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Anne Laurie has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2009.

Far-Right Terrorist Murders Ten People in Germany

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Maybe it was just bad timing — too much domestic news here. Suspect committed suicide, after killing his mother:

Authorities Thursday confirmed the suspect behind two shootings in the central German city of Hanau, which left nine people dead and six more injured, showed signs of a “deeply racist mentality.”

Germany’s attorney general, Peter Frank, said a video and manifesto posted on the suspect’s website expressed “not only crazy thoughts and convoluted conspiracy theories, but also a deeply racist mentality.” He cited this as the reason for the attorney general’s office to take over the investigation.

Prosecutors must now “find out, if there were any other supporters or accomplices in the Hanau attacks.” Frank said prosecutors would look into the suspect’s environment and known connections, both in Germany and in other countries.

A 43-year-old German man is the prime suspect in the attacks, which took place Wednesday night at two hookah bars. His body and that of his mother were found by police in his home, bringing the total death toll to 11. A weapon was found beside the two. Police encoutered the suspect’s father uninjured, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors soon took over the investigation due to the severity of the case, as this prosecutorial level primarily handles cases of crimes against the state…

In talking with eyewitnesses on the ground in Hanau, DW’s Rebecca Staudenmaier said the hookah bar where the first shooting took place was focal points for a local tight-knit Kurdish community, as well as a popular hangout for young people of all backgrounds.

Police have revealed few details about the victims. However, Yanki Pürsün, a lawmaker in the Hesse state parliament, told DW’s Turkish service that three of the victims were of Turkish descent and five had a North African background…

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Twitter Disinfo Open Thread: “We’re WORKING On It, Okay?”

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Chorus from users: But STILL no edit button, Jack…

… Twitter confirmed that the leaked demo, which was accessible on a publicly available site, is one possible iteration of a new policy to target misinformation. The company does not currently have a date for a rollout of any new misinformation features.

In this version, disinformation or misleading information posted by public figures will be corrected directly beneath the tweet by fact-checkers and journalists who are verified on the platform, and possibly other users who will participate in a new “community reports” feature, which the demo claims is “like Wikipedia.”…

The leaked demo also shows an example of medical misinformation, including an example about the coronavirus by a verified Twitter account.

The impending policy rollout comes as the 2020 election season is ramping up, with Twitter playing a central role in some of the daily give-and-take between the candidates. On Thursday, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s campaign posted an edited video that made it seem as if there had been a long pause when he asked during Wednesday’s Democratic debate if the other candidates had ever started a business…

Some other websites have successfully used community moderation to regulate their platforms. Information on Wikipedia has been moderated by anonymous users since its inception in 2001. It is frequently vandalized in breaking news situations by political actors, which can sometimes lead more powerful moderators to temporarily lock down pages…

CORRECTION (Feb. 20, 2020, 5:16 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated when Twitter will release new features to counter misinformation. There is currently no timeline; it is not scheduled to roll out on March 5.

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Election Year Open Thread: ICYMI

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Bloomberg wasn’t the only elderly white guy had a bad night, last night…


(A $600K ‘summer camp’, incidentally — we’re not talking outhouse & oil lamp level, people.)

Look! Over there! A new poll!

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: About Last Night

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The Guardian‘s liveblog summary, which pretty well encapsulated what I’m seeing elsewhere:

  • Elizabeth Warren made a strong showing, criticizing rivals with well-prepared remarks. Her campaign reported record fundraising during the debate.
  • Facing his opponents for the first time on the debate stage, Mike Bloomberg found himself fending off attacks from every angle. The candidates questioned his record on race and policing, as well allegations that he encouraged a hostile work environment for women.
  • Bernie Sanders, who is leading in polls, cruised through. He briefly faced criticism over his supporters’ online attacks and said he disapproved of such behavior and disowned those who acted inappropriately.
  • Moderates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar were at each other’s throats vyying to lead the middle lane.
  • Joe Biden generally failed to breakthrough.

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    COVID-19 Update : Wednesday / Thursday

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    From my (limited and extremely amateur) perspective, it seems like COVID-19 coverage is becoming ‘normal’, at least in the United States. Of course it’s still a serious issue — like global climate change or financial market fluctuations — but it’s trending away from the OMG WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE OF CORONA-PLAGUE coverage. Maybe I’m just an optimist!

    I’m also seeing much circulation of two ‘hopeful’ rumors. First, that there will be ‘a vaccine’ within a year (rebuttal: there will probably be experimental vaccines for exposed individuals, but *not* something tested as safe for a more general population). Second, that chloroquine phosphate, a widely available antimalarial, has ‘been approved as a treatment’; this sounds like a throw-everything-at-it tactic, one step above approving aspirin as a valid treatment mechanism — and the drug is well known for its unpleasant side effects, so it’s not something people want to be dosing themselves with ‘just in case’. (As always, please do let me know if I’m wrong about this.)

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    The Las Vegas Bloomberg Defenestration Debate – Early Reviews

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    Tonight’s Big Debate Show: The Warm-Up

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    Hope springs eternal. Per Wired:

    … The ninth Democratic primary debate is being hosted by NBC News and MSNBC with the Nevada Independent at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas.

    Moderating the proceedings tonight will be NBC’s Lester Holt, Hallie Jackson, and Chuck Todd; Noticias Telemundo’s Vanessa Hauc; and Independent editor Jon Ralston. There is also a sort of audience participation component: NBC had been soliciting questions from viewers on the NBC News website until last Friday. Wherever the questions come from, candidates will have 75 seconds to answer them, and 45 seconds for follow-ups.

    The debate begins at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST and is scheduled to last two hours. The whole thing will be broadcast live on NBC and MSNBC in English, and in Spanish on Universo. If you cut the cord long ago, don’t worry—there are plenty of options:

    – The debate will stream live on the websites of NBC News, MSNBC, and the Nevada Independent; on NBC News and MSNBC’s Facebook pages, and on the NBC News mobile app.

    – Noticias Telemundo will livestream the debate in Spanish on the its website, its Facebook page, and on its mobile app.
    – If you use an Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Roku, you can watch live on the NBC News NOW app. NBC News Now is also a channel on XUMO, an ad-supported streaming service.

    – MSNBC and NBC are also available with a paid subscription to streaming services like FuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Hulu. Universo is also available on those services, although can require subscribing to an add-on package.

    And don’t get too comfortable after tonight. There’s literally another debate—Round No. 10!—in less than a week.

    The Guardian‘s liveblog is here, for those who prefer a little distance.

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    Pre-Debate Open Thread: What Is Bernie HIDING?

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    I seem to remember Bernie’s Press Secretary gleefully spreading the ‘Hillary’s health is failing!’ bullshite smears back in 2016, but maybe I’m just prejudiced, because she’s currently comparing questions about Sanders’ health to… birtherism:

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    Be of Good Faith Open Thread: Warren Will Not Be Disappeared

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    The Washington Post:

    … Warren’s campaign has avoided the sort of leaks, backbiting and recrimination that bedeviled other campaigns during their slumps. Its venting is very public, with the candidate talking more about whether female candidates get underrated and the campaign running ads about the media erasure.

    “The night of the Iowa caucuses, CNN didn’t air Elizabeth’s full speech, but they aired the speeches of other candidates she beat,” reads one Warren ad now running on Facebook. “We can’t count on the media to cover our campaign fairly, so we’re taking our case directly to voters.”…

    It’s been suggested I should be doing pro-Warren posts every day. I don’t want to overtax the patience of anyone who prefers a different candidate, but here’s a general plea: If you see something about your favorite, send me a link, so I can share it with everybody!

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    Cat Rescue Bleg – Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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    Strayertes

    From “mostly lurker” Big R:

    I am currently in the process of rescuing a stray cat that has taken to coming around my apartment. I would rather he go to a home where we know he will be loved, but will take him to a reputable rescue if needed.

    If the jackals can crowd-fund to pay for caring for him until he’s socialized and for transport, I’ll do a BJ rescue (and do the driving myself). If nobody’s interested or we can’t raise the scratch, I’ll find him a place at a good rescue. Either way, I’ll keep feeding him and trying to gain his trust until I have his destination sorted out…

    With those preliminaries said, meet Strayertes. Available to a good home upon request and approval of BJ staff. He’s located in West Alabama (I’m in Tuscaloosa.)

    ETA: This whole thing just became newly urgent. He came inside, so I really need to move him along before my current cats kill him.

    If you have any suggestions, for re-homing or fostering or trustworthy shelters in the area, leave a comment. If you want to donate towards Strayerte’s vet checkup / transport, email me; I’ll send you Big R’s PayPal addy. (Any leftover funds will be donated to the West Alabama Humane Society.)

    And, since I know you’re all curious… Shakespeare *may* have a new home waiting; the prospective adopter has contacted Deb S. I’ll update as things develop.

    Strayertes - In the House

    Strayertes

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    Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Running Down Our Resistance

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    McConnell-Trump Contagion - Tom Toles

    (Tom Toles via GoComcis.com)
    .

    And there’s another damned debate tonight, because one of the cranky old men involved threw a tantrum about not getting enough TV time in 2016, so now we all get an introduction to a different cranky old man that nobody likes except the people he’s already bought (including a lot of ‘journalists’ who’ll drop their… objectivity for anyone who offers them free food & a novelty tour).

    I’m only gonna watch second-hand, via twitter & your comments, because there’s only so much blood-pressure medication can do. Be sure to let me know if Cranky Old Man #1 shows signs of having another infarction, or if Cranky Old Man #2 tries to order his security personnel to remove one or more of the other debaters.

    My only sure bet is that one or both of them will wag a finger at Elizabeth Warren, probably at the encouragement of the moderators. Fortunately, I have faith in my favorite Senator…

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    COVID-19 Coronavirus Update – Tuesday / Wednesday

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    Respite Open Thread: S-M-R-A-T, Smart

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    Seattle GOTV Meet-Up: Proof of Life

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    Seattle GOTV - HE Wolf & Casey L

    From party-planner and GOTV goddess CaseyL:

    The Seattle GOTV Meetup yesterday went very well. H E showed up with a green balloon (Yay, H E !) and I had made a table sign, so people could and did find us easily.

    Attending were:
    H E Wolf
    CaseyL
    thalarctosMaritimus plus one (lurker)
    Opiejeanne and Mr. Opiejeanne

    Not a bad turnout, for a meetup where we’d be putting people to work!

    There was of course a lot of social chatter, and then we got down to business. Thanks to the tips suggested by PostcardsToVoters, plus H E’s amazing organizational skills and motivational talk, we got 18 postcards done and mailed – and sent folks home with postcards and stamps and information on how to sign up at the site to get addresses.

    I should also say that Elliott Bay Brewery was very friendly and helpful, letting us into an area not usually open until later in the day so we could push tables together, set up our impressive piles of Stuff, and put up the table sign AND the balloon!

    We didn’t get many photos, as we were more focused on socializing/working, but here is what we do have.

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    Election Year Open Thread: Mike Bloomberg – He Sees Things Differently Than Other People…

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    “… He sees other people as things.”

    Some of you will recognize that line as a paraphrase of Terry Pratchett, concerning a professional assassin whose idea of quiet recreation was working out how to eliminate a fantasy-world Santa Claus by kidnapping the Tooth Fairy.

    But maybe we lesser beings can better grasp Technocrat Bloomberg’s vision by imagining that, to him, we are not actually people — just units. There are Competitor units, Customer units, Convenience units (a/k/a ‘women), and (when he is in governing mode) Citizen units.

    Many of these (we) Citizen units are inherently sub-optimal — distinguishable by skin color or gender. In his professional capacity as someone who profits from cutting out unnecessary complications, it is surely efficient to remove as many sub-optimal units from the Citizen process as possible (stop & frisk, sexual harrassment), while simultaneously enacting rules that will prevent the slightly less susceptible Citizen units from costly self-destructive habits (soda bans). He doesn’t hate the sub-optimal units… he just hates the inefficiency we introduce to the smooth functioning of the system.

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