Octopus Overlords

Lithuanian ultranationalists marched near execution sites of Jews with banners celebrating a pro-Nazi collaborationist who called for ethnic cleansing and a symbol popular with members of the U.S. “alt-right” movement.

Approximately 170 people attended Thursday’s annual march in Kaunas, Lithuania’s second city that is also known as Kovno, the website Defending History reported.

The main banner featured a picture of the collaborationist Kazys Skirpa modified to resemble Pepe the Frog, a cartoon figure that was used by hate groups in the United States during the 2016 presidential elections, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The banner also included a quote attributed to the Pepe-like portrait of Skirpa, an envoy of the pro-Nazi movement in Lithuania to Berlin, that read “Lithuania will contribute to new and better European order.”

David Axelrod wrote:I worry that...and we're all guilty of some of this...that if the news media becomes...you search for outlets that affirm your point of view, rather than inform your point of view - then we're losing something that's fundamental to a democracy.

LordMortis wrote:Fake news that has it all. 2nd Amendment. Illegal Immigration crime. Mexico Border crossing. Fund raising. Obamacare. Private citizen medical care. Heroic action in the name of God. Self referential for fake news.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 91471.html

RunningMn9 wrote:This seems as good a place as any. I was listening to the podcast "The Axe Files", hosted by David Axelrod, in particular his interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace (which was an excellent conversation by the way). At the end, Axelrod made a point that seems like an important one as we are all dragged aboard the Trump train:

David Axelrod wrote:I worry that...and we're all guilty of some of this...that if the news media becomes...you search for outlets that affirm your point of view, rather than inform your point of view - then we're losing something that's fundamental to a democracy.

Seems like a valid concern, albeit maybe 25 years too late.

Just days before Democratic activists pick a new party chair, the contest to head the Democratic National Committee remains fluid, as national leaders grapple with how to turn an outpouring of liberal protest against President Donald Trump into political gains.

A tight race between front-runners Tom Perez, a former labor secretary, and Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota congressman, marks the first heavily contested battle to run the organization in recent history. The contest comes with Democrats facing a power deficit in Washington and around the country after years of losses in Congress, governor's mansions and statehouses, while also having no unifying national leader since former President Barack Obama left the White House.

Perez, who was encouraged by Obama administration officials to run for the post, has emerged as the apparent front-runner, with independent Democratic strategists tracking him at about 205 votes. But it's not yet clear whether Perez or Ellison - or one of six other long-shot candidates - is positioned to capture the required majority of the 447-member national party committee.

The strategists spoke on condition of anonymity because many DNC members they track do not want the vote count discussed publicly.

Ellison, backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his supporters, has the support of about 153 members, the strategists said. Ellison spokesman Brett Morrow blasted the count as "totally inaccurate" and said his camp remains "incredibly confident."

LordMortis wrote:I tried to find "objective" reporting between November and January. It just wasn't there.

RunningMn9 wrote:

LordMortis wrote:I tried to find "objective" reporting between November and January. It just wasn't there.

Out of curiosity, how are you testing objectivity?

LordMortis wrote:One, honesty. Which is to say either it is fact checked or treated as developing.
Two, with minimal editorial slant, which is to say without trying to guide my reading to a guided, politicized conclusion.

RunningMn9 wrote:How do you tell the difference between the facts providing their own editorial slant, and that of the author? Meaning, any factual story about the behavior of Trump is going to be less than flattering with regard to Trump. Because he is objectively a piece of shit.

The editorial slant that I've seen this election cycle (from normal "liberal" outfits like traditional print media) has been focused much more on normalizing Trump's insanity, to avoid the charge of being too biased.

WARSAW — The Law and Justice Party rode to power on a pledge to drain the swamp of Polish politics and roll back the legacy of the previous administration. One year later, its patriotic revolution, the party proclaims, has cleaned house and brought God and country back to Poland.

Opponents, however, see the birth of a neo-Dark Age — one that, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to move into the White House, is a harbinger of the power of populism to upend a Western society. In merely a year, critics say, the nationalists have transformed Poland into a surreal and insular place — one where state-sponsored conspiracy theories and de facto propaganda distract the public as democracy erodes.

RunningMn9 wrote:I'm just asking that we not conflate them with the trash that shows up on your Facebook feed from Occupy Democrats.

RunningMn9 wrote:I generally treat WaPo and NYT the same, and that's become my general source for what's going on. As you've noted, I've had a lifetime spent removing what I perceived to be liberal bias from sources, so maybe I just do it on auto-pilot now? How you've made the determination that MSNBC is more objective than WaPo, I don't know.

At an event designed to promote getting more local produce into school cafeterias, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller criticized one school system’s introduction of “Meatless Mondays,” calling it nutritionally unsound.

“We’re not doing that in Texas,” Miller told the Rivard Report after making the comments during a speech Wednesday at a Farm to School workshop hosted by the Northeast Independent School District at the Piper Bass Memorial Student Center. “That’s not healthy. Not only is it stupid, it’s not healthy. This is Texas – we’re going to eat beef.”

The controversial state agriculture commissioner, who was on a short list of candidates to be President Donald Trump’s Agriculture Secretary, has criticized federal school lunch program guidelines and made a show of granting “amnesty” to cupcakes in school cafeterias and classrooms.

“I’m a Republican and more of a local control person,” Miller said. “We oversee 5 million schools’ meals each day, and I took a different approach when I became commissioner. We had all these mandates in our schools – no more deep fryers, soda machines, and bake sales. That didn’t sit too well with me.”

Miller called federal government mandates “well intentioned,” but said that they just don’t work.
...
Miller said his approach in the fight against childhood obesity is to collaborate with schools instead of issuing mandates. Despite criticizing the “Meatless Mondays” instituted in Dripping Springs public schools, Miller has been a champion of school gardens, exercise programs, and Farm Fresh Friday, which makes available fresh local produce in schools once a week. He told the Rivard Report there are around 144 schools participating in the Farm Fresh Friday program.
...
One of several invited guest speakers, Miller said he wants to make the lunch room “fun again,” which is why he brought back deep fryers and drink machines with federally approved drinks that are low in sugar.
...
“Somewhere in an industrial kitchen – probably Sysco’s – they deep-fry whatever it is and add additives, preservatives, and dyes and other junk,” Miller said. “If you bring the deep fryer in and buy a locally grown potato, cook it cut it up and cook it fresh for lunch – no additives no dyes, no preservatives – which ones do you think the kids will eat? The fresh. It’s just healthier.”

Claiming people are being paid to riot, Republican state senators voted Wednesday to give police new power to arrest anyone who is involved in a peaceful demonstration that may turn bad — even before anything actually happened.

SB1142 expands the state’s racketeering laws, now aimed at organized crime, to also include rioting. And it redefines what constitutes rioting to include actions that result in damage to the property of others.

But the real heart of the legislation is what Democrats say is the guilt by association — and giving the government the right to criminally prosecute and seize the assets of everyone who planned a protest and everyone who participated. And what’s worse, said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, is that the person who may have broken a window, triggering the claim there was a riot, might actually not be a member of the group but someone from the other side.

Budapest has abandoned its bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, a move that leaves Los Angeles and Paris as the only potential host cities.

The decision was confirmed by a Budapest 2024 bid official, who said Hungary's capital city was pulling out because of a lack of political support for the project. Activists had collected hundreds of thousands of signatures from Hungarians who did not want to host the event.

There's one big reason support drained away: the high cost of hosting the Olympics.

dbt1949 wrote:It used to be when I read about other countries that disagreed or disliked us I used to feel a bit sad/bad.
Now I think of them as disliking Trump and not the USA and I feel okay.

El Guapo wrote:Tom Perez is the new DNC chair, narrowly beating out Keith Ellison (232-200), who was being pushed by Sanders and his wing of the party. Naturally the Sanderistas in my FB feed are theatening to take their ball and go home.

El Guapo wrote:Tom Perez is the new DNC chair, narrowly beating out Keith Ellison (232-200), who was being pushed by Sanders and his wing of the party. Naturally the Sanderistas in my FB feed are theatening to take their ball and go home.

Isgrimnur wrote:Independent

Hundreds of advertisers are pulling away from ultra-conservative news website Breitbart, and campaigners are confident the backlash is snowballing.

According to a database from grassroots campaign group Sleeping Giants, a total of 818 companies have pledged to remove Breitbart from their media plan so far.

In the last few months, giant corporations such as Kelloggs, BMW, Visa, T-Mobile, Nordstrom and Lufthansa have all severed ties with the company.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), for one, sent a staff member rather than attend a Kansas City town hall last weekend. She will chat with voters this week via Facebook Live — a much more controlled environment, where angry mass shouting isn’t an option.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have also dodged town-hall gatherings, the AP reports — opting instead for teleconferences, e-mail surveys and speeches.

Rip wrote:I don't see why so many Republicans waste their time on useless town halls. Just join the Democrats who know that nothing good can come from them and opt for more controlled interactions.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), for one, sent a staff member rather than attend a Kansas City town hall last weekend. She will chat with voters this week via Facebook Live — a much more controlled environment, where angry mass shouting isn’t an option.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have also dodged town-hall gatherings, the AP reports — opting instead for teleconferences, e-mail surveys and speeches.

Title 18 of the United States Code (regarding criminal acts and criminal procedure) defines international terrorism as:

(1) [T]he term 'international terrorism' means activities that —

(A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended —

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

(C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum".[61]

USA PATRIOT Act of 2001
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 defines domestic terrorism as "activities that (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the U.S. or of any state; (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S."

hepcat wrote:

Rip wrote:I don't see why so many Republicans waste their time on useless town halls. Just join the Democrats who know that nothing good can come from them and opt for more controlled interactions.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), for one, sent a staff member rather than attend a Kansas City town hall last weekend. She will chat with voters this week via Facebook Live — a much more controlled environment, where angry mass shouting isn’t an option.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have also dodged town-hall gatherings, the AP reports — opting instead for teleconferences, e-mail surveys and speeches.

Not the same.

But ultimately both parties are holding fewer in-person events to avoid unwanted viral moments. Senior Democratic lawmakers this week asked progressive favorite Sen. Bernie Sanders to reach out to activists and urge them to not protest at Democratic town halls, according to the Washington Post.

But Republicans appear to be embracing this strategy of avoidance with even more vigor than the Democrats ever did. Despite outnumbering Democrats in Congress 292 to 241, Republicans are holding 19 fewer in-person town hall events than their colleagues across the aisle in the first two months (54 fewer if you don’t count Sensenbrenner’s 35).

hepcat wrote:Not seeing because it's not there, and not seeing because you don't want to admit it's there are two very different things.

But Republicans appear to be embracing this strategy of avoidance with even more vigor than the Democrats ever did. Despite outnumbering Democrats in Congress 292 to 241, Republicans are holding 19 fewer in-person town hall events than their colleagues across the aisle in the first two months (54 fewer if you don’t count Sensenbrenner’s 35).

Rip wrote:
Which is smart. I'm not making a they do it more than us argument.

LordMortis wrote:Is this s dumb question?

Why isn't this being called an act of terrorism? If we were that quick to label San Bernardo and Miami terrorism, what sets this apart?

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... =5&t=94051

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_terrorism

Title 18 of the United States Code (regarding criminal acts and criminal procedure) defines international terrorism as:

(1) [T]he term 'international terrorism' means activities that —

(A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended —

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

(C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum".[61]

USA PATRIOT Act of 2001
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 defines domestic terrorism as "activities that (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the U.S. or of any state; (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S."

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/27/white-h ... mmigrants/

hepcat wrote:

Rip wrote:
Which is smart. I'm not making a they do it more than us argument.