June 14, 2016

TOM THE DANCING BUG: The Power of Congress-Man - Thoughts and Prayers

http://boingboing.net/2016/06/14/tom-the-dancing-bug-the-powe.html

June 13, 2016

TOM TOMORROW: When We Were Great

Tom Tomorrow: "I didn’t have time yesterday to write anything in response to the latest horrific gun massacre, but there are relevant cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Oh, and also here. Those are just off the top of my head, I’ve undoubtedly forgotten others."

DAILY KOS LINK: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/06/13/1537198/-Cartoon-When-we-were-great

June 12, 2016

AP: Massacre At Orlando Nightclub That Claimed 50 Lives Is Worst Mass Shooting in U.S. History

@AP: BREAKING: The massacre at an Orlando nightclub that claimed 50 lives is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history

m.twitter.com/AP

June 8, 2016

AP: Sanders Wins N. Dakota Caucuses

Source: Associated Press

SANDERS WINS DEMOCRATIC CAUCUSES IN NORTH DAKOTA

Jun. 7, 2016 9:44 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on campaign 2016 as California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota vote. (all times Eastern):

9:42 p.m.

Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic presidential caucuses in North Dakota.

The senator from Vermont and his rival Hillary Clinton now each claim a win for the night, with four contests yet to be determined.

Read more: http://elections.ap.org/content/latest-sanders-wins-democratic-caucuses-north-dakota

June 4, 2016

Sanders Says Democratic Convention Will be Contested

Source: Associated Press

Sanders says Democratic convention will be contested
BY KEN THOMAS
JUN. 4, 2016 2:50 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bernie Sanders says that the Democratic National Convention will be contested, predicting that neither he, nor his rival Hillary Clinton, will have enough pledged delegates after the primary season ends.

Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles Saturday, just three days ahead of California's crucial primary, the Vermont senator said that the winner of the Democratic nomination will rely on superdelegates to reach the magic number.

Sanders said it is "not accurate" for the media to lump delegates and superdelegates together, saying that the two play a separate but important role in the Democratic electoral process.

He called the nomination process "deeply flawed," adding that whether he wins the nomination or not, he will do everything he can to change it.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/c64ea5574266427f9fa7b5519a687bee

June 4, 2016

Report: New Documents Show Snowden Tried to Alert NSA of Surveillance Concerns Before Going Public

@BreakingNews: Report: New documents show Ed Snowden tried to alert NSA of surveillance concerns before going public - VICE News https://t.co/kFPjHXpb7a/s/3BOb

https://news.vice.com/article/edward-snowden-leaks-tried-to-tell-nsa-about-surveillance-concerns-exclusive

Exclusive: Snowden Tried to Tell NSA About Surveillance Concerns, Documents Reveal

By Jason Leopold, Marcy Wheeler, and Ky Henderson

June 4, 2016 | 1:35 pm
On the morning of May 29, 2014, an overcast Thursday in Washington, DC, the general counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Robert Litt, wrote an email to high-level officials at the National Security Agency and the White House.

The topic: what to do about Edward Snowden.

- edit -

Hundreds of internal NSA documents, declassified and released to VICE News in response to our long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, reveal now for the first time that not only was the truth about the "single email" more complex and nuanced than the NSA disclosed to the public, but that Snowden had a face-to-face interaction with one of the people involved in responding to that email. The documents, made up of emails, talking points, and various records — many of them heavily redacted — contain insight into the NSA's interaction with the media, new details about Snowden's work, and an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the efforts by the NSA, the White House, and Feinstein to discredit Snowden.

- edit -

United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18 (USSID 18) encompasses rules by which the NSA is supposed to abide in order to protect the privacy of the communications of people in the United States. Snowden was taking this and other training courses in Maryland while working to transition from a Sysadmin to an analyst position. Referring to a slide from the training program that seemed to indicate federal statutes and presidential Executive Orders (EOs) carry equal legal weight, Snowden wrote, "this does not seem correct, as it seems to imply Executive Orders have the same precedence as law. My understanding is that EOs may be superseded by federal statute, but EOs may not override statute."

MORE AND PDF AT LINK

May 31, 2016

My god, he sounds like a kindergartener...

May 27, 2016

Obama Arrives in Hiroshima (First Sitting U.S. President to Visit Since Bombing in 1945)

Source: CNN

Obama arrives in Hiroshima to stress 'very real risk' of nuclear weapons

Posted: May 27, 2016 3:08 AM EDT
Updated: May 27, 2016 3:38 AM EDT

By Kevin Liptak, Will Ripley and James Griffiths CNN

HIROSHIMA (CNN) -- President Obama's Air Force One has landed at Iwakuni Marine Air Station, ahead of a historic visit to Hiroshima, the first by a sitting U.S. President to the site of the world's first atomic bombing.

"This afternoon I will visit Hiroshima," Obama said at the base.

"This is an opportunity to honor the memory of all those who were lost in World War II. It's a chance to pursue peace and security, a world where nuclear weapons would no longer be necessary. And it's a testament to how even the most painful divides can be bridged."

The president, who is not expected to apologize for the American action to hasten the end of World War II, previously said he would stress the "very real risks" of nuclear weapons.

Read more: http://www.abc-7.com/story/32079231/obama-arrives-in-hiroshima-to-stress-very-real-risk-of-nuclear-weapons

May 24, 2016

Bill Cosby Ordered to Stand Trial in Sex Assault Case

Source: Associated Press

Cosby Ordered to Stand Trial in Sex Assault Case

Update at 1:02 PM

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on Bill Cosby's preliminary hearing in his Pennsylvania sex-assault case (all times local):
1 p.m.

Bill Cosby has been ordered to stand trial in the lone criminal case lodged amid dozens of accusations that he molested women.

The 78-year-old actor faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of violating the accuser while she was impaired, unconscious or could not give consent.

Cosby insists their sexual encounter at his home was consensual and that she never told him to stop.

- snip -

District Judge Elizabeth McHugh found probable cause he was involved in a crime. The judge heard portions of accuser Andrea Constand's police statement read in court.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-latest-bill-cosby-is-in-courthouse-for-key-hearing/2016/05/24/b69465a8-21b1-11e6-b944-52f7b1793dae_story.html

May 23, 2016

Officer Acquitted in Freddie Grey Case

Source: Associated Press

@AP: Baltimore officer acquitted of assault, other charges in arrest of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody.

The Latest: Officer acquitted in Freddie Gray case

MAY. 23, 2016 11:02 AM EDT

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Latest on the trial for an officer charged in the arrest of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died a week after he was critically injured in police custody (all times local):

11 a.m.

A Baltimore police officer has been acquitted of assault and other charges in the arrest of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died a week after he was critically injured in police custody.

A judge found Officer Edward Nero not guilty of misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. The judge announced his verdict on Monday.

Nero was one of six Baltimore police officers charged in the case. He waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead to argue his case before Circuit Judge Barry Williams.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d5f6a756cb354c2dbc4ed6c1b5fa1c34/latest-officer-acquitted-freddie-gray-case