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Liquid democracy: Colorado candidate pledges to make political decisions based on Parti.Vote app

Dom Galeon
Futurism.com
Tue, 17 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Pie Chart of City
© Getty
By the People

Technology has the potential to radically change how elected officials perform their duties, and at least one political candidate thinks now's the time to take advantage of that potential. If Camilo Casas is elected to the city council in Boulder, Colorado, this November, he promises he will not make any decision by himself. Instead, he plans to put that power in the hands of the people via a liquid democracy app called Parti.Vote.

Casas built the app himself, and as he explained to Motherboard, he designed it to facilitate a liquid democracy. The idea is that instead of simply hoping their elected representatives support their stance on issues, citizens will be empowered to directly affect policy-making by voting through the app.


Comment: Great idea - a candidate who actually intends to represent the will of the people!! Should he be elected, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for political realities to derail this project. Trump is a prime example..

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Yoda

'Hollywood now, Washington, DC next': Fmr Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney rails against gov't pedophilia

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 18:27 UTC
Weinstein hollywood
© The Free Thought Project
"We're outraged and angry--not having had justice for at least a generation. Hollywood now; Washington, DC next." - Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Ph.D.

Let there be no doubt, those who engage in the child sex trade are society's most vile - and many times, as the recent revelations out of Hollywood are showing us, the most elite.

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney agrees and has devoted much of her life to ousting these vile predators. In February, McKinney made a point noting that going after child predators will lead to the downfall of both Republicans and Democrats - as this problem goes all the way to the top.

Now, this former congresswoman is at it again, promoting a documentary, titled, An Open Secret that exposes the horrific problem of child sex trafficking in Hollywood.

For those who don't remember McKinney, she is the Congresswoman who bravely questioned the elite - on the house floor - about their role in the child trafficking industry.

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Clipboard

Survey: Majority of millennials, Gen Z adults prefer texting over talking in person

Daniel Steingold
Study Finds
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 17:38 UTC
Texting millennials
© Joy Sharon Yi/NPR
If the emoji movie wasn't symbolic enough of today's youth, perhaps this will rattle your foundation: A new survey finds that 7 in 10 millennials and the younger Gen Z prefer to communicate digitally - mostly by text message - than in person.

Researchers at LivePerson, a business solutions provider, polled more than 4,000 young adults under between age 18 and 34 in a handful of Western nations, helping them discover the priorities and preferences of today's millennials and Gen Z.

A new survey finds that 7 in 10 millennials and those who make up the younger Gen Z cohort prefer to communicate digitally with others than in person.

Globally, 65 percent of those surveyed indicated they talk to peers more frequently via texting or a mobile, but that number is even higher in English-speaking nations. In both the United States and in the United Kingdom, about 74 percent of millennials and Gen Z communicate digitally more frequently with others.
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Sheriff

LAPD becomes largest police department in the U.S. to test drones

Kate Mather
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 17 Oct 2017 21:05 UTC
LAPD swat team
© policemag.com
After months of often-heated debate, a civilian oversight panel Tuesday signed off on a yearlong test of drones by the Los Angeles Police Department, which will become the largest police department in the nation to deploy the controversial technology.

The Police Commission's 3-1 vote prompted jeers, cursing and a small protest that spilled into a downtown intersection just outside the LAPD's glass headquarters - evidence of the opposition police have faced in recent weeks as they tried to reassure wary residents that the airborne devices would not be misused.

The use of drones - or "small Unmanned Aerial Systems," in police-speak - has become a contentious issue for law enforcement in Los Angeles, where the nation's largest sheriff's department has flown one since January.

Advocates say camera-mounted drones could help protect officers and others by collecting crucial information during high-risk situations or searches without risking their safety. For many privacy advocates and police critics, however, the drones stir Orwellian visions of unwarranted surveillance or fears of militarized, weapon-toting devices patrolling the skies.
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Sherlock

Detectives in New York and London opening up criminal probes in Weinstein sex crimes scandal

Richard Winton
LA Times
Mon, 16 Oct 2017 16:48 UTC
Weinstein
© Photo by GabboT
Sex crimes detectives in New York and London are investigating allegations from at least five women who say they were raped or sexually assaulted by movie producer Harvey Weinstein, but so far no police reports have been filed in Los Angeles.

Two sources not authorized to discuss the inquiries said the New York Police Department has opened an investigation into a 2004 allegation of forced oral copulation and is reexamining a more recent accusation of sexual groping that was previously rejected by prosecutors.

Since the New York Times first published allegations against Weinstein less than two weeks ago, dozens of women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to rape.

The new investigation, which launched last week, involves a then-college student's allegation that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in his Miramax office. Lucia Evans told the New Yorker that he assaulted her during a meeting in 2004.
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Pistol

5 Maryland schools placed on lockdown after active shooter kills 3 and critically injures 2 others


RT
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 15:43 UTC
police line
© Gaston De Cardenas / Reuters
At least three people have been killed and two others critically injured in Maryland after a shooter opened fire at a business park in Edgewood. The lone shooter remains at large.

A number of schools in the area are on "modified lockdown" Harford County Sheriff's Office said, according to police.

"We can confirm we on the scene of a shooting in the Emmorton Business Park," the Harford Sheriff Department said. "Multiple injuries reported."

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told reporters the suspect is Radee Labeeb Prince, a 37-year-old black male. He's believed to be associated with the business, police said.
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Handcuffs

Week-long undercover operation nets Florida cops 277 prostitution-related arrests including one of their own


RT
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 15:34 UTC
florida prostitution sting
© Polk County Sheriff's Office / Facebook
A week-long undercover operation by cops in Polk County, Florida which targeted human traffickers and online prostitution ended with 277 arrests. Among those caught were doctors, teachers, police officers and a serving colonel in the US Marine Corps.

The sting operation, dubbed "Operation No Tricks, No Treats", ran from October 10 to October 16. Of the 277, 51 of the arrests were for those who advertise as prostitutes online, 209 were of those who "solicited undercover detectives who posted ads posing as prostitutes. Seventeen other arrests were made of those who derive proceeds from prostitution, or other offenses," police said.

"We are committed to fighting human trafficking, by arresting those who engage in prostitution and trying to identify human trafficking victims. It's no secret...you need to stay out of Polk County if you're going to commit crime," said Polk County Sheriff, Grady Judd.
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Arrow Down

Harvey Weinstein's brother, Bob, accused of sexual harassment

Cynthia Littleton
Variety
Tue, 17 Oct 2017 15:17 UTC
Bob Weinstein
© BEI/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKBob Weinstein
A female showrunner who worked on the Weinstein Co. drama "The Mist" has accused Bob Weinstein of sexual harassment during the production of the Spike TV series.

Amanda Segel, an executive producer of "Mist," said Weinstein repeatedly made romantic overtures to her and asked her to join him for private dinners. The harassment began in the summer of 2016 and continued on and off for about three months until Segel's lawyer, David Fox of Myman Greenspan, informed TWC executives - including COO David Glasser - that she would leave the show if Bob Weinstein did not stop contacting her on personal matters.

" 'No' should be enough," Segel told Variety. "After 'no,' anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didn't want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that 'no' is enough from now on."

A representative for Bob Weinstein denied that he engaged in any inappropriate behavior in a statement to Variety.

"Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms. Segel in LA in June 2016. He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most unfortunate that any such claim has been made," the statement said.
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Arrow Down

Brainwashing young minds: Canadian educators are teaching outright racism

Dakshana Bascaramurty
Globe and Mail
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Canadians teaching racisim, Mandi Hardy
Are the yellow Minifigures in the Lego universe white people? A Grade 8 social-studies class at Allan A. Martin Sr. Public School in Mississauga mulled this existential question on a recent afternoon while their teacher delivered a lesson on one of the most politically charged topics addressed in Canadian classrooms.

Mandi Hardy stood in front of a whiteboard and asked students to list what they believed to be the most important jobs in the world, then asked them to list people - real or fictional - who hold those positions. Almost all the doctors were from TV, among them Derek Shepherd from Grey's Anatomy and Dr. Phil. The same was true for the scientists and emergency-service workers that the students listed. Then, without explanation, Ms. Hardy began putting stars beside nearly all of the names - pausing when she reached a Lego character - and students quickly caught on to what she was doing.

"They're all white!" one called out.

The lesson of the day was white privilege, the idea that white people enjoy unearned advantages due to their race. Her exercise was meant to show that white people receive greater public profile for many of the occupations society deems to be the most important. This isn't a required subject, but one Ms. Hardy has elected to teach for the past four years.

Comment: Prove to me privilege exists, and we'll go from there...

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Chess

61,000 leave Kirkuk as Iraqi PM Al-Abadi says Kurdish referendum "a thing of the past"


RT
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 15:26 UTC
Iraq
© Alaa Al-Marjani / Reuters
After the Iraqi army took over Kirkuk, Baghdad has said that Kurdish independence is "a thing of the past" and the controversial referendum should be forgotten, as the UN says 61,000 people have fled the northern city of Kirkuk.

"In the past 48 hours, the UN Migration Agency says that some 61,000 people have left Kirkuk and surrounding areas, most of them heading north and east toward the Erbil and Suleimania governorates," Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told reporters Tuesday. "We call on all parties to ensure that civilians are protected and [that they] can leave affected areas if they choose."

Both Iraqi and Kurdish leaders have called for a "peaceful solution" to the current crisis. However, while the Baghdad official announced the controversial referendum should be forgotten, the Kurdish leader assured his nation's efforts for independence were not in vain.
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