Trump son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Met Executives of Sanctioned Russian Bank in December

Posted by Editor on in Executive Branch, Russia 0 Comment

“A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia’s incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a top White House adviser, in December. Kushner previously acknowledged meeting the Russian ambassador to Washington last December and only on Monday did it emerge that executives of Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) had talks with Kushner during a bank roadshow last year.”

Republicans and Donald Trump Kill Online Privacy Rules: Here’s What It Means for You

Posted by Editor on in Executive Branch, Legislature, Technology 0 Comment

“The bill cancels rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission last fall, which would have required Internet service providers to get permission from customers before sharing personal information they collect like web browsing histories and app usage. Now its ‘open season’ on your private Internet life.”

Blackwater Founder Held Secret Seychelles Meeting to Establish Trump-Putin Back Channel

Posted by Editor on in Russia 0 Comment

“The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince (brother of Betsy DeVos) and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.”

Trump Pulls Back Obama-Era Protections For Women Workers

Posted by Editor on in Executive Branch 0 Comment

“On March 27, Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order then-President Barack Obama put in place to ensure that companies with federal contracts comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws. The Fair Pay order was put in place after a 2010 Government Accountability Office investigation showed that companies with rampant violations were being awarded millions in federal contracts.In an attempt to keep the worst violators from receiving taxpayer dollars, the Fair Pay order included two rules that impacted women workers: paycheck transparency and a ban on forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims.”

Inside Alabama’s Auto Jobs Boom: Cheap Wages, Little Training, Crushed Limbs

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“Parts suppliers in the American South compete for low-margin orders against suppliers in Mexico and Asia. They promise delivery schedules they can’t possibly meet and face ruinous penalties if they fall short. Employees work ungodly hours, six or seven days a week, for months on end. Pay is low, turnover is high, training is scant, and safety is an afterthought, usually after someone is badly hurt. Many of the same woes that typify work conditions at contract manufacturers across Asia now bedevil parts plants in the South.”

Trump’s Industrial Rebirth Is a Dead End

Posted by Editor on in Executive Branch, Jobs 0 Comment

“President Donald Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, has vowed to restore U.S. manufacturing supremacy. This is no surprise — Trump’s election campaign emphasized the promise of a return to the industrial economy of the mid-20th century, before countries such as China supplanted the U.S. as the workshop of the world. But this push is unlikely to succeed. Changes in the U.S. industrial mix, and in technology itself, mean there’s no going back to the economy of yesteryear.”

Dark Web: Report from the Congressional Research Service, March 2017

Posted by Editor on in Technology 0 Comment

“The layers of the Internet go far beyond the surface content that many can easily access in their daily searches. The other content is that of the Deep Web, content that has not been indexed by traditional search engines such as Google. The furthest corners of the Deep Web, segments known as the Dark Web, contain content that has been intentionally concealed. The Dark Web may be used for legitimate purposes as well as to conceal criminal or otherwise malicious activities. It is the exploitation of the Dark Web for illegal practices that has garnered the interest of officials and policymakers.”

“They Don’t Give a Damn about Governing”: Conservative Media’s Influence on the Republican Party

Posted by Editor on in Executive Branch, Legislature 0 Comment

“Jackie Calmes traces the history of conservative media, from its founding after World War II to the present-day proliferation of talk radio and Internet personalities. She finds that beyond the big names and outlets such as Limbaugh and Fox, smaller local personalities also exert significant influence over listeners and politicians. This influence is troubling to leaders in the Republican Party, who Calmes interviewed extensively for the paper. She argues that today’s conservative media now shapes the agenda of the party, pushing it to the far right – at the expense of its ability to govern and pick presidential nominees.”