Politics Current Events March 13-16


Chained, detained for weeks and eventually deported, two German tourists trying to enter the United States were recently tangled in a system responding to President Trump’s push to sharply restrict entry and deport people en masse.

The cases of Jessica Brösche, held for 46 days, and Lucas Sielaff, held for 16, and accounts of their rough handling by immigration officers, have grabbed headlines in Germany as a sign of what being caught on the wrong side of the White House’s immigration policy could mean for European travelers.

Tourists from most European countries, including Germany, generally enjoy visa-free travel to the United States for up to 90 days. But Mr. Sielaff and Ms. Brösche were stopped, separately, at the San Ysidro border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, told that they were being denied entry and sent to a crowded detention center, according to their own accounts and those of their friends.

Mr. Sielaff said he was denied a translator and had trouble understanding what was happening to him. Ms. Brösche’s friends said she was kept in solitary confinement for nine days. By their accounts, both were flown back to Germany without a clear understanding of why they were detained in the first place.

“Sometimes I just wake up because I have nightmares of this situation and what happened,” Mr. Sielaff, 25, said in an interview. “And I just try to go for walks and calm down.”

The family of a tourist from Britain, Becky Burke, 28, says she has been held for more than two weeks in Washington State, similarly caught up in the system but unsure why.
 
Like in America, the left wing party didn't instantly and magically fix all the stuff that the conservative party fucked up over a long period of time, so voters are now lurching to the far right. Ugh that last quote I pasted - though it is refreshing to hear someone nearly say "I don't want brown people to have equal treatment".


Although a date has yet to be set for the vote, on Thursday evening Labour selected Karen Shore, a teacher and local councillor, to be its candidate. A source from Reform, Labour’s main challenger, said its candidate would be announced early next week.

In July last year, Labour easily won the seat, securing more than 50% of the vote, but now things are looking more difficult for the party. Depending on which poll you choose to rely on, Labour will either just hang on to the seat or lose to Reform.

...

“That’s one of the things that hasn’t put me off,” Helen, a 32-year-old business owner, said, adding she will vote Reform because: “I’m convinced taxes are going up because [the government] is spending too much on other people.”
 
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Apparently Bezos capitulating in advance is really working out well...


The Federal Trade Commission said it will meet the deadlines for its Amazon Prime deceptive practices case, hours after requesting a delay due to resource constraints.

An attorney for the federal agency made the about face Wednesday afternoon, saying he “was wrong.”




“The commission does not have resource constraints and we are fully prepared to litigate this case,” Jonathan Cohen, an attorney for the FTC, wrote in a letter. “Please be assured that the FTC will meet whatever schedule and deadlines the court sets.”

The FTC’s unusual reversal comes amid a push by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to reduce spending. DOGE, which is led by tech baron Elon Musk, has slashed the federal government’s workforce by more than 62,000 workers in February alone.
 

Trump Escalates Fight With Big Law Firms, Targeting Paul Weiss​

Executive order comes days after judge said such retaliation was likely unconstitutional​


GIFT LINK 🎁 —> https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy...44?st=parvLi&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

“… Paul Weiss is the third major law firm to face censure by the Trump administration in recent weeks. The 1,200-lawyer firm, which regularly advises on some of the biggest deals on Wall Street, is the president’s most high-profile target yet. It played a prominent role in challenging Trump’s policies during his first administration but had stayed out of the fray this time around.

…The president ordered his administration to strip Paul Weiss employees of any government security clearances, limit the firm’s access to federal buildings, and take steps to rescind government contracts from the firm and its clients.

Trump’s order ratcheted up his criticisms of global law firms, saying they have “played an outsized role in undermining the judicial process and in the destruction of bedrock American principles.” He pointed in particular to the work such firms provide without charge, which he said gives some Americans preferential access to the country’s top legal talent that they couldn’t otherwise afford.

The executive order cited Paul Weiss’s pro bono work on a lawsuit brought by the D.C. attorney general’s office against individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The order also cites the firm’s association with Mark Pomerantz, who worked at Paul Weiss for two decades, and then worked on an investigation at the Manhattan district attorney’s office into Trump and his business. The order also strips Pomerantz of any of his security clearances. …”
 

International Game Developers Cancel GDC Plans As US Government Snatches A Pro-Palestine Student, Threatens Canada​

"It seems insane to travel to a country that has all but declared you its enemy"

The annual Game Developers Conference takes place next week in San Francisco, and while the event has received ample criticism for prohibitively high prices and other accessibility issues over the years, it remains an important event for developers from all over the world to gather, network, and share knowledge. But as of the past few weeks, some developers are canceling their plans to attend.

"I had flight tickets, hotel, and pass all lined up and decided to cancel last week due to the possibility of being turned around at the border for being trans – which according to a recent memo can be considered fraud," Lóa Gunnars, an independent game designer and educator based out of Reykjavík, Iceland told Aftermath. "I’ve been planning [to attend GDC] for about four months, and [it] would have been my 10th year there. ... GDC is incredibly valuable to me. I studied game design [at] NYU, and GDC is my main way of staying connected to the North American game industry, a place where I meet old friends and make new connections."
 


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“… Davis’ fervent opposition to Israel’s war—rooted in the non-interventionist tradition of the far right—was too much to bear for senators and Trump administration officials. He became a victim of the never-ending campaign mounted by pro-Israel hawks to keep such critical voices far from positions of power.

But the focus on Davis’ stance on Israel distracted from a truly scandalous aspect of this near-appointment: By picking Davis, a former Army lieutenant colonel with no intelligence community experience, Gabbard sought to hire for this important and highly sensitive position a prolific disseminator of pro-Russia messaging, who himself has been embraced by state-controlled Russian media outlets for the positions he espouses and platforms. Yet Davis’ extensive amplification of pro-Putin talking points received little, if any, attention in the media coverage of this hullabaloo. …”
 

International Game Developers Cancel GDC Plans As US Government Snatches A Pro-Palestine Student, Threatens Canada​

"It seems insane to travel to a country that has all but declared you its enemy"

The annual Game Developers Conference takes place next week in San Francisco, and while the event has received ample criticism for prohibitively high prices and other accessibility issues over the years, it remains an important event for developers from all over the world to gather, network, and share knowledge. But as of the past few weeks, some developers are canceling their plans to attend.

"I had flight tickets, hotel, and pass all lined up and decided to cancel last week due to the possibility of being turned around at the border for being trans – which according to a recent memo can be considered fraud," Lóa Gunnars, an independent game designer and educator based out of Reykjavík, Iceland told Aftermath. "I’ve been planning [to attend GDC] for about four months, and [it] would have been my 10th year there. ... GDC is incredibly valuable to me. I studied game design [at] NYU, and GDC is my main way of staying connected to the North American game industry, a place where I meet old friends and make new connections."
Lots of people don't understand how many computer games are made abroad. Let's go through a sample list of very popular titles:

Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Warcraft, Diablo: Canadian company
The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077: Polish
Divinity I, Divinity II, Baldur's Gate (all popular titles that get raves from critics): Belgian.

In many cases, these games have to be translated into English (and English comprehensible to Americans). There's no law saying that they have to continue doing so. Chew on that, young MAGA men.
 
U.S. launches multiple strikes against Houthi targets as Trump says attacks on American vessels "must stop"


#FAFO
Hopefully it has some impact slowing attacks on US naval vessels and commercial vessels, but to be clear America has launched many attacks on Houthi targets (the last such attack by the U.S. was three months ago (just before Trump took office, the and one of many such major(ish) strike in the prior 18 months at the time).

For example, January 2024: WATCH: Biden says U.S. strikes in Yemen aren't stopping Houthi attacks, but strikes will continue
 
Hopefully it has some impact slowing attacks on US naval vessels and commercial vessels, but to be clear America has launched many attacks on Houthi targets (the last such attack by the U.S. was three months ago (just before Trump took office, the and one of many such major(ish) strike in the prior 18 months at the time).

For example, January 2024: WATCH: Biden says U.S. strikes in Yemen aren't stopping Houthi attacks, but strikes will continue
December 2024:

 
Lots of people don't understand how many computer games are made abroad. Let's go through a sample list of very popular titles:

Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Warcraft, Diablo: Canadian company
The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077: Polish
Divinity I, Divinity II, Baldur's Gate (all popular titles that get raves from critics): Belgian.

In many cases, these games have to be translated into English (and English comprehensible to Americans). There's no law saying that they have to continue doing so. Chew on that, young MAGA men.
Japan: Final Fantasy, Elden Ring (all soulslike games), Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, etc etc etc

The knock-on effects will continue until morale improves.
 
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