The Investigations Trump Cant Stop

President Donald Trump might be able to pardon everyone he wants — possibly even himself. But that would not end his legal troubles.

Trump already fired FBI Director James B. Comey amid an investigation into allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia. He has attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions, raising questions about whether he intends to try to remove Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel appointed by the Justice Department to head the Russia probe.

The president and his lawyers have also reportedly discussed whether he could pardon family members and aides caught up in the Russia investigation.

But Trump has no control over state and local-level probes looking into the financial interests of his businesses, his family and his aides. And he can’t fire state and local prosecutors or issue pardons for state crimes.

https://www.rollcall.com/news/the-investigations-trump-cant-stop

Secretary of State Says Atheists, Too, Are Victims of Religious Persecution

Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!

The State Department just released its International Religious Freedom Report for 2016 and Secretary Rex Tillerson marked the occasion with a speech that mentioned atheism as a reason people are persecuted in certain nations:


In Iran, Baha’is, Christians, and other minorities are persecuted for their faith. Iran continues to sentence individuals to death under vague apostasy laws — 20 individuals were executed in 2016 on charges that included, quote, “waging war against God.” Members of the Baha’i community are in prison today simply for abiding by their beliefs.

We remain concerned about the state of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. The government does not recognize the right of non-Muslims to practice their religion in public and applied criminal penalties, including prison sentences, lashings, and fines, for apostasy, atheism, blasphemy, and insulting the state’s interpretation of Islam. Of particular concern are attacks targeting Shia Muslims, and the continued pattern of social prejudice and discrimination against them. We urge Saudi Arabia to embrace greater degrees of religious freedom for all of its citizens.


Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/08/16/secretary-of-state-says-atheists-too-are-victims-of-religious-persecution/#ObycUu28OhF3DMy6.99

Americans no longer have to guess how the Germans "allowed" H and Nazis

to gain power.
https://twitter.com/JCrongeyer/status/901417616606146561


Dear America: You are waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches.

https://twitter.com/WernerTwertzog/status/900382564787122177

LOL, Fox hires Michael Vick as NFL Kickoff

and FS1 NFL analyst.

Fox keeps adding to their roster of NFL analysts, and their latest pick seems likely to be controversial. As per A.J. Perez of USA Today, they’ve brought in Michael Vick as an analyst for Fox NFL Kickoff (the early 11 a.m. Eastern pre-game show on Fox, which featured Charissa Thompson, Colin Cowherd, Dave Wannstedt and Charles Tillman last year; Tillman isn’t returning, and Tony Gonzalez has already been announced as an addition, but the full lineup isn’t out yet). Vick will also appear as an analyst on FS1’s debate shows. Perez has some quotes on the subject:

http://awfulannouncing.com/fox/michael-vick-fox-nfl-kickoff-fs1.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Facebook Figured Out My Family Secrets, And It Won't Tell Me How

Rebecca Porter and I were strangers, as far as I knew. Facebook, however, thought we might be connected. Her name popped up this summer on my list of “People You May Know,” the social network’s roster of potential new online friends for me.

The People You May Know feature is notorious for its uncanny ability to recognize who you associate with in real life. It has mystified and disconcerted Facebook users by showing them an old boss, a one-night-stand, or someone they just ran into on the street.

These friend suggestions go far beyond mundane linking of schoolmates or colleagues. Over the years, I’d been told many weird stories about them, such as when a psychiatrist told me that her patients were being recommended to one another, indirectly outing their medical issues.

What makes the results so unsettling is the range of data sources—location information, activity on other apps, facial recognition on photographs—that Facebook has at its disposal to cross-check its users against one another, in the hopes of keeping them more deeply attached to the site. People generally are aware that Facebook is keeping tabs on who they are and how they use the network, but the depth and persistence of that monitoring is hard to grasp. And People You May Know, or “PYMK” in the company’s internal shorthand, is a black box.

http://gizmodo.com/facebook-figured-out-my-family-secrets-and-it-wont-tel-1797696163

Why I love Twitter.

seventh Russian diplomat to die since November.

How the Church of Satan Mastered Twitter

The Church of Satan is not a physical church and has nothing to do with demons or selling souls. But collectively, its members run one of the only tolerable social media accounts of 2017.

https://www.theringer.com/pop-culture/2017/8/22/16184422/church-of-satan-twitter-interview

Musk gives first look at SpaceX spacesuit

SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk is teasing the world with a first look at the company’s spacesuit, to be worn by NASA astronauts who will ride in SpaceX’s crew transport capsule to the International Space Station.

Musk shared the photo of the sleek suit on Instagram early Wednesday, saying the suit was not a mock-up and “actually works.”

“Already tested to double vacuum pressure,” he wrote in the post. “Was incredibly hard to balance esthetics and function. Easy to do either separately.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-spacex-spacesuit-20170823-htmlstory.html

Next rally for Colin Kaepernick plans to deliver message to NFL's doorstep

NEW YORK – On Wednesday, the NFL will come face to face with the storyline that has come to define it over the past six months. The “United We Stand” rally for Colin Kaepernick – organized by nearly two dozen activists and organizations in New York – will occur right on Roger Goodell’s doorstep, and the unemployed quarterback’s message will be front and center at NFL headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.

The rally comes on the heels of an event this past weekend, where dozens of current and retired NYPD officers gathered across the East River in Brooklyn to show support for Kaepernick, whose silent protest of the “Star-Spangled Banner” became a topic of national discussion last season.

“I think [Kaepernick’s message] important for this nation,” New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams told Yahoo Sports. “Kaepernick was trying to bring this to everyone’s attention and now you can’t ignore it. If folks had done this before, we’d be in a different position.”

Williams, who donned a Kaepernick jersey at Saturday’s event and hopes to be in attendance at Wednesday’s rally, joined the former 49ers quarterback’s protest last September when he sat for the Pledge of Allegiance during a city council meeting.

https://sports.yahoo.com/next-rally-colin-kaepernick-plans-deliver-message-nfls-doorstep-023605038.html?.tsrc=fauxdal