Duh
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I hope she at least got a free bathrobe.
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Had an awesome night at the Rally to Protect the Mueller Investigation at the U.S. District Court in San Diego. There was a big, enthusiastic crowd – it was very impressive that so many people made it, especially considering the short notice. There was a real feeling of hope and community, mixed with a fighting spirit.
Here’s something that really impressed me. As you might have picked up from some of my other posts, I’ve been doing some work for Mike Levin’s campaign and was struck by his remarkable stamina – he and his wife have been going non-stop for months. And I was so proud that he won his seat, thus flipping California’s 49th district from Red to Blue for the first time in just about forever. Well, I couldn’t believe that he was there tonight! I was sure he would take a few days off, but no, he battled the rush hour traffic all the way down from San Clemente to San Diego which is two districts away from ours! He was there expressly to support this rally. That’s dedication. He fired up the crowd with a rousing speech and that was the highlight of the evening for me. 
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So Fox News, Wikileaks and Matt Drudge have all stopped tweeting. It’s been about three days. Kinda weird. I fact checked it on Twitter and it’s true. No one knows why but there’s been a lot of speculation. Maybe there is a more of a story here but for now, it’s only worth mentioning. 
Here’s a community story from Daily Kos that sums it up pretty well. 
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Every Thanksgiving we celebrate the generosity of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. This year, instead of honoring the sovereignty these fine people, the Trump Administration took their land away. So yesterday they marched on Washington. Why isn’t this a bigger story?
A week before Thanksgiving, members of the same tribe who helped the pilgrims survive 400 years ago stood before the nation’s Capitol Building. But instead of celebrating, they spoke out against the Trump administration’s decision to take their reservation away.
Yesterday morning over 200 members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, their allies, and supporters marched from the National Museum of the American Indian to the Capitol. They sang traditional songs, chanted slogans and held signs speaking out against the Department of the Interior’s September 7 announcement revoking the trust status of 321 acres of Mashpee land.
“What we’re seeing is a direct assault and attack on Indigenous people’s sovereignty,” Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said. “And sovereignty’s a powerful word.”
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For Alexey Navalny who is a political opponent of Putin’s, international justice was rendered.
This morning, the European Court of Human Rights has announced its verdict on the case of Alexey Navalny v. Russia. The judges have ruled unanimously that the seven arrests of Navalny between 2012 and 2014 caused severe violations of his rights and freedoms and were politically motivated. This is the first time in 14 years that the ECHR finds Russia guilty of political persecution.
Between 2012 and 2014, Navalny has been arrested a total of seven times at various protest rallies. On two occasions, he was arrested twice during the same day. Each time, Alexey was charged with either breaching the established procedure for conducting public events or disobeying a lawful police order. He was five times given a fine and was twice sentenced to administrative detention. All of his appeals were dismissed.
Navalny complained that all these arrests violated his right to liberty and right to freedom of assembly (Articles 5 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights). He then claimed that these arrests were politically motivated, which, in conjunction with the aforementioned violations, should be considered as a violation of Article 18 (limitation on use of restriction of rights).
The court has ruled that there has indeed been a violation of Article 18 in conjunction with Articles 5 and 11, as well as violations of Article 6 (right to a fair trial) during six out of seven administrative proceedings against Navalny. This established a very important precedent that will hopefully make it easier for future complainants from Russia to prove that they are also subject to political persecution.
The court has decided that Russia is to pay Alexey a total of €51,024 in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, as well as €12,653 for costs and expenses. There is no guarantee, however, that Navalny will actually receive this money. A recently introduced law states that Russia can ignore the decisions of the ECHR if it is ruled that they contradict the country’s constitution.
Finally, it has to be noted that Russian authorities anticipated such a decision and desperately tried to come up with something to prevent it. Their brilliant idea was to prevent Navalny from attending the court hearing in Strasbourg. Two days ago, he was denied exit from Russia at the airport border control. He was shown a crudely forged letter from the Federal Bailiff Service that stated that he is not allowed to leave the country for an undisclosed reason. At the same time, the FBS database was urgently updated to include the unpaid 2.2 million rubles of compensatory damages on the “Kirovles case”. For some reason, the authorities completely ignored the fact that the debtor needs to be notified about the impending restriction of travel by letter and given 5 days to settle the debt. Nevertheless, the 2.2 million rubles were paid immediately, and Alexey was allowed to fly to Strasbourg on the very next day, making all the efforts of the Russian authorities completely pointless.
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The election of Kim Jong-yang, a South Korean as head of Interpol is considered a win, instead of the proposed Russian candidate Alexander Prokopchuk.
Alot of dissent shown on Twiiter towards the potential picking of Prokopchuk, including Bill Browder, the American who instigated the start of the Magnitsky Act, after Russia murdered his accountant, Magnitsky.
Interpol has elected South Korean Kim Jong-yang as its president, rejecting the controversial Russian frontrunner.
Mr Kim was chosen by Interpol’s 194 member states at a meeting of its annual congress in Dubai.
He beat Russia’s Alexander Prokopchuk, who has been accused of using Interpol’s arrest warrant system to target critics of the Kremlin.
Russia blamed the outcome of the voting on “unprecedented pressure and interference”.
The election follows the disappearance of Interpol’s former president Meng Hongwei, who vanished on a trip to China in September. Beijing has since confirmed he has been detained and is being investigated for allegedly taking bribes.
Interpol presidency vote: Russia in surprise loss to South Korea - BBC News
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@dragonfly9
Oh thank goodness, it was looking like the Russian was going to take the seat. I’m so glad it went the other way.
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s record will not change even with T’s pardon…always stuck with his priors.
A federal judge on Thursday shot down former sheriff Joe Arpaio’s bid to sweep his criminal record clean.
Arpaio, the controversial former lawman in Arizona’s Maricopa County, was granted a pardon by President Trump on Aug. 25. He had been found guilty of criminal contempt of a federal court order after a five-day bench trial earlier this year and faced the possibility of up to six months in jail. After the pardon, the 85-year-old Arpaio petitioned the court to clear his record and prevent the ruling from being used in future litigation.
The case raised the novel question of how far a presidential pardon actually reaches.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton said the pardon only freed Arpaio from possible punishment. In a four-page order offering a check on the president’s executive power, Bolton wrote that a pardon could not erase the facts of the case.
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Why Publish a Dire Federal Climate Report on Black Friday? - The Atlantic
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@AMYKLOBUCHAR. Since this was released on a day no one would notice it… as in a Friday during a holiday weekend…let’s make sure everyone DOES notice it as reported below: “Massive federal climate change report warns of devastating health and economic costs to the U.S.” https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1066047070128230400
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He is what he is.
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Russian ships seize Ukrainian ships…
Michael McFaul (former Ambassador to Russia)
@McFaulMichael McFaul Retweeted Ivanna Klympush
I agree. Putin is testing not only Kyiv, but the liberal international order. Lately, Putin’s rogue behavior has not been deterred or punished, so he feels emboldened.
Ivanna Klympush
> @IKlympush
Civilized world should urgently react to yet another blatant #attack of #Russia on #Ukrainian ships in #Azov sea. #RU doesn’t need pretexts 2 escalate military situation. With every move it tests our common resilience to brake of rules & laws. Intl inaction will bless violence.
11:46 AM - 25 Nov 2018
Ivanna Klympush
@IKlympushDeputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Account is managed by myself and my team.
Two gunboats and a tug were captured by Russian forces. A number of Ukrainian crew members were injured.
Each country blames the other for the incident. On Monday Ukrainian MPs are due to vote on declaring martial law.
The crisis began when Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its waters.
The Russians placed a tanker under a bridge in the Kerch Strait - the only access to the Sea of Azov, which is shared between the two countries.
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The results from a long term investigation piece into the approval of medical devices in Europe.
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Hey Keaton!
I am a Kiwi too
…AND my last name is JAMES!
Thanks for posting this.
Admirable young woman!
Proud as punch.
I now live in the US…
Craig James (rnkiwi)
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Hello @rnkiwi! Glad to make your acquaintance. BTW, one of my favorite TV series is “The Flight of the Conchords” and one my favorite movies is “Hunt for the Wilderpeople.” Cheers!
WTF WTF WTF
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The school, established a quarter-century ago to educate a new generation of leaders and scholars after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, became on Monday the first university to be forced out of a European Union nation.
The ejection marked one of the surest signals to date of autocracy’s return to Hungary, and the region, after decades of relative freedom.
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Maureen Dowd was unsparing with her thoughts in her Op-Eds in the NYT about G H W Bush, and not to mention GW or Jeb! But her recap here of her true relationship with G H W B was a bit light-hearted, and something remarkable to consider that both put aside their differences to sort of agree to disagree, and make fun of the situation.
Posting this because it made me laugh (the written banter between them is funny)…and spoke to the character of the man (regardless of politics) and his innate decency.
At the mere mention of Trump’s name, 41 made a face. “He’s an ass,’’ he snapped.
When Trump began plowing his way through Republican rivals, H.W. was known to throw his shoe at the television set.
The narcissistic, amoral, vulgar reality-TV president and the modest, principled, classy, old-world president could not be more different.
With Poppy, there was decency and sweetness.
“Put it this way,’’ he wrote me once. “I reserve the right to whine, to not read, to use profanity, but if you ever get really hurt or if you ever get really down and need a shoulder to cry on or just need a friend — give me a call. I’ll be there for you. I’ll not let you down.
“Now, go on out and knock my knickers off. When you do, I might just cancel my subscription.”
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Some mentionable lines that were heard during the funeral for George H W Bush today…very moving, and honor and love was strewn his way.
A great line from longtime Bush buddy and former Senator, Alan Simpson: ”Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington are not bothered by heavy traffic.”
“He never hated anyone… Hatred corrodes the container that its carried in,” - Sen. Simpson, in a line I’m immediately writing down to remember.
President George HW Bush on his hard (and consequential for his political career) decision to raise taxes per friend US Sen Alan Simpson, R-WY: “When the really tough choices come it’s the country not me its not about Dems or Republicans it’s for the country that I fought for”
Former Canadian PM Brian Mulroney, a long time friend of President George HW Bush, ends his eulogy with an Irish proverb: “There are good ships, and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea. But the best ships, are friendships, and may they always be.”
After WW2, “The rest of his life was a perennial effort to prove himself worthy of his salvation," @jmeacham says
Dear Lord, I sincerely pray/hope in my old age, someone is smuggling a bottle of vodka and a Morton’s steak into my hospital room. (in reference to comments by Sen Simpson that James Baker smuggled in a steak and vodka to his hospital room)
President Trump walks solemnly into the cathedral clutching the hand of Melania Trump, the first lady. The Obamas greet both of them. Bill glances over. But Hillary Clinton looks straight ahead.
From various tweets this am…
#respect
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