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brooklynite
brooklynite's Journal
brooklynite's Journal
October 18, 2021
Running against against Congressman and former Governor Charlie Crist.
Former Congresswoman Annette Taddeo announces for FL-GOV
https://twitter.com/Annette_Taddeo/status/1450109263142133763Running against against Congressman and former Governor Charlie Crist.
October 18, 2021
(D nominee India Walton is a Democratic Socialist who's being supported by Nina Turner and Our Revolution. Byron Brown, the Democratic incumbent, is running a write-in campaign)
(This also raises a different issue: who controls the NYS Democratic Committee. It was clearly understood to be under the thumb of Cuomo, but there's little organizational management left in his absence)
NYS Party Chair pressed to resign after not endorsing D candidate for Buffalo Mayor
https://twitter.com/Biaggi4NY/status/1450171452775358473(D nominee India Walton is a Democratic Socialist who's being supported by Nina Turner and Our Revolution. Byron Brown, the Democratic incumbent, is running a write-in campaign)
(This also raises a different issue: who controls the NYS Democratic Committee. It was clearly understood to be under the thumb of Cuomo, but there's little organizational management left in his absence)
October 18, 2021
Read more: https://www.axios.com/biden-house-infrastructure-negotiations-37f442e7-d975-4ded-887d-2d278d9f5693.html
Biden hosting in-person talks to negotiate with volatile House Democrats
Source: Axios
President Biden is hosting two separate in-person meetings with moderate and progressive House members at the White House on Tuesday as infrastructure negotiations continue, White House officials told Axios.
Why it matters: This is the latest in the president’s efforts to appease the more volatile parts of his party’s coalition as Democrats wrangle over how to cut the social spending package down from $3.5 trillion to closer to $2 trillion.
The two factions are still far apart on key provisions, including prescription drug reform, climate change and Medicare expansion.
The president will meet with each group separately to hear their factions' demands and complaints as Biden continues to act as chief negotiator.
Why it matters: This is the latest in the president’s efforts to appease the more volatile parts of his party’s coalition as Democrats wrangle over how to cut the social spending package down from $3.5 trillion to closer to $2 trillion.
The two factions are still far apart on key provisions, including prescription drug reform, climate change and Medicare expansion.
The president will meet with each group separately to hear their factions' demands and complaints as Biden continues to act as chief negotiator.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/biden-house-infrastructure-negotiations-37f442e7-d975-4ded-887d-2d278d9f5693.html
October 18, 2021
Presenting (seriously) the Balloon World Cup
https://twitter.com/kendallbaker/status/1450015938804338688He may be a highly decorated footballer, but Barcelona and Spain defender Gerard Pique also has a flourishing sideline in sports media production He has added a new string to his bow this week by helping to organise the world's first Balloon World Cup, joining forces with Spanish streaming star Ibai Llanos to stage the inaugural event in Tarragona, Spain, on Thursday.
If you're wondering precisely what the "Balloon World Cup" is and what it entails then wonder no longer: it's a game you've almost certainly played yourself at home.
The idea stemmed from a series of videos that went viral earlier this year which featured three American siblings playing "balloon league" at home. The game will be instantly familiar to anybody who has found themselves attempting to juggle a balloon at a party: it basically involves two players attempting to volley a balloon around the room, each trying to prevent it from touching the floor.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4497731/barcelonas-gerard-pique-organises-inaugural-balloon-world-cup
If you're wondering precisely what the "Balloon World Cup" is and what it entails then wonder no longer: it's a game you've almost certainly played yourself at home.
The idea stemmed from a series of videos that went viral earlier this year which featured three American siblings playing "balloon league" at home. The game will be instantly familiar to anybody who has found themselves attempting to juggle a balloon at a party: it basically involves two players attempting to volley a balloon around the room, each trying to prevent it from touching the floor.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4497731/barcelonas-gerard-pique-organises-inaugural-balloon-world-cup
October 18, 2021
"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date..."
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1450065206932017154
October 18, 2021
Colin Powell, military leader and first Black US secretary of state, dies
Source: CNN
(CNN)(CNN)Colin Powell, the first Black US secretary of state whose leadership in several Republican administrations helped shape American foreign policy in the last years of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, has died from complications from Covid-19, his family said on Facebook. He was 84.
"General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19," the Powell family wrote on Facebook.
"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," they said, noting he was fully vaccinated.
Powell was a distinguished and trailblazing professional soldier whose career took him from combat duty in Vietnam to becoming the first Black national security adviser during the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency and the youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. His national popularity soared in the aftermath of the US-led coalition victory during the Gulf War, and for a time in the mid-90s, he was considered a leading contender to become the first Black President of the United States. But his reputation would be forever stained when, as George W. Bush's first secretary of state, he pushed faulty intelligence before the United Nations to advocate for the Iraq War, which he would later call a "blot" on his record.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/politics/colin-powell-dies/index.html
October 18, 2021
Spanish prime minister vows to abolish prostitution, saying it 'enslaves' women
Washington PostSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has promised to abolish prostitution in the country, saying it “enslaves” women.
Speaking at a three-day congress of his ruling Socialist Workers’ Party on Sunday, Sánchez vowed to move ahead with a pledge to outlaw prostitution that was part of his leftist party’s election manifesto in 2019. The manifesto called prostitution “one of the cruelest aspects of the feminization of poverty and one of the worst forms of violence against women.”
Prostitution has boomed in Spain since the practice was decriminalized in 1995; a 2011 U.N. report cited Spain as the third-biggest capital of prostitution in the world, behind Thailand and Puerto Rico, and it has made a name for itself as the brothel of Europe. Recent estimates put revenue from Spain’s domestic sex trade at $26.5 billion a year, with as many as 300,000 people working in the industry.
Prostitution is legal in many European countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Greece. Supporters of decriminalization say it brings huge benefits to the women working in the trade and makes life safer for them. But critics say countries that have legalized or decriminalized commercial sex often experience a surge in human trafficking, pimping and other related crimes.
Speaking at a three-day congress of his ruling Socialist Workers’ Party on Sunday, Sánchez vowed to move ahead with a pledge to outlaw prostitution that was part of his leftist party’s election manifesto in 2019. The manifesto called prostitution “one of the cruelest aspects of the feminization of poverty and one of the worst forms of violence against women.”
Prostitution has boomed in Spain since the practice was decriminalized in 1995; a 2011 U.N. report cited Spain as the third-biggest capital of prostitution in the world, behind Thailand and Puerto Rico, and it has made a name for itself as the brothel of Europe. Recent estimates put revenue from Spain’s domestic sex trade at $26.5 billion a year, with as many as 300,000 people working in the industry.
Prostitution is legal in many European countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Greece. Supporters of decriminalization say it brings huge benefits to the women working in the trade and makes life safer for them. But critics say countries that have legalized or decriminalized commercial sex often experience a surge in human trafficking, pimping and other related crimes.
October 18, 2021
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/hungary-opposition-orban/2021/10/17/e84b4398-2c35-11ec-b17d-985c186de338_story.html
Hungary's opposition parties unite to challenge far-right leader Orban
Source: Washington Post
BERLIN — Hungary's opposition parties on Sunday banded around a single candidate to try to unseat Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the populist leader accused of chipping away at the country's democracy during more than a decade in power, in next year's election.
Peter Marki-Zay, a conservative small-town mayor who was once considered an outsider, won the second round of the primary with 57 percent of the vote. “We have to move forward together,” he told reporters before the results came in.
“We are not lone fighters,” he continued. “We all have to represent the whole opposition, and not even just them.”
An observant Catholic father of seven, Marki-Zay, 47, presented himself as the stronger of two finalists to run against Orban because he would be challenging him from the right rather than the left. His opponent, Klara Dobrev, from the left-wing Democratic Coalition congratulated him on his win.
Peter Marki-Zay, a conservative small-town mayor who was once considered an outsider, won the second round of the primary with 57 percent of the vote. “We have to move forward together,” he told reporters before the results came in.
“We are not lone fighters,” he continued. “We all have to represent the whole opposition, and not even just them.”
An observant Catholic father of seven, Marki-Zay, 47, presented himself as the stronger of two finalists to run against Orban because he would be challenging him from the right rather than the left. His opponent, Klara Dobrev, from the left-wing Democratic Coalition congratulated him on his win.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/hungary-opposition-orban/2021/10/17/e84b4398-2c35-11ec-b17d-985c186de338_story.html
October 18, 2021
Washington Metro suspends use of more than half of its rail cars
Washington PostMetro on Sunday night pulled more than half of its rail cars out of service hours before the Monday morning rush after an investigation discovered multiple axles out of compliance with manufacturer specifications.
The suspension of Metro’s latest train model — the 7000 series — comes after a National Transportation Safety Board investigation found the issue while probing a Blue Line derailment that occurred last week, according to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an agency that Congress created to monitor Metro safety.
Metro said in a statement it will operate about 40 trains Monday, “offering a basic service pattern on all lines of trains departing about every 30 minutes.”
The 7000 series includes 748 rail cars and makes up about 60 percent of Metro’s nearly 1,200-car fleet. It’s not known how long the lower service levels will be in effect.
The suspension of Metro’s latest train model — the 7000 series — comes after a National Transportation Safety Board investigation found the issue while probing a Blue Line derailment that occurred last week, according to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an agency that Congress created to monitor Metro safety.
Metro said in a statement it will operate about 40 trains Monday, “offering a basic service pattern on all lines of trains departing about every 30 minutes.”
The 7000 series includes 748 rail cars and makes up about 60 percent of Metro’s nearly 1,200-car fleet. It’s not known how long the lower service levels will be in effect.
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Name: Chris BastianGender: Male
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Home country: USA
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 94,527
