Tag: legislation

Railroads Have Invested Heavily in Congress. They Need Their Payoff in the Senate.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

A showdown over a looming railroad strike heads to the Senate floor this week, after a group of progressive Democrats, led by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., pushed to modify a tentative agreement to include seven days of sick leave. The expanded agreement passed the House 220-206 on Wednesday, and the fight now moves to the Senate, where it remains unclear if there is enough Republican support to overcome a filibuster and send the agreement to President Joe Biden’s desk.

Railroads Have Invested Heavily in Congress. They Need Their Payoff in the Senate.

Related:

Why America’s Railroads Refuse to Give Their Workers Paid Leave

The answer, in short, is “P.S.R.” — or precision-scheduled railroading

Biden calls on Congress to impose rail contract in a major assault on workers’ democratic rights

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

President Biden published a statement Monday night calling on Congress to intervene to block a national rail strike and impose a contract which tens of thousands of railroad workers voted down. A few hours later, outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House of Representatives would take up such a bill this week and send it to the Senate with the “hope that this necessary, strike-averting legislation will earn a strongly bipartisan vote…”

Biden calls on Congress to impose rail contract in a major assault on workers’ democratic rights

Before FTX collapse, founder poured millions into pandemic prevention

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Before FTX collapse, founder poured millions into pandemic prevention (archived)

The Bankman-Frieds’ family foundation in February also committed $5 million to ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization, to support reporting focused on pandemic preparedness and biosecurity, including one-third of the grant delivered upfront. The funding has subsidized several staff and articles — including a high-profile story with Vanity Fair about the possibility that covid leaked from a Chinese laboratory, which frustrated some of the Bankman-Frieds’ pandemic advisers who pointed to criticism of its translations of Mandarin Chinese. ProPublica was told last week that the remaining two-thirds of the grant is being paused, a spokesperson confirmed.

Source.
OpenSecrets.

What Is Behind Claim Joe Biden ‘Laundered’ Billions in Ukraine Aid via FTX?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

What Is Behind Claim Joe Biden ‘Laundered’ Billions in Ukraine Aid via FTX?

Multiple tweets, posted between November 12-15, 2022, claim that Ukraine sent billions of dollars sourced from foreign aid to FTX, which was then sent back to the Democratic party.

…

Caught in the tailwinds of the scandal, many onlookers have pointed out the links between FTX and U.S. political parties, particularly the Democrats.

Bankman-Fried’s personal contributions to the Democrats have been public knowledge for some time, and he was the subject of a Politico profile in August 2022 that described him as the “newest megadonor,” but he has also made contributions to Republicans.

He tweeted on November 5, 2022, that he was “a significant donor in both D and R primaries. Supporting constructive candidates across the aisle to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC. And working with them to support permissionless finance.”

“As part of this, @rsalame7926 [FTX Executive Ryan Salame] and I signed up campaigns to accept crypto; and gave some, including millions to Senate & House Republicans.”

…

Earlier this year, it was reported by The Intercept that FTX executive Ryan Salame started American Dream Federal Action, his own super PAC focused solely on electing Republicans, into which he invested millions of dollars.

Salame also contributed to the Republican Senate Leadership Fund and Congressional Leadership Fund. These donations were also reported, as per The Intercept article above, prior to the collapse of FTX.

The underlying implication among the claimants—that the Democratic Party was the sole beneficiary of donations stemming from FTX wealth—is provably false.

Related:

FTX’s SBF has made donations to Republican and Democrat parties

First, if there was any money laundering, both Democrats and Republicans were involved. Second, I don’t believe anything that Hal Turner says because he was an FBI Informant,

Europe’s Watergate? The Pegasus spyware scandal keeps spreading

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Revelations about alleged surveillance of journalists and politicians with spyware continue to surface in Europe, with four EU states accused of illegitimate snooping. Is it “Europe’s Watergate”?Would you like to browse the contents of a cellphone in the interest of national security? If you have millions of dollars and are a government agency, you could try approaching the NSO Group, an Israeli company that has sold its Pegasus spyware to scrupulous governments worldwide, and its products in 14 EU states, according to the European Parliament.

Europe’s Watergate? The Pegasus spyware scandal keeps spreading

Disinformation, Absolutely + Sharp wind from the Bundestag

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

By Patrick Lawrence / Original to ScheerPost

1. Everything you will read in this commentary is disinformation.

2. To say that this commentary contains disinformation is disinformation.

3. To say statements calling this commentary disinformation are disinformation is disinformation.

Disinformation, Absolutely

Related:

Sharp wind from the Bundestag

People who try to report on the war in Ukraine from the Russian side or who try to provide humanitarian aid to those in need in the new Russian territories are excluded from public discourse. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are becoming hollow concepts. In the future, anyone who says something that looks like a “playing down of Russian war crimes” can be punished for “incitement of the people” according to a legislative amendment passed by the Bundestag in summary proceedings on Thursday. By Ulrich Heyden.