OCTOBER
16 AND 17, 2019
NEWS
AND VIEWS
ONE
MORE DOMINO IS FALLING.
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/15/trump-tax-returns-047655
LEGAL
Prosecutors
flag that DOJ is not in sync with Trump on tax returns claim
Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. highlighted the disagreement in a legal
brief.
By
JOSH GERSTEIN
10/15/2019
07:18 PM EDT
PHOTOGRAPH
-- President Donald Trump. | Win McNamee/Getty Images
New
York prosecutors pressing for access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns
are drawing attention to the Justice Department’s refusal to back up a claim by
Trump’s personal attorneys that he is immune from the state-run criminal
justice process.
Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. highlighted the disagreement Tuesday in a
brief filed with a federal appeals court considering a suit Trump filed to
block a grand jury subpoena issued to one of his accounting firms, Mazars USA.
“Given
the DOJ’s own recent investigations, prosecutions, and convictions involving
Appellant and his affiliates, including the prosecution of Michael Cohen, in
which Appellant was referenced as an unindicted co-conspirator, the DOJ cannot
(and does not) join in Appellant’s claim to an absolute immunity,” Vance and
his colleagues wrote in a submission to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Appellant’s aggressive immunity claim here is particularly hollow in view of
his failure to raise it in these recent investigations and prosecutions.”
The
Justice Department brief filed in the case last week said the effort to use a
criminal subpoena to obtain Trump’s tax returns raised “significant
constitutional questions” and should be put on hold so its effects could be
reconsidered by a federal district judge.
But
Justice officials did not go as far as Trump lawyers, who argued a sitting
president is off-limits to state prosecutors.
Vance’s
team also scoffed at arguments from Trump and the Justice Department that
impeachment is the mechanism the Constitution prescribes for misconduct by a
president. The prosecutors noted Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a
letter to Congress last week defying its demands for information in an
impeachment inquiry.
“The
reality is that Appellant has refused to participate in the very impeachment
process that he presents here as the bulwark against placing a president above
the law. … His core position on every one of these matters is that the United
States Presidency places him beyond the reach of the law,” Vance’s office
wrote.
Prosecutors
also emphasized their argument that allowing Trump to fend off the subpoena
would threaten investigations of other individuals who could be charged,
regardless of whatever legal protections a president may claim.
Vance’s
office has said it is investigating various matters relating to the Trump
Organization, including how the business recorded hush money payments to two
women who claimed sexual encounters with Trump, Stephanie Clifford, whose adult
film name is Stormy Daniels, and Karen McDougal.
Cohen,
Trump’s former attorney, has pleaded guilty in federal court to arranging those
payments as part of an effort to get elected Trump to the presidency in 2016.
Court documents filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan alluded to Trump as a
co-conspirator in that case, but he has not been charged. Justice Department
policy bars charging a sitting president with a crime.
A
three-judge panel of 2nd Circuit judges is scheduled to hear arguments on
Trump’s appeal next week.
The
dispute involving the Manhattan district attorney is one of at least four
ongoing court cases involving efforts to obtain Trump’s financial records.
Last
week, Trump lost the first of those cases to reach a federal appeals court. A
panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit ruled 2-1 against his attempt to block a subpoena from the House
Oversight and Reform Committee.
Trump’s
attorneys have indicated they plan to go to the Supreme Court if lower courts
don’t back his demands to quash the subpoenas.
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Republicans
drop their revolt against Trump on Syria
NASA
paid SpaceX for safety review after Musk smoked pot
FILED
UNDER: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP 2020,
LOOK
UP JAMES FETZER ON GOOGLE AND READ HIS PERSONAL SITE. IN MY VIEW, HE’S A TRUE
SLEAZE. HE MAKES HIS LIVING ON FAKE NEWS AND “INFORMATION.” THIS STORY
RECOUNTED IN HIS BOOK, NOBODY DIED AT SANDY HOOK, ABOUT THERE REALLY BEING NO
SUCH SHOOTING AS THE ONE AT SANDY HOOK, AND THAT THE TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN AND GRIEVING
FAMILIES WERE HIRED TO PRETEND FOR THE PRESS TO BE TERROR-STRICKEN OR IN
MOURNING. IT IS SIMPLY TOO RIDICULOUS TO IMAGINE. IT’S LIKE THAT CLAIM THAT THE
MOON WALK OF THE 1970S DIDN’T REALLY HAPPEN, BUT WAS FILMED INSTEAD ON A MOVIE
SET. WELL, THIS JUDGE AND JURY IN THE ARTICLE BELOW ARE HITTING HIM IN THE
POCKETBOOK. WE NEED FOR SLANDER AND LIBEL TO BE MADE CRIMINAL CHARGES. IF THEY
WERE, A SIZEABLE SLICE OF AMERICAN CORRUPTION WOULD STOP BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE
A REAL PENALTY, IF PENALTIES WERE REALLY EXECUTED THAT IS.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandy-hook-defamation-case-conspiracy-theorist-must-pay-father-victim-noah-pozner-450000-wisconsin-jury-says/
"Nobody
Died at Sandy Hook" author must pay victim's dad $450,000, jury says
OCTOBER
16, 2019 / 9:49 AM / CBS/AP
A
jury in Wisconsin has awarded $450,000 to the father of a boy killed in the
2012 Sandy Hook school shooting after he filed a defamation lawsuit against
conspiracy theorist writers who claimed the massacre never happened. A Dane
County jury on Tuesday decided the amount James Fetzer must pay Leonard Pozner,
whose 6-year-old son Noah was among the 26 victims at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.
Fetzer,
a retired University of Minnesota Duluth professor now living in Wisconsin, and
Mike Palacek co-wrote a book, "Nobody Died at Sandy Hook" in which
they claimed the Sandy Hook shooting never took place but was instead an event
staged by the federal government as part of an Obama administration effort to enact
tighter gun restrictions. A judge earlier ruled Pozner was defamed by
statements in the book that claimed he fabricated copies of his son's death
certificate.
Fetzer
called the damages amount "absurd" and said he would appeal.
Palacek
reached a settlement with Pozner last month, terms of which were not disclosed.
"It
causes people to believe that I lied about my son's death, that my son didn't
die and that I'm somehow doing that for some other reasons," Pozner said,
CBS affiliate WISC-TV reported.
"Mr.
Fetzer has the right to believe that Sandy Hook never happened," he said.
"He has the right to express his ignorance. This award, however, further
illustrates the difference between the right of people like Mr. Fetzer to be
wrong and the right of victims like myself and my child to be free from
defamation, free from harassment and free from the intentional infliction of
terror."
Pozner
testified during the trial that he's been repeatedly harassed by people who
don't believe the Sandy Hook shooting occurred, including through messages
posted to photos of his son on a memorial website. He said Fetzer's writing
caused him to worry about his safety and his family's safety and how his
surviving children could be treated. One of his two daughters is Noah's twin.
Earlier
this year the publisher of the book apologized to Pozner.
First
published on October 16, 2019 / 9:49 AM
©
2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed
to this report.
ON
ONE LEVEL THIS IS MAINLY A HUMAN TRAGEDY, BUT IT IS ALSO LIKELY TO BECOME
ANOTHER TRUMPIAN SCANDAL, BECAUSE HE HAS SEEMINGLY MADE AN ATTEMPT TO INTERVENE
IN A LAWSUIT AIMED AT AN AMERICAN WITH DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY. WE’LL SEE. I WILL
SAY, THOUGH, THAT ALWAYS BEING CONSCIOUS ENOUGH OF THE NEED TO DRIVE ON THE
LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD IS NOT SECOND NATURE. IF, IN ADDITION TO THAT, SHE WAS
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A DRUG OF SOME KIND, OR JUST OVERLY TIRED, THOSE COULD
CAUSE A LAPSE LIKE THIS. TWO ARTICLES ARE BELOW ON THE CASE.
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/16/trump-british-teen-killed-048391
WHITE
HOUSE
Parents
of killed British teen accuse White House of ambushing them with accused killer
"It
struck us that this meeting was hastily arranged by nincompoops on the
run," a spokesman for the family said.
Donald
Trump
By
CAITLIN OPRYSKO
10/16/2019
11:19 AM EDT
Updated:
10/16/2019 12:12 PM EDT
PHOTOGRAPH
-- Family spokesman Radd Seiger speaks on behalf of the parents of Harry Dunn,
19, who was killed after a U.S. official's wife struck him with her car. |
Peter Summers/Getty Images
The
parents of a British teenager allegedly killed in a motorcycle accident by the
American wife of a U.S. official are accusing the White House of trying to
ambush them with a forced meeting with the woman in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Harry
Dunn, 19, was riding his motorcycle when police say Anne Sacoolas, the wife of
a U.S. official stationed nearby, struck him in her car while driving on the
wrong side of the road back in August. Sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity and
left the country shortly after. Dunn’s parents, as well as the British
government, have embarked on a public pressure campaign, lobbying President
Donald Trump to waive Sacoolas’ immunity and allow her to face charges in the
U.K.
Charlotte
Charles and Tim Dunn, Harry Dunn’s parents, have been in the U.S. over the past
few days, which is when a spokesman for the family says they received a sudden
invitation to meet with Trump at the White House.
But
in a statement on a crowdfunding page for Harry’s cause, spokesman Radd Seiger
castigated the White House for attempting to spring a surprise meeting between
the Dunns and Sacoolas in front of the press.
“The
family had four surprises yesterday,” Seiger said in the statement, calling the
initial invitation to the White House “out of the blue” and adding that the
family had no idea Trump would meet with them personally. But, he continued,
they were unaware that Sacoolas would even be in the building.
“It
was the President’s intention for Harry’s family to meet Mrs Sacoolas in the
Oval Office in front of several photographers in what [was] obviously designed
to be a press call,” Seiger said.
The
Dunns declined the meeting with Sacoolas. Seiger went on to reiterate that
while the Dunn family wished to see a political and diplomatic solution to
their dispute, “and need one to happen quickly for the sake of their health,”
they hope to meet with Sacoolas “one day in the future but in a neutral and
appropriately controlled environment.”
In
an interview on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday, the Dunns admitted to feeling
“a bit [of] pressure” from Trump, noting that "he did ask two or three
times” but “we stuck to our guns."
Seiger
ripped the White House — singling out new national security adviser Robert
O’Brien in particular — for the ham-fisted attempt at mediation.
“It
struck us that this meeting was hastily arranged by nincompoops on the run and
in particular Mr O’Brien who appeared to be extremely uptight and aggressive
and did not come across at all well in this meeting which required careful
handling and sensitivity,” he said.
While
the Dunns said that they were shocked at the offer, they also expressed
compassion for how Sacoolas was handling the situation.
"To
be thrown into a room together with no prior warning, that's not good for her
mental health, it's certainly not good for ours. You know, none of us know how
we were going to react to have that sprung on us," Charlotte Charles said.
Seiger
did praise Trump’s attention to the issue, saying that Trump offered his
condolences to the Dunns, and that they were “warmly received.” And he added
that it appeared Charlotte Dunn’s emotional appeal had prompted Trump to reconsider
his approach to solving their “nightmare scenario.”
On
CBS, Charlotte Charles detailed her interaction with the president.
“At
the end of the meeting, we all shook hands, and I ended up at the back of our
little family queue and President Trump actually grabbed hold of my hand. So I
squeezed it tight, and I just said to him, 'Please, you know, just do the right
thing. You know, if you had a son, you'd be doing the same. You've said that,'”
she said. Trump responded in the affirmative, telling her “I absolutely would,”
she added.
Trump
has publicly remained ambivalent on the situation. Last week, he said he was
“trying to work something out” regarding Sacoolas, and he’s personally been
lobbied by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the issue. At a White
House event last week the president told reporters he was confident both sides
could reach a solution.
Still,
he called the case “complex” and told reporters that he hated the conundrum. He
added that he would speak to Sacoolas herself and “see what we can come up with
so that there can be some healing. There’s tremendous anger over it. It’s a
terrible incident. There’s tremendous anger, and I understand the anger from
the other side very much.”
Speaking
to reporters Wednesday, Trump did not comment on the Dunns' reaction to the
meeting, but described it as "beautiful in a certain way."
The
president appeared to suggest that his British counterpart asked him to set the
meeting up, but Trump said that when he offered to bring Sacoolas into the
room, "They weren't ready for it."
"They
did not want to meet with the person in question, but we had a very good
meeting," he said, adding that "it was very sad, to be honest. They
lost their son."
At
the same time, as he has before when discussing the Dunns' case, Trump appeared
to deflect some blame from Sacoolas, arguing that Americans driving in Europe
are prone to confusion over reversed traffic lanes.
"You
go to Europe and the roads are opposite. It's very tough if you are from the
United States," he said. "The roads are opposite. She said that's
what happened. It happens to a lot of people, by the way."
Asked
whether he'd known if the Dunns had expressed interest in meeting Sacoolas,
Trump replied that he'd guessed so. "I thought they were, based on what I
saw they wanted to meet. but now they say only want to meet if they were in the
U.K.," he said.
An
attorney for Sacoolas told CBS News her client, too, was unaware she would
potentially be meeting the Dunns when she was invited to the White House on
Tuesday.
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flag that DOJ is not in sync with Trump on tax returns claim
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Republicans
drop their revolt against Trump on Syria
NASA
paid SpaceX for safety review after Musk smoked pot
FILED
UNDER: DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP 2020
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/anne-sacoolas-had-no-time-to-react-in-harry-dunn-crash-a4261571.html
News
› UK
Harry
Dunn crash death: US diplomat's wife Anne Sacoolas breaks silence as she
'admits driving on wrong side of the road'
BONNIE
CHRISTIAN
1
day ago [OCTOBER 15, 2019]
3
comments
The
US diplomat’s wife suspected of being involved in a hit-and-run crash that
killed Harry Dunn has admitted to driving on the wrong side of the road at the
time.
In
a statement from her lawyers, seen by the Daily Mail, Anne Sacoolas has said
she had “no time to react” after the teenager came towards her on his motorbike
over a hill.
The
42-year-old said she was “terribly, terribly sorry for that tragic mistake”.
It
comes as the lawyers of Harry’s family are set to launch a judicial review into
the Foreign Office’s advice to grant diplomatic immunity to Ms Sacoolas.
dunn-1510.jpg
Charlotte
Charles, the mother of British teen Harry Dunn who was killed in a car crash on
his motorcycle (REUTERS)
Ms
Sacoolas left the UK just days after the collision near RAF Croughton in
Northamptonshire that left the 19-year-old dead on August 27.
In
her first account of what happened, she said she spoke to Mr Dunn at the scene
before waiting to comfort her own children who were in her car.
A
spokesman from her law firm Arnold & Porter said: “Anne was driving on the
wrong side of the road and had no time to react when she saw the motorbike –
the crash happened too fast.
“Anne
stayed on the scene of the accident to assist. She spoke to Harry Dunn to tell
him that she would call for help. She waved down another car.
PHOTOGRAPH
-- harrydunntributes0810.jpg
Tributes:
flowers left at the scene of the crash (Getty Images)
“That
driver pulled over and offered to assist Harry so that Anne could comfort her
young children, who had been in her car and were on the scene.'
The
spokesman added that Ministry of Defence police arrived shortly after the crash
but it took a “long time” for the ambulance to arrive.
Harry’s
mother, Charlotte Charles, and the teenager's father, Tim Dunn, said they felt
let down by the decision to allow Ms Sacoolas - to flee after the collision
outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
The
family's spokesman Radd Seiger said their lawyers, Mark Stephens and Geoffrey
Robertson QC, are now prepared to launch a full investigation into the FCO over
their involvement in the decision to grant immunity to Mrs Sacoolas.
Harry-Dunn.jpg
Mr
Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles said: "Everyone loved him" (PA)
Mr
Seiger said: "What Mark and I are going to do, is we are going to write to
the FCO very shortly, explaining that we don't want to do a judicial review,
but to avoid that please let us have the following documents - all e-mails,
messages, notes in relation to your advice to Northamptonshire Police that this
lady had it (diplomatic immunity).
"What
we don't know is whether somebody cocked up or whether they were put under
pressure by the Americans to concede.
"We
want to conduct an investigation into the FCO's decision to advise
Northamptonshire Police that this lady had the benefit of diplomatic immunity.
"If
we're not satisfied, then we'll go to a judicial review and ask a High Court
judge to review it all."
The
family are raising money for their case.
The
Standard has contacted Ms Sacoolas's lawyers for comment.
New:
Daily podcast from the Evening Standard
Listen
and subscribe to The Leader on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your chosen
podcast provider. New episodes every weekday from 4pm.
More
about: | Harry Dunn | Anne Sacoolas | Charlotte Carter
DEMONSTRATIONS
IN LONDON OVER THE CLIMATE CRISIS – GO TO WEBSITE TO READ ABOUT IT.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/extinction-rebellion-protests-activists-to-gather-in-trafalgar-square-despite-met-police-crack-down-a4262671.html#spark_wn=1
News
› London
Extinction
Rebellion London protests LIVE: Hundreds risk arrest as they descend on
Trafalgar Square in defiance of police orders
JACOB
JARVIS
38
minutes ago [OCTOBER 16, 2019]
3
comments
THE
FOLLOWING SERIES OF ARTICLES ON CLIMATE-BASED REBELLION IN THE UK, EXTINCTION
REBELLION 'AUTUMN UPRISING DOES REMIND ME OF AMERICA DURING THE VIETNAM WAR,
WOMEN’S MOVEMENT AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEMONSTRATIONS. LOOK AT THESE SUCCEEDING
NEWS HEADLINES AND THE TIMES THAT THEY EMERGED:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/15/extinction-rebellion-protesters-arrested-police-crack-london/,
'Time to get London moving again': Police finally get tough on Extinction
Rebellion as protests are banned, ONE DAY AGO.
https://www.1843magazine.com/1843/how-to-feed-a-protest-movement-cooking-with-extinction-rebellion,
How to feed a protest movement: cooking with Extinction Rebellion, A peek
inside the "Rebel Kitchen,"TEN HOURS AGO.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/london-police-under-fire-after-banning-extinction-rebellion-climate-protests-n1067251,
London police under fire after banning Extinction Rebellion climate protests,
The protesters have launched legal action against a ban spanning the entirety
of London, 7 HOURS AGO.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/london-police-under-fire-after-banning-extinction-rebellion-climate-protests-n1067251,
London
London
police under fire after banning Extinction Rebellion climate protests
The
protesters have launched legal action against a ban spanning the entirety of
London.
Oct.
16, 2019, 10:56 AM EDT
By
Linda Givetash
PHOTOGRAPH
-- Protesters hold a banner outside the BlackRock office during an Extinction
Rebellion demonstration in the City of London, Britain Oct. 14, 2019.Henry
Nicholls / Reuters
LONDON
— Police are facing a dilemma of whether to arrest protesters defying a
sweeping ban against climate change demonstrations in London on Wednesday that
experts say will likely crumble when appealed.
The
ban issued by London’s Metropolitan Police on Monday in response to more than a
week of peaceful but disruptive protests by the Extinction Rebellion movement
has been condemned by activists, lawyers and lawmakers for violating people’s
freedom to assemble.
"It’s
ridiculous as a response to peaceful protests," said Jolyon Maugham, a
barrister at the London firm Devereux Chambers. "I haven’t spoken to a
lawyer who believes this ban is lawful."
Extinction
Rebellion, also known as XR, is an environmental movement founded in the U.K.
which aims to use civil disobedience to force governments to take action on
climate change. Its so-called global Autumn Uprising kicked off on Oct. 7 with
demonstrators painting streets with fake blood, gluing themselves to streets
and bridges and blocking entrances of government, media and financial
institutions from Brussels to New York City.
VIDEO
WATCH:
Climate change activists left with red faces after paint stunt goes wrong
OCT.
3, 201900:48
By
Monday, more than 1,400 arrests had been made in London, police said in a
statement as they issued a ban under the U.K.'s Public Order Act. Specifically,
the ban outlaws "any assembly linked to the Extinction Rebellion 'Autumn
Uprising'" within the Greater London area for the remainder of the week.
By
Wednesday, as protests continued despite the ban, the number of arrests had
climbed to more than 1,600. Extinction Rebellion held a demonstration in
London's Trafalgar Square Wednesday.
Maugham
told NBC News that while the act is used regularly in response to protests, it
usually only applies to a small area or specific elements of a demonstration —
not to the entire city or a protest movement.
Amnesty
International was among the groups to denounce the ban, with its U.K. head of
advocacy Allan Hogarth stating: "Removing and prosecuting activists for
engaging in non-violent direct action to raise their voice is deeply worrying.
Overly harsh and disproportionate charges will have a chilling effect on
rights."
Even
the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said on Twitter that he "asked senior
officers to find a way for those who want to protest the climate emergency we
face to be able to do so legally."
Image:
Protesters hold a banner as they block the road during an Extinction Rebellion
demonstration at in central London on Monday.Henry Nicholls / Reuters
Police
defended the decision in a public statement on Tuesday.
"The
decision to impose further conditions was made in order to help us get London
moving again," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor,
clarifying that not all protests are banned nor are the general activities of
Extinction Rebellion as a group but only the Autumn Uprising.
The
group has also launched legal action to have the ban repealed. Tobias Garnett,
a human rights lawyer working with the movement, told NBC News that an
application for a judicial review of the ban was filed in a London high court
on Wednesday and they are now waiting to be heard.
"We
want the government and police, rather than focus energies on silencing
protesters, to tell the truth and act now on the ecological emergency that we
face," he said.
The
saga puts police officers in a tough position, Maugham said, because it's
likely the protesters will be successful in their legal case, making police
susceptible to later face civil cases for wrongful imprisonment.
More
concerning is the perception that the police's tough stance is the result of
political pressure from the central government, Maugham said. "I think
this response signals that that government will not listen to those alarmed
about climate change ... but instead, it is trying to muzzle protesters."
Last
week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called protesters "uncooperative
crusties" who should abandon their "hemp-smelling" camps in
central London and stop blocking the streets.
Britain's
Home Office told NBC News in a statement that while the government works
closely with law enforcement, specific responses to protests are
"operational decisions [that] are a matter for the police."
The
Home Office upheld the right to protest as "a vital foundation of our
democracy," but added, "it is also essential that people can go about
their daily business without disruption."
Author
and activist Naomi Klein also shared support for the protesters' tactics on Sky
News on Wednesday, saying the consequences of climate change, from extreme
wildfires to hurricanes, are also "really, really inconvenient."
"So
if people have to deal with this inconvenience of some protests in London to
get the attention of politicians ... then so be it because this is a planetary
emergency."
Linda
Givetash
Linda
Givetash is a reporter based in London. She previously worked for The Canadian
Press in Vancouver and Nation Media in Uganda.
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WORLD
Does
diplomatic immunity apply for American diplomat's wife in fatal crash?
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/16/weather/noreaster-bomb-cyclone-new-york-boston/index.html
A
Northeast storm will intensify into a bomb cyclone, forecasters say
Jennifer
Gray
By
Jennifer Gray, CNN
Updated
11:44 AM ET, Wed October 16, 2019
CNN)
A potential bomb cyclone is quickly taking shape along the eastern seaboard and
is getting ready to wallop the Northeast. The storm is expected to begin
rapidly intensifying later Wednesday morning.
The
pressure of the system could drop more than 30 millibars in 24 hours -- making
this a bomb cyclone, the National Weather Service in Boston said Wednesday.
Track
the bomb cyclone with the CNN storm tracker
"The
system will have the equivalent low pressure of a Category 1 hurricane,"
said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
Generally,
a bomb cyclone is defined by a pressure drop of 24 millibars (a unit of
pressure) within 24 hours.
It's
not a classic nor'easter but the strong winds will last for days
Although
it is not likely the storm will meet the criterion of a classic nor'easter, it
will be just as strong as the storm that impacted the mid-Atlantic and
Northeast last week, if not a little stronger.
Models
are showing it will likely stay more onshore compared to the coastal storm last
Friday.
Winds
could reach tropical-storm force (39 mph+) with even higher gusts by Wednesday
and Thursday for places such as New York City, Boston and Portland, Maine.
Get
the latest forecast and weather stories
Some
areas could top out with winds reaching more than 60 mph. With a majority of
trees still holding on to most of their leaves, these winds could have an
easier time bringing down trees and power lines, potentially cutting power to
thousands of people.
Expect
numerous flight delays and cancellations in New England Thursday and Friday, as
the strong winds hold on until Friday evening before diminishing.
Torrential
rainfall could lead to urban flooding in some areas
Many
locations in the Northeast will receive 2-4 inches of rain, with isolated areas
receiving up to 6 inches. The rain will taper off throughout the day on
Thursday, then completely lift out of northern New England by Friday.
The
storm will not be a major snow-maker for most of the region, except for a small
portion of upstate New York.
This
is the second coastal storm to impact New England in a week. Last week's storm
sat off the coast of the mid-Atlantic, churning up seas and bringing a strong
onshore wind that shredded beaches up and down the East Coast. It caused costly
damage along the coast due to beach erosion and coastal flooding.
BOMB
CYCLONES (EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive_cyclogenesis
This
article is about explosive intensification of extratropical cyclones. For
explosive intensification of tropical cyclones, see Rapid intensification.
Explosive
cyclogenesis (also referred to as a weather bomb,[1][2][3] meteorological
bomb,[4] explosive development,[1] bomb cyclone[5][6] or bombogenesis[7][8][9])
is the rapid deepening of an extratropical cyclonic low-pressure area. The
change in pressure needed to classify something as explosive cyclogenesis is
latitude dependent. For example, at 60° latitude, explosive cyclogenesis occurs
if the central pressure decreases by 24 mbar (hPa) or more in 24 hours.[10][11]
This is a predominantly maritime, winter event,[10] but also occurs in
continental settings,[12][13] even in the summer.[14][failed verification] This
process is the extratropical equivalent of the tropical rapid deepening.
Although their cyclogenesis is totally different from that of tropical
cyclones, bombs can produce winds of 74–95 mph, the same order as the first
categories of the Saffir-Simpson scale and give heavy precipitation. Even
though only a minority of the bombs become so strong, some have caused
significant damage.
CYCLONES
AND ANTICYCLONES
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Co-Di/Cyclone-and-Anticyclone.html
A
cyclone is a storm or system of winds that rotates around a center of low
atmospheric pressure. An anticyclone is a system of winds that rotates around a
center of high atmospheric pressure. Distinctive weather patterns tend to be
associated with both cyclones and anticyclones. Cyclones (commonly known as
lows) generally are indicators of rain, clouds, and other forms of bad weather.
Anticyclones (commonly known as highs) are predictors of fair weather.
Winds
in a cyclone blow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in
the Southern Hemisphere. Winds in an anticyclone blow just the opposite.
Vertical air movements are associated with both cyclones and anticyclones. In
cyclones, air close to the ground is forced inward toward the center of the
cyclone, where pressure is lowest. It then begins to rise upward, expanding and
cooling in the process. This cooling increases the humidity of the rising air,
which results in cloudiness and high humidity in the cyclone.
In
anticyclones, the situation is reversed. Air at the center of an anticyclone is
forced away from the high pressure that occurs there. That air is replaced in
the center by a downward draft of air from higher altitudes. As this air moves
downward, it is compressed and warmed. This warming reduces the humidity of the
descending air, which results in few clouds and low humidity in the
anticyclone.
A
computer-enhanced image of Hurricane Diana at its strongest on September
11,1984. The hurricane was just off the coast of South and North Carolina at
the time, and winds within it were 130 miles per hour (210 kilometers per
hour). (Reproduced by permission of National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.)
Hurricanes
and typhoons
Cyclones
that form over warm tropical oceans are called tropical cyclones (they are also
known as tropical storms or tropical depressions). Tropical cyclones usually
move toward the west with the flow of trade winds. A tropical cyclone that
drastically increases in intensity is known as a hurricane when it occurs in
the Atlantic Ocean or adjacent seas. To be classified as a hurricane, a
tropical cyclone must produce winds over 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour.
Hurricanes usually generate off the coast of West Africa and move westward
toward Central America and the eastern United States. They increase in size and
strength until they reach land or more northern latitudes. In addition to high,
sustained winds, hurricanes deliver heavy rain and devastating ocean waves.
In
the western Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas, a hurricane is known as a typhoon.
This word comes from the Cantonese tai-fung , meaning "great wind."
[
See also Atmospheric pressure ; Storm surge ; Tornado ; Weather ; Wind ]
Read
more: http://www.scienceclarified.com/Co-Di/Cyclone-and-Anticyclone.html#ixzz62YGZRrA5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticyclonic_tornado
Anticyclonic
tornado
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An
anticyclonic tornado is a tornado which rotates in a clockwise direction in the
Northern Hemisphere and a counterclockwise direction in the Southern
Hemisphere.[1] The term is a naming convention denoting the anomaly from normal
rotation which is cyclonic in upwards of 98 percent of tornadoes.[citation
needed] Many anticyclonic tornadoes are smaller and weaker than cyclonic
tornadoes, forming from a different process, as either companion/satellite
tornadoes or nonmesocyclonic tornadoes.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoscale_meteorology
Mesoscale
meteorology
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A
meso-beta scale vortex
Mesoscale
meteorology is the study of weather systems smaller than synoptic scale
systems but larger than microscale and storm-scale cumulus systems.
Horizontal dimensions generally range from around 5 kilometers to several
hundred kilometers. Examples of mesoscale weather systems are sea breezes,
squall lines, and mesoscale convective complexes.
Vertical
velocity often equals or exceeds horizontal velocities in mesoscale
meteorological systems due to nonhydrostatic processes such as buoyant
acceleration of a rising thermal or acceleration through a narrow mountain
pass.
SYNOPTIC
SCALE –
The
synoptic scale in meteorology (also known as large scale or cyclonic scale) is
a horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometers (about 620 miles) or
more.
A
LAST ARTICLE ON THIS SUBJECT GIVES A HISTORY OF WEATHER FORECASTING WHICH INTERESTED ME, AND GREATER
SCIENTIFIC DETAIL. WE WILL PROBABLY ALL BECOME MUCH MORE ENTHRALLED WITH THIS
“BORING” SUBJECT IN THE NEAR FUTURE. I SAY THAT, BECAUSE WE ARE SEEING MORE
UNUSUAL AND INTENSIFYING WEATHER EVENTS AND CONDITIONS EVEN NOW. TO READ IT, GO
TO THE FOLLOWING WRITING FROM WIKIPEDIA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_weather_analysis.
*
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OCTOBER
17, 2019
NEWS
AND VIEWS
I’M VERY SORRY ON THE PERSONAL LEVEL THAT CUMMINGS IS GONE, BECAUSE HE WAS ONE OF THE
MOST HONEST AND COURAGEOUS OF OUR LEGISLATORS, AND A FIGHTER. TOO MANY OF US DEMS ARE A LITTLE ON THE WIMPY SIDE. I ALSO FEAR FOR THE IMPEACHMENT
PROCEEDINGS. I DON’T CONSIDER ANYTHING TO BE SAFE UNTIL IT IS ACHIEVED. IT’S GOOD
TO SEE THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE STEPPING FORWARD TO TESTIFY, THOUGH.
THE
SLATEST
Elijah
Cummings, Democratic Leader at Forefront of Trump Investigations, Dies at 68
By
ELLIOT HANNON
OCT
17, 20196:04 AM
PHOTOGRAPH
-- Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings on Aug. 7 in Washington.
Win
McNamee/Getty Images
Democratic
Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland died early Thursday due to
complications stemming from longtime health issues, the Democratic leader’s
office announced.* He was 68. Cummings, who has played a high-profile role in a
myriad of investigations into President Donald Trump as the chairman of the
House Oversight and Reform Committee, underwent a medical procedure last month
but had not yet returned to his office this week when the House was back in
session.
“A
sharecropper’s son, Cummings became the powerful chairman of a U.S. House
committee that investigated President Donald Trump, and was a formidable orator
who passionately advocated for the poor in his black-majority district, which
encompasses a large portion of Baltimore as well as more well-to-do suburbs,”
the Associated Press notes. “Cummings’ long career spanned decades in Maryland
politics. He rose through the ranks of the Maryland House of Delegates before
winning his congressional seat in a special election in 1996 to replace former
Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who left the seat to lead the NAACP.”
Cummings,
whose district includes parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, was a frequent
recipient of Trump’s tirades, as he had played a prominent role in the impeachment
inquiry and other investigations into the administration.
Correction,
Oct. 17, 2019: This post originally misstated when Cummings died. It was
Thursday, not Tuesday.
HERE
GO SOME MORE DOMINOES, AS PEOPLE COME FORWARD. BULLYING WON’T WORK ON EVERYBODY.
DONALD TRUMP’S CHEATING HIS WAY INTO OFFICE IN 2016 WILL ALSO, I HOPE, BE
INCLUDED IN THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, THOUGH PELOSI AND MAYBE OTHERS HAD TOO
LITTLE FAITH IN OUR INFORMATION ABOUT THAT EPISODE TO ACT ON IT ALONE. IT SEEMS
TO ME, HOWEVER, TO BE SO WIDE IN ITS’ SCOPE THAT SURELY THE CASE COULD BE
PULLED TOGETHER. WE AS A COUNTRY NEED FOR IT TO BE COMPLETED, AND ALL OF THE ACTORS
IN IT REMOVED FROM THEIR GOVERNMENT POSITIONS AND JAILED; THEY ARE NEARLY ALL
ROGUES OF ONE KIND OR ANOTHER. I CONSIDER TRYING TO COMMANDEER THE 2016
ELECTION TO BE UP NEAR THE TOP OF POSSIBLE NATIONAL CRIMES, AND ONLY THE FIRST
STEP IN ACHIEVING TRUMP’S INTENTIONS. WHERE HE IS HEADED SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO
EVERYBODY BY NOW.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/impeachment-pompeo-george-kent-fiona-hill-testify-defy-state-department.html
JURISPRUDENCE
Mike
Pompeo’s Subordinates Are Calling His Bluff in the Impeachment Inquiry
They’re
defying his orders and testifying against Trump.
By
JEREMY STAHL
OCT
15, 2019 8:14 PM
PHOTOGRAPH
-- Mike Pompeo and Donald Trump at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on July
16.
Nicholas
Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
More
on Impeachment
Meanwhile,
at Fox News
Democrats’
New Impeachment Plan Might Let Rudy Giuliani Skate on Contempt
How
Many Times Could Donald Trump Be Impeached?
On
Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani announced that he would not comply with a congressional
subpoena for records related to his and Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure
Ukraine’s government to launch investigations of Trump’s political rivals. The
subpoena also seeks records related to allegations that Trump and his
associates may have made American military aid to the country and a meeting
between Trump and Ukraine’s president conditional on providing dirt.
“If
they enforce it, then we will see what happens,” the president’s personal
attorney told ABC News in what amounted to the most direct challenge to
Congress’ weeks-old impeachment inquiry.
As
Giuliani’s promise to disobey the subpoena was being issued to the House
Intelligence Committee, though, that same committee was interviewing Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent.
Kent gave his testimony despite the administration’s repeated claims that
executive branch employees and former employees were forbidden from
participating in the impeachment inquiry.
The
interview with Kent—who reportedly testified that he had issued a warning about
Giuliani’s “disinformation” campaign as far back as March—followed depositions
from former foreign policy officials Kurt Volker and Fiona Hill, as well as
current State Department employee and former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie
Yovanovitch. Later this week, other former and current State Department
employees—including a former top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the
current U.S. ambassador to the European Union, who was at the center of the
military aid negotiation—are scheduled to testify.
The
White House and State Department’s position that officials may not cooperate in
the impeachment probe was reiterated on Monday in a letter Hill’s attorneys
received from the White House counsel’s office attempting to limit the former
national security official’s testimony. The letter, written by deputy counsel
to the president Michael M. Purpura, purported to tell Hill that she was under
a “continuing obligation not to reveal classified information or information
subject to executive privilege,” including “diplomatic communications.” The
letter concluded, “[t]o be clear, Dr. Hill is not authorized to reveal or
release any classified information or any information subject to executive
privilege.”
Despite
these efforts to restrict Hill’s testimony, she reportedly testified directly
about diplomatic communications, including a July 10 meeting with senior
Ukrainian officials in which U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland
allegedly raised the prospect of Ukraine investigating Joe Biden. (Hill also
reportedly testified that former National Security Adviser John Bolton went
“ballistic” over this conversation, viewed Sondland and White House chief of
staff Mick Mulvaney as participating in a metaphorical “drug deal,” and ordered
Hill to tell the National Security Council’s top lawyer about the
conversation.)
One
might think that after violating a direct order from a White House lawyer, Hill
would face immediate consequences. But nothing has happened to her. The same
goes for current State Department employees Yovanovitch and Kent, who both
reportedly testified in defiance of instructions from the State Department not
to do so. As of Tuesday, neither had been reported to face any professional
consequences for directly defying their boss, Pompeo, by disregarding his
direct orders and testifying against the president.
Ultimately,
Hill, Yovanovitch, and Kent—along with Volker, the former U.S. ambassador to
NATO—have all called Pompeo’s bluff.
It’s
worth examining Pompeo’s demands and their legitimacy, since it reveals the
extent to which he has lost control over his subordinates as well as the
absurdity of the White House’s efforts to obstruct the investigation.
Pompeo’s
empty threats, along with the administration’s bluster demanding total
obstruction of Congress’ impeachment inquiry, are based on radical legal
theories that would place the president above the law.
Pompeo
previously said that his employees and former employees were not permitted to
testify before congressional investigators without administration counsel
present. In an Oct. 1 letter, Pompeo told one of the investigating committees
that five such officials who had been scheduled for voluntary depositions would
not be permitted to participate in the inquiry. “[T]he five officials subject
to your letter may not attend any interview or deposition without counsel from
the Executive Branch present to ensure that the Executive Branch’s
constitutional authority to control the disclosure of confidential information,
including deliberative matters and diplomatic communications, is not impaired,”
Pompeo wrote. The House issued subpoenas, and three of the employees in
question—Kent, Yovanovitch, and Volker—have all testified without
administration counsel, and the two others—Sondland and State Department
counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl—are scheduled to do the same.
It’s
unclear if Pompeo is ignoring his own order for these officials not to testify
without administration counsel, or if he has recognized that enforcing his
order by punishing employees who had complied with a lawful subpoena might
prove difficult. But the administration has not dropped its demand that
testimony be limited. Purpura’s letter, for instance, lamented that
administration counsel would not be allowed to attend Hill’s testimony “to
ensure that she does not breach her obligations with respect to privileged
information.” But those laments did not stop her from testifying, and there
have been no consequences.
In
the cases of Yovanovitch and Kent, Pompeo could presumably attempt to fire them
for disregarding his orders. That, too, has not yet happened.
That’s
because Pompeo’s empty threats, along with the administration’s bluster
demanding total obstruction of Congress’ impeachment inquiry, are based on
radical legal theories that would place the president above the law and that
most resemble Fox News rants with the thinnest veneer of legalese.
Exhibit
A in these efforts was White House counsel Pat Cipollone’s letter last week
informing Congress that the administration would not cooperate in Congress’
impeachment inquiry because it was “unconstitutional,” “constitutionally
illegitimate,” and “lack[ing] any legitimate constitutional foundation.”
As
impeachment scholar Frank Bowman wrote after the letter was released, the
Constitution is very clear that the president doesn’t get to demand how he is
impeached. Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution says that the
“House of Representatives … shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” In
previous judicial impeachments, the Supreme Court has ruled that the “sole
power” language, as it pertains to the Senate’s power to try impeachments,
means that the Senate has the power to set its own impeachment trial procedures
and that legal challenges to those procedures are nonjusticiable. As Bowman
notes, this implies that House impeachment procedures also cannot be decided by
the courts:
Indeed,
the Constitution’s explicit commitment that the House has the “sole power of
impeachment” leads to the same conclusion: The procedures are, in essence, for
the House to decide. … [T]he White House letter is neither more nor less than a
list of invalid excuses to defy the legislative branch in its exercise of a
power expressly granted by the Constitution.
For
his part, Giuliani cited Cipollone’s letter in promising to defy Congress’
impeachment subpoena and the law. Congress will now have to consider how it
might want to enforce its subpoena power, as Giuliani has challenged it to do.
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our independent journalism
Readers
like you make our work possible. Help us continue to provide the reporting,
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THIS
IS MORE PROSAIC THAN AN INTERNATIONAL OLIGARCHICAL GRAB FOR POWER, BUT IT COULD
BE USEFUL. ONE MORE DOMINO DOWN.
THE
SLATEST
In
New Tax Documents, Trump’s Cooking the Books on Two Manhattan Properties Looks
a Lot Like Fraud
By
ELLIOT HANNON
OCT
16, 201910:08 AM
PHOTOGRAPH
-- The president was reporting different numbers on his properties to lenders
and tax authorities.
Spencer
Platt/Getty Images
It’s
not Trump’s taxes, the whole enchilada, but ProPublica got ahold of property
tax documents of the Trump Organization, adding to the growing corpus of
financial info on the president that strongly points to Trump deploying a
secret financial weapon to maintain the appearance of “successful
businessman”—fraud. ProPublica collated financial info from public sources and
found the president was reporting different numbers on his properties to
lenders and tax authorities. Trump arranged the numbers to paint a rosier
picture of his buildings’ performance for lenders to secure cheaper loans, and
then rearranged those numbers to look less profitable when reporting to the
taxman in order to lower his property taxes.
“The
documents were public because Trump appealed his property tax bill for the
buildings every year for nine years in a row, the extent of the available
records,” ProPublica reports. “We compared the tax records with loan records
that became public when Trump’s lender, Ladder Capital, sold the debt on his
properties as part of mortgage-backed securities.” The site reviewed records
for four Trump buildings and found noticeable discrepancies at two properties
in particular—40 Wall Street and the Trump International Hotel and Tower.
Trump
told the lender that he took in twice as much rent from one building as he
reported to tax authorities during the same year, 2017. He also gave
conflicting occupancy figures for one of his signature skyscrapers, located at
40 Wall Street. Lenders like to see a rising occupancy level as a sign of what
they call “leasing momentum.” Sure enough, the company told a lender that 40
Wall Street had been 58.9% leased on Dec. 31, 2012, and then rose to 95% a few
years later. The company told tax officials the building was 81% rented as of
Jan. 5, 2013.
“The
discrepancies are ‘versions of fraud,’ ” Nancy Wallace, a professor of finance
and real estate at the Haas School of Business at the University of
California–Berkeley, told ProPublica. “This kind of stuff is not OK.”
SO,
THE NEW YORK TIMES IS ADVERTISING ITSELF ON THE SLATE WEBSITE? IT DOES LOOK
LIKE A GOOD STORY, THOUGH. I WONDER IF THE NYT ONLINE HITS ARE RUNNING LOW, AND IF
THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ONLY GIVE A FEW FREE ARTICLES NOW, AND THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE IS ABOVE MY RETIREMENT BENEFIT LEVEL. TO FIND OUT ABOUT CORTISOL,
GO TO https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/hormones/cortisol.
IT’S A VERY IMPORTANT HORMONE. OF COURSE, WE COULD ALSO TRY TO PUT DOWN THAT
CELL PHONE MORE OFTEN.
The
New York Times
SPONSORED
BY THE NEW YORK TIMES
Phone
Time Hurts Health -- Studies show that near-constant cellphone usage spikes cortisol levels.
*
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