“If they don’t want you to know things, it’s likely those things don’t make them look good. That rule applies to basically every organization, from the federal government to universities to corporations. And to the Big Tech corporations testifying in the federal government’s antitrust suit against Google, the first big monopoly trial in a quarter-century. Google has spent the last couple of decades hoovering up everyone’s private information for its own use, but it wants to make sure the public knows as little as possible about what it’s doing to the public. Normally in litigation like this, all sorts of information about the defendant’s business practices would come out. Google is doing its best to see that none does. So what’s Google hiding? What little has leaked looks embarrassing, at the least.” (10/03/23)
“A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of producing, possessing and disseminating child pornography. Detectives with the San Bernardino Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Specialized Crime Unit served a search warrant at Steven Frasher’s residence in Redlands, California. The 62-year-old was investigated after authorities received a tip that he downloaded illicit child pornography images and saved them in an online storage account, according to police. The department shared a video on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, of the raid and arrest, during which officers entered the home with their guns drawn. Officers and detectives are seen preparing for the raid, searching the home, seizing and investigating electronics and putting a handcuffed Frasher into a police vehicle.” (10/04/23)
“In the final hour of Fiscal Year 2023, Congress passed a continuing resolution funding the federal government through November 17, thus avoiding a shutdown. Americans are no longer shocked by the political theater we have witnessed in recent years. Yet, the continuing resolution still came as a betrayal to voters who had given the House of Representatives to the Republicans in 2022 in part based on their promise to rein in the government’s absurd spending levels that threaten the country. Just days before, President Biden, fresh off his victory lap celebrating the moribund economy thanks to Bidenomics, addressed the American people, calling out the MAGA extremists who ‘threaten democracy’. Tax collections are down and spending remains at a level that now threatens to exceed $2 trillion in deficit. Is it now the extremist view to not want to bankrupt our own nation?” (10/04/23)
“A cellphone video of the 2020 fatal arrest of Manny Ellis shows the [b]lack man on the ground with his hands in the air in surrender as police officers held his neck and shot him with a Taser, according to a certified video analyst called to testify Wednesday in the trial of three Washington officers accused in his death. Prosecutors are also expected to call Ellis'[s] sister and mother to the stand. Tacoma Officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, both white, are charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Officer Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, is charged with manslaughter. All three have pleaded not guilty. Video evidence will be key in the case against the officers. The officers have claimed that the 33-year-old Ellis aggressively fought back, but the videos show he was in a surrender position during the attack.” (10/04/23)
“After being caught off guard by criticism of his selection of Laphonza Butler to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in Congress, California Governor Gavin Newsom defended his choice by saying Butler was the most qualified candidate among the .00001% of the population he was choosing from. ‘Out of all 7 people who fit my criteria, she was the best,’ Newsom said. ‘Listen, I cast a very wide net in order to find the most qualified black lesbian political activist who lives in another state I possibly could. All things considered, Laphonza was the obvious choice.’ Newsom reportedly amassed a vast list of all potential candidates who met his narrow criteria before ultimately landing on Butler. Political experts hailed the selection as a triumph.” [editor’s note: Yes, I know this is supposed to be a “satire” site; that’s why I listed the post as “opinion” – SAT] (10/03/23)
“India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official familiar with the matter said Tuesday, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver. The official, who confirmed an earlier report from the Financial Times, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment, but ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had previously called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered India’s staffing in Canada.” (10/03/23)
“Western military powers are running out of ammunition to give Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion, the UK and Nato have warned. Adm Rob Bauer, Nato’s most senior military official, told the Warsaw Security Forum that ‘the bottom of the barrel is now visible.’ He said governments and defence manufacturers now had to ‘ramp up production in a much higher tempo.’ Ukraine fires thousands of shells every day and most now come from Nato. The admiral, who chairs Nato’s Military Committee, said decades of underinvestment meant Nato countries had begun supplying Ukraine with weapons with their ammunition warehouse already half-full or even emptier. ‘We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things — but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing.'” (10/03/23)
“On August 28th, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks chose the occasion of a three-day conference organized by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), the arms industry’s biggest trade group, to announce the ‘Replicator Initiative.’ Among other things, it would involve producing ‘swarms of drones’ that could hit thousands of targets in China on short notice. Call it the full-scale launching of techno-war. Her speech to the assembled arms makers was yet another sign that the military-industrial complex (MIC) President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about more than 60 years ago is still alive, all too well, and taking a new turn. Call it the MIC for the digital age.” (10/03/23)
“The Matt Gaetz moment is upon us, and unless you enjoy politics as absurdist theater, you might want to skip it. The bomb-throwing Republican congressman from Florida, who has hitherto distinguished himself with sundry attention-getting antics, is making his biggest play yet by threatening to try to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership by offering a so-called motion to vacate. McCarthy’s alleged offense is relying on Democratic votes to pass a last-minute spending measure over the weekend to avert a government shutdown that would have been blamed on Republicans. … Gaetz and some of his GOP confederates refused to get behind any remotely plausible Republican alternative. So Gaetz is the arsonist and the fireman, forcing McCarthy into the expedient for which he maintains McCarthy should be fired. Joseph Heller would understand.” (10/02/23)
“The US government has issued its first ever fine to a company for leaving space junk orbiting the Earth. The Federal Communications Commission fined Dish Network $150,000 (£125,000) for failing to move an old satellite far enough away from others in use. The company admitted liability over its EchoStar-7 satellite and agreed to a ‘compliance plan’ with the FCC. Space junk is made up bits of tech that are in orbit around the Earth but are no longer in use, and risk collisions. Officially called space debris, it includes things like old satellites and parts of spacecraft. The FCC said that Dish’s satellite posed a potential risk to other satellites orbiting the Earth at its current altitude.” (10/03/23)
