Yesterday, I got in touch with BlueHost (It requires both BlueHost and WordPress to run PoliticsPlus) The passwortd TC had given me had been reset, so I got directions on what to send to whom at BlueHost to get credentials of my own, amd sent it all off off. I may not need help from BLueHost to update the comment system, but eventuually I will need them, and I value their advice. So progress is being made (even if it looks a little like sausage is being made,) Thanks to everyone for your feedback. We will get where we are going – and we’re not suffering all that much in the interim, which is a great comfort. Oh, and I also took out trash and recyclables. What with the holiday I don’t even know for sure whether there will be pickup tomorrow, but I have no problem leaving the polycarts/ wheeliebins/whatever they are called out until the contents are collected.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
Law & Crime – Federal Jury Convicts Ghislaine Maxwell of Sex Trafficking and Enticing Minors for Jeffrey Epstein’s Abuse
Quote – After a whirlwind trial slated for six weeks wrapped up in half of that time, a federal jury on Wednesday found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking and conspiring to entice minors for years of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. Maxwell stood trial for six federal offenses for conduct spanning from 1994 to 2004, roughly breaking down into alleged violations of the Mann Act and a distinct federal anti-sex trafficking statute. She was convicted of five of them, adding up to the possibility of several decades imprisonment for Maxwell, who turned 60 years old on Christmas Day.
Click through for details. Is it just ne, or is it easier to get an convicion on a woman than it is on a man? (Not tht she isn’t guilty, but that there are so many men who are guilty and still at liberty.)
Reuters – Russia shuts Memorial Human Rights Centre in ‘one-two punch’
Quote – Russia’s Memorial Human Rights Centre was ordered to shut by a Moscow court on Wednesday, a day after its sister organisation – Russia’s oldest human rights group – was forced to close. The Human Rights Centre [kept] a running list of individuals it classifies as political prisoners, including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The list includes Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims convicted of terrorism that Memorial says were victims of “unproven charges based on fabricated evidence because of their religious affiliation”.
Click through for the story. Autocrats are not even pretending any more.
AP News – Judge refuses to dismiss alleged Proud Boys leaders’ charges
Quote – “Defendants are not, as they argue, charged with anything like burning flags, wearing black armbands, or participating in mere sit-ins or protests,” Kelly wrote in his 43-page ruling. “Moreover, even if the charged conduct had some expressive aspect, it lost whatever First Amendment protection it may have had.”
Click through for more. I don’t know anything about Judge Kelly (like, for instance, who appointed him), but he appears to understand the First Amendment very well.
Food For Thought:
