only very upset by the special counsel’s investigations, but tried several times through intermediaries to end it, and it is an unflattering portrayal of the president,” Collins told Maine Public Radio.
Twitter did not hesitate to react accordingly.
The president was “not only very upset by the special counsel’s investigations, but tried several times through intermediaries to end it, and it is an unflattering portrayal of the president,” Collins told Maine Public Radio.
Twitter did not hesitate to react accordingly.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
10 Other Revelations from the Mueller Report
1. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders admitted she lied to reporters when she claimed that "the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in James Comey. She admitted to the Mueller investigation that the statement was based on nothing.
2. Donald Trump Jr. was a mouthpiece for Wikileaks, posting social media messages and sharing links on Hillary Clinton and the Podesta emails at the direction of Wikileaks.
3. Trump directed members of his campaign to find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails. Many in the campaign were involved in the effort, including Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Barbara Ledeen and Peter Smith. Emails suggested that Smith himself was in direct contact with Russian hackers.
4. Disgraced Blackwater founder Erik Prince funded the analysis and authentication of the Hillary Clinton emails for the Trump campaign.
5. Paul Manafort had lost millions prior to joining the Trump campaign and hoped that his new job with Trump would help him get Rusian oligarch Oleg Deripaska a visa in exchange for dropping a lawsuit against Manafort.
6. Hope Hicks hung up the phone on Vladimir Putin on election night, thinking it was a hoax call.
7. Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort managed to avoid being charged for violating campaign finance law by being too stupid to know they were breaking the law.
8. The secret dossier prepare by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele claiming that a compromising tape of Trump was in the possession of powerful Russians is backed up by the Mueller investigation.
9. After Trump exhorted Russia to hack Hillary Clintons emails at a July 27, 2016 campaign rally, it took Russia's intelligence service only five hours to electronically break into Clinton's personal office and obtain the emails.
10. Mueller's investigators conclusively established that murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich did NOT help leak Hillary Clinton's emails
2. Donald Trump Jr. was a mouthpiece for Wikileaks, posting social media messages and sharing links on Hillary Clinton and the Podesta emails at the direction of Wikileaks.
3. Trump directed members of his campaign to find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails. Many in the campaign were involved in the effort, including Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Barbara Ledeen and Peter Smith. Emails suggested that Smith himself was in direct contact with Russian hackers.
4. Disgraced Blackwater founder Erik Prince funded the analysis and authentication of the Hillary Clinton emails for the Trump campaign.
5. Paul Manafort had lost millions prior to joining the Trump campaign and hoped that his new job with Trump would help him get Rusian oligarch Oleg Deripaska a visa in exchange for dropping a lawsuit against Manafort.
6. Hope Hicks hung up the phone on Vladimir Putin on election night, thinking it was a hoax call.
7. Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort managed to avoid being charged for violating campaign finance law by being too stupid to know they were breaking the law.
8. The secret dossier prepare by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele claiming that a compromising tape of Trump was in the possession of powerful Russians is backed up by the Mueller investigation.
9. After Trump exhorted Russia to hack Hillary Clintons emails at a July 27, 2016 campaign rally, it took Russia's intelligence service only five hours to electronically break into Clinton's personal office and obtain the emails.
10. Mueller's investigators conclusively established that murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich did NOT help leak Hillary Clinton's emails
Friday, April 19, 2019
Thursday, April 18, 2019
It's Mueller Time!
Barr's performance was widely pilloried online, and Rosenstein looked like a deer in headlights during the entire conference.
The Mueller report says the Trump campaign had "numerous links" with Russia. Mueller also acknowledged that his report could be used as basis for articles of impeachment, saying directly: “Congress can permissibly criminalize certain obstructive conduct by the President.”
The money quote from the report:
[Trump, upon learning that a special prosecutor had been appointed] "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I’m fucked."
In his bizarre defense of Trump, Attorney General Barr tried to claim that Trump was cooperative with the investigation, but we know now that is a lie. Trump said to investigators (in his written responses) "I don't know" or "I don't recall" over three dozen times!
Donald Trump did not agree to be interviewed by the special prosecutor. Trump tried to fire the special prosecutor. Trump sent messages to associates to not cooperate with the investigation. Through social media, Trump disparaged the investigation and belittled the special prosecutor.
The Mueller report clearly demonstrates that Trump had corrupt intent. He had consciousness of guilt. He had motive to obstruct justice. We already know that Trump is the "unindicted co-conspirator" in the federal case against Michael Cohen, so there is an underlying crime. Trump has certainly obstructed justice and should be charged and/or impeached.
As the Swamp Churns
Fox News talking head Monica Crowley, who was revealed as a plagiarist
during her previous try at a Trump administration position, is making a second pass at the Trump trough. Bloomberg reports Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin plans to hire her as a top Treasury spokesperson, replacing departing Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tony Sayegh. The new position will (presumably) require her to suspend her lobbying career: In 2017, Crowley registered as a foreign lobbyist working on behalf of Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk.
Meanwhile, Ryan Zinke, the most wretched and venal secretary of the interior since James G. Watt held the position under President Ronald Reagan, has landed a job with U.S. Gold Corp., a small Nevada-based mining company. It’s the second job Zinke has taken on since his departure, the first being managing director of the technology and energy investment firm Artillery One, a post he took less than two weeks after leaving Interior.
The Zinke announcement again raises the issue of conflict of interest. In 2017, Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing a ban on lobbying by former members of the administration, for their lifetimes for foreign governments and for five years for other entities. Zinke says he won’t be doing any lobbying in his new post. And who's bullshitting who here?
Meanwhile, Ryan Zinke, the most wretched and venal secretary of the interior since James G. Watt held the position under President Ronald Reagan, has landed a job with U.S. Gold Corp., a small Nevada-based mining company. It’s the second job Zinke has taken on since his departure, the first being managing director of the technology and energy investment firm Artillery One, a post he took less than two weeks after leaving Interior.
The Zinke announcement again raises the issue of conflict of interest. In 2017, Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing a ban on lobbying by former members of the administration, for their lifetimes for foreign governments and for five years for other entities. Zinke says he won’t be doing any lobbying in his new post. And who's bullshitting who here?
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Monday, April 15, 2019
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Trump Tax Cuts For the Rich
Taxpayers are scrambling to make last-minute payments due to
the Internal Revenue Service in just four days, but many of the
country's largest publicly-held corporations are doing better: They've
reported they owe absolutely nothing on the billions of dollars in
profits they earned last year.
At
least 60 companies reported that their 2018 federal tax rates amounted
to effectively zero, or even less than zero, on income earned on U.S.
operations, according to an analysis released today by the Washington,
D.C.-based think tank, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
The number is more than twice as many as ITEP found roughly, per year, on average in an earlier, multi-year analysis before the new tax law went into effect.
Among
them are household names like technology giant Amazon.com Inc. and
entertainment streaming service Netflix Inc., in addition to global oil
giant Chevron Corp., pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and Co., and
farming and commercial equipment manufacturer Deere & Co.
The
identified companies were "able to zero out their federal income taxes
on $79 billion in U.S. pretax income," according to the ITEP report,
which was released today. "Instead of paying $16.4 billion in taxes, as
the new 21 percent corporate tax rate requires, these companies enjoyed
a net corporate tax rebate of $4.3 billion, blowing a $20.7 billion
hole in the federal budget last year." To compile the list, ITEP
analyzed the 2018 financial filings of the country's largest 560
publicly-held companies.
The controversial Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act, signed by President Donald Trump in December 2017, lowered the
corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, among other cuts.
That's partly to blame for giving corporations an easier way out of
paying taxes, said Matthew Gardner, an ITEP senior fellow and lead
author of the report. The new corporate tax rate "lowers the bar for the
amount of tax avoidance it takes to get you down to zero," he said.
"The
specter of big corporations avoiding all income taxes on billions in
profits sends a strong and corrosive signal to Americans: that the tax
system is stacked against them, in favor of corporations and the
wealthiest Americans," Gardner wrote in the report.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Airbnb Not That Concerned About Your Privacy?
After arriving at their Airbnb in Cork, Ireland, a family from New Zealand made an unsettling discovery: a hidden camera, livestreaming from the living room.
Nealie and Andrew Barker, from Auckland, were in the midst of a 14-month trip around Europe when they arrived at the Airbnb property with their four children and niece. Once the family had unpacked, Andrew Barker, who works in IT security, scanned the house's Wi-Fi network. The scan unearthed a camera, and subsequently a live feed. From the angle of the video, the family tracked down the camera, concealed in what appeared to be a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector.
The family called Airbnb to report the camera, but Airbnb only told the family that if they canceled, they wouldn't get their money back. Andrew Barker next called the owner of the property. When confronted with the family's discovery, the host hung up.
The family relocated to a nearby hotel and called Airbnb the following day. "They still didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the issue. They continued to treat it like a canceled booking," according to the family. Ultimately, Airbnb's trust and safety team promised to conduct an investigation, and it temporarily suspended the listing.
After the family returned home, Airbnb told the family that the host had been "exonerated," and the listing was reinstated. It was only after the family posted about the incident on Facebook and local New Zealand news stations reported the story that the host was permanently banned.
Stories of hidden cameras in Airbnb properties have been growing over the last few years (see here, here and here), as well as continued concern over the company's lack of proper response to the controversy. In the meantime, the lack of oversight over the company by states and municipalities allows the problem to grow and ensnare more victims. There's no telling how much footage of unsuspecting Airbnb guests are being trafficked on the internet.
In the meantime, travelers are forced to avoid Airbnb altogether or learn how to use their phone or other devices to detect hidden cameras on their own.
Nealie and Andrew Barker, from Auckland, were in the midst of a 14-month trip around Europe when they arrived at the Airbnb property with their four children and niece. Once the family had unpacked, Andrew Barker, who works in IT security, scanned the house's Wi-Fi network. The scan unearthed a camera, and subsequently a live feed. From the angle of the video, the family tracked down the camera, concealed in what appeared to be a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector.
The family called Airbnb to report the camera, but Airbnb only told the family that if they canceled, they wouldn't get their money back. Andrew Barker next called the owner of the property. When confronted with the family's discovery, the host hung up.
The family relocated to a nearby hotel and called Airbnb the following day. "They still didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the issue. They continued to treat it like a canceled booking," according to the family. Ultimately, Airbnb's trust and safety team promised to conduct an investigation, and it temporarily suspended the listing.
After the family returned home, Airbnb told the family that the host had been "exonerated," and the listing was reinstated. It was only after the family posted about the incident on Facebook and local New Zealand news stations reported the story that the host was permanently banned.
Stories of hidden cameras in Airbnb properties have been growing over the last few years (see here, here and here), as well as continued concern over the company's lack of proper response to the controversy. In the meantime, the lack of oversight over the company by states and municipalities allows the problem to grow and ensnare more victims. There's no telling how much footage of unsuspecting Airbnb guests are being trafficked on the internet.
In the meantime, travelers are forced to avoid Airbnb altogether or learn how to use their phone or other devices to detect hidden cameras on their own.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Tucker Steps Into Another Pile of Shit
Last week, the 49-year-old complained on his show about a new scientific study that links toxic masculinity to global climate change.
Tucker was clearly not a fan of the study's conclusions, and angrily asked his guest, 'How did we wind up with a country in which feminists do science?''
Monday, April 8, 2019
"Secretary of Separation" Resigns
Nielsen had been widely criticized for her defenses of the administration's "zero tolerance" policy for asylum seekers, leading to a dramatic escalation in the number of children taken from their parents to be held in separate detention camps. She also came under fire after multiple deaths of immigrant children in federal custody. She has also been a reliable conduit for administration-pushed false claims and conspiracy theories.
CBS News reports that the move appears to be "part of a larger overhaul" of the department by Trump and top aide Stephen Miller, an obsessive pursuer of anti-immigrant white nationalist policies. Just a few days prior to Nielsen's resignation, Trump withdrew the nomination of proposed ICE director Ron Vitiello, saying he now wanted to go in a "tougher direction."
It is likely, then, that Nielsen was forced to resign not for her false claims to Congress, the cruelty with which her department instituted child separation policies or the gross indifference of the department to reunification efforts afterwards, but because Trump is now looking to replace her with someone who will institute even more aggressive and inhumane policies.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Karma's a Bitch
A rhino poacher hunting rhinoceros illegally in South Africa’s Kruger National Park was trampled to death by elephants and then eaten by lions, according to the Letaba Herald. The man was hunting with three other poachers who alerted authorities about the incident.
During the search of the area, park security rangers discovered the remains of the body. According to reports, indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants. The park manager, Glenn Phillips, told the local newspaper he was sorry about the death, but warned that illegal poaching comes with risks.
"Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that,” park manager Glenn Phillips told the Letaba Herald. “It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains.”
The four arrested individuals are in custody and will appear in court soon.
During the search of the area, park security rangers discovered the remains of the body. According to reports, indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants. The park manager, Glenn Phillips, told the local newspaper he was sorry about the death, but warned that illegal poaching comes with risks.
"Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that,” park manager Glenn Phillips told the Letaba Herald. “It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains.”
The four arrested individuals are in custody and will appear in court soon.
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Woman Put Thru Hell Trying to Get Pregnant
A woman who was desperate to have a baby was left devastated after she had 29 negative pregnancy tests before her husband revealed he had a vasectomy.
The anonymous woman blamed her Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) as she spent three years trying fertility treatments but was unsuccessful in having her dream family. When she gave her husband a choice between IVF and divorce, it was only then that he told her he's had a vasectomy.
"After three years of painful, invasive and expensive fertility treatment, I find out my husband had a vasectomy before we met," she shared in a Reddit post. "He let me endure 29 negative pregnancy tests and numerous hormone injections and he never thought to tell me."
Her husband got the procedure during his first marriage because he was afraid his first wife would get pregnant and he wouldn't be able to leave the relationship.
According to his second wife, the husband explained that he didn't tell her because "he loved me and was worried I would leave."
"I love him. But I'm broken. And given his lies, I think we are better off not married. I could still get donor sperm and honestly, that might be for the best," she shared.
Reddit users criticized her husband and most encouraged the woman to leave him. "This guy is straight up TRASH. Certified absolute garbage. How do you let someone you supposedly love go through all that?' one person said.
The anonymous woman blamed her Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) as she spent three years trying fertility treatments but was unsuccessful in having her dream family. When she gave her husband a choice between IVF and divorce, it was only then that he told her he's had a vasectomy.
"After three years of painful, invasive and expensive fertility treatment, I find out my husband had a vasectomy before we met," she shared in a Reddit post. "He let me endure 29 negative pregnancy tests and numerous hormone injections and he never thought to tell me."
Her husband got the procedure during his first marriage because he was afraid his first wife would get pregnant and he wouldn't be able to leave the relationship.
According to his second wife, the husband explained that he didn't tell her because "he loved me and was worried I would leave."
"I love him. But I'm broken. And given his lies, I think we are better off not married. I could still get donor sperm and honestly, that might be for the best," she shared.
Reddit users criticized her husband and most encouraged the woman to leave him. "This guy is straight up TRASH. Certified absolute garbage. How do you let someone you supposedly love go through all that?' one person said.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Brunei Punishes Gax Sex With Death
Brunei has introduced strict new Islamic laws that make anal sex and adultery offenses punishable by stoning to death. The new measures, also cover a range of other crimes including punishment for theft by amputation. The move has sparked international condemnation. Brunei's gay community has expressed shock and fear at the "medieval punishments".
"You wake up and realize that your neighbors, your family or even that nice old lady that sells prawn fritters by the side of the road doesn't think you're human, or is okay with stoning," one Bruneian gay man, who did not want to be identified, told reporters. The sultan of the small south-east Asian nation called for "stronger" Islamic teachings. Homosexuality was already illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Under the new laws, individuals accused of certain acts will only be convicted if they confess or if there were witnesses present. Offenses such as rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad will carry the maximum penalty of death. Lesbian sex carries a different penalty of 40 strokes of the cane and/or a maximum of 10 years in jail. The punishment for theft is amputation.
In the days since, there has been international outrage and calls for the country to reverse course. "These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when plans were first discussed five years ago," said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a Brunei researcher at Amnesty International. "Brunei's penal code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights."
The United Nations echoed the statement, calling the legislation "cruel, inhuman and degrading", saying it marked a "serious setback" for human rights protection.
Actor George Clooney and other celebrities have now called for a boycott of the luxury hotels. TV host Ellen DeGeneres also called for people to "rise up", saying "we need to do something now".
One 40-year-old gay Bruneian currently seeking asylum in Canada, said the impact of the new penal code was already being felt in Brunei.
The ex-government employee, who left Brunei last year after being charged with sedition for a Facebook post that was critical of the government, said people were "afraid". Another male Bruneian, who is not gay but has renounced Islam, said he felt "fearful and numb" in the face of the laws being implemented. "We ordinary citizens are powerless to stop Sharia law from being implemented," said the 23-year-old who did not want to be identified.
"You wake up and realize that your neighbors, your family or even that nice old lady that sells prawn fritters by the side of the road doesn't think you're human, or is okay with stoning," one Bruneian gay man, who did not want to be identified, told reporters. The sultan of the small south-east Asian nation called for "stronger" Islamic teachings. Homosexuality was already illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Under the new laws, individuals accused of certain acts will only be convicted if they confess or if there were witnesses present. Offenses such as rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad will carry the maximum penalty of death. Lesbian sex carries a different penalty of 40 strokes of the cane and/or a maximum of 10 years in jail. The punishment for theft is amputation.
In the days since, there has been international outrage and calls for the country to reverse course. "These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when plans were first discussed five years ago," said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a Brunei researcher at Amnesty International. "Brunei's penal code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights."
The United Nations echoed the statement, calling the legislation "cruel, inhuman and degrading", saying it marked a "serious setback" for human rights protection.
Actor George Clooney and other celebrities have now called for a boycott of the luxury hotels. TV host Ellen DeGeneres also called for people to "rise up", saying "we need to do something now".
One 40-year-old gay Bruneian currently seeking asylum in Canada, said the impact of the new penal code was already being felt in Brunei.
The ex-government employee, who left Brunei last year after being charged with sedition for a Facebook post that was critical of the government, said people were "afraid". Another male Bruneian, who is not gay but has renounced Islam, said he felt "fearful and numb" in the face of the laws being implemented. "We ordinary citizens are powerless to stop Sharia law from being implemented," said the 23-year-old who did not want to be identified.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Whistleblower Says That Dozens of National Security Clearance Denials Were Overturned by Trump Officials
The entire Republican Party spent two years dog-piling on Hillary Clinton over her emails and use of a private server. Time and time again, they said she could not be trusted on issues of national security. Now these same Republicans continue to back Donald Trump and his administration, despite one clear national security failure after another.
White House security adviser Tricia Newfold, an 18-year veteran of the White House, who has worked for multiple administrations, has informed Congress that 25 people in the Trump administration have been given security clearances despite failing to pass the necessary background checks. These individuals had been denied clearances, but the denials were reversed “despite concerns about their ties to foreign influence, conflicts of interests, questionable or criminal conduct, financial problems or drug abuse.”
After serving as a White House security adviser for 18 years, through both Republican and Democratic administrations, Tricia Newbold is taking her concerns directly to Congress. “I would not be doing a service to myself, my country, or my children if I sat back knowing that the issues that we have could impact national security,” Newbold told the House Government Oversight committee.
Newbold also detailed an unusually high number of temporary clearances that give access to classified information to people who would never actually get a permanent clearance.
Newbold's supervisor, Carl Kline, has also accused by the suspended official, Tricia Newbold, of rampant discrimination based on her sex and disability. When Newbold began raising red flags, she said, she was retaliated against, including a suspension she says was unwarranted.
The suspension, Newbold alleges, is a reprisal for a complaint she filed against Kline accusing him of aggressive behavior and discriminating against her as a woman with a rare form of dwarfism. Her allegations include that he placed files she needed to work on out of her reach. "It was almost like a game. It was disgusting," Newbold said. "I was completely humiliated. It was the first time in my life I haven't been able to do my job because I couldn't reach it."
Newbold also accused Kline of telling her to stand down on concerns about another senior White House official, called “Official 2” by the panel. She said one of her colleagues wrote a 14-page summary of why they were planning to deny the application. But when she told Kline of her plan to agree with her colleague on the matter, Kline “instructed Ms. Newbold, ‘do not touch’ the case.” Kline later approved the security clearance, she said.
In addition to accusations that Kline broke the law, Newbold claims he fostered an environment of toxic discrimination not just against women but against her in particular because of her short stature (she stands 4 feet, 2 inches). He was so aggressive and angry, she says, that a colleague told her, "I thought he was going to hit you."
White House security adviser Tricia Newfold, an 18-year veteran of the White House, who has worked for multiple administrations, has informed Congress that 25 people in the Trump administration have been given security clearances despite failing to pass the necessary background checks. These individuals had been denied clearances, but the denials were reversed “despite concerns about their ties to foreign influence, conflicts of interests, questionable or criminal conduct, financial problems or drug abuse.”
After serving as a White House security adviser for 18 years, through both Republican and Democratic administrations, Tricia Newbold is taking her concerns directly to Congress. “I would not be doing a service to myself, my country, or my children if I sat back knowing that the issues that we have could impact national security,” Newbold told the House Government Oversight committee.
Newbold also detailed an unusually high number of temporary clearances that give access to classified information to people who would never actually get a permanent clearance.
Newbold's supervisor, Carl Kline, has also accused by the suspended official, Tricia Newbold, of rampant discrimination based on her sex and disability. When Newbold began raising red flags, she said, she was retaliated against, including a suspension she says was unwarranted.
The suspension, Newbold alleges, is a reprisal for a complaint she filed against Kline accusing him of aggressive behavior and discriminating against her as a woman with a rare form of dwarfism. Her allegations include that he placed files she needed to work on out of her reach. "It was almost like a game. It was disgusting," Newbold said. "I was completely humiliated. It was the first time in my life I haven't been able to do my job because I couldn't reach it."
Newbold also accused Kline of telling her to stand down on concerns about another senior White House official, called “Official 2” by the panel. She said one of her colleagues wrote a 14-page summary of why they were planning to deny the application. But when she told Kline of her plan to agree with her colleague on the matter, Kline “instructed Ms. Newbold, ‘do not touch’ the case.” Kline later approved the security clearance, she said.
In addition to accusations that Kline broke the law, Newbold claims he fostered an environment of toxic discrimination not just against women but against her in particular because of her short stature (she stands 4 feet, 2 inches). He was so aggressive and angry, she says, that a colleague told her, "I thought he was going to hit you."
Monday, April 1, 2019
Commander in Cheat
In his new book, Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, Reilly, who interviewed former professional golfers and celebrities wrote: "To say "Donald Trump cheats" is like saying Michael Phelps swims."
"Trump doesn't just cheat at golf. He cheats like a three-card monte dealer. He throws it, boots it and moves it," Reilly wrote.
According to Reilly, there was one game in which Trump played against former ESPN announcer Mike Tirico, before the president was elected. Tirico hit a 230-yard 3-wood towards an elevated green he was unable to see. Tirico knew it was close, but by the time he got to the green, the ball was gone. It was eventually found 50-feet left of the hole in a bunker.
Tirico told Reilly that it didn't make any sense until Trump's caddy came up to him after the round. 'Trump’s caddy came up to me and said, "You know that shot you hit on the par 5?" Tirico said. "'It was about 10 feet from the hole. Trump threw it in the bunker. I watched him do it,"' Tirico told Reilly.
Reilly also tells another story in his book that involves Trump claiming that his handicap is a 2.8. Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus, who has 18 major golf titles under his belt, has a handicap of 3.4, "If Trump is a 2.8," Reilly wrote. "Queen Elizabeth is a pole vaulter."
Caddies at Mar-a-Lago have given Trump the nickname 'Pele' because he would kick the ball so often to move it to a better position.
Trump, who has faced scrutiny for the amount of time he spends golfing, has previously denied cheating. But golfers and other celebs told Reilly otherwise: "Whether you're his pharmacist or Tiger Woods, if you're playing golf with him, he's going to cheat." According to the sports writer, Trump would take second chances on a shot, claiming he had been distracted or a bird had flown over, and hit other players' balls that were closer to the hole.
On another occasion, Trump reportedly hit a ball into a lake and while his opponents weren't looking, he dropped another ball, according to veteran PGA Tour pro Brad Faxon.
Trump has come under scrutiny for the amount of time he spends playing golf, after he criticized his predecessor Barack Obama for the same thing. On the campaign trail he promised voters: "I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf." But after his first year in office White House schedules and press reports revealed he had spent time at a golf resort on 91 out of 365 days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)