TV review: Mr. Robot

I have just finished watching season 2 of this gripping series that was initially shown on the USA Network but both seasons are now available on Netflix. It is the story of Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a young computer hacker, a total genius at it, who spends most of his spare time using his skills to routinely hack into the computers of people, either out of idle curiosity or a desire to help them. He also acts as a kind of vigilante, and in his hacking if he finds someone engaged in some kind of heinous crime, he will inform the authorities. He finds it hard to talk with others or reveal anything about himself, but lives in the rich world of his own mind where he analyzes things and shares his thoughts with you, the viewer, often by directly addressing you.
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Is this planned chaos or just incompetence?

One passage jumped out at me from the unanimous opinion of the Ninth Circuit panel refusing to overturn the US District Judge James Robart’s temporary restraining order on Donald Trump’s Executive Order on immigration.

The Government has argued that, even if lawful permanent residents have due process rights, the States’ challenge to section 3(c) based on its application to lawful permanent residents is moot because several days after the Executive Order was issued, White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II issued “[a]uthoritative [g]uidance” stating that sections 3(c) and 3(e) of the Executive Order do not apply to lawful permanent residents. At this point, however, we cannot rely upon the Government’s contention that the Executive Order no longer applies to lawful permanent residents. The Government has offered no authority establishing that the White House counsel is empowered to issue an amended order superseding the Executive Order signed by the President and now challenged by the States, and that proposition seems unlikely.
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What the battle for the DNC chair is all about

Glenn Greenwald discusses what the battle for the chair of the Democratic National Committee between Keith Ellison and Tom Perez represents. The same failed Democratic party establishment, supported by its single largest donor Haim Saban, whose main agenda is promoting Israel’s interests, have got out their knives out for Ellison, in order to keep themselves in control.
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Bannon’s prominence is already getting to Trump

It looks like more and more people are making the assertion that Donald Trump is mere clay in the hands of his advisor Steve Bannon, as shown in last week’s Saturday Night Live sketch. These are not just the late night comedians on TV but political commentators as well. There have even been social media movements with hashtags #PostcardstoBannon and #PresidentBannon surfacing on Twitter.

The hashtag #PresidentBannon gained ground last week after Bannon was appointed to the National Security Council by an executive order signed by Trump. This decision came at a time when the country was still reeling under the effects of the president’s temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries as well as the suspension of the refugee program.

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The appeal hearings on Trump’s orders

I listened yesterday to the oral arguments before a panel of the Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal on whether the stay on Trump’s Executive Orders on people entering the US that was imposed by the US District Judge in the state of Washington should be lifted. (You can listen to the oral arguments here.) It is always hard to predict outcomes based on the kinds of questions that the judges ask. The questions posed to August E. Flentje, the attorney speaking on behalf of Trump’s orders, were more sharp and skeptical and the attorney seemed less prepared. At the end he even conceded that he did not seem to be persuading the justices. He admitted that the rollout of the orders had been confusing, with legal permanent residents first being included in the ban and then excluded and suggested that an acceptable outcome might be for the judges to rule that the ban only applies to people who have never been in the US before. One justice pointed out that it should not be their job to clarify what the administration’s intentions are about who is covered and that the administration could issue new orders that were clearer.
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Watch oral arguments of Trump’s appeal of immigration ruling

Those of you who are interested in the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the Executive Orders on immigration, refugees, and banning visitors from seven nations can listen live to oral arguments before the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco as attorneys for the White House try to get the their bans reinstated. The hearings are scheduled to begin at 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT) and should last about an hour or 90 minutes.

British speaker tells Trump he is not welcome in parliament

The informal invitation for a formal State Visit to the UK that was given by the British prime minister to Donald Trump has roiled that country. A petition to not have the visit be a State Visit with a meeting with the Queen has already garnered nearly 1.9 million signatures and parliament will debate the petition on February 20. The petition states:
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