William Weehours
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EU holds firm on West Bank settlements as US eases stance
Source: Politico
By ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH 11/19/19, 9:16 AM CET Updated 11/19/19, 3:07 PM CET
The EU's position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has not changed, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Monday, after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration would ease its stance toward Israel.
Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said in a statement: “The European Union’s position on Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory is clear and remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace.”
Mogherini continued: "The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power," adding that the bloc "will continue to support a resumption of a meaningful process towards a negotiated two-state solution, the only realistic and viable way to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of both parties."
The EU's statement came after Pompeo said the U.S. was rejecting a 1978 State Department legal opinion that called Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank “inconsistent with international law.”
Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-holds-firm-on-west-bank-settlements-as-us-eases-stance/
Don't party too hearty, Bibi!
Senators press Facebook over user location tracking policies
Source: The Hell
BY EMILY BIRNBAUM - 11/19/19 06:00 AM EST
A pair of bipartisan senators are pressing Facebook over its location tracking policies, questioning whether the social media giant continues to track users even when they've said they don't want Facebook to do so.
Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Tuesday sent a letter addressed to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg raising concern that Facebook ignores the wishes of users who don't want their exact location to be tracked. The letter comes on the heels of a Facebook blog post in which the company pledged it would stop tracking users' location data when they chose that option on the latest Apple and Google software updates.
But the senators said Facebook's blog post leaves open the possibility that it will continue to record and use location information, even when users have opted out on Apple's iOS or Google's Android software.
"If a user has decided to limit Facebook’s access to his or her location, Facebook should respect these privacy choices," Coons and Hawley wrote in the letter. "The language in the blog post, however, indicates that Facebook may continue to collect location data despite user preferences, even if the user is not engaging with the app, and Facebook is simply deducing the user’s location from information about his or her internet connection."
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/471032-senators-press-facebook-over-user-location-tracking-policies
Facebook, imho, has had the most corrosive effect on American society of anything in the 21st century thus far. Any bad news for Zuckerberg is good news to me. (For those thinking of FOX "News," I would remind you that cesspool was on the air before 2000.)
Kremlin confirms Putin to take part in Ukrainian peace summit in Paris
Source: Reuters
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 / 7:07 AM
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would take part in a four-way international summit in Paris on Dec. 9, an attempt to advance efforts for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The French presidency said on Friday that the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine would take part. But until Monday the Kremlin had failed to publicly confirm its attendance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Putin would attend, but declined to discuss what Moscow’s expectations for the event were.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-summit/kremlin-confirms-putin-to-take-part-in-ukrainian-peace-summit-in-paris-idUSKBN1XS14R?il=0
Oh fucking joy! (Well, at least Trump won't be there, sparing us the sight of Donnie on his knees giving Vladdy a BJ. UGH! I'm outta here!)
NYT: Bloomberg's Bogus, Belated Mea Culpa
By Charles M. Blow
Opinion Columnist
Nov. 17, 2019, 8:20 p.m. ET
This Sunday, Bloomberg apologized for that policy. Speaking at the Christian Cultural Center, a black megachurch in Brooklyn, Bloomberg said:
“Over time, I’ve come to understand something that I long struggled to admit to myself: I got something important wrong. I got something important really wrong. I didn’t understand that back then the full impact that stops were having on the black and Latino communities. I was totally focused on saving lives, but as we know, good intentions aren’t good enough. Now, hindsight is 20/20. But, as crime continued to come down as we reduced stops, and as it continued to come down during the next administration, to its credit, I now see that we could and should have acted sooner and acted faster to cut the stops. I wish we had. I’m sorry that we didn’t. But, I can’t change history. However today, I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
This is a necessary apology, but a hard one to take, coming only now, as he considers a run for the Democratic nomination, a nomination that is nearly impossible to secure without the black vote.
It feels like the very definition of pandering.
It is impossible for me to take seriously Bloomberg’s claim that he didn’t understand the impact that stop-and-frisk was having on the black and brown communities when he was in office.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/17/opinion/bloomberg-stop-and-frisk.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
But wait! There's more:
Bloomberg hasn't announced yet. Therefore, I'm not posting this in DP. Besides which, Michael Bloomberg? A Democrat? HAHA!
Belarus threatens to pull out of Russia integration deal over subsidy row
Source: Reuters
NOVEMBER 17, 2019 / 6:56 AM
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday threatened to pull out of signing an integration deal with Russia next month if Moscow failed to resolve their dispute over energy subsidies.
Russia has propped up its traditional ally with loans and subsidies to keep Belarus in its political orbit but now plans to phase these out to lessen the burden on its economy.
That has strained ties at the same time as Lukashenko has sought to improve relations with the West.
Belarus previously said that it stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year from changes to Russian tax policy and has tried to negotiate compensation. Russia says the subsidies cost its exchequer billions of dollars.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election-lukashenko/belarus-threatens-to-pull-out-of-russia-integration-deal-over-subsidy-row-idUSKBN1XR0CD?il=0
Nice knowin' ya, Alexander. On second thought, you're just an asshole dictator about to be consumed by another asshole dictator, so good riddance.
Stephen Miller is no outlier. White supremacy rules the Republican party
By Cas Mudde, The Guardian, 16 Nov 2019 06.17 EST
The emails, which were leaked by former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh and predate Miller’s period in the White House, show Miller’s obsession with immigration and his seemingly successful attempts to get Breitbart editors to write anti-immigration stories, some of which were based on openly white nationalist sources like American Renaissance and V-Dare.
The widespread public outrage in response to the revelations is understandable. Miller is the longest serving senior advisor to President Trump who is not related to the president, and is believed to be the architect of the White House’s draconian anti-immigration policies, which doesn’t just target “illegal immigration” but also aims to return to the country to the infamously racist immigration policy of the early 20th century.
In its response to the leak, the White House tried to discredit the source, SPLC, which has had some internal and external problems recently, but is overall a very reliable authority on the US far right (full disclaimer: I regularly collaborate with the SPLC). One White House spokesperson went full “alternative facts” by accusing SPLC of antisemitism, because Miller is Jewish. By doing so, the White House displayed a complete lack of understanding about what antisemitism is, which is no surprise, given that Trump considers himself “the least antisemitic person you’ve ever seen”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/16/stephen-miller-white-supremacy-republican-party
Beyond tone-deaf. I sometimes wonder if Trump and his Trash administration actually studied to be so stupid. But it's probably just a natural gift!
Turkey says it bought Russian S-400s to use them, not put them aside
Source: Reuters
NOVEMBER 16, 2019 / 4:09 AM
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey bought S-400 missile defense systems from Russia to use them, not put them aside, the head of the Turkish Defense Industry Directorate said on Saturday, days after talks between President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump.
In an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, Ismail Demir said it was not logical for any country to purchase such systems only to put them aside, but added that Turkish and U.S. officials would aim to tackle the issue. He also said that no Russian personnel would come to Turkey to operate the S-400s.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-turkey-russia/turkey-says-it-bought-russian-s-400s-to-use-them-not-put-them-aside-idUSKBN1XQ07Z?il=0
Giving respect to despots does not earn you their respect, Donnie. They look down on you for the weak little snowflake you really are!
Michael McFaul On Yovanovitch's Removal: She Was Getting In The Way Of 'The Drug Deal' - MSNBC
I applaud Ambassador McFaul. I condemn President McFAIL!
Laurence Tribe On Impeachment: It's About Time We Pay Attention To Constitution - Hardball
From last night:
Every word Tribe speaks is a nail in Trump's coffin.
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Name: BillGender: Male
Hometown: Bath, Me
Home country: US
Member since: Wed Nov 13, 2019, 07:40 AM
Number of posts: 59
