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Celerity

Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
December 4, 2023

iiO - Rapture (John Creamer & Stephane K. Remix) (2001)



Label: Data Records – DATA27T, Ministry Of Sound – DATA27T
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 2001
Genre: Electronic
Style: Progressive House, Progressive Trance









December 4, 2023

Trump Could Legally Use the U.S. Military as Domestic Law Enforcers

The former president’s pledge to use the military within our borders could be fully legal thanks to the vague language of the Insurrection Act.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-could-legally-use-us-military-as-domestic-law-enforcers



Could a second-term President Donald Trump legally use military forces to conduct domestic law enforcement activities? The simple answer to the question is “yes.” Beginning with George Washington, more than a dozen presidents have deployed troops more than two dozen times for law enforcement purposes. The most relevant federal law is the Insurrection Act. In 1827, the Supreme Court concluded that an earlier version of the law gave the president the exclusive authority “to decide whether [an exigency requiring the militia to be called out] has arisen, and… his decision is conclusive upon all other persons.” Later versions of the law have not restricted the president’s power to decide whether an emergency exists.

That power does not exist in a vacuum. It arises out of the need for prompt actions in response to events like violent insurrections. For example, that 1827 Supreme Court opinion originated in the War of 1812, when the British military invaded the United States, and the law in question stated that “whenever the United States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger of invasion… it shall be lawful for the President [to call forth the militia] as he may judge necessary to repel such invasion.” (Italics mine) The law’s core purpose has always been to provide tools for combating violent uprisings.

President Washington invoked an early version of the law in 1794 to quell the Whiskey Rebellion against federal excise taxes on domestically produced “distilled spirits.” Over the next two centuries, the law was amended several times, but events triggering its use generally have involved public violence, including efforts to oppress newly freed slaves in the Reconstruction-era South, violent labor disputes between workers and strike breakers in the 19th and 20th centuries, and riots in our cities—like those triggered by the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, and the state court verdict in the Rodney King trial in 1992—where police officers were acquitted on charges related to King’s beating at their hands.

Unfortunately, the current version of the law contains broad language that a president unconcerned about traditional political and normative restraints on executive power could try to exploit in the absence of an actual rebellion or insurrection. The Insurrection Act allows the president to use the military in three situations. First, the law permits the president to send troops when asked by a state’s government to suppress an insurrection. The state must request help from the national government, but whether to grant the request is left to the president’s discretion.

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December 4, 2023

3 commercial ships hit by missiles in Houthi attack in Red Sea, US warship downs 3 drones

https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-houthi-yemen-ships-attack-israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip-716770f0a780160e9abed98d3c48fbde

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ballistics missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck three commercial ships Sunday in the Red Sea, while a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hourslong assault, the U.S. military said. The Iranian-backed Houthis claimed two of the attacks.

The strikes marked an escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war, as multiple vessels found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi assault for the first time in the conflict. The U.S. vowed to “consider all appropriate responses” in the wake of the attack, specifically calling out Iran, after tensions have been high for years now over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

“These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement. “They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world.” It added: “We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.” The attack began around 9:15 a.m. local time (0615 GMT) in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, Central Command said.

The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, detected a ballistic missile fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at the Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier Unity Explorer. The missile hit near the ship, the U.S. said. Shortly afterward, the Carney shot down a drone headed its way, although it’s not clear if the destroyer was the target, Central Command said. About 30 minutes later, the Unity Explorer was hit by a missile. While responding to its distress call, the Carney shot down another incoming drone. Central Command said the Unity Explorer sustained minor damage from the missile.

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December 3, 2023

Icehouse - No Promises (The Wonderful Extended Version) 1986



Label: Chrysalis – CHS 12 2978
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop





December 3, 2023

Pret Christmas sandwich review: 'It just reminds me of sadness'

Pret’s Christmas sandwich offers Charlotte Ivers small crumbs of comfort

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pret-a-manger-review-now-it-just-reminds-me-of-sadness-6k5t2t0bt

https://archive.is/BccHw



Can you find me a Christmassy restaurant?” says the editor. Hmm. Tricky. Christmas isn’t really about restaurants. It’s about putting the roast potatoes in the oven and pretending you can’t hear the in-laws questioning your crisping technique. If you’re in a restaurant at Christmas something has gone wrong. Something has gone wrong. December 2013, or thereabouts. Birmingham New Street station. The trains are late again — of course they are. Or maybe they don’t exist. I can’t remember. I’m miserable, for reasons I can’t entirely remember either, but were probably largely related to the general horror that is being a teenager. I can’t get home to my mum’s. Insult to injury: I’m in Pret A Manger.

Still, the light shineth in the darkness. So begins one of the great enduring love stories of my life. Roasted carrots, rocket, pecan nuts, crispy onion bits. The vegetarian Pret Christmas sandwich. In my memory there were chestnuts, but I’m not sure I trust that. What I do recall is that the sandwich was perfect. It tasted like the Christmas I was at risk of missing due to the enduring and inevitable incompetence of Network Rail.



Now it’s 2023. The trains are still a mess. Some things never change. The Pret Christmas sandwich has. I picked one up for lunch today, squirrelled it back to my desk. Squash instead of carrots. No doubt some highly paid suit, in a glass-fronted office somewhere, held several focus groups about this, at great expense. I like to imagine him, Mad Men-style, bellowing at an assistant: “Carrots are over, goddamit. Get me squash!” That or I’m misremembering the carrots too. If there were chestnuts, they are gone as well. It’s not what it was. The rocket is a bit wilted. Isn’t it always, in these preprepared sandwiches? The bread is wilted too. God, when did I get so snobby? I’m sure I didn’t used to care about this type of thing. Undeterred, I go back the next day. A friend has described the Pret Christmas range as “Frankensteinian”. Maybe I’ve not been adventurous enough. Bingo. Ham Hock & Festive Sprouts Macaroni Cheese. “New”, the package boasts. “I’ve made it through the auditions.” That must be the focus groups. It’s lukewarm. The crispy top isn’t crispy. It’s weirdly sweet. Weirdly … weird. I mean, I say “weirdly” but they’ve put sprouts in macaroni cheese.



I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Like returning to your childhood home, there’s nothing like Christmas to make you realise how much you have changed. I devoured the Pret Christmas sandwich in my youth, looking forward to its arrival like a new album release. This year I had to drag myself to Pret. I ate there every day a few years ago: repeating the same sad office lunch in a job I hated, at a time when my personal life felt in a constant state of freefall. It was miserable, but I didn’t have the energy to go elsewhere. Now Pret just reminds me of sadness.

snip
December 2, 2023

BREAKING: George Santos goes NUCLEAR and says he will release evidence of wrongdoing by a list of REPUBLICAN members


https://twitter.com/CalltoActivism/status/1730989834578337801
https://twitter.com/CalltoActivism/status/1730990473093718518
🚨🚨🚨MAJOR BREAKING: George Santos goes NUCLEAR and says he will release evidence of wrongdoing by a list of REPUBLICAN members of Congress who may have broken the law.

Here are his full accusations. 🍿

According to Santos, on Monday he’ll file an official complaint with the Office of congressional Ethics against Malliotakis “regarding her questionable stock trading since joining the Ways and Means committee this Congress.”

Santos said he will file an Ethics complaint against Republican Rep. Mike Lawler “for questionable campaign finance violations.”

Santos says “Congressman Lawler owns portion of Checkmate Strategies and he uses the same firm that he is a beneficiary of to pay for services related to his campaign.”

“Is Mr Lawler engaging in laundering money…from his campaign to his firm then to his own pocket?” Santos asked.

Finally, Santos says his third ethics report will concern Republican Rep. Nick LaLotta
who he accused of attending school while he was on the clock at a government job.

“Did Rep Lalota no-show to his tax pay funded job while going to school and if so he can potential have stolen public funds from the tax payers of NY?” Santos asked.

If history has shown us anything, hell hath no fury like a lying conman scorned.

What are your thoughts about Santos spilling tea about his former colleagues?

🚨🚨🚨UPDATE: Santos tweeted this to New York Republican Nicole Maliotakis:


@NMalliotakis
the difference between you and I is that I don’t live in denial, I’m a PROUD GAY man and I’m not afraid to say it. 😉”

What did he mean by that? 🤔

CALL TO ACTIVISM
@CalltoActivism
🚨🚨🚨UPDATE: According to reports, Nicole Malliotakis allegedly bought New York Community Bancorp stock on March 17.

Less than 24 hours later, the bank announced that they were buying out Signature Bank.

It shot the stock up 40% that day.
December 2, 2023

Vice President Harris says 'too many innocent Palestinians have been killed' as fighting picks up in southern Gaza



https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/02/israel-bombards-southern-gaza-as-residents-fear-new-ground-offensive.html



U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said too many innocent Palestinians had been killed in Gaza as Israeli war planes and artillery bombarded the enclave on Saturday following the collapse of a truce
with Hamas militants.

Residents feared the barrages were a prelude to an Israeli ground operation in the south of the Palestinian territory that would pen them into a shrinking area and possibly try to push them across into Egypt. The Gaza health ministry said at least 193 Palestinians had been killed and 650 wounded since the truce ended on Friday morning - adding to the more than 15,000 Palestinian dead since the start of the war.

Speaking in Dubai, Harris said Israel had a right to defend itself, but international and humanitarian law must be respected and “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed”. “Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza, are devastating,” Harris told reporters.

She also sketched out a U.S. vision for post-conflict Gaza, saying the international community must support recovery and Palestinian security forces must be strengthened. “We want to see a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian voices and aspirations must be at the center of this work,” she said, adding that Hamas must no longer run Gaza.

snip




Netanyahu and his band of ultra RW supporters are perhaps going to try and drive them into Egypt, which would be textbook ethnic cleansing.
December 2, 2023

Geert Wilders and Dutch coalition prospects



The election victory in the Netherlands for the Party for Freedom fits into a wider picture of European radical-right populism.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/geert-wilders-and-dutch-coalition-prospects



The results of the Dutch election, in which Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom emerged as victors, have sent shockwaves through the political establishment. For the first time in Dutch history, a party of the extreme right is the largest in the national parliament. Wilders is an eccentric politician, known for his inflammatory rhetoric. He advocates the Netherlands leaving the European Union and has called Islam a ‘fascist’ religion. In a 2016 trial, he was found guilty of inciting discrimination (but received no penalty for the crime).

Partners needed

While polling leading up to the election had suggested that the Party for Freedom could become the largest, it had appeared to be running practically neck and neck with the parties of the mainstream left and right. But the polls were wide of the mark and Wilders ended up taking the most seats by a comfortable margin, even if he will need to seek coalition partners to form a government. The right-wing newcomers of the New Social Contract also did very well. Like the Party for Freedom, this party sees immigration as one of the reasons for problems such as the Netherlands’ stressed public services and lack of affordable housing.

However, Pieter Omtzigt, the New Social Contract’s leader (and a former member of parliament for the more centre-right Christian Democratic Party), is critical of some of Wilders’ more inflammatory rhetoric. Omtzigt would nevertheless seem the most likely candidate to form a coalition with Wilders, together with the former party of the now-departed prime minister, Mark Rutte [its new leader has ruled this out]. But it will be some time before it is clear if such a partnership is achievable. Coalition in the Netherlands is the work of months rather than weeks. These talks will be all the more complex thanks to Wilders’ personal profile. He may hold the greatest number of seats, but the controversy that has surrounded him for so many years may yet rule him out of the role of prime minister, even were he to be part of a governing coalition.

Should a coalition be formed, questions about the Netherlands’ place in the EU will inevitably come to the fore. Wilders wants a Brexit-style referendum and, even if this doesn’t materialise, we can expect him to bring a more Eurosceptic stance to any government in which he participates. This could have considerable consequences for the EU. Even when extreme-right parties in Europe differ on the question of exit, they agree on transforming the EU into a more intergovernmental body, taking power away from Brussels.

Example from Italy.................................

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Gender: Female
Hometown: London
Home country: US/UK/Sweden
Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 06:25 PM
Number of posts: 40,799

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