DL Open Thread: Friday, March 26, 2021

Georgia Passes Unfathomably Racist Voter Suppression Laws.  As anti-democratic as it gets.  Stop minorities from voting, hang on to power.  Will Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin stand with these blatant racists?  BTW, doesn’t get more symbolic than this.  Black legislator arrested for trying to attend signing ceremony,

Looks Like Netanyahu’s ‘Victory’ Was No Victory At All:

The results of Tuesday’s election confirm that Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats in the Israeli Knesset. But the bloc of parties that are certain to support him has only won 52 seats, nine shy of the number needed for a majority in the parliament. His opponents, too, failed to garner a majority, with the disparate group of anti-Netanyahu parties securing 57 seats.

Time to proceed with the trial of Netanyahu and his corrupt enablers.  It had been pushed back due to the election.  Why not fit it in before the next inevitable election?

North Carolina Pays White Racist To Lock Up Minorities.  Uh, doesn’t NC have a D governor?  Maybe he should look into this…this public statement is so Carneyesque:

In a written message, J. Gregory Thomas, a spokesperson in the Community Corrections area of the agency stated the NC DPS “is aware of the concerns raised regarding Mr. Stone.” The statement went on to note that “the Division of Community Corrections takes personnel matters seriously and will take any actions that are deemed necessary and appropriate according to state law and agency policy. The Department expects its employees to maintain high ethical and moral standards.”

Well. That’s reassuring.

Police Union Contract Obligates City To Defend Out-Of-Control NYPD Cops:

Maybe you’re going to be disciplined,” said Aboushi, who is a candidate in the race to be the next Manhattan district attorney, “but getting a lawyer, paying for a lawyer, understanding the accountability that comes from a lawsuit — they’re completely insulated from that.”

It is the sort of protection that, in the last few decades, has proliferated in police labor agreements across the country, often negotiated behind closed doors, with little attention paid to the public policy implications.

Anybody know whether these sort of protections are accorded Delaware’s worst police officers?

Biomass Power An Environmental Threat?  Signs point to yes:

…the global transition away from fossil fuels has sparked a boom in the U.S. wood-pellet industry, which has built 23 mills throughout the South over the past decade, and is relentlessly trying to brand itself as a 21st-century green energy business. Its basic argument is that the carbon released while trees are burning shouldn’t count because it’s eventually offset by the carbon absorbed while other trees are growing. That is also currently the official position of the U.S. government, along with many other governments around the world.

In documentaries, lawsuits and the teenage activist Greta Thunberg’s spirited Twitter feed, critics of the industry have suggested an alternative climate strategy: Let trees grow and absorb carbon, then don’t burn them. Deforestation is a major driver of climate change, and the United Nations climate panel has warned that the world needs to end it worldwide to meet the ambitious Paris emissions targets for 2050.

‘If I Could Just Pee In A Bottle…’.  Yep, Amazon drivers have resorted to this due to lack of bathroom access.  Amazon has known that this was happening, but lied about it.  As to #2, you don’t wanna know.  Jeff Bezos, what sayeth thou?  Break up Amazon.  Love the use of the term ‘leaked memo’ in the headline.

The Magnificent Boat.  Stuck in the Suez. It’s…AWESOME.  You can learn a lot about global freight in this article. Admit it, you’ve always wanted to.

What do you want to talk about?