(14.09.2021)
Although more in-person attendance is expected this year, the high number of virtual attendees is a reminder of the virus’s enduring strength.
Archiv: democracy simulations / virtual / proxy / remote / ranked choice voting / campaigns / conventions / events
Olaf Scholz Is Running as the Next Angela Merkel, and It Seems to Be Working
Mr. Scholz, a Social Democrat who is modeling himself as the candidate of continuity, has a fair shot at being Germany’s next chancellor.
The Board of Elections conducts rigorous and mandatory pre-qualification testing for every election. It has been determined that ballot images used for testing were not cleared from the Election Management System (EMS). EMS produces Cast Vote Records (CVR) from ballot images. RCV software uses the CVR to produce unofficial results. When the cast vote records were extracted for the first pull of RCV results, it concluded both test and election night results, producing approximately 135,000 additional records. Board staff has removed all test ballot images from the system and will upload election night results, cross-referencing against election night reporting software for verification. The cast vote record will be re-generated and the RCV rounds will be re-tabulated.
The Board apologizes for the error and has taken immediate measures to ensure the most accurate up to date results.
State Board of Elections Approves Software To Tabulate Ranked-Choice Primary Results
(25.05.2021)
The approval comes after more than 18 months of back and forth between the city and state over the process required to test and implement the Universal Ranked-Choice Voting Tabulator, the software selected by the city which was developed by a non-partisan non-profit called The Ranked Choice Resource Center. It wasn’t until January of this year that state officials finally agreed to allow the mandatory testing and certification to take place.
New York’s mayoral primary puts ranked-choice voting under the national spotlight
(27.06.2021)
My firm, Schoen-Cooperman Research, has also worked on referenda aimed at passing ranked-choice voting in cities and states across the country.
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I support the method because, by design, it delivers a more representative outcome and gives voters more choice than a winner-take-all system. In addition, ranked-choice voting discourages negative campaigning and elects fewer extreme candidates.
BREAKING: Election officials in New York City have retracted their latest vote totals for the Democratic primary for mayor. They say 135,000 test ballots were inadvertently included in the count.
I can’t vote for any party that won’t trust us with freedom: With a heavy heart, TIM NEWARK says politicians‘ obsession with Covid lockdowns and zero carbon targets leaves him no choice
This is, I know, a shocking thing to say because democracy is a hard-won, valued right in our country, but I cannot bring myself to support any mainstream party in local elections on Thursday.
Why? Because all of them appear determined to reduce my freedoms, whether it’s the lingering restrictions of lockdown or new plans to change our very lifestyles thanks to zero carbon targets.
ROADMAP FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIONS BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BASED ON THE COMMISSION COMMUNICATION AND THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON STRENGTHENING COOPERATION AGAINST VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
ROADMAP FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIONS BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BASED ON THE COMMISSION COMMUNICATION AND THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON STRENGTHENING COOPERATION AGAINST VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
Government declares new state of emergency
The lower house on Friday rejected a proposal to extend the ongoing state of emergency due to the fact that it had been called at the request of regional governors and was thereby legally questionable.
ROADMAP FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIONS BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BASED ON THE COMMISSION COMMUNICATION AND THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON STRENGTHENING COOPERATION AGAINST VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES
(March 2019)
Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.
What Angela Merkel’s Retirement This Year Means for Israel
Laschet is committed to Chancellor Merkel’s famous sentence, which she uttered when addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem in 2008, that Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’être. According to Speich, “it is Laschet’s fundamental foreign policy conviction that Germany must commit itself to the security of Israel. It is a political obligation.”
No indictment for Netanyahu
(20. April 1997)
Netanyahu told CNN’s Walter Rodgers he was „glad that the truth came out,“ and said the entire incident was „blown out of proportion and twisted out of shape.“
„It’s politics,“ he said in an interview shortly after the attorney general released his report. „Of course there were people out to get us. But this is going nowhere. It’s done. It’s finished.“
European Commission Working On Standard COVID Passports
(20.01.2021)
The European Commission is exploring proposals to introduce vaccine passports, a move that will facilitate greater travel across borders within the EU. Member states will discuss the idea at a summit this week, with many already signaling their approval for a passport-style document.
Angela Merkel’s disastrous legacy is Brexit and a broken EU
‚Mutti‘ is a canny and tactical politician but leaves a trail of wreckage behind her after running Europe’s biggest economy for 16 years
Armin Laschet elected leader of Merkel’s CDU party
Mr Laschet, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state, defeated two rivals in the party’s virtual conference.
Netanyahu trial postponed by coronavirus lockdown
(09.01.2021)
The order could potentially postpone the calling of witnesses to right before Election Day, or right after.
The order came less than 48 hours after the same court rejected Netanyahu’s request for postponing his January 13 hearing next week.
Regarding the US presidential election in 2020: We are done with democracy simulations
(7. Februar 2020)
After the Iowa fraud and Bernie Sanders‘ Al Gore style capitulation (no recount / „recalculation“ of an in broad daylight rigged caucus) and the deafening silence of each and every progressive lawmaker, even from the Squad, we do not support any candidate in this election and furthermore question its authenticity and legitimacy. From this day on, we will rarely post any news to this election-without-a-choice.
We would like to ask you: would the Trumpolini in the White House watch, just for even a few hours, the Republican Party doing this to his campaign? The progressives in the Democratic Party let this happen for days and kept their head down. And Millions of good-willing, hard working people on the ground were let down and deceived, again.
We’re not going along with this dirty game, which can be played again and again and again on people who tolerate it once without resistance.
Notably, we have calculated with this development years ago and described a possibility how Bernie Sanders could have become US president (article in German). Let that sink in, just for a minute or two.
Since decades, only (far) right-wingers, warmongers and egoists have real candidates and political parties.
So, „vote“ yourself.
Coronavirus: MPs back in Parliament for England lockdown vote
However, with Labour saying it will support the measures, the law enforcing them is likely to be approved.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is updating the Commons now, telling MPs – many of whom are participating remotely – that says the vaccine programme provides a „means of escape“ from the current lockdown, with 1.3 million people in UK already vaccinated.
How the Iowa caucuses came ‘crashing down,’ under the watchful eye of the DNC
(Feb. 16, 2020)
The DNC ordered and paid for a security audit of the software, which was completed by NCC Group, a Britain-based cybersecurity firm. Out of the review, which also involved threat assessment conducted with the national party as well as officials in Iowa and Nevada, came directions to guard the name of the vendor, and to take the software live as late as possible to prevent it from getting into the hands of hackers, according to multiple people who participated or had knowledge of the exercises.
County party chair thinks internal audit was too kind to Iowa Democratic Party
(Dec. 16, 2020)
After the caucus, the IDP hired a pair of Democratic lawyers: Nick Klinefeldt, who was a federal attorney appointed by President Barack Obama, and former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell. They were tasked with identifying and determining the cause of problems that occurred during the 2020 Iowa Caucuses, with the results of their investigation being released to the public on Saturday morning.
Iowa autopsy report: DNC meddling led to caucus debacle
(12.12.2020)
The audit states the conversion tool had coding errors that spit out inaccurate numbers and caused confusion about the accuracy of the results, eventually leading to delays in reporting. But the state party’s app never malfunctioned nor was hacked, the report concludes.
Investigator: DNC Was “Directly Involved” in Iowa Caucus App Development, Countering DNC Denial
(22.12.2020)
The DNC’s meddling, which included a last-minute demand that developers of the Shadow app create a special software that would allow the DNC real-time access to the raw numbers before they went public, didn’t sit well with Zogby.
“Why would [the DNC] need to see that?” Zogby said about the DNC’s insistence on access to the raw caucus results before they went public. “Why wouldn’t you trust the state party to make the determination?”
In the transcript from the closed-session meeting held by the state party, members suggested that the DNC’s goal was to strip Iowa of its prestigious first-in-the-nation status.
“This system allows tracking of every citizen or resident of Israel. It can also follow intentions or motivations, and not just specific people. It can track everyone who visited the website of anti-Netanyahu protest movement and block the website.“
Police spying on Israelis online via secret backdoor. Israeli police have for years required internet providers to allow them to track users or websites through a special system
This is CRAZY Israel’s police have a secret backdoor that allows them to follow any Israeli online or track anyone who visits a certain website: “We say China’s a technological dystopia, but here we live in one too and just don’t know it“
Police Spying on Israelis Online via Secret Backdoor
“This system allows authorities to follow everything someone does online, and even permits them to manipulate the website these users visit,” said ethical hacker Noam Rotem, from the CyberCyber podcast. “This system allows tracking of each and every citizen or resident of Israel. But it’s not just that; the system is built in such a way that it can also follow intentions or motivations, and not just specific people. For example, it can track everyone who visited the website of the protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and can even block the real website and change what people are seeing,” Rotem said.
Let the Israeli Left Choose Their Own Leaders. Only Then Will They Replace Netanyahu
For now, opinion polls show that the left has no chance of defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lawmakers Amir Peretz and Itzik Shmuli, by crawling into his government, have turned the Labor Party into a historical relic. Both Labor and Meretz have forgone primaries, leaving power in the hands of their leaders. There is no democracy in the parties of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid either. This leaves Likud, embarrassingly, as the only democratic party.
Court Hears Netanyahu’s Request to Dismiss His Corruption Cases
The three-judge panel headed by Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman is expected to focus in Sunday’s hearing on Netanyahu’s claim that he was protected by parliamentary immunity at the time of the filing of the indictments against him. The panel is expected to rule on the issue in the next few weeks because there is no dispute over the facts on this issue.
Intelligence disputes fuel rare public acrimony among Gang of Eight
(29.07.2020)
The public spat between the Democratic and Republican sides of the so-called Gang of Eight, less than 100 days before Americans go to the polls, is highly unusual for the group, whose obligations normally rise above the political fray and rarely descend publicly into the partisan squabbles that define Capitol Hill.
Next Stage of Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial Delayed Until February
The prime minister’s lawyers had also previously argued that the trial should be delayed due to coronavirus health restrictions, saying that it would be difficult to see whether a masked witness was „telling the truth.“
Guatemala’s government slashed $25 million from healthcare and education — just days after Hurricane Eta battered its poorest communities. The people are rising up. PI member @MSICG : “We demand a Constituent Assembly. This dictatorship has failed us.”
Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Guatemala’s capital on Saturday, setting fire to the nation’s congressional building in a show of anger over a budget bill passed this week that cut funding for health care and education.
The demonstrations in Guatemala City, which also included peaceful marches in the central plaza, rocked a nation still recovering from back-to-back hurricanes that displaced thousands of people, destroyed homes and obliterated critical infrastructure.
Dutch reporter gatecrashes EU defense ministers’ videoconference
Footage obtained by POLITICO shows the journalist, Daniël Verlaan of RTL Nieuws, appearing in a large window at the top of the videoconference screen, dressed in a black T-shirt, grinning and waving to the ministers.
„You know that you have been jumping into a secret conference?“ EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told Verlaan, amid laughter from some officials.
„Yes, yes. I’m sorry. I’m a journalist from the Netherlands. I’m sorry for interrupting your conference,“ a smiling Verlaan replied.
U.S spied on allies, including Netherlands, through Denmark
According to the Danish broadcaster, the NSA and Danish military service FE signed an agreement in 2008, which stated that the Americans would help Denmark tap internet cables in the European country. In return, the NSA gained access to internet cables to Eastern Europe. Together they processed the data in a data center near Copenhagen Airport, which was built for that purpose.
But the United States also used that internet access to spy on Denmark itself, and surrounding countries including the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, the whistleblower, a former employee of the FE, said to DR.
The head of Denmark’s spy program has been fired for snooping on citizens and lying about it
(26.08.2020)
The government in Denmark has fired 3 top officials from the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (FE), following revelations from a whistleblower. The officials, including the head of the agency, Lars Finden, have been “relieved of duty for the time being” following the release of a trove of documents. The documents detailed that the FE has been illegally spying on Danish citizens in the last six years and were released by an unnamed whistleblower to the independent regulator of Danish security services which is known as Tilsynet med Efterretningstjenesterne (TET).
Note also how at the bottom they go from 1,344,469 vote totals to 1,072,844. Which is obviously not possible. @MichiganDems you’ve been exposed.
(12.03.2020)
“The exit poll was subsequently adjusted* for conformity with the final computerized vote count.” THE 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY WAS RIGGED.
Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election fraud, election manipulation or vote rigging, is illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates, or both.
States which had been projected to expect large Sanders wins, corresponded with raw data on exit polls confirming the expected Sanders wins.
Computerized vote counts however, showed very large Biden wins. The DNC accepted computer vote counts and CHANGED NUMBERS on exit polls to suggest that Biden won.
Are we witnessing a dishonest election? A between state comparison based on the used voting procedures of the 2016 Democratic Party Primary for the Presidency of the United States of America
(June 7, 2016)
Given the stakes in the outcome of the American presidential elections, ensuring the integrity of the electoral process is of the utmost importance. Are the results we are witnessing in the 2016 primary elections trustworthy? While Donald Trump enjoyed a clear and early edge over his Republican rivals, the Democratic contest between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernard Sanders has been far more competitive. At present, Secretary Clinton enjoys an apparent advantage over Sanders. Is this claimed advantage legitimate? We contend that it is not, and suggest an explanation for the advantage: States that are at risk for election fraud in 2016 systematically and overwhelmingly favor Secretary Clinton. We provide converging evidence for this claim.
First, we show that it is possible to detect irregularities in the 2016 Democratic Primaries by comparing the states that have hard paper evidence of all the placed votes to states that do
not have this hard paper evidence. Second, we compare the final results in 2016 to the
discrepant exit polls. Furthermore, we show that no such irregularities occurred in the 2008
competitive election cycle involving Secretary Clinton against President Obama. As such, we
find that in states wherein voting fraud has the highest potential to occur, systematic efforts may
have taken place to provide Secretary Clinton with an exaggerated margin of support.
Stanford Study Proves Election Fraud through Exit Poll Discrepancies
(June 15, 2016)
What’s True
Two researchers (presumably graduate students) from Stanford University and Tilburg University co-authored a paper asserting they uncovered information suggesting widespread primary election fraud favoring Hillary Clinton had occurred across multiple states.
What’s False
The paper was not a „Stanford Study,“ and its authors acknowledged their claims and research methodology had not been subject to any form of peer review or academic scrutiny.
10 ways the Democratic primary has been rigged from the start
(30.03.2016)
Concerned Sanders would win Nevada, Sen. Harry Reid, the former Senate Majority Leader and most powerful elected official in Nevada, as it later emerged, arranged a plan with owners of Las Vegas casinos, where many caucuses were being held, and other employers, to ensure Clinton would win. The Nevada caucuses were then rigged with massive voting irregularities such as casino owners orchestrating which workers would be allowed to vote and, in clear intimidation, openly monitoring how they voted.
Vote tampering also occurred in other states, most recently in Arizona where on election day, polling locations were sharply cut forcing many voters to stand in line for up to five hours in the heat, with some leaving before casting a vote.
UN deputy chief to take „virtual trip“ to Colombia
The last time the UN deputy chief visited Colombia in person was in 2015 for the launch of the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Why Many Americans Don’t Vote
In the survey, we asked voters who have missed at least one national election — which included some people who almost always vote — why they didn’t cast a ballot. Nearly a quarter cited some of the structural barriers we mentioned above. But another 31 percent said that they decided not to vote because they disliked the candidates or they thought nothing would change as a result of the election (26 percent).
That sense that the candidates are too flawed to be worth voting for — or that the system is rigged, or can’t be fixed by voting — came up in many of our conversations with survey respondents.
Obama tears into Trump at Philadelphia rally: ‚The next 13 days will matter for decades to come‘
Obama framed the election as a battle for democracy.
“Our democracy is not gonna work if the people who are supposed to be our leaders lie every day and just make things up,” Obama said. “This notion of truthfulness and democracy and citizenship and being responsible — these aren’t Republican or Democratic principles. They’re American principles. … We need to reclaim them.”
In U.S. and UK, Globalization Leaves Some Feeling ‘Left Behind’ or ‘Swept Up’
(05.10.2020)
In the course of the focus group discussions, participants observed that globalization extends beyond economic issues, such as trade, multinational corporations and open markets, to questions of governance, sovereignty and the connectivity made possible by new communication technology. Core to the discussion of globalization’s political implications was the role and influence of multinational or multilateral organizations such as the UN, the World Bank and – in the case of the UK – the EU. Particularly for participants who were less comfortable with globalization, these organizations were framed in terms of implications for the nation-state.
The debate commission grabbed for too much power. Its time is up.
Yet the original design of the party-controlled general-election debate has slowly morphed from Republican Party-Democratic Party negotiation into something wholly different: a free-standing group of self-anointed, self-important Beltway Brahmins. Slowly but surely, the organization added staff, raised funds, expanded its “mission” and deepened its own sense of entitlement.
Joe Lieberman: The Commission On Presidential Debates Have Become Very Powerful & A Little Autocratic
Joe Lieberman, former democrat vice presidential candidate and senator, spoke with Brian Kilmeade and criticized the Commission on Presidential Debate’s decision to make the next debate virtual. Lieberman agrees with President Trump being upset over the decision and says he didn’t think „to just decide“ was the way to make the announcement and that the people on the commission „have become very powerful and a little autocratic.“
CPD ANNOUNCES SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL BE VIRTUAL
Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2020) – In order to protect the health and safety of all involved with the second presidential debate, scheduled for October 15, 2020, The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced the following today:
The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which the candidates would participate from separate remote locations.
Biden says there shouldn’t be a second debate if Trump still has Covid-19
(07.10.2020)
The former vice president also said he looks forward to the debate, which is set to take place next Thursday in Miami.
„I’m looking forward to being able to debate him. But I just hope all the protocols are followed, what’s necessary at the time,“ he said.
Biden Wants Only Virtual Debates, Trump Campaign Claims
(02.09.2020)
„We have every reason to believe that Joe Biden, if he agrees to go forward with debates in the first place, will want to retreat to his remote video link and the Skype-call campaign he’s been running and do the debate from his basement,“ Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told reporters Wednesday, „where he can rely on notes, a teleprompter or a handler off camera.“
Trump’s Diagnosis Imperils Quick Supreme Court Confirmation Timeline
But by Friday evening, with the White House and Congress in turmoil and two Republican members of the Judiciary Committee, Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, among those announcing they had tested positive for the virus, it was clear that the challenge had grown steeper.
Top Republicans insisted they would move ahead at an uncommonly swift pace to hold hearings on Judge Barrett’s nomination by Oct. 12, send her nomination to the full Senate by Oct. 22 and confirm her as soon as Oct. 26, eight days before Election Day — even if it meant breaking Senate norms and considering a lifetime judicial nomination by videoconference.
President’s Campaign Events to Be Delayed, Virtual: Trump Update
President Donald Trump’s campaign events will go virtual or will be delayed. Democratic candidate Joe Biden tested negative for the coronavirus and will go ahead with a campaign trip.
World Powers Set to Take Stage, Virtually, at UN General Assembly
The U.N.’s first virtual meeting of world leaders was set to start Tuesday with prerecorded speeches from some of the planet’s biggest powers, kept at home by the coronavirus pandemic that will likely be a dominant theme at their video gathering this year.
Barack Obama himself said Nixon was more liberal than he was and he is right. The Democratic party has moved so far right over the last 40 years that we now have two right-wing corporatist parties in America. The duopoly is killing us.
This is a fucking nightmare. This entire election is a fucking nightmare.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Gov. Gen. Julie Payette to prorogue Parliament until Sept. 23, ..
.. putting a more than month-long pause on parliamentary business as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.
Canada’s embarrassing governor general should resign — and no one should replace her
A Canada with more self-confidence would have the courage to revisit its governor general entirely on its own terms. If the country is truly the beacon of principled democratic liberalism it so often claims, eliminating a failed, undemocratic office should hardly be painful.
Can you fire a Governor General?
(11.08.2020)
The Governor General is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the prime minister. An exit from this post can only occur through death or incapacitation, resignation, or if the Queen, acting on the advice of the prime minister, removes the Governor General from the role.
Personally, I’m thrilled to have one big party that stands for absolutely nothing! The Democrat/Republican merger is complete!
The all-virtual Democratic National Convention, explained
“This is a very serious time”: The coronavirus has reshaped the Democratic National Convention.
Virtual democracy means Congress and the courts should go online now
(21.03.2020)
Both Congress and the Supreme Court have stopped meeting out of fear of physical contact, even though the technology exists to allow officials to continue working in virtual spaces. Legal barriers could be removed to allow such a shift to a type of virtual democracy, but the main barrier seems to be conceptual and cultural.
We must not allow a constitutional system to wither like a starving man staring at an apple tree but incapable of imagining a stick.
Vote by Mail: Turning the Clock Backwards
Today, using the coronavirus as an excuse, the Democrats seek to abolish how we conduct elections in the United States.
Our current system of voting came into being as a result of a great progressive reform movement in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century.
Ardent progressive reformers, like the socialist Henry George in 1886, strove to prevent corruption in the electoral process. The progressive reformers championed a system of voting by an official ballot printed at public expense by a neutral authority. Previously political parties had printed their own ballots and ward bosses paid people to vote for their candidates, stuff ballots and vote repeatedly.
The system was intimidating and enormously corrupt. A supervisory public authority was necessary to monitor balloting, ensure fairness, and provide the necessary element of voter secrecy.
The new structure of reform called the ‚Australian ballot‘, (named from its place of origin) specifies that a citizen coming to the poll be registered to vote and identified. At the poll, he gives his name and address. He receives an official ballot; marks it in the secrecy of a booth and hands it in to be counted.
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
Article 28
[Land constitutions – Autonomy of municipalities]
(1) The constitutional order in the Länder must conform to the principles of a republican, democratic and social state governed by the rule of law within the meaning of this Basic Law. In each Land, county and municipality the people shall be represented by a body chosen in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections.
(…)
Article 38
[Elections]
(1) Members of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections.
Secret ballot: United States
Elections in the United States are mostly held by secret ballot,[20] although some states use mail ballots instead, which violate requirements 3 and 4 of the „Australian ballot“, as it is distributed to the home, and potentially marked in the presence of other people. The states of Colorado, Oregon, and Washington conduct all elections by mailed ballots.[21] The Constitution for the state of West Virginia still allows voters to cast „open ballots“.
What To Expect From The 2020 Democratic National Convention
The scaled-down, virtual convention will officially nominate Joe Biden for president and Kamala Harris for vice president.
Democrats kick off their nominating convention tomorrow night, and it’s going to be an unusual one – no crowds, all virtual speeches from remote locations.
Bloomberg to speak at Democratic convention, angering some liberals
Bloomberg jumped into the Democratic presidential primary long after much of the field, arguing that he did so to stop the rise of more liberal candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The former mayor and businessman, who has been a Republican, a Democrat and an independent in his career, ended up spending more than $1 billion on his campaign, an astonishing number that dwarfed every other candidate in the race.
A literal Republican, John Kasich, is going to get more speaking time at the DNC than every member of the squad combined
Andrew Yang added to DNC convention speaker lineup after tweeting about being left off it
„I’ve got to be honest I kind of expected to speak,“ Yang, who has 1.6 million Twitter followers, tweeted on Tuesday after the initial DNC speaker lineup was unveiled. He later joked, „maybe I endorsed against one too many incumbents.“
The convention, which will be held almost entirely remotely, will begin Monday, August 17, and conclude on Thursday, August 20.
2020 Democratic National Convention: No delegates, no Biden and not many national TV news crews
(12.08.2020)
Four years ago, more than 15,000 journalists covered the DNC in Philadelphia. At this year’s DNC? Think double digits.
None of the major TV news operations plans to send a news anchor team to Milwaukee for the convention.
REPORTER: “Have you taken a cognitive test?” BIDEN: “Why the hell would I take a test?! C’mon man. That’s like saying, ‘You — before you got on this program you took a test where you’re taking cocaine or not, what do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?!’”
FLASHBACK: Brain Surgeon Told Biden He Had Less Than 50% Chance of ‘Being Completely Normal’
(June 5, 2013)
“I said: ‘What’s the most likely thing that will happen if I live?’ He said, ‘Well, the side of the brain that the first aneurysm is on controls your ability to speak.’ And I thought: ‘Why in the hell didn’t they tell me this before the ’88 campaign?’ It could have saved us all a lot of trouble, you know what I mean?”
Biden rules out in-person appearance at Democratic convention
Biden „will no longer travel to Milwaukee and will instead address the nation and accept the Democratic nomination from his home state of Delaware,“ the party said in a statement, announcing that no speakers would physically attend the August 17-20 convention, which will be entirely virtual.
Biden clarifies he has not taken cognitive test
„Come on, man. That’s like saying you, before you got on this program, you take a test where you’re taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?“ Biden said, becoming testy with the reporter, CBS’s Errol Barnett, who asked whether he had taken a cognitive test.
Israel’s Protests Are a No-confidence Vote in Its Corrupt Democratic System
This shows that the youth revolution isn’t against Netanyahu alone; it’s a kind of no-confidence vote in Israel’s corrupt democratic system. And it’s happening because most of the people ruling over us don’t actually represent the public. Instead, it turns out that they made it into the Knesset through all kinds of tricks and for the sake of ulterior motives.
Democratic Officials Tell Members of Congress to Skip the Convention
Democratic officials have instructed senators, members of Congress and party delegates not to physically attend their national convention this summer, a sign of the ever-shrinking aspirations for their big campaign event in the face of a surge in coronavirus cases in the United States.
The directive, issued Thursday, ensures that little will happen at the convention site in Milwaukee beyond speeches from former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his vice-presidential nominee and a handful of other top party leaders.
Democrats instructing lawmakers, delegates to skip national convention
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic Party officials have instructed members of Congress and delegates to skip in-person attendance at their national convention, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Obama advises Kanye West on 2020 White House run
(Oct 10, 2015)
The president spoke at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in San Francisco, where the hip hop artist will later perform. Mr. Obama has a few political nuggets to pass on for West’s 2020 bid for the presidency.
The Top Five Rigged U.S. Presidential Elections
„There was a cemetery where the names on the tombstones were registered and voted. I remember a house. It was completely gutted. There was nobody there. But there were 56 votes for [John F.] Kennedy in that house.“
Mazo also found that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s charge that other counties were doing the same thing in favor of Republicans proved to be true—but nothing on the scale of what happened in Chicago.
CBS2 Investigation Uncovers Votes Being Cast From Grave Year After Year
(May 23, 2016)
And then there’s Julita Abutin.
Records show she voted in Norwalk in 2014, 2012, 2010 and 2008 though she died in 2006.
Abutin’s daughter, Marivic, says it’s impossible that her mother voted.
But the Los Angeles County Registrar confirms they have signed vote-by-mail envelopes with her mother’s name for the 2014 and 2012 election, though she died 10 years ago.
New York City won’t start counting absentee ballots for another week
(30.06.2020)
The city board, like its equivalents throughout the state, has been swamped with an unprecedented volume of absentee ballots and is currently working on sorting through them. Final totals for the number of mailed in-ballots should be available later this week. Ryan said that “more than 10 times” the number of such ballots expected under normal circumstances had been sent out.
Voters in Jefferson County upset after getting locked out of Expo Center
(24.05.2020)
Voters were locked out of the Kentucky Expo Center after a backup of traffic into the fairgrounds left people waiting in line past 6:00.
Kentucky Voters Bang on Doors and Windows of Closed Polling Place | NowThis
(24.06.2020)
Voters in Louisville banged on the windows of the city’s only polling center, demanding to be let in to cast their ballot after it had initially closed. It was later reopened to allow them in.
Saagar and Ryan Grim: How Schumer RIGGED Kentucky, Colorado primary against progressives
(01.07.2020)
Saagar Enjeti and Ryan Grim evaluate Amy McGrath’s victory in the neck and neck Kentucky primary race against progressive challenger Charles Booker.
Just FYI: There’s a 6,000 vote discrepancy between the exit polls and final results in Booker vs McGrath. This is over the 4% which the UN identifies as possible election fraud. Just something to think about.
(01.07.2020)
Amy McGrath Defeats Charles Booker in Kentucky Democratic Senate Primary
(30.06.2020)
Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath won a Democratic primary to become the nominee for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky, fending off a strong late challenge from a state legislator whose rise to prominence reflected the renewed energy of the progressive movement.
Ms. McGrath, who had the backing of the Democratic establishment, defeated state House lawmaker Charles Booker, according to Associated Press projections.
Mail carrier charged in West Virginia ballot fraud investigation
A press release from the Office of the Attorney General identifies the mail carrier as 47-year-old Thomas Cooper of Dry Fork, West Virginia. An affidavit claims he “fraudulently altered eight absentee ballot requests in Pendleton County,” by changing the party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Cooper had access to the ballot requests because of his job as a rural mail carrier — he delivered mail in the three towns that the tampered requests came from: Onego, Riverton and Franklin.
Sure it’s fraud. No one, no one wanted McGrath!
Sadly, I think the voting machines in Kentucky will keep spinning like Las Vegas slot machines until they produce the desired establishment result.
Statement from our chair, Ben Self, on the 2020 primary election:
Voters chant and beat on doors for entry to Kentucky Expo Center during primary
Voters chanted and beat on the doors for entry to Kentucky Expo Center after being locked out. A judge’s order allowed those on the pavement at 6pm to allowed to vote.
Today is the primary election. For the first time ever we’ve allowed mail in voting & no excuse early voting. In addition, 175,053 ex-offenders have had their voting rights restored. There is no excuse. Make your voice heard and cast your #vote today.
(yesterday)
Just ran the numbers… In Jefferson County, Kentucky, there will be 350 voting machines tomorrow for 616,516 registered voters. If polls are open from 7am to 9pm, in order for every voter to cast a ballot, each voter will have .4769 minutes to vote. Or roughly 28 seconds.
Kentucky Expo Center to be Jefferson County’s only primary election site
(14.05.2020)
Officials with the County Clerk’s office say, considering constraints because of COVID-19, and the fact that the county has 2,000 different types of ballots, the Fair and Expo Center was the obvious choice for the only polling location Jefferson county voters will have on Primary Day.
Nore Ghibaudy with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office said that they’re still finalizing how to lay out the landmark and the National Guard will be asked to help.
Lots of Drama but Little Certainty in Kentucky and New York Primaries
Voters in Kentucky and New York were selecting nominees in extraordinary circumstances on Tuesday, as fears about the coronavirus reduced the number of polling places and led to a surge in absentee balloting that was almost certain to delay the results, possibly for days.
Unstoppable, Indestructible, Endless Bibi
Since 1999 Netanyahu has managed to exhaust an entire political camp. His battles with the old elites was first and foremost a war of attrition. The noise that this compressor emits is only getting louder. It seems as if we haven’t been able to sleep properly for 20 years – it hasn’t given us a moment’s peace. This isn’t a compressor. This is a force of nature.
Another 10 years of Netanyahu in power is starting to look like a fairly realistic scenario.
Angela Davis on Not Endorsing Any Presidential Candidate: “I Think We Need a New Party”
(28.03.2016)
For more than four decades, Davis has been one of most influential activists and intellectuals in the United States. An icon of the 1970s black liberation movement, Davis’ work around issues of gender, race, class and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations. She is a leading advocate for prison abolition, a position informed by her own experience as a fugitive on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list more than 40 years ago. Davis talks about the “fascist appeal” of Donald Trump and explains why she is not officially endorsing any candidate in this election. “I believe in independent politics,” she says. “I still think that we need a new party, a party that is grounded in labor, a party that can speak to all of the issues around racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, what is happening in the world. We don’t yet have that party.”
Annexation? Israeli Apartheid? Hounding Journalists? Gantz Didn’t Come to Fight
The Kahol Lavan leader seems to have forgotten that his party was supposed to represent an alternative to Netanyahu’s aggressive ways
Democrats making clear that voting won’t help you.
Stay Alive, Joe Biden – Democrats need little from the front-runner beyond his corporeal presence.
(24.03.2020)
Two days before the South Carolina primary that would reverse his political fortunes and redirect the course of the Democratic nomination, Joe Biden’s campaign for president announced a hastily planned event in McClellanville, South Carolina. The national campaign press was alerted that Biden would enter full battle mode at this stop, that the proverbial gloves were about to come off ahead of the kill-or-be-killed primary on Saturday, and no one would want to miss this one.
And yet, when the cameras and reporters arrived, all they found were a few folding chairs in an otherwise empty parking lot, in front of a community health center. Biden walked out to a podium, mumbled a few words about the improvements he wanted to make to Obamacare, and then shuffled off, alone. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and absolutely nothing had changed.
Bernie Sanders Changed America
(Apr 8 2020)
Today, Sanders suspended his second presidential campaign after a primary season that always favored Joe Biden, but saw, for a brief moment, a socialist Jewish candidate as the frontrunner. “Few would deny that over the past five years, our movement has won the ideological struggle,” Sanders said during a farewell address to his supporters, made via a livestream from his home in Burlington, Vermont. He explained that he was dropping out because his campaign didn’t have a clear path to victory.
House to vote on reauthorizing expired surveillance powers
The House is expected to vote on a bill reauthorizing expired national security surveillance authorities on Wednesday afternoon in a vote by proxy, a controversial rule change which allows members to vote on behalf of their absent colleagues. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pull the bill reauthorizing authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, arguing that voting by proxy is unconstitutional.
This week: Surveillance fight sets early test for House’s proxy voting
The bill initially passed the House in a 278-136 vote in March. But the Senate amended the measure to add more legal protections for certain individuals targeted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The changes forces it to be bounced back to the House, which will need to pass it a second time.
Under a deal struck with leadership, the House is expected to consider an amendment, brought by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), that would block law enforcement from being able to access web browsing data without a warrant.
Mueller deputy Andrew Weissmann to headline Biden virtual fundraiser
Throughout the Russia investigation, Weissmann had been considered a “deputy” to Mueller, with conservatives regularly targeting him for his reputation of using aggressive tactics in cases, as well as his role in past controversial prosecutions. Weissmann helped to build the case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Biden’s Virtual Campaign Is a Disaster
(15.05.2020)
The candidate has reached the peak of his career in the rec room of his basement, talking into a computer.
Is a virtual Congress good enough for government work?
(17.05.2020)
The House Democrats’ plan to go virtual for committees and floor proceedings met fierce Republican insistence that Congress operate together in the Capitol when making important legislative decisions.
The Rules Committee spent more than six hours hearing from colleagues and considering over 30 amendments to a proposed new rule allowing the House to conduct floor votes through proxies designated by absent members, and to conduct virtual committee hearings and votes without proxies.
House members race to prepare for first-ever remote votes
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday officially invoked a 45-day period for remote voting and committee work, which can be renewed as necessary as a way to reduce the risk of coronavirus contagion for lawmakers and anyone they come into contact with while the pandemic persists.
With Move to Remote Voting, House Alters What It Means for Congress to Meet
Some Republicans privately support a remote House, but sided with their leaders on Friday and voted against it anyway. The vast majority, though, have resisted the changes, calling Democrats’ decision to move ahead over their objections “the most significant power grab in the history of Congress.”
On the House floor on Friday, an unmasked Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, accused Democrats of “suspending the Constitution,” and setting up a scheme where just 22 members “with 10 proxies in their back pocket could do the business of 300 million great people in this country.”
Democrats pass new rules that would allow virtual convention
Democrats are making new moves toward a virtual presidential nominating convention this August, with a top party committee voting Tuesday to grant convention organizers in Milwaukee the authority to design an event that won’t require delegates to attend in person amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden plans to stay home, testing limits of virtual campaign
In this screengrab taken from JoeBiden.com campaign website, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorses Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden during a live streaming broadcast on April 13, 2020.
Israel Parliament votes to approve Netanyahu-Gantz unity government
The Knesset (Israel Parliament) also passed a raft of legislative changes to the country’s semi-constitutional Basic Laws, paving the way for a government to be established after more than a year of political deadlock.
Comedian Vic DiBitetto goes on an epic rant over government checks and mortgage payments
(23.04.2020)
The four-and-a-half minute rant has received over 1,600,000 views on YouTube, 158,000 likes on Reddit,
House reverses plan, will not return to Washington next week
House leaders on Tuesday reversed course on plans to bring the chamber back into session next week amid fears about whether it is safe to return to the Capitol during the coronavirus pandemic.
Against the new normal
‘We are moving towards a new normality.’ This is how Germany’s finance minister, Olaf Scholz, put it at a coronavirus press conference last week, alongside Angela Merkel and various state premiers. The government was announcing its timetable to phase out the lockdown measures. Before it began, the conference had an almost religious feel, with those gathered seeming to wait for proclamation and guidance.
Just watched Angela Merkel’s speech to the Bundestag. She said to have debt sharing we’ll need to make changes to EU treaties and give more control of our national budgets to Europe and give more taxpayer’s money to Europe. She’s also going to try connect any deal to immigration.
Netanyahu, Gantz Sign Coalition Deal to Form Government
As part of the agreement, Netanyahu will be able to veto the appointments of the next attorney general and state prosecutor. His trial in three corruption cases is set to begin on May 24.
I know the media will never understand this but this moment right now, with Bernie trashing his own supporters is exactly why he lost. He was more committed to maintaining power for Dems than claiming it for his own movement.
From „not me, us“ to „not us, him“
AP Interview: Sanders says opposing Biden is ‘irresponsible’
And lest there be any question, the 78-year-old Vermont senator confirmed that “it’s probably a very fair assumption” that he would not run for president again. He added, with a laugh: “One can’t predict the future.”
This Absolute Bullshit Would Not Be Possible Without Propaganda
Joe Biden has been a horrible, evil politician since long before his rape allegations went mainstream and his brain started turning to porridge. If people could gaze with fresh, unmanipulated eyes upon someone who’s dedicated his entire political career to neoliberal exploitation at home and neoconservative mass murder abroad, someone who openly boasts about authoring the foundational documents of the USA PATRIOT Act, someone who promises rich donors that “nothing fundamentally will change” if he’s elected and who they know from experience can be taken at his word, it would never occur to them that this is someone who should be running for any elected office anywhere, let along within spitting distance of the most powerful one in the world.
It is only by the ability of the mass media to manufacture the illusion of normality that this bullshit has been made possible.
Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden, they announce ‚working groups‘ on policy issues
„Today, I am asking all Americans, I’m asking every Democrat, I’m asking every Independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans, to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse — to make certain that we defeat somebody who I believe — and I’m speaking just for myself now — is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country,“ Sanders said, joining Biden.
Netanyahu, Gantz in Last Ditch Effort to Form Unity Gov’t, Hours Before Mandate Expires
Gantz Is set to give a statement to the press at 9:00 P.M. in which he was expected to give details regarding the talks. His statement was originally scheduled for 8:30 P.M. before Netanyahu announced he would also be speaking, at 8:20 P.M.
2020 elections: Barack Obama wins the Democratic primary
In the end, the most influential politician of 2020 might be the one who has been the most silent.
With Bernie Sanders exiting the race and Joe Biden taking on the mantle of presumptive nominee, the man who hovered quietly over the race for more than a year, Barack Obama, will soon return to the political fray.
Trump urges Sanders supporters to join GOP after senator suspends campaign
Trump also thanked Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), reiterating his belief that she may have taken away enough votes from Sanders on Super Tuesday last month to cost him states. Warren finished third or in some cases a distant fourth in each state Joe Biden won on Super Tuesday.
„Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday!“ Trump tweeted.
Wie Bernie Sanders (oder ein „Demokrat“) in 2020 U.S.-Präsident geworden wäre
(13. Juni 2018)
Nachfolgend unserer Prognose, dass Donald Trump bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen in 2020 wiedergewählt wird, hier die Szenarien, wie die Wahl eines Kandidaten der „Demokratischen Partei“ oder eines unabhängigen Kandidaten Bernie Sanders zum U.S.-Präsidenten realistisch gewesen wäre (was aber nicht passieren wird).
Biden says Democratic convention may need to be virtual
Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democratic National Convention may need to be held virtually.
The former vice president and 2020 Democratic frontrunner told ABC’s “This Week” that his party’s convention is “necessary,” but added it may not be possible to bring thousands of people to one location safely amid the pandemic.
Why do you think Democrats are fighting so hard for Mail-In voting in November? Because there’s no way to verify someone’s identity RT if we should implement NATIONAL Voter ID before the November election!
Trump Opposes Mail-In Voting In November: „I Think A Lot Of People Cheat“
President Donald Trump said during Friday’s coronavirus task force press conference that he would oppose the idea of using mail-in ballots in the November 2020 election, saying it would allow people to „cheat.“ He also added that Voter ID is „the real deal.“
„I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in voting,“ Trump said. „I think people should vote with Voter ID. I think Voter ID is very important, and the reason they don’t want Voter ID is because they tend to cheat.“
Report: Gantz to support law keeping Netanyahu minister despite indictments
Israel Resilience party leader Benny Gantz will reportedly support a new law allowing incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to serve in the government despite multiple indictments against him, according to Hebrew media.
Current Israeli Parliament (Knesset) legislation bars elected officials from serving as government ministers while being charged with a crime.
‚Black flag‘ protesters decry ‚corrupt‘ unity deal near Gantz’s home
The activists say they use the black flag, pinning them to the back of vehicles, to symbolize the danger a prime minister under indictment poses to Israeli democracy, according to The Times.
Netanyahu was indicted last year on three charges following a years-long corruption investigation, including breach of public trust, bribery, and fraud.
Signing statement
The Supreme Court has not squarely addressed the limits of signing statements.
After Blue & White split, Lapid slams Gantz for ‚betraying‘ voters, ‚capitulating‘ to Netanyahu
Lapid, who heads Yesh Atid, told journalists at a press conference that „Benny Gantz decided today to break apart Blue and White and crawl into Netanyahu’s government.“
„What’s being formed today isn’t a unity government and not an emergency government. It’s another Netanyahu government. Benny Gantz surrendered without a fight,“ he added.
Gantz Abandoned the Camp
Gantz was a source of hope to millions of Israelis yearning to put an end to Netanyahu’s rule, which is crushing democracy while tearing the population to shreds. On Thursday their hope was shattered, to the laughter of the opposing camp, the one that led the country into moral corruption and that has now added another soldier to its ranks and bought about the disintegration of the alternative.
Gantz chooses Netanyahu’s incitement over Arab-Jewish partnership
Benny Gantz could have made history by forming a minority government with the support of the Palestinian parties. Instead he dismantled his own political camp and joined his rival.
Lapid: Gantz stole votes, gave them to Netanyahu
Lapid lambasted Gantz’s actions as „a betrayal to voters and a theft of votes.“
Meretz leader Nitzan Horovitz: You elected Gantz? You got Netanyahu
Horovitz added that Gantz was “spitting in the face” of his voters with his latest decision.
The Meretz leader called on others in the left bloc to not support this move.
In case we didn’t see this look at these numbers. And the time stamp. This is reminiscent of 2016. If they can do this without any sort of accountability, guess what? They’ll keep doing it. It’s long been time to call for recounts and investigations. #ElectionIntegrity
Note also how at the bottom they go from 1,344,469 vote totals to 1,072,844. Which is obviously not possible. @MichiganDems you’ve been exposed.
every man is the architect of his own fortune
Each person is the chief cause of their success or failure in life.
Bernie Sanders says he „hasn’t seen the latest delegate count.“ Really?
List of 2020 Democratic Party automatic delegates
This list tracks the presumed support (based on endorsements) for given candidates among the 775 unpledged delegates (commonly known as superdelegates, and referred to in the 2020 election cycle as ‚automatic delegates‚[1]) who will be eligible to cast a vote at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which is to be held on July 13–16, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Experts warn democracies facing autocracy: Protect your institutions
Rachel Maddow looks at what has turned out to be prescient advice from Masha Gessen and Timothy Snyder about the necessity of institutions in preserving democracy, and the necessity of engaged citizens in protecting those institutions from a threatening autocracy like the Donald Trump presidency.
Merkel’s Succession Plan Unravels as Protégée Ends Leadership Bid
Angela Merkel’s succession plan is in tatters. Who runs Germany next is anyone’s guess
Angela Merkel’s grand transition plan has derailed after her handpicked successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, unexpectedly called it quits on Monday.
Kramp-Karrenbauer, better known as AKK, announced she would not stand as the Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) candidate to be German chancellor in the next federal election. She is also stepping down as the party’s chairwoman, according to the CDU’s press office
Germany’s Kramp-Karrenbauer to Step Down as CDU Leader
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer plans to step down as leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, a spokesman for the party said in a statement on Monday. Kramp-Karrenbauer will also not seek to run as chancellor candidate for the CDU in the next election.
..and if they’re a progressive, they let you do it! @BernieSanders @AOC @krystalball @ggreenwald #IowaCaucuses2020 #norecanvasswanted (?!)
Buttigieg edges past Sanders in latest New Hampshire poll
The survey shows Buttigieg at 25 percent and Sanders at 24 percent support among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, according to Suffolk’s latest daily tracking poll results from Thursday and Friday evenings. Buttigieg has surged 10 percentage points over three nights.
Isn’t that the approach that got Al Gore into trouble?
Question: „The DNC now has said they should recanvass. Do you want, are you going to call on them?“ Sen. Bernie Sanders: „We got enough of Iowa.“
Regarding the US presidential election in 2020: We are done with democracy simulations
After the Iowa fraud and Bernie Sanders‘ Al Gore style capitulation (no recount / „recalculation“ of an in broad daylight rigged caucus) and the deafening silence of each and every progressive lawmaker, even from the Squad, we do not support any candidate in this election and furthermore question its authenticity and legitimacy. From this day on, we will rarely post any news to this election-without-a-choice.
We would like to ask you: would the Trumpolini in the White House watch, just for even a few hours, the Republican Party doing this to his campaign? The progressives in the Democratic Party let this happen for days and kept their head down. And Millions of good-willing, hard working people on the ground were let down and deceived, again.
We’re not going along with this dirty game, which can be played again and again and again on people who tolerate it once without resistance.
Notably, we have calculated with this development years ago and described a possibility how Bernie Sanders could have become US president (article in German). Let that sink in, just for a minute or two.
Since decades, only (far) right-wingers, warmongers and egoists have real candidates and political parties.
So, „vote“ yourself.
Why aren’t any of the Dem candidates speaking out about the situation in Iowa? It’s been FOUR DAYS and they still don’t have a final count? And they’re stealing the election right out from under Bernie and he remains silent. What is going on in this party?
They are SO inept.
SEEMS LEGIT: Watch How Pete Buttigieg ‘Randomly’ Wins Coin Toss in Iowa to Determine Who Gets Last Delegate in Tied Precinct (VIDEO)
Maybe this is how Hillary Clinton won 6-for-6 coin toss victories in Iowa in 2016?
Bernie’s big gamble: Sanders hopes new voters surprise at Iowa caucuses: ANALYSIS
His philosophy is that boosting turnout in a significant and meaningful way comes not only by exciting existing Democrats, but organizing and rallying nonvoters into Democrats.
His mission and ability to do that has been central to his argument about why he is the best candidate for Democrats in a general election.
World’s billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people
The richest 22 men in the world — including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates — own more wealth than all the women in Africa, Oxfam found.
Capitalism Draws Fire, Despite Strong Global Economy
Worries about income inequality, jobs disappearing due to automation and environmental sustainability are all feeding wide-scale distrust in capitalism as the world knows it, according to a new study released Sunday.
Edelman, a public-relations firm, conducted its 20th annual analysis of public trust in major institutions, surveying 34,000 people in 27 countries and Hong Kong. The data reveal both skepticism about those institutions—including government, business, the media and nongovernmental organizations …
‘We Are the Ones Who Will Awaken the Dawn’
Democracy has been shackled by capitalist power. If sovereignty were merely about numbers, then the workers and the peasants, the urban poor and the youth would be represented by people who put their interests first and would be able to command more of the fruit of their labour. Democracy promises that people would be able to control their destiny. Capitalism, on the other hand, is structured to allow the capitalists – the property owners – to have power over the economy and society. From the standpoint of capitalism, democracy’s full implications cannot be allowed. If democracy gets its way, then the means of producing wealth would be democratized; this would be an outrage against property, which is why democracy is narrowed.
1 in 6 of our children lives in poverty. 500,000+ Americans are homeless. 87 million are uninsured or underinsured. Half live paycheck to paycheck. But the billionaire class is doing better every day. This is a rigged economy and we are going to change it.
The world’s 3 richest people in 2019 have added a total of $231 billion to their fortune over the past decade, according to @wealth.
Here’s how they got here
Cowardly Republican governors who suppress the vote because they can’t win on their ideas need to get the hell out of politics and get another job.
Israel’s Attorney General Must Decide on Netanyahu Before the Next Election
A third election isn’t the worst alternative among everything that could have happened if Netanyahu had formed a government. But a third election must be held only after Mendelblit announces his decision on the cases against Netanyahu. Mendelblit must decide before the next election.
Mendelblit, Don’t Delay
(14.02.2018)
The police announcement Tuesday – that the investigations into two cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been completed – came 13 months after Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided that a “preliminary examination” of the allegations, which itself took six months, should become full-fledged criminal investigations.
Israeli Prosecutors’ Conference Postponed Ahead of Netanyahu Indictment
State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan announced Sunday the postponement of a conference for senior prosecutors scheduled for Thursday. His office cited “scheduling constraints” and said a new date would be set for the gathering in Jerusalem.
Mendelblit, Don’t Delay
(14.02.2018)
The police announcement Tuesday – that the investigations into two cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been completed – came 13 months after Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided that a “preliminary examination” of the allegations, which itself took six months, should become full-fledged criminal investigations.
Israel’s attorney general scheduled talks regarding Netanyahu indictment
Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will be holding talks in the coming week with aims to reach a decision at the end of November on whether or not to …
Gantz Says No Progress Achieved in Talks on Unity Government With Netanyahu’s Likud
Yair Lapid, the No. 2 on the Kahol Lavan roster, said at the party meeting that a government can’t be created in the space of 48 hours, and that all Netanyahu had to agree to was to be second in the rotation – i.e., to agree that Gantz serve as prime minister first, then Netanyahu. But what Netanyahu wants is a third election, Lapid said.
“That’s what his lawyers suggested to him, that’s what he needs because of the indictments,” Lapid said.
Gantz and Netanyahu are currently meeting in Tel Aviv
Gantz to meet with Netanyahu on Sunday, Liberman and Horowitz in following days
According to reports in the Hebrew media, Gantz could offer Netanyahu a “compromise deal” that would force him to choose between including his religious allies in the coalition, and being prime minister first in any rotation deal.
Changes on the world arena have returned Eurasia to the international spotlight. The fourth session of the Valdai Club’s 16th Annual Meeting was dedicated to the topic: „Greater Eurasia as a New Form of Geo-Economic Space Organization“. #valdaiclub
(today)
Wow, #Pacific made part of the Greater Eurasia! India and Russia sign agreement to connect „Greater Eurasia“ and the “regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans”
(23.09.2019)
Speaker Zinaida Greceanîi and @HPFriedrichCSU , Vice-President of the German Bundestag, held a meeting within the pale of the Fourth Meeting of Speakers of the Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments titled “Greater Eurasia: Dialogue. Trust. Partnership.” @CSU
(24.09.2019)
Rivlin, President of the Jews – Not Israelis
Yes, this initiative of yours, Mr. President, is very grave indeed! You are dividing the country on an ethnic basis, you are placing one people above another, one public above another, one group above another, when your job is to say loud and clear: They are all my sons. And for this you do not have a mandate. You do not have a mandate to divide the country between Jews and Arabs. You do not have a mandate to exclude a fifth of the population.
Israel Election Results: Gantz Capitulates Without Battle
Less than a week after his impressive electoral achievement, the head of the largest Knesset faction, Kahol Lavan leader Benny Gantz, conceded his right to be the first to try and form a coalition government. The explanation given by “party sources” for this concession is that Gantz prefers to wait for Netanyahu to try first and fail.
Regrettably, this lame excuse is unconvincing. This move looks like a capitulation without a fight, an admission that the right wing’s long-standing tactic of delegitimizing parties representing Arab society succeeded.
Benny Gantz’s Tactical Waiting Game Is Too Clever by Half
Netanyahu getting a first nod from the president would land a harsh blow on the center-left’s morale, which could facilitate Netanyahu’s plan to divide the party from within. The nightmarish vision of Netanyahu settling back in the driver’s seat and recklessly pushing the gas pedal to reach his target would make a mockery of his clear-cut defeat in last Tuesday’s election. While Gantz and his colleagues rejoice over sucker Netanyahu supposedly falling into their well-laid trap, their supporters will see them as naive novices who could soon add insult to injury by reneging on their main pledge not to participate in his coalition.
Gantz, Netanyahu meet at President Rivlin’s residence to launch unity talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shakes hands with Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz (R) as President Reuven Rivlin looks on, at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, on September 23, 2019.
Mendelblit, Don’t Delay
(14.02.2018)
The police announcement Tuesday – that the investigations into two cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been completed – came 13 months after Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit decided that a “preliminary examination” of the allegations, which itself took six months, should become full-fledged criminal investigations.
For Netanyahu, winning reelection could be the only way to avoid corruption charges
The prime minister has branded all three cases a baseless “witch hunt.” and his attorneys accused Mandelblit of interfering with elections by announcing his intention to indict during a campaign season.
A Brief History of Bullshit: Why We’ve Learned to Ignore Truth
What happened to Western culture for people to have become oblivious or indifferent to the notion of truth? After all, if liars get away so easily with their lies, it must be because we no longer value truth so dearly.
‚Camera Law‘ Would Let Israeli Parties Retain Footage of Voters Filmed at Polling Stations
In practice, the proposed law would permit parties‘ representatives to maintain a database of voters and record their conversations both inside and outside the polls
Incitement, the Best Defense
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s frontal assault on Channel 12 television was in line with his permanent strategy: If you can’t silence them, incite against them. Plan A failed when the acting chairman of the Central Elections Committee rejected Likud’s request for an injunction that would bar Channel 12’s legal correspondent, Guy Peleg, from continuing to publish statements made by key prosecution witnesses in the cases against Netanyahu prior to the election. So Netanyahu turned to Plan B – libeling Channel 12 as anti-Semitic and urging the public to boycott the station.
This Election, It’s Good Guys vs. Bad Guys
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s shocking attack on Channel 12 television, it s clearer than ever who the good guys and the bad guys are, and the current election revolves around this choice.
Netanyahu Ratchets Up Attack on Production Company, Journalist Reporting His Corruption Probes
PM claims Keshet Media Group, which produced the HBO series ‚Our Boys‘ that he blasted as anti-Semitic, is ‚committing a terror attack against democracy‘
It’s Now Clear: Netanyahu Won’t Rest Until a Journalist’s Blood Is Spilled
We know what should be the fate of perpetrators. The man who more than two decades ago marched in front of a coffin (which he didn’t see, of course, a meter behind him) in a protest against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and who incited from a balcony in Zion Square, with posters of Rabin in SS uniform below him (which he didn’t see either), has gone back to his evil ways. Or, as the verse says in another context, as a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. He seeks chaos, violence and loss of restraint that will allow him to show off his “leadership” and take control of what’s happening.
Netanyahu urges boycott of ‘fake’ Channel 12, calls its ‘Our Boys’ anti-Semitic
Earlier the Central Elections Committee rejected a petition from Netanyahu’s Likud party to bar news outlets from publishing transcripts and documents from Netanyahu’s corruption investigations ahead of national elections next month.
The conversation that may lead to a Netanyahu conviction – Analysis
Until now, we knew from Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit that the prime minister would likely be indicted, with the timing expected to be by December.
However, Netanyahu has a strong chance of getting Mandelblit to drop any indictment in Case 2000, the Yediot Ahronot-Yisrael Hayom Affair, probably has a 50/50 chance of beating the charges in Case 1000, the Illegal Gifts Affair, and has a series of real defenses even in Case 4000.
Netanyahu’s Wars on Both Iran and Israel
Such trepidations are valid for any caretaker government, all the more so regarding Netanyahu, who’s already suspected of subverting every value of governance to his personal interests. Someone who doesn’t loathe quashing the rule of law to be saved from the terror of the law, who doesn’t hesitate to shamelessly lie to preserve his rule, who isn’t deterred from overturning the parliamentary rules of the game to keep the charges against him from scrutiny seems destined to raise security tensions to distract public opinion from issues he isn’t comfortable with.
State defends greater restrictions on protests near A-G’s house
Protests have continued for over two years near Mandelblit’s home in Petah Tikva to pressure him to take a stronger stance in the various probes against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A Leak That Leaves No Doubts About Netanyahu’s Role in the Bezeq-Walla Case
Any doubts about illicit deals between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and fallen telecom tycoon Shaul Elovitch in the police’s Case 4000 should be put to rest after the details of Shlomo Filber’s statements to police investigators were leaked this week.
This is the case where the police believe Netanyahu traded friendly coverage by Bezeq’s Walla news site in exchange for help with regulations for the company, Israel’s dominant telecom provider. Filber, who had been appointed director general of the Communications Ministry in 2015 shortly after Netanyahu took over the portfolio, was the point man for the alleged trade-offs.
An Escalation With Iran, and Israel’s Opposition Is Silent
In Israel there is no opposition; this disturbing realization is becoming clearer.
Israel’s Attorney General Is Allowing the Gender-segregation Tsunami to Sweep Over
In recent years, gender segregation and discrimination against women have been expanding into various aspects of public life. This is seen on army bases where women are marginalized; on academic campuses where female “modesty supervisors” check the length of skirts; in the civil service, which has cadet courses for men only; in funeral ceremonies, where women cannot mourn or stand with their families; in signposts forbidding women to walk on certain sidewalks, while men police their clothing, applying ever harsher modesty rules, occasionally with curses and spitting. Bus drivers refuse to let on a female passenger in shorts, or don’t allow women to board, claiming there’s “room for men only.”
This is merely a partial list. The struggle for woman’s place in public – and for Israeli society – is in full force.
In Netanyahu’s Israel, Democracy Is Dying in Broad Daylight
(13.08.2019)
Ominous pre-election right-wing purges inspired by Trump’s brazenness have been met with apathy and impotence on the center-left
‚Democracy Has Plunged to a New Low‘: Gandhi Peace Foundation on Kashmir
Having listened to the debates on Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister’s address to the nation, and having watched subsequent developments in Kashmir, we as citizens of India inspired by the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi feel compelled to state that the government has pushed the country into a blind alley. The gun that was used to silence Kashmir is now being used as a telescope through which to see Kashmir. This is shameful, unfortunate and ominous for India.
A whole state has vanished from the map in broad daylight. The Indian Union had 28 states, now it has 27. This is not a magic show, where a magician shows us, we know, something unreal and illusory. Here we are witnessing something cruel, ugly, undemocratic and seemingly irreversible. It reveals the poverty of our democratic politics.
The German state’s turn against democracy
In supporting the European banking union, Germany’s highest court reveals its anti-democratic heart.
Pakistan strongly condemns India’s decision to abolish Article 370
“No unilateral step by the Government of India can change this disputed status, as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Nor will this ever be acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan,” said the press release.
“As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps,” it added.
The Narendra Modi government scraps Kashmir’s special status under Indian constitution
Addressing parliament today (Aug. 5) following two days of heightened security in the state, home minister Amit Shah announced that Article 370 would no longer exist. President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, has signed this notification. Shah’s announcement was met with loud protests from opposition parties.
Likud Plans to Spend $570,000 to Spy Again on Arab Polling Stations
Now, according to a report broadcast by Channel 13 news, the Likud plans to double its budget for a repeat campaign, spending two million shekels (approximately $570,000) to install cameras in Arab polling stations. The campaign will once again be headed up by Kaizler Inbar, and will be accompanied by increased police presence to monitor Arab voters.
Israel’s Central Election Committee – which oversees the state’s election process – will reportedly meet later this week to discuss the Likud’s program. The Channel 13 news report told how the Likud party plans to ask Supreme Court Judge Hanan Melcer, head of the elections committee, to “detail in writing what their poll watchers can and cannot do with the surveillance cameras”.
Likud doubles budget for program placing hidden cameras in Arab polling stations
The operation is set to be run again by the Kaizler-Inbar communications firm, the source said. Kaizler-Inbar organized the April effort by recruiting activists mainly from national religious seminaries across the country and boasted in a Facebook post shortly after the vote of “success” in bringing turnout among Arabs to below 50 percent, its lowest level in decades.
Brexit: What now for TTIP, CETA and UK trade?
(24.06.2016)
Brexit has created the potential greater democratic control of trade deals. And we must ensure we use that to craft a trade policy that is geared to justice for the many rather than profits for the few.
Europe’s unelected leader: Ursula von der Leyen’s coronation is an insult to democracy.
Ursula von der Leyen has been confirmed as the next president of the EU Commission, winning a vote in the European Parliament by 383 to 327.
But despite the involvement of MEPs, the process that put von der Leyen in place was nothing short of a coronation.
Sources: Likud and Blue and White Parties Discussing Canceling Elections, Forming Unity Government
Netanyahu and Blue and White party co-chairman Benny Gantz are reportedly not personally involved in any negotiations over a unity government.
Blue and White issued a statement reacting to the report, saying, “There is only one option for cancelling the elections: Netanyahu steps down to deal with his legal issues and Blue and White will lead a wide government.”
Yair Lapid Says Coalition With Netanyahu, Lieberman Is the Right Thing for Israel
Yair Lapid, the co-chair of opposition party Kahol Lavan, said on Sunday that he believes a unity government headed by his outfit is the „right thing for Israel.“
Lapid said he would agree to form a coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to comments made by former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday.
Netanyahu must inform court today if he will attend indictment hearing
If Netanyahu refuses to confirm his attendance by today’s deadline, then the hearing will be canceled and a summary decision would be made that could lead to his indictment within days or weeks.
Netanyahu Appoints Justice Minister Who Supports Immunity From Indictment for Prime Minister
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Likud lawmaker Amir Ohana as justice minister on Wednesday. Political sources told Haaretz that Ohana was appointed because unlike other Likud members, he supports changes that would grant immunity from indictment to acting prime ministers, as Netanyahu is facing possible indictment in three cases of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.