Needles, feces & drugs, oh my! SF Board of Supervisors rewarded with 12% raise

Imagine being so handsomely rewarded for turning your once beautiful city into a sh*thole. It pays well to be a public servant…

From SF Gate: San Francisco’s supervisors will be getting a 12% raise this year, more than three times the size of those being given to other elected officials and city employees.

The raise was approved by a 3-1 vote of the Civil Service Commission on Monday and represents a $15,016 pay hike, bringing the board members’ salaries to $140,148 this year — plus benefits.

“I felt the boost was appropriate to bring the pay more in line with the responsibilities of the job,” said Commission President F.X. Crowley, a former labor leader who ran for the board himself in 2012.

The supervisors’ pay hike, however, was far above the $5,005-a-year raise recommended by the Civil Service Commission staff.

The staff report, which surveyed cities and counties statewide, recommended they receive the same 4% raise this fiscal year as other city workers and elected officials — that would have given them about $125,000, plus benefits. Most city workers are getting 11% spread out over three years.

Instead, the commission voted to give the supervisors the 12% boost this year, with annual cost-of-living increases in succeeding years.

Under the City Charter, every five years the commission sets the salary for the supervisors and other elected officials.

Given that the annual cost-of-living increase has been running at about 3% a year, the supervisors could see a total pay raise of 24% or more over the next five years.

In a surprise move, Board of Supervisors clerk Angela Calvillo presented the commission with the salary survey she requested from a Board of Supervisors budget and legislative analyst.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/needles-feces-drugs-oh-my-sf-board-of-supervisors-rewarded-with-12-raise/

Donald Trump “I LOVE WIKILEAKS!”

DOJ not so much!

OUTRAGE as U.S Senate approves $400 million in humanitarian aid to Venezuela… controlled by Guaidó!

WASHINGTON DC – The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the Venezuelan Emergency and Democracy Development Assistance (Verdad) Act that would give $400 million in “humanitarian aid to Venezuela,” Sen. Bob Menendez said in a statement.

“Update: VERDAD Act passes out of committee”, Menendez said via Twitter. “This is the most comprehensive effort to confront the crisis in Venezuela. We’ve set up the structure for the Trump [administration] to boost [Venezuela’s] democracy movement — doubling humanitarian aid [and] expanding sanctions against [President Nicolas] Maduro’s officials”.

Menendez explained that the measure would also reaffirm US support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and the opposition-led National Assembly, and establish US policy to pursue “a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the Venezuelan crisis”.

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Guaidó’s envoy to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, said the bill would help the self-proclaimed interim president promote the government’s transition to Venezuela.

The outrageous measure repeals visas of relatives of Venezuelans sanctioned by human rights abuses and suspends sanctions on those who swear allegiance to Guaidó. In addition, the measure requires the Trump government to cooperate with the governments of Latin America and Europe to impose unilateral sanctions.

Senators also called on the US government to re-use the corrupt financial properties of the Venezuelan authorities and pursue the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy in cooperation with international financial institutions. The bill will now be forwarded to the Senate floor for a vote.

The situation in Venezuela has remained tense since January when opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president. Washington and its allies endorsed Guaido and called on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Moreover, the United States seized billions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan oil assets.

Maduro, in turn, has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet and take over Venezuela’s natural resources. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for constitutionally-elected Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.

https://www.fort-russ.com/2019/05/outrage-as-u-s-senate-approves-400-million-in-humanitarian-aid-to-venezuela-controlled-by-guaido/

'Modern fascism is breaking cover': Journalists react to Assange Espionage Act charges

The US government's indictment of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange on 17 additional charges under the Espionage Act has shocked and horrified journalists who are calling it an unprecedented attack on press freedom.

The new indictment claims Assange endangered the lives of individuals working for the US government when Wikileaks published leaked documents received from intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010. Under the draconian Espionage Act, which has never before been used against a journalist publishing classified information, Assange faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

"Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning…in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense," the Department of Justice said in a statement, while National Security Division head John Demers insisted "Julian Assange is no journalist."

Actual journalists, however, were horrified by the "unprecedented assault on the First Amendment."

More

https://www.rt.com/news/460123-assange-espionage-act-charges-reactions/