Octopus Overlords

El Guapo wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 1:13 pm *Can* Guiliani's reputation get lower?

LordMortis wrote:

dbt1949 wrote: Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:52 am I find it odd that the republicans say they are for less government but are for more government keeping tabs om everybody.
I think the main thing they are against is logic.

The party of individual responsibility, private arbitration, and decentralized government is now the party of Law and Order, Federal Hit Squads, and concentrated federal executive power unless it comes to COVID.

malchior wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:30 pm Notable Cyber Security expert Rudy Guiliani with another winner.

https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/ ... 4787331074

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) terminated one of the staffers who earlier this month accused him of committing several crimes including bribery and abuse of office, the Texas Tribune reported on Tuesday evening. Lacey Mase, who served as deputy attorney general for administration, was one of seven top aides to Paxton who wrote to the state agency’s director of human resources seeking an investigation into Paxton “in his official capacity as the current Attorney General of Texas.”
...
The employees accused Paxton of improper influence in the case of Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor who donated to Paxton’s 2018 re-election campaign.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Paul has been under FBI investigation for more than a year; in the months following a series of Aug. 19 federal raids on Paul’s properties in Austin, the investor filed for more than a dozen bankruptcies.
...
Her performance reviews, coupled with the timing of her firing, are likely to give rise to allegations that she was terminated unlawfully.

“This looks and smells like classic whistleblower retaliation,” North Texas employment attorney Jason Smith told the publication, adding that the circumstances were “suspicious.”

“This situation looks like what the Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA) was designed to prevent. And the timing looks bad,” he said.

malchior wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:30 pm Notable Cyber Security expert Rudy Guiliani with another winner.

https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/ ... 4787331074

Jaymann wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:12 pm Can you give us the gist?

Little Raven wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:06 pm A nice reminder that it's not all bad.

https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox/status/ ... 1471708162

malchior wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:37 pm The Ghislaine Maxwell deposition was just dropped on the web. I am going to spend an hour skimming. I read the first few pages and it starts off strong. The first non-procedural question to Maxwell was when did you first recruit a woman for Epstein and I'll presume her lawyer sets the tone because he immediately demands one of the lawyers leave the room because the answer is confidential. High quality stuff.

Kurth wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:47 pm Never thought I’d say this, but I think I want to move to Utah after watching that.

Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:49 pm

malchior wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:37 pm The Ghislaine Maxwell deposition was just dropped on the web. I am going to spend an hour skimming. I read the first few pages and it starts off strong. The first non-procedural question to Maxwell was when did you first recruit a woman for Epstein and I'll presume her lawyer sets the tone because he immediately demands one of the lawyers leave the room because the answer is confidential. High quality stuff.

I object to the form and foundation of your characterization.

Isgrimnur wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:20 pm Law and Crime

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) terminated one of the staffers who earlier this month accused him of committing several crimes including bribery and abuse of office, the Texas Tribune reported on Tuesday evening. Lacey Mase, who served as deputy attorney general for administration, was one of seven top aides to Paxton who wrote to the state agency’s director of human resources seeking an investigation into Paxton “in his official capacity as the current Attorney General of Texas.”
...
The employees accused Paxton of improper influence in the case of Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor who donated to Paxton’s 2018 re-election campaign.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Paul has been under FBI investigation for more than a year; in the months following a series of Aug. 19 federal raids on Paul’s properties in Austin, the investor filed for more than a dozen bankruptcies.
...
Her performance reviews, coupled with the timing of her firing, are likely to give rise to allegations that she was terminated unlawfully.

“This looks and smells like classic whistleblower retaliation,” North Texas employment attorney Jason Smith told the publication, adding that the circumstances were “suspicious.”

“This situation looks like what the Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA) was designed to prevent. And the timing looks bad,” he said.

First Article wrote:A second whistleblower has been fired from the Texas attorney general’s office after reporting his boss, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to law enforcement for crimes including bribery and abuse of office, according to a former senior official with the agency who had knowledge about the firing but did not want to be named for fear of legal repercussions.

Blake Brickman, who had served as deputy attorney general for policy and strategy initiatives for less than a year, was fired Tuesday, the official said. Lacey Mase, the deputy attorney general for administration, was also fired Tuesday, The Texas Tribune reported earlier this week.

Second Article wrote:Since then, one of the top aides — Jeff Mateer, who previously spent years as Paxton’s top deputy — has resigned, and another, Mark Penley, has been placed on leave.

Paxton has dismissed the scandal as “rogue employees” wielding “false allegations” and said he will not resign, though some in his party have called on him to do so.

Nuts!

Recently, the tensions among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile have escalated, particularly after Ethiopia announced that it had started filling the GERD’s reservoir, an action contrary to Egypt’s mandate that the dam not be filled without a legally binding agreement over the equitable allocation of the Nile’s waters. Egypt has also escalated its call to the international community to get involved. Already, the United States has threatened to withhold development aid to Ethiopia if the conflict is not resolved and an agreement reached.

When construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is completed, the Nile will have two of the world’s largest dams—the High Aswan Dam (HAD) and the GERD—in two different countries (Egypt and Ethiopia). There is not yet agreement on how these dams will operate to manage scarce water resources. We elucidate the potential risks and opportunities to Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia by simulating the filling period of the reservoir; a new normal period after the reservoir fills; and a severe multi-year drought after the filling. Our analysis illustrates how during filling the HAD reservoir could fall to levels not seen in recent decades, although the risk of water shortage in Egypt is relatively low. The new normal will benefit Ethiopia and Sudan without significantly affecting water users in Egypt. Management of multi-year droughts will require careful coordination if risks of harmful impacts are to be minimized.