Meticulous and soulful, this is exemplary electronic RnB.

Ipswich rapper offers much more than a simple stopgap release.

A polished, heartfelt collection of sincerely delivered RnB.

Struggles to strike the right balance between street cred and pop appeal.

Breaking out of the new New York, a young rap pair of palpable promise.

This college campus soundtrack barely scrapes a passing grade.

A well-researched soundtrack piece full of memorable melodies.

A partial victory, and one buoyed by some outstanding surprise turns.

Modernisation of a warehouse can increase performance and service life. Edward Hutchison, Managing Director of BITO Storage Systems asks: have you considered retrofitting existing pallet racking?

Numerous new developments in CONTACT’s Elements platform and innovative digitalisation strategies will take centre stage at this year’s Open World.

Online retailers saw a significant increase in online Halloween sales, bolstered by the event (31 Oct) falling during school half-term as well as coinciding with Diwali, according to data from Wunderkind, the AI-driven performance marketing solution.

New thinking in online fulfilment order picking that combines long established warehouse ‘wave’ picking techniques with state-of-the-art sorting robots is delivering eye-catching improvements in picking rates, says Frazer Watson, Global Vice President of Rainbow Dynamics.

Made Smarter, the movement accelerating the digital transformation of SME manufacturers, recently reached a major milestone - backing North West companies to invest £25m in new technologies.

With the holiday season fast approaching, retail payroll teams around the world are bracing for the strain of seasonal hiring.

The document by the Justice Department helped provide an after-the-fact rationale for harsh procedures used by C.I.A. on high-level leaders of Al Qaeda.

The Supreme Court's decision on Thursday requiring sentencing factors to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt will create a surge in challenged sentences.

The Green Party of the United States rebuffed efforts by Ralph Nader to win its endorsement for president by voting Saturday to make David Cobb its 2004 presidential candidate.

While it is unclear whether Michael Moore's film will influence swing voters, the first wave of the movie's attendees was solidly anti-Bush.

Bill Clinton certainly qualifies as a liberal icon. Yet in many respects, his record belies the liberal tag.

The Law and Political Economy Project at Yale Law School is hosting the following panel:

The Political Economy of Inequality, Democracy & Oligarchy, on Friday, November 13, 2020 at 5:00 pm eastern time.

This panel discussion will focus upon the erosion of democratic institutions and the rise of oligarchy that has followed in the wake of unprecedented economic inequality. The panel will address elite efforts to entrench themselves politically as well as economically, including the consequences of such efforts in terms of human development. The panel will focus upon the specific context of election 2020 and the uncertainty it is creating. The subversion of democracy and the law governing our democracy naturally holds many costs, and each panelist will address such costs. Each panelist will also seek to articulate some mechanism for a path forward.  Register here

PANELISTS:

Emma Coleman Jordan, Georgetown Law Center

andré douglas pond cummings, Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law

Atiba Ellis, Marquette University Law School

Steven Ramirez, Loyola University of Chicago School of Law

Gerald Torres, Yale Law School

Wikimedia Commons Philadelphia County Prison

In an important move that returns federal government policy to the Obama era, today President Biden signed an executive order calling on the Department of Justice to ends its use of private prisons.  While this executive order does not end federal government reliance on for-profit immigration detention centers, it does require that no future contracts with private prison operators be entered into between the federal government and private prison corporations CoreCivic, GEO Group and others.  Use of the executive order to end private for-profit prison reliance has proven difficult politically as Obama ended their use before the 2016 election, but once Trump entered the White House, he rescinded the policy and made robust use of private prisons for federal prisoners as well as immigration detention.

Eyewitness accounts regarding the events of January 6, 2021 give us the most reliable version of what happened that dark day. Particularly those eyewitnesses from the Republican Party who do not seek partisan advantage. For example:

"What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States."

Republican Senator & former Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney, Jan. 6, 2021. 

"Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice."

Former Trump Defense Secretary and Marine Corps General James Mattis, Jan. 6, 2021.

"The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like."

GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Jan. 19, 2021

"Today was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol… We condemn the violence that took place here in the strongest possible terms… To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins."

Trump Vice-President Mike Pence, January 6, 2021.

"These men and women in the uniform, they got overrun. One officer got killed…they got broken arms. You don’t understand what was transpiring at that moment and that time. . . . People brought ropes. . .[T]hey were well planned for it. They scaled walls. . . . They, they overtook the place.”

"Let me be clear: Last week’s violent attack on the Capitol was undemocratic, un-American and criminal…And make no mistake: Those who are responsible for Wednesday’s chaos will be brought to justice…The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters."

GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Jan. 13, 2021 

"Today, the people's House was attacked, which is an attack on the Republic itself. There is no excuse for it. A women died. And people need to go to jail. And the President should never have spun up certain Americans to believe something that simply cannot be."

GOP Rep. Chip Roy, Jan. 6, 2021.

WOW!  The US Capitol became a combat zone on January 6.

The legal upshot of the above is Trump and his cultists levied war against the US in violation of 18 USC section 2381! They engaged in an insurrection in violation 18 USC section 2383!

These provisions carry severe criminal sanctions and section 2383 prohibits insurrectionists from ever holding federal office again. Trump also disqualified himself from federal office under the Fourteenth Amendment, section 3. As painful as it may be, the Biden Administration has little choice but to fully investigate these potential violations of law immediately. Donald Trump in particular must face swift justice. .

In his unending fantasy and lies of victory, President Donald Trump unleashed a violent coup on our democracy, our constitutional republic and ultimately our freedom in the lawless pursuit of autocracy, dictatorship, and dimwitted megalomania. 

This directly aided and abetted the ongoing efforts of Vladimir Putin to use Russian New Generation Warfare (RNGW) to weaken, undermine, subvert, and diminish the power of the USA to defend itself and its interests and allies across the world. As Lt. General H.R. McMaster explains RNGW aims to weaken the US and other democratic societies through the sustained use of misinformation. They seek to “disrupt, divide and weaken” American democracy. Yet, again the Trumpists continue to toss the nation and its people into bloody pitched battle with each other while doing the bidding of Putin.

Addendum:

"[T]here can be no soft-pedaling what happened and no absolution for those who planned, encouraged and aided the attempt to overthrow our democracy, Love of country demands nothing less. That’s true patriotism.” 

Karl Rove, writing in the Wall Street Journal, Former Republican Political Operative, January, 6, 2022.

"The importance of January 6th as an historic event cannot be overstated. I was honored and proud to join my daughter on the House floor to recognize this anniversary, to commend the heroic actions of law enforcement that day, and to reaffirm our dedication to the Constitution.  I am deeply disappointed at the failure of many members of my party to recognize the grave nature of the January 6 attacks and the ongoing threat to our nation.”

Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, January 6, 2022. 

January 6th, 2021 was a dark day for Congress and our country. The United States Capitol, the seat of the first branch of our federal government, was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job. This disgraceful scene was antithetical to the rule of law. One year later, I am as grateful as ever for the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police who served our institution bravely that day and every day since. I continue to support justice for those who broke the law.

GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, January 6, 2022. 

On the first anniversary of January 6, GOP Senator Ted Cruz and Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray called the violence "a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol" and "domestic terrorism," respectively.

 The United States invented the Rule of Law through the fragmentation of sovereignty among 51 sovereign authorities each with three branches of government. It further protects individual rights from state and federal infringement. This effectively created a legal system that could all state actors to account before law. While still imperfect in many important ways, Donald Trump took a sledgehammer to the Rule of Law particularly since January 6, 2021.

Today in America the rule of law faces severe challenges and may well face a total sunset. If so, the Supreme Court of the United States played a central role as accomplice. Most notably, today granted review (certiorari) on the following question: Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. That question in the abstract may hold academic interest, but the answer lies in many disputes in the future over decades or even centuries. 

Prof. Laurence Tribe, a legendary Constitutional Law scholar, explains the effect of this action:

The Supreme Court effectively gives Trump the potential to now escape any accountability for his role in the insurrection of January 6, 2021. This order puts partisan politics above the Rule of Law. A very dark day for America.

Today, the United States Supreme Court obliterated the Fourteenth Amendment, section 3, in Trump v. Anderson. The language of this section appears simple enough:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

The Court held that: "the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3." More specifically, the Court held that only Congress may enforce the disqualification of section 3 and that states could only enforce the provision against state candidates for office and state officeholders. Otherwise the nation would face a risk of a patchwork of state outcomes. This, despite the fact that in 1868, shortly after the provision became law, the Governor of the State of Georgia disqualified a federal candidate for office. (See fn 3).

Further, if "only" Congress holds power to enforce section 3 then why did the drafters of the Amendment just insert an "only" in the section granting Congress power. The Court needs that "only" and it simply does not exist. Rather than apply the plain meaning the Court instead pretends there is an only when there is no such word. Section 5 plainly states: "The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article." The Court did violence to the statute to protect Donald Trump.

Former Fourth Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative jurist explains:

The Supreme Court did leave one last avenue for accountability under law that the Biden Administration or DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith could use to disqualify Trump. 18 U.S.C. section 2383 provides:

Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

The Court cited this section with approval. It would provide a uniform federal solution. And, it arises from an exercise of Congressional power. Even this Court (which works overtime to protect Trump) would uphold such an action. 

Why did Jack Smith (or Attorney General Merrick Garland before him) fail to use this section against the obvious insurrectionist Donald Trump? Or, alternatively, why not bring such an action tomorrow morning? Colorado would provide a form indictment and a trial map, complete with comprehensive evidence?

So, the Court today shifted the spotlight to DOJ with today's SCOTUS ruling. Agreement or disagreement with the Court's opinion no longer matters. Many excellent arguments support the use of section 3 in precisely the manner of Colorado. All moot.

Why did DOJ fail (and continue to fail) to seek disqualification through a criminal action a criminal action? 

The most disturbing and vivid reality of all of this: law failed to hold Trump to account as an oath breaking insurrectionist despite many available pathways.

 

 

 I just published a new law review article with the Seattle University Law Review entitled: Students for Fair Admissions: Affirming Affirmative Action and Shapeshifting Towards Cognitive Diversity? The article can be downloaded here: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sulr/vol47/iss4/7/. Here is the abstract:

The Roberts Court holds a well-earned reputation for overturning Supreme Court precedent regardless of the long-standing nature of the case. The Roberts Court knows how to overrule precedent. In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), the Court’s majority opinion never intimates that it overrules Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court’s leading opinion permitting race-based affirmative action in college admissions. Instead, the Roberts Court applied Grutter as authoritative to hold certain affirmative action programs entailing racial preferences violative of the Constitution. These programs did not provide an end point, nor did they require assessment, review, periodic expiration, or revision for greater institutional efficacy, including possible race-neutral alternatives. The programs also failed to break down stereotypes through the introduction of a critical mass to empower diverse voices. The programs thereby resembled prohibited quotas or racial balancing. As such, the programs at issue violated Grutter, which still governs race-based affirmative action in college admissions. More importantly, the Roberts court paved the way for more expansive diversity-based admissions programs by permitting institutions to value individual racial experiences, which authentically further an institution’s mission and interests. After SFFA, the use of race as a factor could well face time limits. Contrastingly, individualized racial experiences may benefit college applicants at institutions that embrace diversity in an authentic way without facing any time limitation. Further, institutions with distinct missions may value diversity in a race-conscious way but without any racial preference. In sum, the Roberts Court guides the use of race in college admissions toward a race-neutral, diversity-based paradigm such that institutions may still unlock the empirically proven benefits of cultural diversity with only de minimus interference from the courts. This approach rests upon a powerful policy basis that leads to superior innovation, macroeconomic outcomes, social cohesion and, therefore, superior national security for the United States. This approach thus could support a powerful interest convergence.

The article shows that Supreme Court did not overrule its prior affirmative action precedents, and in fact paved the way for universities to embrace cultural and cognitive diversity to enrich their educational missions. This is important because the case has been widely misconstrued.

My next article will extend the Court's holding to corporate DEI efforts and demonstrate that such efforts are not only remain lawful but also essential to rational human resources management.

Donald Trump's longest serving and hand-picked Chief of Staff, Four Star Marine General John Kelley, recently confirmed that Trump called those serving in the military "suckers" and those making the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and our freedom "losers." These comments now confirmed through numerous sources prove Trump's unfitness for office. Some background:

Lightworks is a free, Hollywood grade video editor, but while cheap and very powerful it can take a bit of getting used to for the first time user.

The post Getting to Grips with the Lightworks Video Editor appeared first on Richard Farrar.

The debate rages between the Fraunhofer encoder and the LAME encoder for encoding podcasts. Listen for yourself and see if you can tell the difference.

The post Which is the Best MP3 Encoder for Podcasts? appeared first on Richard Farrar.

Using Skype to conduct interviews with guests for your podcast is fairly easy but potential inexperience of your guests can lead to sub-optimal audio quality. The following simple tips can significantly improve the audio quality of such an interview ensuring that you and your guest come across at your very best in the final podcast.

The post Podcast Skype Interview Guidelines for Guests appeared first on Richard Farrar.

This tutorial demonstrates how to use the FREE winLAME audio encoder to quickly and simply encode audio podcasts into MP3 format.

The post How to Use winLAME to Encode Podcasts appeared first on Richard Farrar.

KEEN lawn bowlers will be able to enjoy the game they love at Ingleburn Bowling and Recreation Club without feeling the heat this summer.

From playing to coaching, refereeing to teaching — this Lane Cove teen has shown she is an asset to basketball.

The travelled far and wide, but it was all worth it for the Lindfield Public School cricket team.

Jenina strikes gold again at nationals

Cricket stars from Sydney Thunder thrilled their fans in Kellyville on Sunday morning.

THE iconic Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, which has nine locations across Sydney, will open up outside Campbelltown Marketfair by mid-December if all goes to plan.

CAMPBELLTOWN Mayor Paul Hawker says he envisages a decked carpark for Park Central to alleviate the inadequate parking madness residents have reported within the suburb.

A massive new firefighter training college will be built at Erskine Park on Mamre Road.

TRISTAN Potts gave up two other sports after he gave hockey a go and loved it. He started just a few years ago and has already represented NSW in Japan.

WITH just days to go until election day, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten visited Banks and Barton to drum up support.

Graeme Webb was clinically dead for more than 40 minutes. A year on, the Hammondville man who has been dubbed the Miracle Man, relives his story and talks about how life has changed.

NOT only is Millie Moss a keen Aussie rules player, but at eight years of age she’s got design flair beyond her years.