Ghislaine Maxwell is currently under protective custody.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, who accused him of keeping her as a “sex slave” with the assistance of his long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell, has told a US appeals court that Maxwell’s desire for privacy fails to justify the sealing of her deposition and keeping it out of the public eye.

Giuffre’s lawyers put out the argument in a court filing with the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals before the Sept. 22 oral arguments around the publication of the now settled defamation lawsuit against the socialite.

Several documents related to the case were unsealed in July, and Maxwell is appealing against the US district judge’s order to release other case materials. That also includes her April 2016 deposition by a second accuser of Epstein.

Ms Giuffre’s lawyers, Sigrid McCawley and David Boies, told the Manhattan-based appeals court that “Maxwell’s vague argument about privacy interests cannot justify total closure of the deposition materials … [and overcome] the public’s presumption of access.”

The 58-year-old Maxwell — a confidante to Epstein — has pleaded not guilty in a case which sees her helping Epstein recruit girls so that he could abuse them The case revolves around the recruitment of three underage girls between 1994 to 1997. She is also under trial for denying involvement with the late pedo financier under oath — an act of perjury.

The trial in this case is scheduled to begin next July — until then, Maxwell is under protective custody.

https://okmagazine.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-accuser-virginia-giuffre-wants-court-to-reveal-ghislaine-maxwells-deposition/

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Portland, Oregon Imposes Strict Ban on Facial-Recognition Technology

Portland officials this week passed the country's strictest ban on facial recognition, prohibiting use of the technology by private businesses and government agencies across Oregon's largest city.

Cities in California and Massachusetts have recently taken action against local government use of the technology—but none as strongly as Portland, which restricts commercial business applications, as well.

"All Portlanders are entitled to a city government that will not use technology with demonstrated racial and gender biases that endanger personal privacy," Mayor Ted Wheeler said during a Wednesday City Council meeting, as reported by CNET. "This is the first-of-its-kind legislation in the nation, and I believe in the world," he added. "This is truly a historic day for the city of Portland."

The bill, which passed unanimously, is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2021. In the intervening months, various city bureaus will work together to develop a plan for "creating public awareness on impacts and uses" of facial recognition—particularly around children, marginalized communities, and local businesses.

"Portland residents and visitors should enjoy access to public spaces with a reasonable assumption of anonymity and personal privacy," according to the city ordinance. "This is true for particularly those who have been historically over-surveilled and experience surveillance technologies differently."

In a seven-page document detailing the prohibition, the council noted that facial-recognition technologies "have been documented to have an unacceptable gender and racial bias"—particularly toward those in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities.

"The city needs to take precautionary actions until these technologies are certified and safe to use and civil liberties issues are resolved," the council said, adding that surveillance technologies "must be transparent, accountable, and designed in ways that protect personal and collective privacy."

https://www.pcmag.com/news/facial-recognition-is-banned-in-portland-oregon-from-2021

Hurricane center monitors 7 tropical systems, one just off Florida

Living up to the phrase “peak of hurricane season,” the National Hurricane Center is juggling seven tropical systems Thursday morning, including Tropical Storms Paulette and Rene, as well as a disturbance that formed just east of Florida.

September 10 is considered the peak of hurricane season, statically the most common date to have a large number of tropical systems in the Atlantic basin, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The NHC identified a new disturbance a couple hundred miles northeast of the Central Bahamas, according to the 8 a.m. update. While there’s just a 30% chance it could develop into a depression or storm in the next five days, the system could be near Florida on Friday, the NHC said.

Hurricane specialists are also still eyeing Tropical Storm Rene, which will be moving through an environment with moderate, vertical wind shear through the week, according to the 5 a.m. update. Gradual strengthening is forecast for the next two days, and Rene should become a hurricane briefly on Friday, the 6th hurricane of the busy 2020 season. It should be a tropical storm again by the start of next week.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather/hurricane/os-ne-tropical-storm-rene-paulette-7-systems-thursday-update-20200910-qxfn2i5chzge3iz22qgpkbr4me-story.html

Pope Francis Praises Eating and Sex as Pleasures That 'Come From God'

Aren't those apart of the 7 deadly sins?

Pope Francis has praised the "simply divine" pleasures of eating and sex, according to a book that has just been released of conversations he had with a prominent Italian gastronomist.

Carlo Petrini, 71, a pioneer of the "slow food" movement, spoke with the head of the Catholic Church between May 2018 and July 2020 on a number of topics for the book Terra Futura: Conversations with Pope Francis on integral ecology.

During the dialogues, the pope, who was born Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina, described the pleasures of a well-cooked meal and "sexual pleasure." In his view, these had previously fallen victim to "over zealousness" by the Catholic Church in the past in what was a "wrong interpretation of the Christian message."

"Pleasure arrives directly from God, it is neither Catholic, nor Christian, nor anything else, it is simply divine," the pope said, according to RTE.

"The Church has condemned inhuman, brutish, vulgar pleasure, but has on the other hand always accepted human, simple, moral pleasure."

"The pleasure of eating is there to keep you healthy by eating, just like sexual pleasure is there to make love more beautiful and guarantee the perpetuation of the species," the pope said, adding that opposing views "have caused enormous harm, which can still be felt strongly today in some cases."

"The pleasure of eating and sexual pleasure come from God," he said. The pope also mentioned the 1987 Danish film Babette's Feast—about a chef who invites ultra-puritan Protestants to a banquet— as reflecting his message on pleasure and as "a hymn to Christian charity, to love.

Catholic commentator and writer Peter Williams said that Pope Francis "is unusual as popes go, in giving answers in interviews that are as casual and off-the-cuff. So, if his words sound odd, it's probably because he likes to talk in a very down-to-earth manner."

"I don't think it's unusual for a pope to say what he specifically said though. In calling the enjoyment of food and sex 'divine', the Holy Father is rightly pointing out that pleasure comes from God," Williams told Newsweek, adding that the pontiff was reiterating "the church's acceptance of 'human, simple, moral pleasure', like good cuisine and fulsome sexual love in marriage."

"Pope Francis is simply repeating the perennial Christian message on virtue and vice. By avoiding the twin evil extremes of repressive puritanism on the one hand, and immoral libertinism on the other, both of which prevent or destroy happy enjoyment of good things like food or sex, the Church rightly espouses the 'golden mean,'" Williams added.

https://www.newsweek.com/pope-francis-vatican-sex-food-pleasure-divine-1530929

Germany’s nationwide test of emergency warning system flops

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Around Germany, people waited for sirens to sound at 11 a.m. Thursday as the country conducted its first nationwide test of the emergency warning system since 1990.

But in many towns and cities across the country, including Kaiserslautern — home to one of the largest overseas American military communities — they were met with silence — or at least no howling emergency sirens.

A system overload may have caused the warning sirens to fail in parts of Germany, although alarms did sound in some places, a spokeswoman for the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Response said on the rtl.de website.

A mobile phone app that was supposed to activate as part of the test also failed, Focus magazine reported.

“Neither a warning from the app nor an alarm here,” Focus cited one person as tweeting.

The nationwide exercise was supposed to test how well the system functioned after 30 years of not being used and “to sensitize the people,” municipal authorities in Kaiserslautern said in a statement released prior to the scheduled test on Thursday, which had been dubbed Warntag 2020, or Warning Day 2020.

“Anyone who didn’t hear any sirens will receive a warning signal by fax or mail in the next 14 days,” wrote a Twitter user called Oliver.

It was unclear if the authorities would make a second attempt to test the system.

https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/germany-s-nationwide-test-of-emergency-warning-system-flops-1.644491

Report: North Korea could test SLBM ahead of U.S. election

Sept. 10 (UPI) – North Korea could test launch a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the coming months after displaying its intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, according to a South Korean press report.

Pyongyang could engage in provocations after Oct. 10, when the regime is set to observe the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers' Party, South Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo reported Thursday, citing South Korean military sources.

During a planned military parade on the anniversary, North Korea could unveil a new ICBM and draw international attention to its arsenal of weapons capable of reaching the continental United States. The move would be strategic and timed to occur before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3.

North Korea could take its strategy a step further with the test of an SLBM, such as the Pukguksong-3, to raise tensions with the United States around the time of the November election, the Donga's source said.

"Both U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials understand the new ICBM represents the 'final negotiating card' for North Korea, whether President Donald Trump is re-elected or a new administration takes his place," the South Korean source said.

According to the Donga, Seoul and Washington believe North Korea's new ICBM is equipped with a solid fuel engine. It has a stronger thrust than the existing Hwasong-14 or Hwasong-15, the North Korean long-range missiles that use a liquid fuel engine. Recent flights of U.S. spy planes near the Korean Peninsula were conducted in order to determine whether North Korea is to display the new ICBM at the October military parade, the report says.

North Korea policy could change dramatically after November, analysts say.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/09/10/Report-North-Korea-could-test-SLBM-ahead-of-US-election/6171599742541/