US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Friday said that he was moving to file a bipartisan bill to repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. read more
FDA plans possible black box warning for COVID-19 shots amid rare heart risk reports; studies say the virus carries a higher threat. read more
President Donald Trump is losing the support of suburban Americans, polling reveals. read more
The United States will lift sanctions on Belarusian potash ... read more
American strategic bombers trained alongside Japanese aircraft in what Washington and Tokyo described as a demonstration of their resolve following recent military tensions between Japan and China this week.
EU Tightens Sanctions on Belarus After US Moves Woo Minsk
www.bloomberg.com
... The European Union expanded sanctions against Belarus, just days after the US said it would lift restrictions on exports of potash from the country, underscoring diverging approaches to the close ally of Russia.
"If the Belarus regime doesn't change its behavior, we might be both at different speeds and at different directions with the US," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said Monday in Brussels. ...
@#88
Donald Trump's Response to Rob Reiner's Death Sparks MAGA Backlash
www.newsweek.com
... Many Truth Social and X users were left aghast.
"I love you but this is seriously distasteful," wrote one supporter on Truth Social.
"I'm struggling to believe this is real or that the greatest President the US will ever have actually wrote these words, much less tapped send," one X user commented. ...
@#4 ... okay... and then what? ...
That's an excellent question.
What happens when satellite debris starts crashing on to houses?
NASA says it expected space station garbage to burn up. The debris smashed into a Florida home instead (2024)
www.cnn.com
That's a part of the "then what."
A likely occurrence?
I hope not.
But, then, Hurricane Katrina was also not a likely occurrence.
So, at this point I have to ask, are you a betting person?
If so, what odds are you comfortable with?
:)
Yeah, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 seems to continue to affect the ability of the Government to govern.
Speaking of Project 2025, and it's success ...
Musk calls Doge only somewhat successful' and says he would not do it again
www.theguardian.com
... Elon Musk has said the aggressive federal job-cutting program he headed early in Donald Trump's second term, known as the "department of government efficiency" (Doge), was only "a little bit successful" and he would not lead the project again.
Musk said he wouldn't want to repeat the exercise, talking on the podcast hosted by Katie Miller, a rightwing personality with a rising profile who was a Doge adviser and who is married to Stephen Miller, Donald Trump's hardline anti-immigration deputy chief of staff.
Asked whether Doge had achieved what he'd hoped, Musk said: "We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful." ...
@#17 ... 100 years old and still sings and dances ...
Comedy icon Dick van ---- celebrates turning 100: "I still try to dance"
www.cbsnews.com
OK, Dick Van Dγke is a fav actor of mine. Since the days of the Dick Van Dγke show, back in the day.
I applaud him for that.
But this recent stuff that pops up on the search engines seems to be just Hollywood phlegm.
So sad for such a great person.
There's also this ...
Rich Russians flock to Florida to deliver American babies (2019)
www.france24.com
... In southern Florida's Sunny Isles Beach, Russian tourists Anna and Helen sip coffee with their husbands and newborn babies: a common scene in what has become a prized destination for well-off foreigners looking to secure US citizenship for their children.
Under the shadow of luxury skyscrapers -- among them Trump Towers -- exists an army of well-dressed women, either pregnant or pushing top-of-the-line strollers. Most are Russian or from former Soviet Union countries.
The weather, white-sand beaches and dazzling turquoise waters are common reasons given for traveling to give birth in this city of 20,000 people, north of Miami.
But one 34-year-old, who gave her name only as Anna, was more direct.
"For the American passport!" she told AFP, smiling. She arrived in the US while expecting now two-month-old Melania.
Both she and compatriot Helen, mother to a three-month-old, said tens of thousands of dollars and months of planning went into their trips. ...
OK, that political blah, blah, blah aside...
Here's what I see (and, I admit, YMMV)...
For starters, let's go here ...
What you should know about Section 230, the rule that shaped today's internet (2023)
www.pbs.org
... wenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.
A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law " namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.
Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platform's recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message. ...
That's a good background.
But more from the article ...
... WHAT IS SECTION 230?
If a news site falsely calls you a swindler, you can sue the publisher for libel. But if someone posts that on Facebook, you can't sue the company " just the person who posted it.
That's thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which states that "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."
That legal phrase shields companies that can host trillions of messages from being sued into oblivion by anyone who feels wronged by something someone else has posted " whether their complaint is legitimate or not. ...
A Chinese robot having access to all parts of your house?
What could possibly go wrong?