All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy – sources | Reuters “We’ve heard this before – err. I have no specific memory of such calls that may or may not have taken place…”

Kushner’s attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.”Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information,” she said.

Source: Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy – sources | Reuters

Leaks: A Uniquely American Way of Annoying the Authorities – The New York Times

“To sum up what distinguishes the United States in a nutshell: It’s the First Amendment,” said Steven Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. “The concept of a free press has been integral to the American idea since its inception. That’s not true even of other democracies. The press here even has the right to be irresponsible, which it sometimes is.”

Meet the ‘super mothers’ making a Stockholm suburb safer – The Local

“The young people have reacted differently, but the majority of Fittja’s residents have the same culture and according to our culture you respect mothers, which we have seen a lot of when we’re out walking”.“Many think it’s fun and come up to us to greet us, some think it’s uncomfortable because you’re not supposed to look stupid in front of mums according to our culture. The positive thing is that the kids listen to us, if we say something to them they listen to us and move on or stop

Source: Meet the ‘super mothers’ making a Stockholm suburb safer – The Local

NATO summit: Rajoy reminds Trump of Madrid’s role in NATO international missions | In English | EL PAÍS

Spain spends 0.91% of its GDP on defense, compared to the 2% Trump said was the “minimum required.” In 2014, at the NATO summit in Wales, Spain committed itself to reaching 2% within a decade and is expected to outline in detail its proposals to reach that objective later this year. Compliance will be periodically evaluated, but NATO has also accepted other factors in its assessment of members’ contributions, such as participation in international missions or providing other services.Spain is among NATO’s most active members of international missions. Other allies, such as Greece, which spends more than 2% on defense, rarely send troops abroad. At present, Spain has more than 2,900 members of its armed forces taking part in around 20 international missions led by the EU, the UN and NATO, and is sending 300 armed personnel to Latvia.

Source: NATO summit: Rajoy reminds Trump of Madrid’s role in NATO international missions | In English | EL PAÍS

Trump in Brussels: ‘The Germans Are Bad, Very Bad’ – SPIEGEL ONLINE

According to a report in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, many EU officials were appalled by how little the Americans appeared to know about trade policy. The guests from Washington seemed not to be aware that EU member states only negotiate trade treaties as a bloc. According to the paper, Trump’s chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn, claimed during meetings, for example, that different customs tariffs are in place between the U.S. and Germany than between the U.S. and Belgium.

Source: Trump in Brussels: ‘The Germans Are Bad, Very Bad’ – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Trump slams Germany′s trade surplus with the US, threatens to stop car sales | Europe | DW | 26.05.2017

During meetings with EU leaders, US President Donald Trump threatened to halt the sale of millions of German cars in the US. In comments leaked to German press he said Germany was acting in a “bad” or “nasty” way.

Source: Trump slams Germany′s trade surplus with the US, threatens to stop car sales | Europe | DW | 26.05.2017

Lost Police File Helps Exonerate Man of Murder After 24 Years in Prison – The New York Times

About two weeks ago, an investigative file that had long been sought by defense lawyers was found in a box in a hallway at police headquarters. The file included witness statements that contradicted accounts that Mr. Thomas was involved. “Had that information been available at trial — and had the story of Shaurn’s presence in court at the moment the murder was committed been told correctly — prosecutors agreed the trial would likely have ended differently,” the Pennsylvania Innocence Project said in a statement. How the file got lost and was finally found was not clear. A department spokesman on Thursday said no one was immediately available to address those questions. Mr. Thomas, who studied cooking while in prison, was greeted by friends and relatives when he was released on Tuesday and headed to Red Lobster for dinner. Mr. Thomas’s legal issues are not quite over. Prosecutors could still seek a retrial on the charges, though his lawyers said that is unlikely. In a statement, Kathleen E. Martin, the first assistant district attorney, said a decision would be made “in the very near future.” “Our role is to seek justice at every opportunity and whether it be prosecuting violent criminals or reviewing cases to ensure those behind bars deserve to be there, we will carry out this duty fairly and thoroughly,” the statement said. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News reported in November that the Conviction Review Unit had not found a single case worthy of overturning, while similar units in Dallas and New York City had exonerated dozens of inmates. The Philadelphia unit announced a restructuring and hiring of new staff members in February. Many questions remain about how Mr. Thomas’s case was investigated and prosecuted, Ms. Bluestine said. “That it took 24 years to get him out of prison should shame everybody,” she said.

Make no mistake: Donald Trump has fueled violence against journalists | Richard Wolffe | US news | The Guardian

The candidate is of course now president of the United States, who calls the media “the enemy of the American people.”This is not a small development in the long history of shocking Trumpisms.AdvertisementYou don’t need to take the Guardian’s word for it. Here’s the opinion of William McRaven, the former special ops commander and architect of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden: “This sentiment may be the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime,” he told journalism students at the University of Texas earlier this year.Yes, journalists are important. So important that the founding fathers cited the freedom of the press in the first amendment to the constitution. At the start of the Bill of Rights, it’s sandwiched between the freedom of religion and the right to petition the government.Journalism is so important that the Massachusetts constitution says this: “The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom in a state: it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this commonwealth.”

Source: Make no mistake: Donald Trump has fueled violence against journalists | Richard Wolffe | US news | The Guardian

SPLC suit: Mississippi violates binding obligation to provide ‘uniform’ system of public education | Southern Poverty Law Center

Mississippi enshrined this requirement in the education clause of its Constitution, which the state ratified in 1869. The following year, Congress passed a law, commonly called the “Readmission Act,” allowing Mississippi to regain full statehood. The Readmission Act requires that the education rights then granted in the state constitution never be diminished.Over more than a century, however, state lawmakers have diluted the education clause multiple times. The violations began in 1890, at the start of the Jim Crow era, when delegates to the state’s Constitutional Convention crafted new governing documents with the explicit intention of disenfranchising African Americans by withholding education. Each subsequent change has further watered down the education clause. Today, because of this historical malfeasance, the state’s public schools are anything but “uniform.”

Source: SPLC suit: Mississippi violates binding obligation to provide ‘uniform’ system of public education | Southern Poverty Law Center