Thursday, October 24th, 2019
Stephan: There is now no chance of misunderstanding Trump's view of himself, his lawyer has now stated it in court on the public record. Trump believes he is above the law, and anyone acting for him is similarly immune. It is an amazing claim, but there can be no question about it. King Trump has spoken. What is equally amazing is that according to fivethirtyeight 42.5% percent of Americans swallow that claim and are okay with it.
Adolf Hitler and his protege Donald Trump
President Trump’s lawyer argued in court on Wednesday that he should, as president, be immune from criminal prosecution — even if he murders someone in broad daylight with a gun.
The argument was made as part of Trump v. Vance, a case asking whether Manhattan prosecutors can subpoena Trump’s tax records as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. In the case, as Judge Victor Marrero explained in an opinion, Trump’s lawyers argued that “the person who serves as President, while in office, enjoys absolute immunity from criminal process of any kind.” (Marrero rejected that argument.)
On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard Trump’s appeal of Marrero’s decision. During that hearing, Trump lawyer William Consovoy confirmed just how far his argument goes. In response to a question by appellate Judge Denny Chin, Consovoy argued that Trump is immune from criminal investigation even if he were to shoot someone on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue: The question is a callback to Trump bragging […]
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Thursday, October 24th, 2019
Stephan: Donald Trump and Moscow Mitch since the 2016 election have been trying to gut the American judicial system and turn it into a partisan faux legal system. These are lifetime appointments the Senate is advising and consenting to and we are going to be living with this degradation of our legal system for a generation. Here is the latest.
illustration by Slate
Back in 2016, when a lot of otherwise decent people pulled the lever to elect Donald Trump president, they claimed to have done it solely for the judges. By the same token, a good number of then–“Never Trumpers” have reverted to Team Trump, again, because of the judges. Members of the Trump administration, like his former White House Counsel Don McGahn, who have showed tiny filaments of courage in standing up to him for the rule of law, nevertheless silently allow Trump to fillet the Constitution and American prestige and influence abroad, and why? Because of the judges. If you’ve stuck with Trump for the judges until now, you are currently playing the dangerous game of “How Many More Judges Can They Ram Through Before Democracy Breaks?” The theory is that teeing up the murder of Kurdish allies and inviting foreign election interference is all worth it, because of the judges.
It’s not news that Trump has made packing the federal courts with the […]
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Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019
David Rose, - Daily Mail (U.K.)
Stephan: Today, after hearing reports that Ambassador Taylor has provided the smoking gun that should bring this awful Trump administration to an end through immediate impeachment, I needed to take a break from the fecal storm that constantly surrounds Trump, and decided to devote today's SR to some positive optimistic developments concerning the world's transition out of the carbon era. I will start with this.
Battery inventor engineer, Trevor Jackson, 58 from Tavistock, Devon, who has signed a multi-million-pound deal to start manufacturing the device on a large scale in the UK
Imagine the satisfaction of driving your environmentally friendly electric car for 1,500 miles without having to stop to recharge the battery – a distance more than four times as far as the best and most expensive model currently on the road.
Under the bonnet is a revolutionary new type of battery which, unlike those used in conventional electric cars, can also power buses, huge lorries and even aircraft. What’s more, it’s far simpler and cheaper to make than the batteries currently in use in millions of electric vehicles around the world – and, unlike them, it can easily be recycled.
This might sound like a science-fiction fantasy. But it’s not. Last Friday, the battery’s inventor, British engineer and former Royal Navy officer Trevor Jackson, signed a multi-million-pound deal to start manufacturing the device on a large scale in the UK.
Austin Electric, […]
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Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019
Linda Givetash, - marie claire
Stephan: I have always thought that tidal wave power was a particularly promising source of noncarbon energy because unlike wind or solar which can be intermittent, the tides and wave power always reliably occur. Two women from outside the box have figured out the possible way we can go forward.
Eco Wave Power wharf
Credit: Eco Wave Power
Inna Braverman understands the consequences of polluting energy sources. Born in Ukraine in 1986, she stopped breathing and nearly died when the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded two weeks after she was born. “I grew up with a feeling I got a second chance at life, so I should do something good with it,” says Braverman, 33.
Inna Braverman, cofounder of Eco Wave Power Credit: Eco Wave Power
She cofounded Eco Wave Power in 2011 to harness the power of the sea. The company tethers buoys to piers and coastlines that generate energy as they bob, feeding the electric grid. “Wave energy is the new kid on the block of renewables,” says Braverman. “The need for it is undeniable—it could be responsible for a huge amount of the world’s energy one day.”
The company went public in July, with plans […]
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Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019
Stephan: Once you begin to see human civilization as something in the earth's matrix of consciousness, you see technology from a different perspective. Instead of just thinking of technology as a way to produce a profit, environmental impact be damned, you begin to think about technology as a way to foster wellbeing.
This shows us that you can be entrepreneurial. You can make a profit. You just have to do it from the perspective of wellbeing as the first priority.
Future flagships
Credit: Smart Green Shipping Alliance
An evening drizzle falls on the Dutch port city of Rotterdam as dockworkers untie the moorings of Estraden and shove the 535-foot cargo ship from the industrial dock. Captain Mikko Innanen steps into the bridge, a dark room with large windows and glowing radar screens, where voices crackling over the radio in English, Dutch, and Finnish confirm that the coast is clear. Innanen takes the helm, steering the ship from the tranquil harbor into the choppy North Sea.
The main engines roar below as Estraden begins its voyage to northern England, carrying tanks of hazardous chemicals and containers of cargo. Then Innanen pushes a button.
On the ship’s deck, two 60-foot-tall tubes twirl to life, spinning like hyperactive barber’s poles. The vertical rotor sails help propel Estraden by harnessing the wind, like modern metal versions of the age-old canvas sheet. Each rotating cylinder drags air around it, forming areas of high and low pressure and producing a forward thrust — reducing some of the demand […]
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