“The road to hell is paved with good intentions — and so is the path to a potential surveillance state. After losing its high-profile case in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week, TikTok is now one step closer to being outright banned in this country. If the Chinese-owned app fails to find a political ally in the incoming Trump administration by Jan. 19 (or new domestic ownership), mind-numbing scroll sessions and moronic viral stunts will soon be unavailable for its 170 million American users. While many may view the Biden administration’s actions as overreach, a ban on TikTok would be an act many American parents are desperate to see: the restriction of social media for their children. The harmful effects of predatory algorithms on young people are now as obvious as the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.” (12/21/24)
“On December 19 thousands of Amazon workers organizing with the Teamsters launched a cascade of unfair practice strikes from coast to coast at the logistics giant. At the picket line in Queens, New York, police arrested and released Anthony Rosario, a Teamsters organizer, and Jogernsyn Cardenas, one of the striking workers, and then threatened mass arrests before breaking the line in two to allow vans through. Six other facilities in California, Illinois and Georgia are also on strike and the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island, N.Y. will soon follow suit. The Teamsters are striking Amazon because the company refuses to recognize the unions at its delivery stations and fulfillment center and bargain with its workers. The union has argued that under the new joint-employer standard the delivery drivers are also legally employees of Amazon, which Amazon disputes.” (12/19/24)
“US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed British TV executive Mark Burnett, who produced him on The Apprentice, as his special envoy to the UK. Trump said it was his ‘great honour’ to pick his former colleague for the role, which is separate to the position of US ambassador to the UK. ‘Mark will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges,’ he added. Burnett said in a statement: ‘I am truly honoured to serve The United States of America and President Trump as his Special Envoy to the United Kingdom.’ He created The Apprentice and produced it along with a range of other reality TV programmes, winning 13 Emmy Awards.” (12/22/24)
“On Thursday, the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump and others for alleged 2020 ‘election interference’. The Court held that Willis suffered from a conflict of interest because she hired her paramour, Nathan Wade, as a special counsel to investigate Trump. Basic legal ethics and common sense dictate that both Wade, who resigned last March, and Willis had to go. The appellate court did not dismiss the indictment, stating that the record did not support imposing such an ‘extreme sanction.’ The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia will now assign the case to a different prosecutor who will decide whether to continue, narrow, or drop the flawed RICO case.” [editor’s note: Odd how John Yoo talks so much about “basic legal ethics” after his pro-torture memo dispensing with legal ethics altogether – TLK] (12/21/24)
“Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump, has withdrawn her name from consideration for a seat in the Senate. She stepped down this month as co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), fuelling speculation that she might replace outgoing Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, whom Trump has nominated for secretary of state. But in a post on X, she said she had removed herself from consideration ‘after an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many.’ She said she wished Florida Governor Ron DeSantis luck in hand-picking a replacement to serve out the remainder of Rubio’s six-year term, which ends in 2026.” (12/22/24)
“More than 15 years after the ‘kids for cash’ scandal shocked the nation, it’s back, stirring not just public incredulity but, for some, soul-slicing memories of hell on Earth. This is thanks to U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to Michel Conahan, one of two juvenile-court judges in Luzerne County. Pennsylvania, convicted of accepting cash from private detention centers (as much as $2.8 million over a period of about six years) in exchange for sending them children (my God, as young as eight years-old) convicted of petty offenses, such as fighting, shoplifting, underage drinking, to serve prolonged sentences in prison. Conahan, along with Mark Ciavarella, had collected cash for sending more than 2,300 children to prison. Many of them were scarred for life by this experience. Some committed suicide.” (12/21/24)
“Talk about a ruff flight. A Delta passenger was barking mad after being forced to give up their plush first class seat for a fellow traveler — and downright furious to discover that the lucky VIP was a dog. ‘I got upgraded to first this morning, only to 15 mins later get downgraded (to a worst seat than I previously had). I asked the desk agent what was going on and she said ‘something changed.’ Okay, fine, I am disgruntled but whatever, I then board only to see this dog in my first class seat … And now I’m livid,’ Redditor @ben_bob explained in a post on the Delta Air Lines Reddit that showed the unwitting animal occupying the space that was supposed to be his.” (12/21/24)
“If one wants to discuss the prospect of a new director unleashing the FBI on enemies, shouldn’t he grapple with the reality of years of bureau leadership unleashing the FBI on enemies? During the Trump years, FBI directors and other top law enforcement and intelligence officials did the following: 1) Opened investigations on presidential candidates. 2) Deployed undercover agents and confidential sources to spy on a candidate’s advisers. 3) Hired a campaign opposition researcher under the guise of intelligence gathering. 4) Presented false opposition research to a court as a basis for wiretapping a candidate’s adviser. 5) Used false opposition research to brief the president of the United States. 6) Ambushed the president-elect with false opposition research. 7) Sought to include false opposition research in intelligence community products.” (12/21/24)
“Albania’s prime minister has announced the government intends to block access to TikTok for one year after the killing of a schoolboy last month raised fears about the influence of social media on children. Speaking on Saturday Edi Rama declared the proposed ban would start in January. TikTok said it is seeking urgent clarifications from the Albanian government about the proposed ban. The social media platform told the BBC it had found no evidence the person who allegedly stabbed the 14-year-old boy, or the victim himself, had TikTok accounts. During a meeting in Albania’s capital Tirana with teachers, parents and psychologists Rama branded TikTok as ‘the thug of the neighbourhood’. ‘We are going to close it for a year and we are going to start rolling out programs that will serve the education of students and help parents follow their children’s journey,’ Rama said.” (12/21/24)
“Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area. The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said.” (12/21/24)
