Saturday, September 7, 2019

Light News Dump

Federal Weather Workers ‘Shocked’ and ‘Irate’ by NOAA Backing Trump, Union Head Says
https://www.thedailybeast.com/noaa-left-federal-weather-workers-shocked-and-irate-by-backing-trump-union-head-says

Trump invited ISLAMIC TERRORISTS to the United States: Trump said on Saturday that he had canceled a secret meeting at Camp David with Taliban leaders and the president of Afghanistan and had called off monthslong negotiations with the Afghan insurgent group that appeared to be nearing a peace agreement. | “Unbeknownst to almost everyone,” Mr. Trump wrote in a series of tweets, Taliban leaders and the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, were headed to the United States on Saturday for what would have been a historic Sunday meeting at Camp David. | Mr. Trump’s announcement was startling for multiple reasons. A surprise summit at Camp David with leaders of an insurgent group that has killed thousands of Americans since the October 2001 invasion of Afghanistan would have been a sensational diplomatic gambit, on par with Mr. Trump’s meetings with the once-reclusive North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/us/politics/trump-taliban-afghanistan.html

Amber Rudd resigns as Boris Johnson's government plunged into further chaos
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/amber-rudd-resign-boris-johnson-cabinet-conservatives-brexit-a9096146.html

NOAA staff warned in Sept. 1 directive against contradicting Trump | Nearly a week before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publicly backed President Trump over its own scientists, a top NOAA official warned its staff against contradicting the president. In an agencywide directive sent Sept. 1 to National Weather Service personnel, hours after Trump asserted, with no evidence, that Alabama “would most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated,” staff was told to “only stick with official National Hurricane Center forecasts if questions arise from some national level social media posts which hit the news this afternoon.” They were also told not to “provide any opinion,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The Washington Post. A NOAA meteorologist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said the note, understood internally to be referring to Trump, came after the National Weather Service office in Birmingham contradicted Trump by tweeting Alabama would “NOT see any impacts from the hurricane.” The Birmingham office sent the tweet after receiving a flurry of phone calls from concerned residents following Trump’s message. The agency sent a similar message warning scientists and meteorologists not to speak out on Sept. 4, after Trump showed a hurricane map from Aug. 29 modified with a hand-drawn, half-circle in black Sharpie around Alabama. “This is the first time I’ve felt pressure from above to not say what truly is the forecast,” the meteorologist said. “It’s hard for me to wrap my head around. One of the things we train on is to dispel inaccurate rumors and ultimately that is what was occurring — ultimately what the Alabama office did is provide a forecast with their tweet, that is what they get paid to do.” Late Friday afternoon, NOAA officials further angered scientists within and beyond the agency by releasing a statement, attributed to an unnamed agency spokesperson, supporting Trump’s claims on Alabama and chastising the agency’s Birmingham meteorologists for speaking in absolutes. That statement set off a firestorm among scientists, who attacked NOAA officials for bending to Trump’s will.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/noaa-staff-warned-in-sept-1-directive-against-contradicting-trump/2019/09/07/12a52d1a-d18f-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html


The current Director of Communications for NOAA worked on the Trump campaign and Trump Inaugural Committee.
https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/staffers/julie-roberts

Former NOAA chief official calls statement defending Trump Alabama claim agency's 'darkest day'
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/460346-former-noaa-chief-official-calls-statement-defending-trump

Brazilian President refuses to take fire fighting aid until French President apologizes for calling him a liar. Meanwhile, Brazilians report having to take farm animals inside to protect them from being burned.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49494908

Texas Attorney General reportedly stayed quiet for months as a gun owner sent his office threats to kill immigrants
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-shootings-gun-policy-1457936?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

Almost all life on Earth was wiped out 2 billion years ago, a new study says | A new study found extreme changes in the atmosphere killed almost 100% of life on Earth about 2 billion years ago
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/us/life-on-earth-wiped-out-2-billion-years-scn-trnd/index.html

Boris Johnson says he will defy law over Brexit extension
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/boris-johnson-says-he-will-defy-law-over-brexit-extension-20190907-p52oxn.html

Trump Administration Goes After States for Protecting the Environment
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/09/06/trump-administration-goes-after-states-protecting-environment

Trump to Ukraine: No Aid Unless You Smear Joe Biden |     Mr. Zelensky has so far failed to win the backing of President Trump. Not only has Mr. Trump refused to grant the Ukrainian leader a White House visit, but also he has suspended the delivery of $250 million in U.S. military aid to a country still fighting Russian aggression in its eastern provinces.    Some suspect Mr. Trump is once again catering to Mr. Putin, who is dedicated to undermining Ukrainian democracy and independence. But we’re reliably told that the president has a second and more venal agenda: He is attempting to force Mr. Zelensky to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of the leading Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. Mr. Trump is not just soliciting Ukraine’s help with his presidential campaign; he is using U.S. military aid the country desperately needs in an attempt to extort it.
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/09/trump-to-ukraine-no-aid-unless-you-smear-joe-biden/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/is-trump-strong-arming-ukraines-new-president-for-political-gain/2019/09/05/4eb239b0-cffa-11e9-8c1c-7c8ee785b855_story.html

With Two Weeks Until #GlobalClimateStrike, Organizing Intensifies in 100+ Countries to Win 'Livable Future for All': "Our message will be clear—we must act now to avoid the worst effects of climate change because all of our lives depend upon it."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/06/two-weeks-until-globalclimatestrike-organizing-intensifies-100-countries-win-livable

Eric Trump In Hilarious Self-Own As He Mocks Washington Post Reporter For Doing His Job
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eric-trump-david-fahrenthold-washington-post-self-own-twitter-sources_n_5d731861e4b06451356e23e5

NRA board member and former president Marion Hammer obtained low-interest loan from affiliate she leads | A past president of the National Rifle Association has taken out loans totaling more than $250,000, at an interest rate as low as 2 percent, from the NRA’s Florida affiliate, a nonprofit that she has led for decades and that employs only her, according to the organization’s tax filings. Marion Hammer, executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, which receives most of its budget from the NRA, took out the loans to refinance or purchase homes, according to the tax filings. Since 1995, when Hammer began borrowing money, she has bought or helped buy several properties in Tallahassee — including one where a daughter resides and another where a granddaughter resides, property and other records show. The disclosure of the below-market interest rate granted to Hammer, an NRA board member who is one of the nation’s leading gun lobbyists, comes as the organization is being battered by reports of economic benefits flowing to its top leadership. Those reports have fueled internal warfare at the nation’s most powerful gun lobby as well as investigations by the Democratic attorneys general of the District and New York. Revelations that chief executive Wayne LaPierre spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury menswear and travel, and that the NRA considered buying him a multimillion-dollar estate, have spurred calls for his resignation. NRA officials, including Hammer and LaPierre’s representatives, have staunchly defended their stewardship of NRA funds. Nonprofits are not prohibited from making loans, but five lawyers who examined the Florida affiliate’s tax filings at The Washington Post’s request said the terms of Hammer’s loan may violate Internal Revenue Service guidelines on “excess benefit transactions.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/nra-board-member-and-former-president-marion-hammer-obtained-low-interest-loan-from-affiliate-she-leads/2019/09/06/dff033f0-cc26-11e9-8067-196d9f17af68_story.html

A judge who sentenced a Jewish inmate used anti-Semitic slurs, lawyers say. They want a new trial before he’s executed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/06/jewish-death-row-inmate-judge-anti-semitism-randy-halprin/

Putin Says Russia will make new missiles that would have been banned under nuclear treaty
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/russia-will-make-new-missiles-putin-says.html

According to the Berniebros, Hillary was a racist for using the word "Superpredators" in 1996 but Bernie is still a Civil Right icon after using the N word in a book he wrote in 1997

From Bernie's 2015 memoir: "White workers in the south were the most exploited white workers in America. ...But what were they given? They were given 'N*****s' to hate and look down on."
https://twitter.com/m_mendozaferrer/status/1169983416177188864

So, this @BernieSanders audible clip from his 2015 memoir "Outsider in the White House" is deeply disturbing. "White workers in the south were the most exploited white workers in America. ...But what were they given? They were given "N-words" to hate and look down on."
https://twitter.com/m_mendozaferrer/status/1169983416177188864?s=21

While black people in the south were denied equality with white people - education, voting, land ownership, etc Bernie thinks it was the poor white man in the south who had it worse. Oy, why is Bernie using the N word?
https://twitter.com/WeWillRiseOH/status/1169964842427531265?s=09

India fell short Friday in an attempt to become the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is seen here consoling ISRO chairman K. Sivan moments ago. https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/09/06/indias-first-attempt-to-land-on-the-moon-appears-to-end-in-failure/
https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/1170178136052555777

Sen. Mike Lee discussed loosening sanctions against Russia during Moscow visit
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/09/06/report-sen-mike-lee/

Boris Johnson ‘could face prison time’ if he breaks law in pursuit of no-deal Brexit: Ex-director of public prosecutions says UK prime minister would be treated like any other citizen in ‘contempt of court’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-boris-johnson-prison-no-deal-eu-break-law-a9095761.html

'I refuse to die in here': the marine who survived two tours and is now fighting deportation
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/06/i-refuse-to-die-in-here-the-marine-who-survived-two-tours-and-is-now-fighting-deportation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The White House is considering a plan that would keep most refugees who are fleeing war, persecution and famine out of the United States, significantly cutting back a decades-old program, according to current and former administration officials.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/us/politics/trump-refugees-united-states.html

Trump campaign notes that incumbent party canceled some primaries in 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2012, which is true. It's also true that only in one of those years, 1992, did incumbent president face a meaningful challenge.
https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1170387032868347904

Trump Turnberry: US Congress launches investigation into Prestwick Airport deals
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49621836

17 Million Americans Purged From Voter Rolls Between 2016 and 2018
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/02/17-million-americans-purged-voter-rolls-between-2016-and-2018-analysis-finds

Documents obtained by The Atlantic demonstrate ICE capriciously using solitary confinement against immigrants
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/ice-uses-solitary-confinement-among-detained-immigrants/597433/

Cory Booker at the NH Dem Convention: “We cannot tolerate Democrats who turn against other Democrats... This election is not a purity test.”
https://twitter.com/aseitzwald/status/1170344679210127362?s=21

Mexico’s president welcomed a proposal to give the fortune of drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the country’s indigenous people, and said the wealth of Mexican criminals in the United States should be returned to Mexico.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-el-chapo-president/mexico-president-says-el-chapos-drug-wealth-should-go-to-mexico-idUSKCN1VQ2E5

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