Category Archives: Just strange

Trump (accidentally) makes Corsica Italian again – The Local

US President Donald Trump appeared to make an embarrassing geography gaffe when he shared a map showing the locations of his first foreign trip since taking office.On the map, the countries which Trump is visiting over this week were outlined in white – but there was a surprising addition within Italy’s borders.Corsica – which is a French region – appeared to have been labelled part of Italy.READ ALSO: High security and protest plans: Rome prepares for Trump’s visitIn fact, the Mediterranean island, which lies north of Sardinia, hasn’t been part of Italy since the 18th century, when it was ruled by the Republic of Genoa.After that, it declared independence in 1755, before being conquered by France 14 years later.It didn’t take long for some social media users to spot the error, with a thread on Reddit titled “Thanks Donald for giving us back Corsica!”Corsica is granted more autonomy than France’s other regions, but the island is home to a number of nationalist and independence movements which oppose French dominance.READ ALSO: France refuses to make Corsican an official languageItaly occupied Corsica for one year during the Second World War, and an early 20th century nationalist movement known as Italian irredentism promoted the Italian annexation of the island, particularly under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist regime.In a short article, the editors of Corsica Oggi, a news site based in the island, mused: “Could the American president in reality be an Italian irredentist? Or simply ignorant?”The map also appeared to show the Vatican as being a city in Italy, when in fact Vatican City is a city-state.And it wasn’t the first geographical mix-up Trump has made on his trip.After arriving in Israel, the president reportedly said he had “just come from the Middle East”, a comment which appeared to puzzle Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, considering the country is located in the Middle East.He has also previously called Belgium, where he will travel tomorrow, a “beautiful city”.

Source: Trump (accidentally) makes Corsica Italian again – The Local

In Memory of Jean Carlos Jiménez-Joseph – IMM Print – Medium

Jean Carlos Jiménez-Joseph. Jean died at the age of 27 at the Stewart Detention Center, after 19 days in a form of solitary confinement. According to ICE’s Segregation Directive, immigrants should not be held in solitary confinement for more than 14 days. But as the Trump administration curtails the enforcement of ICE’s National Standards, we are bound to see more people fall victim to inhumane detention conditions.On the morning of Jean’s final day on this earth, a volunteer with El Refugio tried to visit him. The volunteer was denied the ability to visit him. That evening, Jean was found unconscious in his cell, and ICE reported the death to be self-inflicted.“This is absolutely shameful and heartbreaking,” said Christina Fialho, an attorney and the co-executive director of CIVIC. “Visitation is empowering, healing, and socially transformative. Receiving a visit while in immigration detention can make a huge difference for a human being who is isolated from the outside world. Our hearts go out to all who loved Jean.”

Source: In Memory of Jean Carlos Jiménez-Joseph – IMM Print – Medium

UPDATES: One Dead, Multiple Injured After Times Square Driver Plows Through Pedestrians: Gothamist

The Bronx resident was arrested for two DWIs in 2008 and 2015. (The Queens DA says Rojas pleaded down his 2008 DUI to a violation. The case is sealed.) The Times reports that the driver “appeared to have been either drunk or on drugs.”

Source: UPDATES: One Dead, Multiple Injured After Times Square Driver Plows Through Pedestrians: Gothamist

Trump’s pick for top USDA scientist isn’t one | Pesticide Action Network

Just who is Trump’s latest nominee then? Clovis is a conservative radio talk show host who was unsuccessful in a 2014 run for Senate in his native Iowa. He has no professional experience in food or agriculture, and is openly skeptical of climate change. He was co-chair of Trump’s campaign and has since been serving as the Department of Agriculture’s senior White House adviser.

Source: Trump’s pick for top USDA scientist isn’t one | Pesticide Action Network

“Total Monster” David Clarke Appointed To Department of Homeland Security

Clarke accused Black Lives Matter of joining forces with ISIS to bring down the United States, and called them a domestic hate group and a terrorist group. He lashed out at the Women’s March, describing the march as a “freak show” and a “riot” full of “creeps.” His sexism was out in full force when he decided to call Hillary Clinton “Mrs. Bill Clinton” and declared, bizarrely, that she was not good enough to even be an “elected dog catcher.” Clarke’s Twitter presence is about as unhinged as Donald Trump’s, who he loves.But Clarke’s actions as sheriff are far more terrifying than his words. Clarke currently faces two federal lawsuits for the death of four people at Milwaukee County Jail last year. One of those deaths involved torturing an inmate via slow and fatal dehydration, who pled to jail staff for water for ten days. Clarke’s jail staff also ignored and neglected a pregnant woman who gave birth in her jail cell. The newborn baby died and county prosecutors are considering criminal charges for neglect. His “deplorable” maintenance of his own jail, which on average kills two people every year, make him a super-villain addition to a federal department that’s made it its sole prerogative to make minority lives hell for the next four years.And those are just some of his greatest feats. Jezebel has a more exhaustive run down of Clarke’s bizarre, terrifying, racist, sexist and downright nonsensical views, actions and comments.The Department of Homeland Security has not yet confirmed Clarke’s appointment, but it’s probabaly too much to hope that they have the decency to refrain from appointing a racist murderer. While it’s exhausting to keep a tab on all of the callous, appalling actions of the Administration, we have to keep watching and name/shame all of the people, particularly Republicans, who remain silent as the Trump administration fills the federal government with the scourge of American bureaucracy, ferreting out the most vitriolic of the racists to staff their departments.

Source: “Total Monster” David Clarke Appointed To Department of Homeland Security

IRIN | The real crisis in North Korea is not the one you’ve been hearing about

The real political story about North Korea today is that the “Stalinist fortress” – the impenetrable polity devoted to hardline communism – is no longer Stalinist, nor a fortress. North Korea scholars and South Korean government experts concur in saying that Kim Jong-un holds a fraction of the power that his father and grandfather wielded.  The elites that have emerged from two decades of black market activity are aware that there are only a few obstacles to a reunification that could see them prosper, while lifting millions of North Koreans out of poverty. These factors are their “political guilt” (for they contributed to keeping the country in a state of repression over decades), and the risk of losing whatever wealth they have accumulated.  If the United States and South Korea could agree to leave some of these families in power, providing them amnesty, they could ask in return for a soft removal of the Kim family, and open the door for a gradual economic rebuilding of the country. Financial incentive, or the lack thereof, in North Korea is the key issue. The average annual income in North Korea is a little below $1,000. In the South, it is over $30,000. No amount of foreign aid can ever bridge this difference.

Source: IRIN | The real crisis in North Korea is not the one you’ve been hearing about

Trump Revealed Highly Classified Intelligence to Russia, in Break With Ally, Officials Say – The New York Times – “Who needs e-mail? #TraitorTrump just blabs sensitive info to impress his bosses!”

The intelligence disclosed by Mr. Trump in a meeting with Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, was about an Islamic State plot, according to the officials. A foreign ally that closely guards its own secrets provided the information, which was considered so sensitive that American officials did not share it widely within the United States government or pass it on to other allies.Mr. Trump’s disclosure does not appear to have been illegal — the president has the power to declassify almost anything. But sharing the information without the express permission of the ally who provided it represented a major breach of espionage etiquette, and could jeopardize a crucial intelligence-sharing relationship.

Trump’s New Appointee Just Said Something Beyond Idiotic About Evolution, Wow – Democratic Review

Green has come under fire for comments he has made about transgender people. He stated on record that “transgender is a disease” and that the duty of government is to “crush evil” by working against transgender rights. In these recordings, Green went on to describe why he believes in creationism, saying, “I look at the world around me and I draw the conclusion that it was made. I know God that the next step for me is to pursue you and figure out what it is and why you made me, but before all that, I can’t get away from the fact that you created me,  it is intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer.” He also dismissed the theory of relativity, saying, “The theory of relativity is a theory and some people accept it, but that requires somewhat of a degree of faith.” Many people have called on President Trump to rescind Green’s appointment. Stated Democratic congressional whip Steny Hoyer, “I strongly urge President Trump to withdraw Mark Green as his nominee for Army Secretary. Appointing someone with a clear record of homophobia and transphobia, who has made disgusting statements demeaning toward groups of Americans, would send the absolute wrong signal about the values for which our military service members are risking their lives.” Commented Columbia Law School’s Nathaniel Frank, “Green’s political ambitions reveal a full-scale messianic complex that manifests itself as a dangerous willingness to exploit the military to advance an unvarnished view of straight, white Christian supremacy. Green seems poised to substitute his own theology for fact-based, professional judgment of how to run a diverse military in twenty-first century America.” Do you think Mark Green is the wrong person to serve as Army secretary?

Source: Trump’s New Appointee Just Said Something Beyond Idiotic About Evolution, Wow – Democratic Review

The US Department of Justice is literally prosecuting a woman for laughing at Jeff Sessions – Vox

The trial will continue at the Superior Court in DC this week. If convicted, Fairooz faces a fine up to $500 and up to six months’ imprisonment for the laugh-related charge. She is also charged with another misdemeanor for “allegedly parading, demonstrating or picketing within a Capitol, evidently for her actions after she was being escorted from the room,” Reilly reported.Fairooz has a history of disruptive protests. During protests over the Iraq War, she put fake blood on her hands and confronted then–Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.This time, however, Fairooz claims she was not trying to be disruptive — but merely laughing.These details are all salient for the legal case, but it’s important not to lose sight of the big picture here: The federal government is literally prosecuting someone for laughing. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Justice Department — which Sessions now leads as attorney general — is doing the prosecuting when the laughter was directed at its leader. At the very least, it’s not a good look for the top law enforcement agency in the country.

Source: The US Department of Justice is literally prosecuting a woman for laughing at Jeff Sessions – Vox