The War on Journalists: When truth is the enemy

Submitted by scharrison on

Philippine strongman Duterte is out of control:

The award-winning head of a Philippine online news site that has aggressively covered President Rodrigo Duterte's policies was arrested Wednesday by government agents in a libel case.

Maria Ressa, who was selected by Time magazine as one of its Persons of the Year last year, was arrested over a libel complaint from a businessman which Amnesty International has condemned as "brazenly politically motivated." Duterte's government says the arrest was a normal step in response to the complaint.

Bolding mine, because when a civil complaint (Libel), that has yet to be even proven in a court of law, is grounds for incarceration by authorities, you are not living in anywhere that remotely resembles a democracy. You're probably thinking, "This is what happens when you've got somebody like Trump in the White House," but it may actually be the other way around. Yes, Trump was outright abusive with journalists during his 2016 Campaign, but he also got some lessons from Duterte when they met in 2017:

Wednesday News: Making history, the right way

Submitted by BlueNC on

CHERI BEASLEY IS FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEMALE CHIEF JUSTICE: Beasley will make history as the first black woman to be the state’s top judge. “This is not the North Carolina of 200 years ago,” she said in the press conference at the Governor’s Mansion where Cooper announced her new role. Beasley has been a judge for the last 20 years and has been on the Supreme Court since 2012. She was a public defender in Fayetteville before becoming a judge. Judges in North Carolina are usually elected, not appointed. But when former Chief Justice Mark Martin announced in January that he would retire this month, to take a job leading a Virginia law school, state law gave Cooper the power to pick someone to take Martin’s place.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article226147190.html

Tuesday News: The house is on fire

Submitted by BlueNC on

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NC FARMERS GIVE PERDUE AN EARFUL OVER TRUMP'S TRADE WARS: In a pair of question-and-answer sessions, Secretary Sonny Perdue heard from farmers who are frustrated and trending toward desperate with weeks to go before new crops go into the ground. A trade war has stopped the flow of tobacco to China, once the crop's No. 1 buyer. Trade deals with Mexico and Canada have been reworked, but their approval depends on Congress. A pair of hurricanes devastated crops across this part of the state two out of the last three years. "It's the most critical time I've seen in agriculture, and I started farming in 1975," Jerome Vick told Perdue. Take this message back to Washington, Vick said: "This is not just a bump in the road. In eastern North Carolina, the house is on fire." Take this one back, too, Brent Leggett said, reading a text message from his 12-year-old son, Colin: "Tell (Perdue) to tell Trump to make a deal with China."
https://www.wral.com/worry-without-answer-as-us-agriculture-secretary-meets-with-nc-farmers/18185618/

Tuesday Twitter roundup

Submitted by scharrison on

You just can't fix stupid:

He produced a result, alright. And that result is an empty seat in Congress while we try to unravel this mess.

Lennon Lacy documentary wins Sundance Film Festival award

Submitted by scharrison on

But the possible lynching itself is still mired in mystery:

I talked to Claudia Lacy in Bladenboro in December of 2014. Earlier that year, on Aug. 29, she had lost her son Lennon Lacy, who was found hanging from a playground swing. Local law officers ruled his death a suicide. Claudia Lacy did not believe that. She thought her son, who was African-American, was lynched. She told me then she would not stop her search for the truth. She considered it her duty.

This mother’s mission makes up a big part of the documentary “Always In Season,” directed by Jacqueline Olive. Lacy’s story is interwoven with the brutal, tragic history of lynching in America. On Feb. 2, the documentary won the Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

When you look at the details of this case, you'd think it happened back in the 1950's:

Monday News: The wrong direction

Submitted by BlueNC on

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NC REGULATORS GOING AFTER HEMP-BASED CBD PRODUCTS: State regulators are launching a crackdown on hemp products that are not allowed under federal law. They're going after certain items that contain CBD - a compound derived from the marijuana plant, but without the psycho-active chemical that produces a high. The Hemp Boutique in Cary sells CBD in a variety of forms, including dark chocolate, honey sticks, coffee, cheesecake-flavored bars and gummy worms. Alyssa Schuster said she visits the store five times a week because the CBD helps her sleep. But after seeking guidance from the feds, state regulators say the Food and Drug Administration considers CBD a drug and bans it from being added to food. Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Joe Reardon says CBD packaged in food could end up in the wrong mouths.
https://www.wral.com/as-state-regulators-crack-down-on-cbd-business-owners-try-to-see-through-haze/1...

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