Here for a week just reacting to stuff so it's time for an intro post.
Retired and fine with it. Studied and taught psychology at several German universities. Never lost interest in my fellow human beings. I‘m into books, movies, silly stuff, food. I enjoy viewpoints that differ from my own.
NEW: ProPublica reviewed hundreds of cases in which judges criticized the actions of Justice Department lawyers.
We found judges nominated by both parties who are frustrated that they can no longer take the government at its word.
The Todd Blanche hearing is coming up and even though most lawmakers privately will know that this is a lawyer who disrespects law and courts, they might be tempted to affirm his nomination for fear of what other horrible candidate Trump might foster on the DOJ in his stead.
I disagree.
As a lawmaker, your job is to decide whether a candidate is qualified for the job. Blanche clearly isn't.
About a potential worse successor - let me be candid: Does anyone need the DOJ in its given corrupt form? Let that job stay vacant.
Carnival in Düsseldorf,Germany. The creator of floats Jacques Tilly faces prosecution by a Moskow court for defamation of the Russian government, due to his previous unflattering characterizations of Putin.
Here is his answer:
(source: duesseldorf.t-online.de/region/duess...)
An update on Tilly: A Moscow court has sentenced him to 8 1/2 years in a Russian prison colony.
Tilly (who will not go to Russia) does not accept the verdict and calls it 'absurd'.
He'll continue to implement his satirical view of leaders like Putin in the carnival floats he creates.
Researchers at Stanford University modeled how many people could die or be disabled in 25 years if vaccines for polio, measles, rubella or diphtheria were no longer available.
We decided to illustrate it.
Today Trump said there is no war, he won the war, Europe must help with the war, it’s Europe’s war, he doesn’t need Europe to win the war, Barack Obama started the war in 1979 (at age 17) & other presidents said they wish they had started the war.
Media: President Trump shifts tone about the war.
As for the WH press conferences - do the news agencies have to get their questions approved in advance?
If not, what stops them from foregoing to ask their planned question and instead pick up a question asked by another reporter that was evaded?
To watch these conferences is like watching an infuriatingly bad tennis match - one side serves, the other hits the ball way out of the field and waits for the next service without any loss of points.
We have become accustomed to demand that the Epstein files should be released, because we have lost all trust in the independence of the criminal prosecution.
If they were doing their jobs, we wouldn't need those files.
We would learn about all of the crimes by watching the court trials.
When the US will have recovered from this GOP/Trump shitshow, and I as a foreigner can consider going on holidays there again:
Those ICE protests have put Minneapolis and Portland on the map for me - seems like cities with great citizens. Should include them in my future travel plans.
My law firm intervened in every case DOJ has filed to gain access to states' sensitive voting data. So far we have won several and lost none. But this is going to be a long fight for free and fair elections.
Fake science papers created by AI have led to a major crisis for science.
One of the reasons we have become so vulnerable is the 'publish or perish' demand for scientific careers.
Scientists try to fight back:
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
i want someone to ask mike johnson "should we be worried that you are always learning the news at your own press conferences, which is exactly when you are supposed to be answering questions about the news"
The Interior Minister of the German State of Thuringia yesterday sounded the alarm about increasing inquiries by the AfD about security relevant infrastructure of the state.
He stated: "It reads like a Kreml wishlist". He openly accused the AfD of spying for Russia.
www.spiegel.de/politik/thue...
Luckily, Sinclair has a helpful database of all their stations, so you can see if they're operating in your area and respond accordingly.
sbgi.net/tv-stations/
DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO QUACK BACK 🐥‼️
Duck deliveries are incoming, but you still can put $3 to letting your Congressional representative know via. duck messenger to #ImpeachRFK and remove the Quack!
act.standupforscience.net/fundraising/...
Racism, misogyny, homophobia, ableism, ageism and similar ideological/mental barriers - they all impede the progress of a nation.
Because of such prejudices and the associated discriminatory practices, people who could have improved the life of many cannot fulfill their full potential.
1/2
Inventors, visionaries, scientists, artists, engineers, architects, philosophers, teachers, civic leaders ... all these forces for a brighter future lost.
A nation can't really thrive in spite of this.
Political figures who foster these prejudices work against the interests of their country.
2/2
June-issue of the German satire magazine Titanic. 'Ziel' in German means destination or target. The Headline "Gute Reise: Die schönsten Ziele für den Sommer" can be translated as "Have a nice trip: The most beautiful destinations/targets for summer". Added: 'Permitted thanks to Free speech."
The reality is, Britain economically benefits from immigration and illegal migration is too small to impact most. The communities that blame immigration for decline are actually suffering the effects of 15 yrs of Tory austerity, under-investment in public infrastructure and the reality of Brexit.
Find some integrity, dear mainstream media, and start discussing invoking the 25th for Trump.
You can't stay safe from his wrath anyway, so find your spine and talk about this felon who piles mental problems on top of each other (as if his character problems weren't bad enough).
In 100 days in office, US President Donald Trump has destabilized eight decades of government support for science.
This has included terminating more than 1,000 grants in areas such as climate change, cancer, and HIV prevention.
Will US science survive Trump 2.0?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
3) All of US history, including the ugly parts, have to be taught in US schools, no gloss-overs, no whitewashing,
4) The US has to acknowledge the International Court in The Hague.
2/2
Some thoughts on:
What would have to change in the US to regain the trust of their former Allies?
1) The GOP has to undergo a major reform; it has discredited itself and proven corrupt and untrustworthy,
2) Legal loopholes in checks and balances of power have to be closed effectively,
1/2
The US National Institutes of Health has terminated nearly 800 research projects at a breakneck pace, wiping out significant chunks of funding to entire scientific fields
Read the full story: https://go.nature.com/3EuFRPV
Trumps irrational obsession with Canada becoming the 51th state is just plain crazy.
Can we please adjust the messaging and answer each and every statement of his on that subject with the demand to invoke the 25th amendment?
Make it hard for the GOP to argue that this is 'normal' behavior.