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Monthly Archives: December 2017
Kick back and relax along the Northeast Corridor
Kick back and relax along the Northeast Corridor
Wanna get away?
Michelle Visage, Ready Player One, Trump Accusers, Roy Moore, Mario Batali, Will & Grace, Stranger Things: HOT LINKS
Michelle Visage, Ready Player One, Trump Accusers, Roy Moore, Mario Batali, Will & Grace, Stranger Things: HOT LINKS
TRUMP ACCUSERS. Women demand Congressional investigation into Trump’s sexual misdeeds: “Samantha Holvey, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks all shared their past experiences with Mr. Trump jointly at Monday’s event, which was held by the organization Brave New Films, a non-profit that creates media and film campaigns surrounding social justice issues.”
NEW YEAR’S EVE. Have you decided yet?
RUSSIA. FBI says Jeff Sessions wasn’t required to disclose foreign contacts while he was a senator: “The FBI email from March bolsters the explanation by the Justice Department for why Sessions didn’t disclose contacts with the Russian ambassador in his application for a US security clearance. When the omission of the foreign contacts on the form was first reported by CNN in May, the Justice Department said Sessions’ office was advised by the FBI that he didn’t need to disclose the meetings.”
NECESSARY CAT VIDEO OF THE DAY. Antonio, who knows where the treat’s at.
MARIO BATALI. The Italian chef has taken a leave from his businesses after being accused of sexual harassment.
ROY MOORE. Pro-Trump group sent a 12-year-old girl to interview the accused child molester: “Millie March went viral at the Conservative Party Action Conference (CPAC) in February, where she offered a full-throttle defense of President Trump’s legislative agenda. Since then, she has become a darling of the right-wing, being interviewed by Fox and Friends in July and meeting Trump himself in September.”
KEY WITNESS. Will Steve Bannon face Mueller? “People close to Bannon, who left the White House in August and returned to his former perch as head of Breitbart News, say he’s told them he doesn’t have a lawyer and isn’t worried about potential exposure. But others say it’s inevitable he’ll be called in as a witness in the ongoing investigations. He has not been publicly accused of any wrongdoing or named as a target of the investigations.”
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS. Nuclear war is a “tantrum away.” ‘Mankind’s destruction caused by a nuclear war is just one “impulsive tantrum away”, the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), warned on Sunday as the United States and North Korea exchange threats over the nation’s nuclear tests. “Will it be the end of nuclear weapons, or will it be the end of us?” ICAN head Beatrice Fihn said in a speech after receiving the peace prize on behalf of the anti-nuclear group.’
WILL & GRACE. Comcast launches behind-the-scenes companion series on the reboot. “Inside Stage 22 with Max and David, an Xfinity Originals Series, is named after the studio where the sitcom is filmed. Creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan talk with cast members and also offer insights and background on the series and never-before-seen highlights from the set.”
BINGEWATCHED in 2017. Netflix releases list of its most binge-watched shows.
OkLAHOMA. University of Oklahoma Board of Regents member compared gays to pedophiles: “Kirk Humphreys made the comments over the weekend on KFOR-TV’s public affairs show. He also compared gay people to politicians who’ve recently resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct. LGBTQ advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma has called for his removal from the board if he doesn’t apologize. Executive Director Troy Stevenson says Humphreys’ comments were disheartening and dangerous for LGBTQ youth who are already harassed and bullied.”
UGANDA. Police raid shuts down only LGBT film festival. “On Saturday afternoon, the second day of the festival, three policemen, including one armed with an AK-47 rifle, burst into the festival venue in the capital Kampala.”
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY. Gay romance sweeps British Independent Film Awards: “God’s Own Country, the story of a British farmer who falls in love with a Romanian worker, won best feature, best actor for Josh O’Connor and best debut screenwriter for writer and director Francis Lee.”
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Ready Player One.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE DAY. This spearfishing WTF.
BAD LIP READING OF THE DAY. Stranger Things.
CHRISTMAS TUNE OF THE DAY. Michelle Visage “Silent Night”.
MONDAY MUSCLE. Francisco Otero Martín,
The post Michelle Visage, Ready Player One, Trump Accusers, Roy Moore, Mario Batali, Will & Grace, Stranger Things: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
“Das sind alles Einzelfälle”: Vertreter der Paket-Branche redet sich bei “Hart aber fair” um Kopf und Kragen
“Das sind alles Einzelfälle”: Vertreter der Paket-Branche redet sich bei “Hart aber fair” um Kopf und Kragen
- Ein WDR-Journalist hat bei “Hart aber fair” einen Einblick in die miserablen Zustände der Paket-Branche geliefert
- Der Vorsitzende des Bundesverbandes Paket und Expresslogistik versuchte, die Unternehmen zu verteidigen
Am Montagabend hat “Hart aber fair”-Moderator Frank Plasberg seinen Gästen eine Frage gestellt, die viele Menschen in Deutschland beschäftigen dürfte: “Warum fühlt sich der Wirtschaftsboom für viele Arbeitnehmer wie eine Krise an?”
Zunächst plätscherte die ARD-Sendung dahin – bis WDR-Journalist Dieter Könnes auf die teilweise prekären Arbeitsbedingungen von Paketzustellern aufmerksam machte. Für seine Sendung “Könnes kämpft” hatte der Journalist Missstände in der Branche aufgedeckt.
Eine Zustellerin namens Susanne berichtete in einem Einspieler etwa, dass sie nicht mehr als 6,50 Euro in der Stunde verdiene. Also deutlich unter Mindestlohn. “Dafür müssen Sie aber ein gutes Gebiet haben”, sagte die Zustellerin. Auf dem Land könne der Stundenlohn schon einmal bei drei Euro liegen.
Ein bedrückendes Beispiel für die miserablen Zustände in der Branche. Ein Gast bei “Hart aber fair” wollte das jedoch nicht zählen lassen: Florian Gerster, der Vorsitzende des Bundesverbands der Paket und Expresslogistik.
“Das sind alles Einzelfälle”
“Natürlich darf das nicht sein”, gab der Vorsitzende des Paket-Bundesverbands Gerster zunächst zu. Nur um dann Könnes frontal anzugreifen: “Was aber nicht sein kann, ist, wie reißerisch Sie sich dieses Themas bedienen”, warf Gerster dem WDR-Moderator an den Kopf.
“Das sind Einzelfälle”, sagte Gerster, “dem gehen auch die Unternehmen nach”.
“Es ist klar, dass Sie sagen, das sind Einzelfälle oder schwarze Schafe. Aber ab einer gewissen Größenordnung der Herde von schwarzen Schafen stellt sich doch die Systemfrage”, griff Moderator Plasberg ein.
Gerster sieht die Unternehmen als Opfer
Gerster verwies auf den Preisdruck, der in der Branche herrsche. “Die E-Commerce werben mit freien Versand. Manchmal muss das ein paar Euro kosten”, sagte er. Zudem könnten andere Unternehmen nicht mit dem Preiskampf von DHL, dem größten Anbieter, mithalten.
“Habe ich das richtig verstanden, dass Sie in der Zange klemmen zwischen Amazon und uns allen hier”, versuchte Plasberg aus den Worten von Gerster abzuleiten.
“Die Margen sind zu gering, die Unternehmen können keine vernünftige Kalkulation machen”, verteidigte Gerster seine Branche.
Hier hatte nun die SPD-Politikerin Leni Breymaier genug: “Es wird doch keiner gezwungen, ein Paketunternehmen zu gründen”, schimpfte sie, merklich aufgebracht.
“Wir privatisieren, damit einzelne Leute Geld verdienen, die Chefs von DHL und so weiter”, sagte Breymaier. “Und die Leute verdienen einen Hungerlohn. Die Privatisierung hat sich doch nicht gelohnt.” Sie beklagte auch, dass Pakete zu billig seien.
Sind die Kunden Schuld?
Sind am Ende die Kunden schuld, weil sie nicht bereit sind, mehr Geld für Pakete zu bezahlen? Plasberg befragte sein Publikum – also den anderen Teil der Zange, der die Paketbranche in die Mangel nehme.
Fast jeder im Studio hat kürzlich ein Paket bestellt, wie die Zuschauer per Handzeichen deutlich machten. Aber keiner meinte, mitverantwortlich für den Preisdruck in der Paketbranche zu sein.
“Das ist ja völlig richtig. Wir leben in einer Marktwirtschaft, da werden die Preise verlangt, die vom Markt gebraucht werden”, sagte Gerster.
“Wenn nicht Mindestlohn bezahlt wird, ist das eine Art Notwehr?”, drängte Plasberg den Vorsitzenden.
“Der Mindestlohn ist eine Untergrenze. In Ballungsräumen zahlen wir wesentlich mehr”, gab Gerster zurück.
“Sie reden noch immer über Einzelfälle”
Hier schaltete sich wieder Moderator Könnes ein: “Das kann doch nicht sein, dass Journalisten Fälle aufdecken, wenn das in der Eigenverantwortung der Unternehmen liegt”, wetterte er. “Es müsste eine Behörde geben, die unabhängig ist und das überprüft.”
“Sie reden immer noch über ihre Einzelfälle”, widersprach ihm Gerster.
“Woher wissen Sie das?”, antwortete der Journalist.
“Sie können auch andere Franchise-Unternehmen untersuchen”, versuchte Gerster sich zu verteidigen.
“Das ist nicht meine Frage. Woher wissen Sie, dass das Einzelfälle sind?”, drängte Könnes den Vorsitzenden noch einmal zu einer Antwort.
Die lautete letztlich: “Weil ein Unternehmen nicht dauerhaft so wirtschaften kann.” Spätestens hier drehte sich die Sendung im Kreis. Denn Gerster war zu weiteren Zugeständnissen nicht bereit.
“Ich finde das eine ziemliche Zumutung”
“Ich finde das eine ziemliche Zumutung, was Sie hier sagen”, sagte dann Wirtschaftsethiker Bernhard Emunds zu dem Vorsitzenden des Paket-Bundesverbandes. “Das sind Ihre Unternehmen, die zu solchen günstigen Konditionen Paketdienste anbieten.”
Das würden die Subunternehmer wohl auch nicht ändern, wenn sie mehr Geld verlangen könnten. Denn dann würden sie weiter Menschen prekär beschäftigen – um ihre Gewinne zu steigern.
Der Wirtschaftsethiker nahm daher die Politik in die Pflicht, um Standards wie den Mindestlohn einzuhalten.
An diesem Punkt brachte sich der Wirtschaftswissenschaftler und Direktor des Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft, Michael Hüther, ein: “Wir haben hier einen Dienstleistungssektor, der sicher nicht dazu dient, Menschen Aufstiegschancen zu geben”.
“Menschen sind in einer Situation, dass sie diese Jobs annehmen müssen”, gab er zu. “Aber die eigentliche Frage, die wir uns stellen müssen, ist: Wie kriegen wir für Menschen mit einer schwierigen Ausgangssituation Aufstiegschancen?”
Hüther bekräftigte: Das sei die eigentliche gesellschaftliche Aufgabe.
➨ Mehr zum Thema: An alle, die ständig über uns Paketboten schimpfen: Das Problem seid ihr selbst
(jds)
www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/hart-aber-fair_de_5a2f001ce4b078950282f1bd
HRC Reiterates Opposition to Trump-Pence’s Anti-LGBTQ Nominee L. Steven Grasz
HRC Reiterates Opposition to Trump-Pence’s Anti-LGBTQ Nominee L. Steven Grasz
Last month, HRC opposed the nomination of L. Steven Grasz to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit based on his long public track record of opposing equality for LGBTQ people. With a procedural vote on his nomination scheduled for today, HRC is again calling on the U.S. Senate to reject this dangerous nominee.
“L. Steven Grasz stands out as a Trump-Pence judicial nominee with a poor record of promoting harmful anti-LGBTQ policies and rhetoric,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “If confirmed to a lifetime judicial appointment, Grasz’s extreme rhetoric and inability to be an impartial adjudicator would undermine our justice system and threaten thousands of LGBTQ people who look to our courts to affirm their civil rights. The Senate should reject this nominee and stop the Trump-Pence administration’s crusade to stack our courts with extreme anti-equality judges.”
L. Steven Grasz served on the board of a non-profit that backed the abusive practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ minors and was unwilling to clarify his own views during his confirmation hearing. Grasz said that language protecting people on the basis of “sexual orientation” opened the door for protections for pedophiles and argued Nebraska should not recognize marriage equality in other states. Grasz also opposed allowing same-sex parents to adopt. The American Bar Association has deemed Grasz unqualified to serve in the position Trump has nominated him for.
In less than one year, the Trump-Pence Administration has unleashed a torrent of attacks on the LGBTQ community and undermined the rights of millions of Americans. Through rollbacks, rescissions, and re-interpretations, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have systematically and meticulously eroded years of progress and protections. What’s more, Trump and Pence have appointed and nominated scores of extreme and unqualified anti-LGBTQ officials to crucial agencies and court benches — some of whom will serve lifetime appointments. Last month, HRC aimed a bright spotlight on five federal judicial nominees — Jeff Mateer, Damien Schiff, L. Steven Grasz, Mark Norris, and Stephen Schwartz. If confirmed by the Senate, the nominees could seriously threaten the future of LGBTQ equality in America.
Judge Won’t Stop Enlistment of Trans Troops
Judge Won’t Stop Enlistment of Trans Troops
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said no once again to the Trump administration’s increasingly desperate pleas to delay trans enlistment.
www.advocate.com/military/2017/12/11/judge-wont-stop-enlistment-trans-troops
Supreme Court turns its back on anti-gay discrimination case
Supreme Court turns its back on anti-gay discrimination case
Randy Rainbow Spars with Kellyanne Conway Over Roy Moore’s Molestation: ‘She Was 16 Going on 17’ – WATCH
Randy Rainbow Spars with Kellyanne Conway Over Roy Moore’s Molestation: ‘She Was 16 Going on 17’ – WATCH
Randy Rainbow riffs on The Sound of Music in his latest video after a thorough grilling of Kellyanne Conway, who defends accused Alabamian child molester Roy Moore, who may or may not be elevated by voters in the special Senate election tomorrow.
Watch:
The post Randy Rainbow Spars with Kellyanne Conway Over Roy Moore’s Molestation: ‘She Was 16 Going on 17’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Tory Brexiteer Lord Lawson Tells Theresa May To Get Off Her ‘Knees’ And Stop ‘Begging’ Brussels For A Good Deal
Tory Brexiteer Lord Lawson Tells Theresa May To Get Off Her ‘Knees’ And Stop ‘Begging’ Brussels For A Good Deal
Tory tensions over Brexit have boiled over in spectacular fashion after former Chancellor Nigel Lawson told Theresa May to get off her “knees” and stop “begging” Brussels for a good deal.
The Conservative peer declared that Margaret Thatcher would have been appalled that the UK was “in a humiliating state of cringe” towards the EU.
Just hours after May boasted in the Commons of her breakthrough in Brussels negotiations, Lord Lawson said she had “lost her nerve” in agreeing to pay £39bn in return for a future trade deal with the 27-nation bloc.
His withering remarks came as:
In the Commons, most leading Brexiteer MPs appeared to be reassured by May that she had not committed the Government to a ‘soft Brexit’.
Senior figures such as Iain Duncan Smith and John Redwood appeared relaxed despite the PM signing a provisional deal that could see the UK achieve “full alignment” with EU rules even after 2019.
But Lord Lawson, delivering the fourth annual Margaret Thatcher Lecture in London’s Carlton Club, was scathing about the Government’s stance.
“We find ourselves today quite unnecessarily as a supplicant, in a humiliating state of cringe, begging for what is both unnecessary and unattainable – a posture which would have been anathema to Margaret Thatcher,” he said.
“The time has come to call an end to this demeaning process. We must get up off our knees. Enough is enough.”
Lawson, who was Thatcher’s Chancellor and wants a ‘no deal Brexit’ to allow the UK maximum freedom to trade on World Trade Organisation rules, said that the late Prime Minister would have been “delighted” by the Brexit referendum result last year.
Yet he added that under Theresa May “we have now allowed ourselves to become bogged down in the fruitless quest for a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, wasting precious time and making concession after concession to try and achieve one”.
“It is fruitless essentially because the EU is determined that we should not get anything that can be presented as a good deal, as that might, either now or in the future, encourage other members to follow suit.
“The provisional agreement that Mrs May secured last Friday is just about acceptable so far as it goes. But let us be quite clear. The UK’s regulatory autonomy, post-Brexit, must be unfettered. It is an essential attribute of national sovereignty, which is what Brexit is all about.”
Lawson praised May’s Lancaster House speech earlier this year when she said ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’.
“Yet she appears to have lost her nerve, and – no doubt encouraged by the bureaucracy, who are horrified by the idea of Brexit – has allowed herself to be manoeuvred into imagining that no trade deal would be a disaster. This is manifest nonsense. It is also the cause of most of her current difficulties.”
For good measure, Lawson added a jibe about May’s plans to intervene in energy markets and business to correct ‘market failure’.
“Margaret Thatcher would have been appalled by the explicit rejection of Thatcherite economics to which the present Government appears committed,” he said.
And backbencher Philip Davies, who was highly critical of May at a private meeting last week of the ’92 Group’ of fellow Thatcherite MPs, ridiculed the PM to her face in the Commons
“The Prime Minister said that there has been give and take in these negotiations. Of course she is absolutely right: we are giving the EU tens of billions of pounds, and the EU is taking them.
“She said that the money will not be paid unless there is a final agreement. By definition, that must mean that we are not legally obliged to make these payments because otherwise that option would not be available to us.
“Will she explain why she is paying tens of billions of pounds that are not legally due to the European Union when she is continuing a policy of austerity at home? Many of my constituents simply do not understand where all this extra money is coming from.”
Earlier, May admitted for the first time that the Brexit ‘divorce bill’ would amount to £39bn in payments to the EU, but tried to calm her MPs by stressing that it was dependent on a future trade deal.
“If we don’t agree that partnership, then this offer is off the table,” she said during a 105-minute session.
For his part, Corbyn said the Government’s current date of March 29, 2019 was “unnecessary” because a fixed deadline restricted the UK’s freedom to negotiate.
Corbyn’s words, his strongest on the subject yet, follow his party’s increasing backing for a ‘soft Brexit’ that would keep much EU migration and close ties to the single market.
May delighted her Brexiteer ministers and MPs last month by committing to writing the exact ‘Exit Day’ into the EU (Withdrawal) Bill currently going through Parliament.
Britain is on course to leave the EU two years after the PM triggered the formal Article 50 process in March this year.
But speaking in the Commons during the Prime Minister’s statement on her ‘progress report’ on Brexit talks, Corbyn said her tight deadline gave Brussels all the power in the talks.
He urged May to “consider dropping the unnecessary exit date deadline of the 29 March, 2019 from the EU Withdrawal Bill”
“Because I’m sure, the whole House and probably the whole country would rather get the best possible deal a little bit later if that meant a better deal for people’s jobs and the economy.”
May hit back that Corbyn was now making clear that Labour could not be relied on to deliver Brexit in 2019.
“He started off by saying that he wanted to uphold the referendum and then later in his comments he said he didn’t want to accept the leave date of 29 March, 2019,” she said.
“We’re leaving the European Union on that date, that is what the British people voted for and that is what this government is going to out in place.”
Tory backbencher Peter Bone said: “We now know from the leader of the Opposition that Labour wants to stay in indefinitely.”
Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer signalled this weekend that he wanted “easy” migration with the EU even after the UK quits the 28-nation union.
And Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told a press conference on Monday that Labour wanted to be part of ‘a reformed single market’, rather than remain a full member of the EU tariff-free trade system.
“Remaining in the single market would not respect the referendum result. But we’ve been using the phraseology ‘a single market’, not ‘the single market’ and ‘a customs union’ and not ‘the customs union’.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lord-nigel-lawson-tells-theresa-may-uk-should-get-off-its-knees-and-stop-begging-brussels-for-a-brexit-trade-deal_uk_5a2ec1ede4b0ce3b34448512
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Georgia Lesbian’s Discrimination Case
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Georgia Lesbian’s Discrimination Case
The case of Jameka Evans would have given the high court the opportunity to decide if federal law already bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/12/11/supreme-court-wont-hear-georgia-lesbians-discrimination-case
