Politics And Current Events

[Troy Loney]

Is Diamond and Silk a satire account?

They’re real and they’re spectacular.

[Gaucho]

Iran claims to have seized British oil tanker in strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claim to have seized a British oil tanker, the Stena Impero, which suddenly veered off course and headed into Iranian waters.

The ship’s owners issued a statement saying it had been “approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters.”

“We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran,” the owners, Stena Bulk, and the ship’s managers, Northern Marine, said in the statement.

The UK ministry of defence said it was urgently looking into what had happened to the Stena Impero, a 30,000 tonne British-flagged ship, which was heading for Saudi Arabia when it abruptly left the international sea lanes through the strait of Hormuz and tracking data showed it heading north towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, where the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has a substantial base.

The Revolutionary Guards issued a statement saying they had seized the Stena Impero, citing international maritime law for their action.

Gulf crisis: story began with UK's seizure of Iranian-flagged ship in Gibraltar
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ran-hormuz

[shafnutz05]

https://www.newsweek.com/sanders-campai ... al-1450103

Campaign workers for Bernie Sanders have taken aim at one of the senator's key policies in his 2020 presidential run — raising the federal minimum wage.

According to The Washington Post, some members of Sanders' campaign team have been lobbying to raise their wages so that they make the $15 hourly rate that the Vermont senator has frequently called for both on the campaign trail and in Washington D.C.

The Post obtained a draft of a letter that the campaign's union planned to send to Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir which read in part that workers "cannot be expected to build the largest grassroots organizing program in American history while making poverty wages. Given our campaign's commitment to fighting for a living wage of at least $15.00 an hour, we believe it is only fair that the campaign would carry through this commitment to its own field team."

The letter states that field organizers are working at least 60 hours a week, which lowers the average per hour pay to $13 an hour.

[Troy Loney]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/step ... fend-trump

Probably not a good look for the admin to send a white nationalist to the sunday shows.

“Anybody who’s running for office, right, left, or center, always points out with they think America can do better and where America needs to go,” Miller responded. “But there’s a fundamental distinction between people who think that we need to lean into and strengthen America’s core values, whether it be our constitutional values, the rule of law, the principles of Western civilization, or people who think it would basically need to turn America into Venezuela.”

[count2infinity]

“people who think it would basically need to turn America into Venezuela.”

Whoa... calm down, grunty.

[Troy Loney]

I like how he just suck in that "principles of western civilization".

[Morkle]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/step ... fend-trump

Probably not a good look for the admin to send a white nationalist to the sunday shows.

“Anybody who’s running for office, right, left, or center, always points out with they think America can do better and where America needs to go,” Miller responded. “But there’s a fundamental distinction between people who think that we need to lean into and strengthen America’s core values, whether it be our constitutional values, the rule of law, the principles of Western civilization, or people who think it would basically need to turn America into Venezuela.”

It's annoying how the administration never offers a middle ground. You're either a hardcore conservative, who hasn't really followed what Miller stated about constitutional values, rule of law, etc. Or you're a socialist who wants to destroy the world.

Where do I stand if I just want people to stop being ****-stains?

[Gaucho]

pew pew

[mikey]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/step ... fend-trump

Probably not a good look for the admin to send a white nationalist to the sunday shows.

“Anybody who’s running for office, right, left, or center, always points out with they think America can do better and where America needs to go,” Miller responded. “But there’s a fundamental distinction between people who think that we need to lean into and strengthen America’s core values, whether it be our constitutional values, the rule of law, the principles of Western civilization, or people who think it would basically need to turn America into Venezuela.”

It's annoying how the administration never offers a middle ground. You're either a hardcore conservative, who hasn't really followed what Miller stated about constitutional values, rule of law, etc. Or you're a socialist who wants to destroy the world.

Where do I stand if I just want people to stop being ****-stains?

Well outside of our current political spectrum, I'd say...

[Troy Loney]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019 ... al-franken

Actual reporter investigates the claim about Al Franken...finds gigantic holes in the statement that she made.

[CBear3]

Not a shock. I was on a business trip with two female professionals when this was happening (one in her 60s, one in her late 20s). We all agreed that A) circumstances dictate severity/appropriateness & B) by asking for maximum punishment on the whole range of acts from inappropriate comments to rape you endanger the respectability of the whole process. There's a sliding scale and the movement threw that out the window.

[dodint]

Bingo.

I didn't bother posting it because Breitbart (Google fed it to me on an empty Chrome page news feed) but someone pointed out that none of the people filing false accusations against Brett Kavanaugh have been punished in the least. Bad precedent, imo.

[shmenguin]

Bingo.

I didn't bother posting it because Breitbart (Google fed it to me on an empty Chrome page news feed) but someone pointed out that none of the people filing false accusations against Brett Kavanaugh have been punished in the least. Bad precedent, imo.

i forget...blasey ford is still a strong probably for me, but there were others that were disproven?

[dodint]

Bingo.

I didn't bother posting it because Breitbart (Google fed it to me on an empty Chrome page news feed) but someone pointed out that none of the people filing false accusations against Brett Kavanaugh have been punished in the least. Bad precedent, imo.

i forget...blasey ford is still a strong probably for me, but there were others that were disproven?

The ones I remember off the top of my head was the Julie Swetnick/Michael Avenatti accusations, followed by the boat gang rape one. I wasn't including Ford in that group.

They were not 'disproven' because they were completely unsubstantiated. My position is that there was no effort made to investigate the integrity of the claims so there was no chance of punishment.

[Gaucho]

Is Avenatti still running for president?

[Troy Loney]

Bingo.

I didn't bother posting it because Breitbart (Google fed it to me on an empty Chrome page news feed) but someone pointed out that none of the people filing false accusations against Brett Kavanaugh have been punished in the least. Bad precedent, imo.

I don't think any of the Franken accusers have been punished. But yeah, it's hard to see any of this and not be struck by the hypocrisy that is rampant. Admittedly, I didn't read the entire article, I just got through the dissection of some of the claims made by Tweeden. Like, her stating that Franken wrote the bit so that he could kiss her, which was disproved by the bit having been written and performed by Franken with other people for years.

The Kavanaugh hearings did get hijacked by the rape allegation, but that the guy made multiple false statements in his initial judicial confirmation should have been the main reason to oppose his nomination. That the dude was a villain in a dumb 80's college movie was not going to move the needle for the people that mattered (nor would lying for that matter). But opposing him on professional grounds with tangible criticisms was the proper tactic.

[shmenguin]

Bingo.

I didn't bother posting it because Breitbart (Google fed it to me on an empty Chrome page news feed) but someone pointed out that none of the people filing false accusations against Brett Kavanaugh have been punished in the least. Bad precedent, imo.

i forget...blasey ford is still a strong probably for me, but there were others that were disproven?

The ones I remember off the top of my head was the Julie Swetnick/Michael Avenatti accusations, followed by the boat gang rape one. I wasn't including Ford in that group.

They were not 'disproven' because they were completely unsubstantiated. My position is that there was no effort made to investigate the integrity of the claims so there was no chance of punishment.

just wanted to ensure ford wasn't lumped in, and cram in a reminder that innocent, sane people of his stature don't act like he did when being asked baseless questions.

but the others should go back on that boat and sail into the pacific until they get swallowed.

[dodint]

Oddly his currently charged with fraud, theft, and identity theft. The State Bar of California filed with the California State Bar Court a 573-page application to have him disbarred last month.

[shmenguin]

But opposing him on professional grounds with tangible criticisms was the proper tactic.

if it means nothing, then what's the point. you'll just encourage the same theater when the dems cram through their next nominee.

[dodint]

I don't think any of the Franken accusers have been punished.

I know I'm coming off flippant here and MWB will be by to kick me in the nuts later. I want to be clear that I'm not advocating for putting sexual assault victims on trial or in a position where they feel they may be punished if no one believes them. However, when it rises to the level of the Avenatti stuff there should be some kind of remedy available for the accused.

[CBear3]

I'd think the only thing you can do is a defamation suit? Since they didn't go the cops, it's not like they filed a false police report or provided false testimony.

[Troy Loney]

I don't think any of the Franken accusers have been punished.

I know I'm coming off flippant here and MWB will be by to kick me in the nuts later. I want to be clear that I'm not advocating for putting sexual assault victims on trial or in a position where they feel they may be punished if no one believes them. However, when it rises to the level of the Avenatti stuff there should be some kind of remedy available for the accused.

The Swetnick allegation was buffoonery to the max. For one, of course Avenatti was shopping it to cable news as a blockbuster, and then to come out with a statement that essentially said that the accuser was gang raped at a party by men. Kavanaugh is a man that attended parties, he may or may not have been at this party, but he was at parties, there were gang rapes at parties that were of the kind of parties that Kavanaugh may have attended. So I rest my case.

[Kaiser]

There was also beer, present at many rapes, which Brett likes to drink.

[count2infinity]

Just check his calendars, bro.

[Troy Loney]

I think the most accurate comment that I've seen, and I think it applies to the public discussion around both the Franken and the Kavanuagh accusations. That being, that our current national discourse, nor the media coverage, are capable of processing these stories.