geek tragedy
geek tragedy's JournalGov. Brown scolds feds on Malheur occupation response
Source: Statesman Journal
Gov. Kate Brown again called for an end to the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in rural Harney County and criticized federal officials for their tactics during a press conference Wednesday. The occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, near Burns, now in its third week, has no clear end in sight. Circumspect state and federal law enforcement stationed in Burns have not used force to end the occupation.
...
Brown said federal authorities asked her and other state officials to "limit our public comments" to avoid escalating the situation. Although she has heeded that request, Brown chastised federal officials Wednesday for allowing the standoff to continue as long as it has.
"The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and undeserved by federal official's response thus far," she said. "I have conveyed these very grave concerns directly to our leaders at the highest levels of our government: the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House."
Read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/20/gov-brown-scolds-feds-malheur-occupation-response/79073588/
Unbelievable. The only people the DOJ has even ASKED to do something are the state officials who were asked to STFU and let the Bundy thugs run rampant.
Do your damn job, AG Lynch!!
PP is under siege, but spare us the claims that HRC isn't 'establishment'
I'm not saying they don't do great work, or that they don't deserve support, or that they're doing anything wrong in their current approach.
But they're definitely establishmentarian.
Check out their corporate partners:
http://www.hrc.org/hrc-story/corporate-partners
Banks, Militiary Industrial Complex, Big Pharm, Tech, Big Carbon.
Again, pursuing alliances with big companies is probably a perfectly legit strategy for an org advocating for the rights of GLBT workers.
But, when you list Northrop Grumman and Microsoft as partners, you're part of the establishment.
Herzog: For now, two-state solution unrealistic
http://www.timesofisrael.com/herzog-for-now-two-state-solution-unrealistic/The opposition leader blamed the current Israeli and Palestinian leadership for the impasse — “[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] are incapable of moving forward,” he alleged — but said that should he be elected prime minister, his coalition would focus on implementing security measures rather than a bilateral agreement.
“There is a need to initiate security measures that match the reality on the ground and that means separation from the Palestinians,” he told Army Radio, espousing a plan that includes completing the West Bank security barrier and “physically separating” the Palestinian villages surrounding Jerusalem from the capital.
...
In a move that many considered a sharp turn to the right for the leader of the Zionist Union — a party comprising the stalwart center-left Labor and Tzipi Livni’s dovish Hatnua — Herzog said he saw the need “to complete the security barrier around all of the settlement blocs.”
He said that routing the fence around the blocs would both protect the people living there from attacks and send a message to the Palestinians that they will remain a part of Israel in any future negotiations.
There is zero daylight between Zionist Union and Likud, and there is zero daylight between the Israeli mainstream and Cruz/Rubio on the subject.
Herzog is merely a wimpy version of Bibi. He might as well join the coalition now that the two-state solution is officially dead to the Israelis.
Obama's I/P policy has been a grand folly, trying to save Israel from itself.
Former Netanyahu Aide Calls U.S. Ambassador to Israel 'Jew Boy'
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.698358On a Tuesday morning political panel show, on Israel’s Channel 2, commentator Aviv Bushinsky reacted to remarks Shapiro made in his speech to the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference. Shapiro said "too much Israeli vigilantism in the West Bank goes on unchecked," adding that "there is a lack of thorough investigations… at times it seems Israel has two standards of adherence to rule of law in the West Bank - one for Israelis and one for Palestinians."
After viewing a clip of Shapiro’s remarks, Bushinsky declared, “To put it bluntly, it was a statement typical of a little Jew boy (Yehudon).”
When his fellow panelists protested that Shapiro was merely expressing the position of the United States, Bushinsky responded, “Nobody was standing there with a hammer forcing him to say it. He’s his own person … I see a Jew, Dan Shapiro, saying this. I see it as a pattern - it was the same thing with [former U.S. Middle East Envoy] Dennis Ross and now with [former U.S. Ambassador to Israel] Martin Indyk saying his nonsense. It's the behavior of Jews who are trying to show that they are extra left-wing, more liberal and more balanced."
The U.S. Embassy spokesman declined to comment on Shapiro's behalf on Tuesday.
Bushinsky served as media advisor for Netanyahu during his first term as Prime Minister in 1998 and 1999, advised him between political roles, and served as his chief of staff in 2003-2004 when Netanyahu was Finance Minister in Ariel Sharon’s government.
Israel's rightwing is full of charmers.
Oregon Militiamen Appear To Be Preparing To Put Local Officials On 'Trial'
Source: Talking Points Memo
After 11 days of occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, a group of U.S. militiamen have brought in some "Constitutional" back up to help hold local officials accountable.
According to the Oregonian, self-proclaimed U.S. Superior Court Judge Bruce Doucette (not a real judge) arrived in Harney County Tuesday and is readying militiamen for a big old trial.
Doucette, who is reportedly associated with the sovereign citizen movement, met with individuals at the wildlife refuge Tuesday and said he believed there was substantial evidence against local officials to take action.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/oregon-militiamen-prepare-for-grand-jury-against-local-officials
The time for de-escalation is over. The US government is allowing these pieces of crud to terrorize an entire community, in addition to seizing federal land via armed force.
Federal law enforcement needs to do its damn job, and if it results in a few of these loons pushing up daisies so be it.
Planned Parenthood didn't endorse Clinton, its Political Action Committee did.
This seems like a distinction with out a difference, but there's a big difference.
Money donated to Planned Parenthood itself does not get donated to candidates, and does not get spent on advocacy on behalf of candidates, or any kind of policy advocacy.
It gets spent on providing health care to poor women.
If people want to withhold donations to Planned Parenthood Action Fund over the donation to the PAC, hey I guess that's fair. They're certainly not entitled to the donations of people who are supporting a rival candidate.
But people who are encouraging a 'defunding' of Planned Parenthood itself are trying to hurt poor women by preventing them from getting healthcare treatment. That's what Republicans are doing when they make such a call, that's what Bernie Sanders supporters are doing when they call for people to withhold donations to PP over the Clinton endorsement.
Republicans are shitty human beings when they do that. So is everyone else.
Profile Information
Member since: Thu May 13, 2004, 12:50 PMNumber of posts: 68,868
