Tag: bad

There’s Good News and Bad News for Trump in a New Survey

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My survey of GOP county chairs is part of an ongoing effort to track the so-called “invisible primary” for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, with a series that is being featured in POLITICO Magazine over the next year. What takes place during the invisible primary is the crucial coordination and jockeying that occurs before anyone starts voting or caucusing, but which will do much to determine the eventual winner. County chairs are figures who will play a key role in shaping the race. They are highly attentive to the party’s internal dynamics and are influential in local GOP circles; they offer the kind of endorsements that candidates are eager to collect. They’re also still close to the rank-and-file grassroots, and their shifts are likely to signal where the rest of the party is going.
When I launched my first survey in February, Trump was looking vulnerable. He was tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis among those who had committed to a candidate, and unlike DeSantis, there appeared to be a real ceiling for how much Trump’s support could grow. But in the wake of Trump’s April indictment in Manhattan, related to his alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, Trump picked up some support, largely at DeSantis’ expense. It appeared Republicans were rallying to the embattled former president once again.
The most recent survey, conducted in the first few weeks of June, came amid yet another criminal indictment — this time involving federal charges that he mishandled classified documents, including violations of the Espionage Act. Yet I found Trump’s support continued to increase. Roughly twice as many county party chairs are now committed to Trump as to DeSantis, and no other candidates have really broken through.
This past month has seen a raft of new entrants to the GOP race, including some expected contenders like former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, along with seemingly even bigger longshots like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Some commentators have suggested the crowded primary campaign could mirror that of 2016, when Trump snatched the nomination because other candidates split the anti-Trump vote. But so far, support for all the candidates combined still falls short of Trump’s tally. The one hope for Trump holdouts is that many chairs remain undecided.
As director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver, I sent this survey to roughly 3,000 GOP chairs, one for every county in the country; 133 Republican chairs responded, roughly the same number who responded to the April survey.
The first question I asked was simply whether the county chairs had committed to supporting a candidate, and if so, whom that might be.
The proportion of undecided chairs remains significant, but it dipped a bit to 47 percent, down from 51 percent in April. DeSantis’ share of supporters has not shifted, holding just under 14 percent. But Trump’s support continues to grow. He has 29 percent now — roughly double what DeSantis has — and up from 24 percent in April and 16 percent in February. Support for all other candidates added up to around 10 percent.

Moe Yoder, a Trump backer who chairs the Republican Party of Yamhill County, Ore., summed up the sentiment of many: “I was impressed by his first term and was very upset that he was robbed of his second term.” Meanwhile, DeSantis supporter Donna Girten of Crittenden County, Ky., echoed the rationale many of his backers have voiced throughout this year, crediting “his conservative efforts and no-holds-barred approach. He’s Trump like without the drama.”
I then asked another question to gauge potential candidate support: Which candidates are county chairs considering for the presidential nomination?
DeSantis still holds the lead in this category, with 61 percent of chairs saying they’re open to the Florida governor’s nomination. But notably, that figure has dropped with each survey wave; it had been 67 percent in April and 73 percent in February. Trump’s numbers, while not as strong, continue to improve. He’s now at 53 percent, up from 51 percent in April and 43 percent in February, suggesting more and more Republicans are getting comfortable with him back at the top of the ticket. Again, that’s even as his legal woes grow.
The one non-Trump, non-DeSantis contender who saw a real bit of movement in my survey is South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. He appears to have enjoyed a strong campaign rollout, with 46 percent of chairs now saying they’re considering supporting him, up from 26 percent in April. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s numbers are up slightly, from 29 percent in April to 31 percent in June, while Pence saw his numbers rise from 17 to 24 percent between April and June.

Finally, I asked the chairs whom they do not want to see as their presidential nominee. Christie led the pack for the third straight time, with 57 percent of chairs saying they do not want him as the GOP nominee. This is roughly the same figure as in April, suggesting his recent campaign rollout in which he offered sharp critiques of Trump hasn’t done much to alter his image among Republican grassroots leaders. The one bright spot for Christie is that a few more chairs are considering him now than were in April: 11 percent rather than just 4 percent.
As in previous surveys, the candidates with the most opposition among county chairs after Christie were former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (who has continued to criticize Trump for his legal travails), Pence and Trump himself. Pence’s negatives are down slightly, however, to 42 percent of chairs ruling him out as opposed to 47 percent in April.
Meanwhile, considerably more county chairs are now rejecting Trump’s candidacy than in the last wave, with 38 percent of chairs now opposed to him, up from 29 percent in April. Ever the polarizing force, it appears that the latest round of indictments may have increased both Trump’s supporters and detractors within the party.

We can learn a bit more about these party leaders’ sentiment by focusing on just those who answered both the April and June surveys; that’s 57 chairs overall. For the most part, we see relatively stable candidate alignments. DeSantis picked up two undecideds while Trump picked up one chair and lost two. A few chairs shifted around a bit, but there wasn’t a lot of change.
This stability, of course, advantages Trump the longer it goes on. But the race is still relatively early. The debates start in August, and Trump could face yet more indictments based on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Eventually those undecided chairs will have to pick a side.
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#Good #News #Bad #News #Trump #Survey
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

July 11, 2023
Rohit’s bad patch continues as CSK break ‘Chepauk jinx’ against MI after 13 years

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Chennai: Rohit Sharma’s barren run with willow continued as Chennai Super Kings broke a 13-year-old home jinx against Mumbai Indians with an easy six-wicket victory in an IPL match, here on Saturday.
The Indian skipper’s horrid run in IPL since last edition continued as he failed to trouble the scorer for the second match in succession with MI scoring a below par 139 for 8 against an inspired performance from the CSK pace and seam troika of Deepak Chahar (2/18 in 4 overs), Man of the match Matheesha Pathirana (3/15 in 4 overs) and Tushar Deshpande (2/25 in 4 overs).
The chase was a cakewalk as Devon Conway (44 off 42 balls) played the role of anchor to perfection after Ruturaj Gaikwad’s whirlwind 16-ball-30. The win was completed in 17.5 overs and CSK leapfrogged to second place behind Gujarat Titans in the points table.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored the winning runs much to the delight of the adoring crowd at Chepauk. The last time CSK won against MI at Chepauk was in 2010, even before India had won the ODI World Cup under Dhoni.
For MI, it was a bad loss as they stay in sixth place with 10 points from as many games and very little margin for error after this match.
But what will certainly both MI is their skipper’s prolonged lean patch as 184 runs from 10 games with five scores of less than 10 and only two scores above 40 will set some panic in the ranks.
Not to forget, coming down the batting order at No. 3 didn’t work as an indiscreet lap-scoop off Deepak Chahar didn’t work at all for the skipper.
But no amount of praise will be enough for Pathirana, who literally bottled the MI batters during the death overs as he didn’t concede a single boundary in his four-over spell.

In the MI innings, a maiden half-century in IPL by left-handed batter Nehal Wadhera (64, 51 balls, 8×4, 1×6) and his half-century partnerships with Suryakumar Yadav (26) and Tristan Stubbs (20) helped salvage things for MI, which lost three wickets by the third over and reach 139 for 8.
After opting to bowl, CSK bowlers left MI in disarray, reducing the opposition to 16 for 3 by the end of the third over.
Chahar picked up the wickets of Ishan Kishan (7, 9 balls, 1×4) and MI skipper Rohit Sharma (0, 3 balls) while Tushar Deshpande provided the first breakthrough by removing the dangerous Cameron Green, getting him bowled for 6 (4 balls, 1 four).
MI lost three wickets in space of 7 deliveries whilst scoring only 1 run and looked in deep trouble before Surya (26, 22 balls, 3×4) and Wadhera began the rescue act.
Surya and Wadhera added 55 runs in 7 overs and began to look more assured in the middle before Ravindra Jadeja fired a quicker one to dismiss the former.
Surya, who regained form in the previous game against Punjab Kings, held the key for MI after the early setbacks, and he looked to be guiding the team towards safety when Jadeja’s faster one got the better of him.
Tim David, of whom much was expected, lasted just 4 balls, scoring two runs before being dismissed by Deshpande.
Pathirana, who seems to be getting better with every game, gave away 2 runs in the 18th over and 5 runs in the final over as CSK strangled Mumbai Indians with pace, for a change. The MI batters could not get away the slinger from Sri Lanka in a modest performance.
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#Rohits #bad #patch #continues #CSK #break #Chepauk #jinx #years
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 6, 2023
Meta purges 43 mn bad content on FB, Insta in March in India

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New Delhi: Meta said that it took down over 38.4 million pieces of content across 13 policies for Facebook and over 4.61 million pieces of content across 12 policies for Instagram in March in India.
Between March 1-31, Facebook received 7,193 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism, and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 1,903 cases.
These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues etc, said Meta in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

“Of the other 5,290 reports where specialised review was needed, we reviewed content as per our policies, and we took action on 1,300 reports in total. The remaining 3,990 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned,” Meta added.
On Instagram, the company received 9,226 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism.
“Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 4,280 cases,” it informed.
Of the other 4,946 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta reviewed content and took action on 1,656 reports in total.
The remaining 3,290 reports on Instagram were reviewed but may not have been actioned.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.
“We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action on for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning,” said Meta.
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#Meta #purges #bad #content #Insta #March #India
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 2023
Uorfi Javed reacts after Ranbir Kapoor calls her fashion bad taste

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Mumbai: Bigg Boss OTT fame Uorfi Javed who is known for her fashion choices often lands into controversies. He is usually seen flaunting her toned body while posing for paps due to which she is being trolled by netizens. The model recently slammed Ranbir Kapoor after the latter commented on her fashion sense. She said she doesn’t bother about what the YJHD actor thinks about her.
In an interview with Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranbir Kapoor said that Uorfi Javed can wear clothes according to her own choice but he did not like her fashion sense. Reacting to Ranbir’s statement about her fashion, Uorfi said , she is floored by Kareena’s opinion and is not bothered by what Ranbir Kapoor thinks of her fashion sense.
Expressing her excitement about Kareena’s statement, Uorfi revealed that she was blown away and couldn’t believe that Laal Singh Chaddha had actually praised her. Further, she said “Bhaad mein jaaye Ranbir, Kareena ne meri tareef kiya hain, ab toh kya hain, Ranbir ki kya aukat hain.”

Uorfi Javed is bold and doesn’t bother about anyone. Some NGOs heads and prominent personalities do not like her fashion sense while others are openly praising her for her boldness.
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#Uorfi #Javed #reacts #Ranbir #Kapoor #calls #fashion #bad #taste
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 11, 2023
Montana beef: Bad blood intensifies between Tester and Daines

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“Really bad scenario. It’s just not a good situation,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Manchin is backing Tester and has tried to stop senator-vs.-senator campaign appearances, even previously endorsing two moderate Republicans.
“I know it’s not a very close relationship,” Manchin added. “I think I’m accurate in that.”
The next two years will be a stress test for the two Montana senators. Their state is one of only five with Senate delegations split between the parties, a modern low. And three of those states, West Virginia, Montana and Ohio, are the fulcrum for next year’s battle for the Senate majority.
They’ve never run against one another, but the Tester-Daines relationship was already strained as they sided against each other in past Montana elections. Now, during a make-or-break race for Tester and Daines’ huge mandate to take back the majority, a palpable chill is setting in.
Daines responded to Tester’s reelection announcement by likening the Democrat to Steve Bullock, the former governor who challenged Daines in 2020 — only to be trounced by double digits. Tester, who spoke to Bullock during his recruitment, deadpanned in an interview that his relationship with Daines “couldn’t be better.”
Asked if Daines took the National Republican Senatorial Committee job specifically to defeat him, Tester replied wryly: “That’s your perspective. And I don’t necessarily think that perspective is wrong.”
Their interplay will demonstrate just how much Washington’s perpetual campaign affects policymaking — and the interests of an entire state. The duo tussled over a Montana judicial pick in December, a potential sign of things to come.
On a personal level, the two men represent the divergent profiles of their Western home: Tester the blunt-speaking, self-described “dirt farmer” versus Daines, a buttoned-up conservative with Trump ties. The tension between them is a reminder, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), that “none of this stuff’s easy. It’s not for sissies.”

In this Sept. 6, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump waves as he walks off of Air Force One at Billings Logan International Airport in Billings, Mont., with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., second from right, and Rep Greg Gianforte, R-Mont.
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Susan Walsh/AP Photo
Outwardly, Tester and Daines maintain at least a veneer of civility. They still put out joint press releases, a sign that their offices work together. Yet it’s clear things are strained, judging from clues both past and present.
This week, Montana Republicans are seeking to limit third-party bids with a bill that creates a “top two” jungle primary— albeit only for Tester’s 2024 race. In theory, it would help the GOP head off a spoiler effect that helped Tester win reelection in 2012, when a libertarian siphoned votes from the Republican candidate. But in 2018, Tester surpassed 50 percent against Republican Matt Rosendale, who’s now a House member; the libertarian candidate that year received just under 3 percent.
The Montana bill’s chief sponsor, Rosendale backer and state Sen. Greg Hertz (R), first sought a constitutional amendment to make all races subject to a “top two” system but faced statewide resistance. Hertz said Chuck Denowh, a Montana lobbyist who lists finance work for both Daines and Rosendale on his LinkedIn page, then offered to help. They eventually settled on a bill specific to Tester’s race.
“I mean, how much more obvious can you be?” asked GOP state Sen. Brad Molnar, who voted against the Tester-specific plan. He warned the bill could outrage Libertarians and guessed that the RNC, which has not “had a good idea in 20 years,” was probably behind it.
Hertz, however, said he didn’t talk to Daines or the NRSC about the effort and was unaware if Denowh advocated for it on behalf of any particular client. Denowh did not respond to a request for comment.
“I don’t know if it would help them or hurt [Republicans],” added Hertz. “My main goal is just to make sure that the person who wins the U.S. Senate race in Montana has more than a majority.”
It’s the latest twist in a state where political mischief borders on sport. A mysterious left-leaning group in Montana boosted the Libertarian candidate in 2012 to 6 percent of support, more than Tester’s winning margin. Democrats then fought to remove the Green Party from the ballot in 2018 and 2020, while the GOP helped the Green Party gather signatures in 2020.
Daines and Tester are no exception to the Montana trend. They nearly clashed directly a decade ago, when Daines briefly launched a campaign against Tester during the 2012 cycle. He ultimately decided to seek an open House seat instead, winning easily.
They have now served together for a decade, including in the Senate since Daines’ 2014 win. But Daines grew close to Donald Trump during his presidency, and his son Donald Trump Jr. as well. So when Tester faced reelection in 2018, Daines teamed with the Trumps to stump for GOP challenger Matt Rosendale down the stretch — arguing that “we need to send a different senator” to Washington and urging Trump to come deliver a knockout blow for Rosendale.
Tester won.
Then, in 2020, Tester played at least some role in drafting Bullock, then a former presidential candidate, to take on Daines. Tester said that Bullock made “that decision on his own.” Still, Tester spoke of his hopes that Bullock would run and said his state “needs a senator in Washington that will stand up for Montana, not take a seat because leadership tells them to.”
And Tester knows Senate races: He’s won three and chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2016.
“I’m sure Jon Tester has something to do with the race between Governor Bullock and Steve Daines,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.).
Zinke is among the potential Republican recruits to take on Tester, whose reelection bid Daines greeted with a frosty statement that both he and Bullock “should have ended their political careers on their terms. Instead, they each will have their careers ended by Montana voters.”
Perhaps understating things a bit, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), said “there’s some stuff in Montana politics that goes back a while.”
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a former NRSC chair, said he hopes the situation between Tester and Daines “doesn’t become terribly personal.” But “I don’t know how you avoid that.” Moran, who works closely with Tester, said he’s trying to stay out of it.
Other potential Tester challengers include Rosendale, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and veteran Tim Sheehy. As of now though, Tester has no top-tier opponent.
Yet Daines insisted he and Tester “are friends” despite it all.
“He supports about everything the Biden administration has tried to do, and I fought against that: massive spending bills. tax increases, judges. Across the board. So there’s a real clear contrast,” the Republican added in an interview.
Though Democrats have spent a dozen years reading media predictions that this election cycle will be Tester’s last, so far he’s withstood nearly every kind of GOP challenger. This cycle’s intense Republican focus on Montana, however, raises the question of whether Daines’ NRSC chairmanship gives Republicans an edge.
“The people running the NRSC are McConnell and corporate America. We know that,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a fellow endangered incumbent who vowed Tester would prevail. “I don’t think it matters who the figurehead is.”
Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.
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#Montana #beef #Bad #blood #intensifies #Tester #Daines
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 7, 2023
Freedom Caucus and progressives lock arms — and that could be bad news for McCarthy

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This alignment could create headaches for McCarthy, because he can only lose four members of his own party during any given floor vote in the closely divided House. And while the Senate has already passed its own bipartisan reversal of the Iraq war authorizations, most of the House GOP is not yet bought in on that issue, and there’s no consensus in the party about cutting Pentagon funding.

“Sometimes the political spectrum is more of a circle than a line. At some point, you might have sometimes-differing motives or different ranges, but you end up [at] the same conclusion, and that’s okay,” said Chip Roy.
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Jose Luis Magana/ AP Photo
So if McCarthy’s right flank teams up with liberals in earnest — after nearly costing the California Republican the speakership — it could chip at his hold over his slim majority. It remains to be seen whether a concrete break with the speaker will materialize, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are paying attention to the dynamic.
As Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) put it: “Sometimes you have interesting bedfellows in Washington.”
The best-case scenario outcome for McCarthy, who’s been noncommittal on a quick floor vote to repeal Iraq war powers, is House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul’s (R-Texas) proposal to replace those war authorizations as well as a third authorization passed after the Sept. 11 attacks. That approach would likely be a no-go for liberals who are currently on the same page as many conservatives.
Ending Iraq war powers “should come to the floor as soon as possible,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former Progressive Caucus co-chair who’s spearheaded a decades-long push on the matter. “And our Republican colleagues are also working to try to ensure that this comes to the floor as soon as possible. It’s way past time to get this done.”
Rebelling against leadership is hardly a new mode for Lee, who endured harsh criticism during the George W. Bush administration as the sole House lawmaker to vote against the post-Sept. 11 authorization. And other members of the Freedom and Progressive Caucuses are gadflies in their own right; Roy, for one, regularly upends the GOP conference’s plans.
“It’s a question of institutional power,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the House Rules Committee chair whom Lee cited as one of her top Republican allies on repealing war authorizations. “And I think there’s a sense around here, on both the left and the right, that we’ve abdicated too much of that — and not just in recent Congresses, but honestly probably going back decades.”

Ending Iraq war powers “should come to the floor as soon as possible,” said Barbara Lee.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
President Joe Biden has promised to sign the Senate-passed pair of war authorization repeals if they reach his desk.

It’s not just the war powers effort that’s bringing together the House’s opposing factions. They’ve also united to push for pumping the brakes on a potential ban of TikTok, airing fears of government overreach while more establishment colleagues share national security worries.
In addition, Progressive Caucus chief Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Freedom Caucus member Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) are jointly raising concerns about government surveillance laws ahead of a reauthorization deadline at the end of the year.
The left and right frequently align “on issues of war, civil liberties and privacy,” Jayapal said. “We do have things that we see eye to eye on, and I think we’re always going to look for those opportunities.”
It’s not clear yet how the war powers repeal might come to the House floor, whether as a stand-alone or attached to another must-pass vehicle. But Roy said that if it’s not brought up before the end of the year’s annual defense policy bill, he “can promise” it would “become an issue” during debate on that plan.
“We’re gonna have to deal with that at some point. And so this will be just another step along the way. I’ve been happy to work with Congresswoman Lee towards that end,” Roy said.
While McCaul may be able to find a war powers compromise that would satisfy a majority of House Republicans — according to longstanding conference tradition, the speaker needs majority-GOP support in order to bring legislation to the floor — the party probably can’t count on many Democratic votes for that plan.
Right now, liberals are pushing solely for a full repeal of the 2002 and 1991 Iraq authorizations.
“There’s nothing to replace it with,” said Lee. “That argument and strategy is muddying the water.”
Meanwhile, McCaul’s Democratic counterpart atop the Foreign Affairs panel is looking to help break the logjam on post-Sept. 11 war powers. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) signaled an interest in introducing his own replacement for that measure. But Meeks aligned with progressives on the Senate-passed measures repealing the 2002 and 1991 war powers authorizations, calling for a “straight repeal.”
If all else fails in the war powers debate, there’s always the wonky procedural gambit known as a discharge petition — which allows a majority of House members from either party to band together and force a bill onto the floor, regardless of leadership’s wishes.
Some liberals, like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), have indicated they’re open to that option. But other progressive leaders have said that’s off the table for now, concerned it could blow up the fragile bipartisan consensus on war powers.
“The discharge petition is not the way to get bipartisan support,” Lee said. “We have the votes. So this should come to the floor as soon as possible.”
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#Freedom #Caucus #progressives #lock #arms #bad #news #McCarthy
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 6, 2023
Trump thinks Manhattan judge hates him. Too bad, experts say.

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But experts said there’s no legal basis to bar Merchan from presiding.
“If there were some facts showing that the judge had become irrational or infuriated then there might be an argument, but simply having sat in these other cases is not grounds for disqualification,” said Steven Lubert, co-author of “Judicial Conduct and Ethics.”
Still, the appearance of bias — something judges try to avoid — persists, according to two court insiders in New York.
A former assistant district attorney in Manhattan who is now a criminal defense lawyer said he was surprised Merchan would oversee District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of Trump for charges related to a 2016 hush money payment.
“I don’t think it’s really a great move on the part of the court system to assign the same judge,” said the former prosecutor, who was granted anonymity because he has cases before Merchan.
“I am just shocked that the chief judge doesn’t preside over a case of this significance. The former president getting indicted calls for the chief judge of the court to handle it,” he said, referring to Ellen Biben, the criminal court’s administrative judge.
Biben is also the former head of the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, a one time New York State inspector general and served as a special deputy attorney general for public integrity.
Trump claimed in the Friday Truth Social posting that Merchan was “hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors.”

But the Manhattan district attorney’s office has no role in selecting judges. Instead that responsibility lies solely with the court system. Merchan is expected to be the trial judge for the Trump case because he was the judge overseeing the grand jury that voted to indict the former president Thursday afternoon.
A New York court official, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal processes, said judges are picked to oversee grand juries randomly through an assignment wheel. If the grand jury produces an indictment, the judge who has been overseeing the grand jury then handles the ensuing trial, the official said. It was coincidental that Merchan handled both the Trump Org. trial and the grand jury that examined the hush money matter, this person said.
David Bookstaver, former communications director for the New York State Office of Court Administration, said in an interview that Biben, in consultation with others — including the state court system’s chief judge, Tamiko Amaker — could assign a different judge to the case.
Merchan is indisputably experienced. He was first appointed to the New York County Supreme Court — which is what New York state calls the trial court in Manhattan — in 2006 by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and moved to the criminal court in 2009. Before becoming a judge, he served for seven years as an assistant attorney general in the New York State Attorney General’s Office and before that as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.

A man walks by the entrance of Trump Tower before former President Trump arrives in Manhattan for his arraignment in New York, April 3, 2023.
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Bryan Anselm for POLITICO
Several lawyers and other court officials who know Merchan said he’s got the right temperament for the job.
“He is very calm and balanced in his management of his courtroom,” said leading criminal defense lawyer Stacey Richman, who has handled several cases before Merchan.
But a second criminal defense attorney agreed that Merchan’s handling of all of the Trump-related cases makes it look like the fix is in, even if it isn’t.
“It appears to me the judicial system ought to get a little more random,” said the second defense attorney, who was also granted anonymity since he practices before Merchan.
While Trump’s defense team may bring a motion for Merchan to recuse himself, it’s probably a nonstarter.
“It’s entirely up to the judge, who will reject a recusal motion,” said Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University Law School who specializes in judicial ethics.
“That is not a decision that Trump can appeal now. If there’s a conviction then the defendant, Trump, can argue this motion should have been granted,” Gillers explained.
Gillers said the most important thing is that Merchan has the “confidence of his colleagues and an ability to run the case.”
Frank Rothman, who’s practiced in Manhattan Criminal Court for 37 years, said Merchan enjoys that confidence.
“He’s a very thorough guy, even keeled,” Rothman said. “Treats people with respect, no bullshit kind of guy.”
Erica Orden and Wesley Parnell contributed to this report.
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#Trump #thinks #Manhattan #judge #hates #bad #experts
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 4, 2023
West has bad habit of commenting on others: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar

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Bengaluru: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the West has had a “bad habit” for a long time, of commenting on others, and it thinks it has a “God-given right” to speak about the internal matters of other countries.
He said this during a ‘Meet and Greet’ interaction organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan with over 500 young voters, joggers and visitors at Cubbon Park here.
The Minister was responding to a question on Germany and United States’ remarks on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament.

“There are two reasons. It is because the West has had a bad habit for a long time of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if you keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. I see that happening,” Jaishankar said.
He said, “The second part of the truth — in our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India; America and Europe, why are you standing by and doing nothing?
“So if somebody from here goes and says ‘why are you standing by and saying nothing’, then obviously they are going to comment. Part of the problem is them, part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing,” he added.
Bengaluru South and Central MPs Surya and Mohan were present during the interaction.
Responding to a question on freebie culture, Jaishankar said some people in Delhi were masters of it. “They are doing it because they do not have the responsibility of raising resources,” he commented.

“You can’t run a country on the basis of freebies. Somewhere, somebody has to pay for it. Anybody who is giving a freebie here is taking away something elsewhere,” he said. Freebie culture was a way of getting quick popularity in a very irresponsible way, he said, adding that it was not sustainable.
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#West #bad #habit #commenting #External #Affairs #Minister #Jaishankar
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
WhatsApp bans record over 45 lakh bad accounts in India in Feb

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New Delhi: Meta-owned WhatsApp banned a record over 45 lakh bad accounts in India in the month of February, in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021, the company informed on Saturday.
Between February 1 and February 28, “4,597,400 WhatsApp accounts were banned and 1,298,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users”, WhatsApp said in its monthly compliance report.
The most popular messaging platform, which has nearly 500 million users in the country, received another record 2,804 complaint reports in February in the country, and the records “actioned” were 504.

“This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform,” said a company spokesperson.
“We will continue with transparency to our work and include information about our efforts in future reports,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, in a bid to empower millions of Indian social media users, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) that will look into their concerns regarding content and other issues.
The newly-formed panel, a move to strengthen the country’s digital laws to tame the Big Tech companies, will look into appeals by users against decisions of social media platforms.
The IT Ministry last month notified to establish three GACs as required under the recently amended IT Rules, 2021.

In a major push towards an open, safe, trusted and accountable Internet, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has notified some amendments aimed at protecting the rights of ‘Digital Nagriks’.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023
Historic Mah Laqa Bai Chanda complex falls on bad times; Govt should wake up to its upkeep

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Hyderabad: The tomb of Mah Laqa Bai Chanda, a courtesan, poet and a philanthropist who lived between 1768 and 1824, has once again become victim of vagaries of time.
A young Mah Laqa Bai Chanda had shifted to Hyderabad from Aurangabad. She was brought to Hyderabad by her mother Raj Kanwar Bai during the times of the Second Nizam, Nizam Ali Khan also known as Sikander Jah. Chanda was a baby with a ‘moon like face’ grew into multi-talented woman. She became a singer, dancer, courtesan and poet. She was also well versed in art of warfare and accompanied the Nizam on a few expeditions. Because of her beautiful looks and talents she had sway over the Nizam and at least three of his highest ranking nobles, all at the same time. She was granted large tracts of land that stretched from Maula Ali up to Vidya Nagar. The Arts College building of the Osmania University is said to have been built over her jagir.
The tomb complex after remaining neglected for decades was restored between 2010 and 2011 through the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. This was the first constructive intervention of the US embassy and subsequently by the US Consulate General in Hyderabad. The fund was small—only Rs 40 lakh–as compared to the magnitude of the project and had no follow up provision when it was given.

Its renovated version was opened for public. The renovation was so good that the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage acknowledged it by a citation.
Soon after the renovation the then AP Government decided to declare it a protected monument and the Department of State Archeology was appointed a caretaker.
But for some unknown reasons the government stopped paying for the monthly salary to the caretaker. A few months later it cancelled his appointment altogether.
A recent visit to the tomb complex revealed that it has fallen on bad times one more time. There is no maintenance of the complex. After this writer went around looking at the condition of complex a person in civilian clothes came in. In an informal chat he said that he is the watchman and looks after the upkeep of the garden areas within the complex. He also does the cleaning of the floor around the graves of Chanda and her mother.
That chowkidar had nothing to do with the worsening condition of the complex which is not visited by any government officials in long years.

Asked why the building on the southern side is locked out he said he has no idea about it. But some visitors to the mosque that is located within the complex revealed that some Shia community leaders had laid claim to complex and had occupied that area. The police intervened, cleared the place of those persons and locked it up. It happened a few years ago and since then that portion of the complex remains out of public reach.
“Under the US Ambassador’s Fund, we received about Rs 40 lakh for the restoration work. As it did not cover the garden and mosque, we are trying to rope in other interested organisations for the same,” said Sajjad Shahid, secretary, Centre for Deccan Studies (CDS) that has spearheaded this restoration project had told this writer at that time.
“CDS decided to take it up because we were drawn by the historicity and poetry of Mah Laqa Bai and the brilliant architecture of the structure,” had said Scott Kugle, an American historian who was also associated with the restoration project. Kugle had added, “The tomb should be promoted by the state tourism department as a must-see destination of Hyderabad.
Shahid who is associated with several restoration projects in the city including the Seven Tombs in the vicinity of Golconda Fort said since the government of Telangana is trying to work on many historical projects it should devise means to keep the structures intact. “Since Mah Luqa Bai Chanda complex is one of the distinct projects, it should be revived and open for public,” he said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 1, 2023