October 1, 2023

x.com inks do not display in DU, you need to click on them and use the twitter.com ones

The DU software does not auto imbed tweets from the x.con domain, unlike tweets from the twitter.com domain, which it does

also, please URL trim the '?' and everything after it (that is not just for twitter links)

example

https://x.com/BostonStrong_34/status/1708551657284366373?s=20

will not display on DU

but if you click on it it yields a link that will display on DU

(snapshot)

(and ?s=20 should be trimmed off or else it displays)

here is what that yields

https://twitter.com/BostonStrong_34/status/1708551657284366373

October 1, 2023

NFL Ad Ran on Zombie Twitter Account Calling for Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce's Deaths

The social platform continues to place brand spots alongside the dangerous extremists it refuses to rein in

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/nfl-advertising-twitter-x-white-nationalist-1234834242/



X, THE COMPANY formerly known as Twitter, has been at pains to lure back advertisers who deserted the platform in droves after Elon Musk‘s takeover, slashing the site’s revenue in the process. Last month, the company even rolled out expanded features for brands, including tools to help keep their ads away from undesirable content like hate speech.

But those measures have proven wildly ineffective so far, at least where one major ad partner — the NFL — is concerned. Reports from Media Matters reveal that X has been serving the league’s promoted content on a number of verified and openly white nationalist accounts with a million followers between them. These include profiles for white supremacist Richard Spencer and VDare, an anti-immigrant organization (and Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group) that has specifically attacked the NFL and encouraged a boycott of the league over players supporting Black Lives Matter, denouncing the movement as “anti-white blood libel.”



NFL ads were also served on the account of Andrew Torba, CEO of the Nazi-infested rival website Gab, himself a notorious antisemite. When he retweeted a racist meme depicting a boat full of non-white migrants that warned “You’re being conquered,” an NFL clip from Sept. 14 game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles appeared right below it. X did not reply to a request for comment on the ad placements.



Media Matters noted that NFL spots — which are supposed to generate revenue for verified users whose timelines they appear on — likewise turned up in Rumble streaming host Stew Peters’ feed. Peters is a far-right conspiracy theorist who has regularly demonized Jews and LGBTQ people but is perhaps best known for his extreme anti-vax positions and spreading other falsehoods about Covid-19. He pushed the conspiracy theory that Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field in January due to cardiac arrest but went on to make a complete recovery, actually died because he was vaccinated and has been replaced by an actor.

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October 1, 2023

The Ongoing National Security Threats Posed by Senator Bob Menendez

https://www.justsecurity.org/88890/the-ongoing-national-security-threats-posed-by-senator-bob-menendez/

by Asha Rangappa and Marc Polymeropoulos

The recent indictment of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) reads like the script of a B crime movie: A politician, three New Jersey businessmen, a shady trucking business, and envelopes and a safe deposit box stuffed with cash and gold bars. But the most important thru-line in the narrative isn’t the criminal charges. Rather, it is the national security threat raised by the espionage and counterintelligence concerns which run throughout the 39-page document. In sum, the government of Egypt–with whom the United States has an ostensible “critical defense partnership”–appears to have recruited the powerful Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The indictment explicitly lists five ways Menendez has already compromised U.S. national security, and implicitly reveals one ongoing threat Menendez poses as long as he continues to hold his current position.

1. Disclosing the United States’ Staffing Blueprint in its Egyptian Embassy

According to the indictment, on May 6, 2018, Menendez requested that the State Department provide him with non-public information regarding the number of people serving at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and their nationality. Upon receiving this information, Menendez texted that information to his then-girlfriend (now wife), Nadine Menendez, who forwarded it to an Egyptian businessman Wael Hana, who in turn forwarded it to Egyptian officials.Notably, the senator requested this information from the State Department after having met with Nadine Menendez and Hana earlier that day.

Such tasking by the Egyptians would be consistent with classic modus operandi in a recruitment operation. One requests a seemingly innocuous document, that once is provided, gets their hooks into an agent-candidate. Indeed, the chronology that follows in the indictment indicates the senator had become compromised and increasing demands were then placed on him by the Egyptian officials and intermediaries.

Although the precise staffing numbers of a foreign embassy are not classified, they are considered sensitive because they can potentially be used to determine a foreign intelligence presence in that country. Foreign embassies are a primary focus for a domestic counterintelligence service. In addition, understanding the number of locals employed at the embassy offers opportunities for a domestic counterintelligence service to recruit those individuals to be their “eyes and ears” inside the embassy – even just to spot and assess potential targets who may be vulnerable.

2. Providing Advance Information on U.S. Military Aid...........

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October 1, 2023

Survivors Reveal War Crimes as Putin's Men Stood Aside

In interviews with The Daily Beast, soldiers recounted horror stories from the Nagorno-Karabakh onslaught after their Russian allies failed to intervene.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-allied-soldiers-accuse-azerbaijan-of-war-crimes-in-nagorno-karabakh



GORIS, Armenia—Two ethnic Armenian soldiers who survived the blitzkrieg onslaught against Nagorno-Karabakh told The Daily Beast they witnessed apparent war crimes committed against civilians who lived in the disputed enclave.

Azerbaijan conducted the assault on Nagorno-Karabakh last week despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers who had been defending the residents of the border region. It took only two days for Azerbaijan to take control of the enclave after the assault began on Sept. 19. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has since accused its Russian ally of failing to intervene.

One civilian allegedly had his leg cut in two by a bullet from a sniper that struck him during the attack, according to the soldiers. They also told The Daily Beast that they had witnessed indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, in contravention of the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statue on war crimes.

The University Network For Human Rights, a non-governmental organization documenting crimes against humanity, is currently in Armenia collecting witness allegations of war crimes against Azerbaijani soldiers and citizens. Among the alleged crimes are attacks on civilian infrastructure, and forced deportation.

snip

September 30, 2023

Kari Lake and Pro-DeSantis 'Reporter' Get Into Screaming Match at GOP Debate

Before the candidates hit the debate stage Wednesday, there was another debate between Kari Lake and pro-Ron DeSantis reporter Chris Nelson.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kari-lake-and-pro-desantis-reporter-chris-nelson-get-into-screaming-match-at-gop-debate



When an ardently pro-Ron DeSantis “journalist” caught up with Donald Trump surrogate Kari Lake at the Republican debate Wednesday, he had a specific question for the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate: “How are you going to run for Senate when you’re already the governor?”

The antagonistic question and subsequent two-minute heckling of Lake by conservative journalist Chris Nelson highlighted the fiery factions created in right-wing media by the Trump versus DeSantis GOP primary.

“Why do you lie about Ron DeSantis?” Nelson yelled in Lake’s direction at one point. “Why do you lie about Ron DeSantis, Kari Lake?” Lake eventually fired back while preparing for a television hit on media row ahead of the GOP debate.

“Why did Ron DeSantis close his state down?” Lake said, according to video footage taken by Nelson. “Children had to wear masks to school.” In one particularly pointed shot, Nelson asked Lake where she was going to live “when they repossess Mar-A-Lago.”

snip

https://twitter.com/ReOpenChris/status/1707150816451137877
https://twitter.com/JoshPower80/status/1707175050472738835

September 30, 2023

Prostitution is not a free choice for women

The feminist goal is abolition of prostitution—not acceptance of it and mere defence of ‘sex workers’.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/prostitution-is-not-a-free-choice-for-women


Prostitution has steadily grown in Germany in the two decades since legalisation

Prostitution is not about choice but exploitation, need and trafficking. It is not a job like any other. Nor does its longevity render it ‘natural’. The ‘oldest trade’ is not sustained in formally egalitarian societies that pursue substantive equality; rather, it constitutes a school of inequality for all. That is why the European Parliament adopted this month, by a clear majority, a report (the socialist MEP Maria Noichl was rapporteur) calling on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to act on prostitution, as clearly contrary to the fundamental values of the European Union. The report opts for a ‘Nordic’ or equality model; amendments misusing that label to advocate the decriminalisation of those who engage in prostitution fell.


Intersecting inequalities

The report argues that prostitution, which feeds on the lucrative business of pimps and trafficking networks, is one of the most extreme manifestations of the inequalities which intersect in the exploitation of women’s bodies and lives—exploitation which continues to grow within Europe’s borders, where most countries regulate or tolerate prostitution. This though article 2 of the Treaty on European Union affirms that the union is founded on the values of human dignity, equality and respect for human rights (including the rights of persons belonging to minorities), non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men.

That article also talks about respect for freedom. But freedom can only be guaranteed if one has a choice—something that does not exist for most women driven into prostitution. Most are victims of trafficking from impoverished or chaotic states or come from milieux of exclusion; their supply increases in times of economic crisis. In 2022, the European Parliament gave its opinion on the link between women’s poverty and the rise in prostitution, in a non-legislative initiative on women’s poverty in Europe (for which I was rapporteur). ‘Freedom’ is the language of associations and individuals critical of the abolitionist stance of the report the parliament has just adopted. Their arguments appeal to women’s autonomy over their bodies and associated empowerment, equating prostitution with sexual and reproductive rights. This, however, mangles words and principles: what free choice, what autonomy, exists when one has no real options?

Power and exploitation

In most cases we are not even talking about the myth of ‘free choice’, albeit stemming from extreme need, at all—but coercion by families who sell girls into the international trafficking and extortion networks that feed the brothels of rich countries. In this context, to speak of autonomy is to legitimise relations of power and exploitation towards women. Beyond that, the myth of free choice works by implying that everyone has the same range of possibilities, among which to choose. But this requires minimal material preconditions, so that the ‘choice’ is not between prostitution and destitution.

snip

September 30, 2023

Mayor Eric Adams Criticized Again for Response to Severe Weather as City Is Deluged

Mayor Eric Adams did not publicly discuss the coming storm until nearly 24 hours after weather officials first warned of potential flash flooding in New York.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/nyregion/mayor-adams-flooding-response.html

https://archive.ph/0nAt6


Mayor Eric Adams did not hold a news conference or address the public until almost noon on Friday after large swaths of the city were already under water and half the subway was suspended.Credit...Hans Pennink/Associated Press

Less than four months ago, Mayor Eric Adams was widely criticized for not giving New Yorkers adequate warning when the city’s air quality worsened rapidly. He shook off the critics, insisting that his administration could not have been expected to do more. On Thursday, as it became clear that a major storm was about to hit New York, the mayor had the opportunity to take a different approach.

Gov. Kathy Hochul acted first, telling residents to be prepared for flash floods, and warning in a radio interview Thursday evening of “havoc throughout the downstate region.” State transit officials also held a news conference on Thursday to discuss the coming storm.

Mr. Adams, however, did not hold a news conference or address the public until almost noon on Friday after large swaths of the city were already under water and service had been suspended on half the subway system. By contrast, Mr. Adams attended a campaign fund-raiser Thursday night at a scenic restaurant along the Hudson River in Manhattan to celebrate his 63rd birthday earlier this month. Suggested contributions were listed at $2,100.

https://twitter.com/JCColtin/status/1707605224200814887
His office released its first statement about the storm, a “travel advisory” warning of the heavy rains, via email at 11 p.m. Nearly 12 hours later, just before the mayor was scheduled to address reporters for the first time — and 23 hours after the National Weather Service warned of flash flooding in the city — the Adams administration asked New Yorkers to “stay home if you don’t need to travel.”

snip

September 30, 2023

Suspected gunman in deadly Rotterdam shooting 'tortured rabbit and had Nazi material on phone'

Dutch media claim suspect’s neighbour had reported him for animal cruelty

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/rotterdam-shooting-gunman-victims-fouad-b2420865.html



A medical student suspected of killing three people on a shooting rampage in Rotterdam previously tortured animals and had Nazi material on his phone, it has been claimed.

The 32-year-old suspect, named as Fouad L, opened fire on his neighbour’s home on Friday, killing a 14-year-old girl and her mother. He then stormed the Erasmus Medical Center, where he was a student, and shot dead a university lecturer. Dutch media claim Fouad L’s neighbour had reported him for animal cruelty and the university had dropped his diploma.

Prosecutors confirmed on Friday that they were previously concerned enough about his behaviour that they had sent a letter to his school, warning about his “psychotic behaviour” over his treatment of animals.

Police also discovered Nazi-related and right-wing material as well as images of people being stabbed on the phone of the suspect two years ago, according to local media.

snip

September 30, 2023

Prostitution is not a free choice for women

The feminist goal is abolition of prostitution—not acceptance of it and mere defence of ‘sex workers’.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/prostitution-is-not-a-free-choice-for-women


Prostitution has steadily grown in Germany in the two decades since legalisation

Prostitution is not about choice but exploitation, need and trafficking. It is not a job like any other. Nor does its longevity render it ‘natural’. The ‘oldest trade’ is not sustained in formally egalitarian societies that pursue substantive equality; rather, it constitutes a school of inequality for all. That is why the European Parliament adopted this month, by a clear majority, a report (the socialist MEP Maria Noichl was rapporteur) calling on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to act on prostitution, as clearly contrary to the fundamental values of the European Union. The report opts for a ‘Nordic’ or equality model; amendments misusing that label to advocate the decriminalisation of those who engage in prostitution fell.


Intersecting inequalities

The report argues that prostitution, which feeds on the lucrative business of pimps and trafficking networks, is one of the most extreme manifestations of the inequalities which intersect in the exploitation of women’s bodies and lives—exploitation which continues to grow within Europe’s borders, where most countries regulate or tolerate prostitution. This though article 2 of the Treaty on European Union affirms that the union is founded on the values of human dignity, equality and respect for human rights (including the rights of persons belonging to minorities), non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men.

That article also talks about respect for freedom. But freedom can only be guaranteed if one has a choice—something that does not exist for most women driven into prostitution. Most are victims of trafficking from impoverished or chaotic states or come from milieux of exclusion; their supply increases in times of economic crisis. In 2022, the European Parliament gave its opinion on the link between women’s poverty and the rise in prostitution, in a non-legislative initiative on women’s poverty in Europe (for which I was rapporteur). ‘Freedom’ is the language of associations and individuals critical of the abolitionist stance of the report the parliament has just adopted. Their arguments appeal to women’s autonomy over their bodies and associated empowerment, equating prostitution with sexual and reproductive rights. This, however, mangles words and principles: what free choice, what autonomy, exists when one has no real options?

Power and exploitation

In most cases we are not even talking about the myth of ‘free choice’, albeit stemming from extreme need, at all—but coercion by families who sell girls into the international trafficking and extortion networks that feed the brothels of rich countries. In this context, to speak of autonomy is to legitimise relations of power and exploitation towards women. Beyond that, the myth of free choice works by implying that everyone has the same range of possibilities, among which to choose. But this requires minimal material preconditions, so that the ‘choice’ is not between prostitution and destitution.

snip

September 30, 2023

Pete Buttigieg Details What a Government Shutdown Will Mean for Travelers

"No large organization, least of all the federal government, is designed to just flip on and off like a light switch."

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/government-shutdown-travel-impact-secretary-buttigieg-explainer



Right now, an uncontrollable travel catastrophe is looming over all of our heads. Come October 1, the gears of the federal government could very possibly grind to a screeching halt. While the Senate has approved a spending deal, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is being pushed by a slew of hard-right House Republicans to reject proposals that would avoid a government shutdown. If Congress fails to pass some sort of funding legislation before the October 1 deadline, a large portion ( anything classified as "non-essential" ) of the federal government will stop operating and workers will be furloughed.

In a Wednesday interview, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Thrillist that the shutdown is "basically a hostage tactic in order for House Republicans to try to get through severe cuts that they have proposed." The last time there was a government shutdown was in December 2018. The shutdown lasted for 35 days—then-President Trump was demanding funding for a US-Mexico border wall, and Democratic lawmakers objected to that.

For the American people, one of the biggest impacts of the shutdown will be felt in the travel sector. Previous shutdowns caused major delays, cancellations, and long wait times at airports. After a year of making steady progress addressing the air travel industry's largest issues—including air traffic controller shortages, habitual delays, airline refunds, and outdated FAA technology—Secretary Buttigieg says a government shutdown will not only cause the same issues as previous shutdowns, but will also sabotage hard-won improvements to the industry.

"We saw an all-time record high in terms of the number of passengers screened by TSA this summer, which is one of many reasons why this is the exact wrong time for a government shutdown," Buttigieg explained. "To be clear, there's no good time for a government shutdown, but now, in particular, would be disruptive when we can least afford it." Here's what you need to know about the potential government shutdown and how it could affect your next trip.

TSA and air traffic controllers will have to stay on the job...............

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