[Loot boxes] The Gambling Commission (Based in the UK) has released a report on Gambling and young people with loot boxes mentioned and how they effect young people on page 22
A state agency that works toward equality for women and girls issued a blistering report Monday outlining the ills associated with casinos, particularly as they relate to the sex trade...“Casinos bring more than just revenue. They bring a bachelor party culture,” said Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women...
Nationally, a person being sex trafficked in a hotel/resort setting is forced, coerced, or intimidated to perform sex acts on an average of 5 to 10 customers per day. (p. 2) Sex trafficking is distinct from prostitution: sex trafficking is the means, prostitution, pornography and stripping are the ends. Both are relatively new problems in Hawaiʻi that became systematic after Western contact. (p. 2) According to law enforcement (Spotlight) data compiled by The Avery Center, there (is an estimate of) a total 18,375 sex trafficking victims in Honolulu...(that's a total of)...23,887,812 commercial sex acts per year performed by sex trafficking victims in Honolulu. (p. 3)
When police charged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with soliciting prostitution, the press said the police rescued sex slaves. "They were women who were from China, who were forced into sex slavery," said Trevor Noah on The Daily Show. We're told this happens all the time. It's bunk, says Reason Associate Editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown. In the Robert Kraft case, she points out, "They had all these big announcements at first saying they had busted up an international sex trafficking ring, implying these women weren't allowed to leave.” But now prosecutors acknowledge that there was no trafficking. The women were willing sex workers... Politicians tell us that thousands of children are forced into the sex trade. "Three-hundred thousand American children are at risk!" said Rep. Ann Wagner on the floor of Congress… ...celebrities...perpetuate the myth that sex slavery is rampant. "You can go online and buy a child for sex. It's as easy as ordering a pizza," says Amy Schumer. "Thousands of children are raped every day!" says comedian Seth Meyers...
There is something familiar about the tide of misinformation which has swept through the subject of sex trafficking in the UK: it flows through exactly the same channels as the now notorious torrent about Saddam Hussein's weapons. In the story of UK sex trafficking, the conclusions of academics who study the sex trade have been subjected to the same treatment as the restrained reports of intelligence analysts who studied Iraqi weapons – stripped of caution, stretched to their most alarming possible meaning and tossed into the public domain. There, they have been picked up by the media who have stretched them even further in stories which have then been treated as reliable sources by politicians, who in turn provided quotes for more misleading stories...
President Barack Obama has famously declared that "human trafficking" is "modern-day slavery." He's also said that it "is a crime that can take many forms." The second definition is a good deal more accurate. "Trafficking," in practice, is less a clear-cut crime than a call to moral panic. The vagueness of the definition allows or even encourages governments, organizations, and researchers to claim that there are tens of millions of trafficking victims worldwide on the basis of little more than hyperbolic guesses... According to Alison Bass, author of Getting Screwed: Sex Workers and the Law, "trafficking has become a new name for an old problem, which is largely teenage runaways." Young people who run away from abusive situations at home, and who sell sex to survive, are considered trafficking victims by default under many federal and state laws. This, despite the fact that hardly any teen runaways have pimps or traffickers, according to a John Jay College of Criminal Justice study. Most see sex work as the best way to support themselves on the street, given the limited legal and social service options available for children who run away from home. And most, Bass told me, do not travel out of their own town or city, much less out of the country...
Lost in the Sauce: DHS hides intelligence that reveals Trump using Russia's playbook, again
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis. Housekeeping:
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Trump’s playbook is Russia’s playbook
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in July withheld an intelligence bulletin warning of a Russian plot to spread misinformation regarding Joe Biden's mental health. The bulletin, titled “Russia Likely to Denigrate Health of U.S. Candidates to Influence 2020 Election,” was blocked by the office of acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf on July 9.
The bulletin states that analysts had “high confidence” in their conclusion. However, a DHS spokesperson tried to defend the “delay” in issuing the document by saying it did not meet the agency’s standards. This is curious because just a week later, on July 16, DHS circulated a bulletin on anarchists in Portland that officers admitted they had “low confidence” in. Why was the Russia memo held back but the Portland one released?
Trump has been pushing the same line of attack against Biden for months - yet another instance of Russia and Trump operating from the same playbook. For instance, in March Trump said there was “something going on” with Biden; in June Trump ran selectively edited ads asserting that Biden is “unfit to serve as Commander in Chief”; last month Trump ran a digital ad portraying Biden as perpetually confused and mentally unstable. Most recently, Trump said questions about his own health are only in the news because “they want to try and get me to be on Biden's physical level."
DHS is just the latest agency in the Trump administration to erode election security, following actions by the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) last month. DNI John Ratcliffe announced he was ending in-person congressional briefings on election security ahead of November and AG Bill Barr removed a leading career official at the Justice Department’s national security division, replacing him with an inexperienced political appointee. The ODNI’s decision to halt congressional election briefs may have been influenced by top White House officials. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, among others, have repeatedly discussed in meetings with staff and with Trump “how to restrict and control the flow of information on such sensitive topics to Capitol Hill.”
One White House official told The Daily Beast that Meadows has for months been wary of the type of briefings on Capitol Hill that Democratic sources can potentially use to try to make Trump look bad through surreptitious leaks to media outlets.
Meanwhile, interim Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Marco Rubio (R-FL) said last week that his committee will be granted an exception to the ODNI’s new policy and continue to receive in-person briefings from top U.S. intelligence officials about election-security issues. This essentially means that only Democrat-led committees have been cut out of the process ensuring election security. House Democrats wrote to Ratcliffe insinuating if his office does not provide the previously scheduled briefings this month they will issue subpoenas and/or defund the ODNI in the appropriations bill due by the end of the month. Read the letter here. In addition to attacks on Biden’s health, DHS has determined that Russia is seeking to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud. Intelligence analysts say this strategy has been underway since at least March, coinciding with Trump’s own assaults on mail-in voting.
For instance, in March Trump said if he agreed to funding vote-by-mail expansions in the first coronavirus stimulus bill, the U.S. would see “levels of voting that, if you ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again” (clip). Fact check: Neither party has historically benefited. On April 7, at the White House press briefing, Trump claimed: "Mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country, because they're cheaters… They're fraudulent in many cases" (clip). Fact check: There is no evidence that mail ballots are dangerous or fraudulent.
At a White House press briefing on Friday, Trump denied there is any proof that Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Instead of backing the German government's analysis of Nalvany's illness, Trump then redirected the criticism from Russia to China (clip).
"I don't know exactly what happened. I think it's tragic. It's terrible; it shouldn't happen. We haven't had any proof yet, but I will take a look. It is interesting that everybody is always mentioning Russia - and I don't mind you mentioning Russia - but I think probably China, at this point, is a nation that you should be talking about much more so than Russia. Because the things that China's doing are far worse.”
Trump then went on to say he’s “taken stronger action against Russia than any other country in the world,” but added “I do get along with President Putin” (clip).
RELATED: Leaked notes obtained by the Telegraph say that when Theresa May asked for Trump to take a strong stand after Russia poisoned Sergei Skripal, Trump replied “I’d rather follow than lead.” He pushed May to “put together a coalition” first.
The Trump administration plans to deport a Russian national living in America, a move experts say is in response to a politically motivated request by Russia. Gregory Duralev was persecuted by the Russian state for exposing corruption. He fled to America and applied for asylum in 2015. While waiting for a decision on his application, he was arrested by ICE and jailed for nearly 18 months. His case is now in court.
“DHS has acted no better than the Russian authorities,” Duralev said. “They simply fabricated charges against me for violations I never committed — and if DHS can trump up charges against immigrants with impunity, nobody can guarantee they won’t start doing it” to regular Americans. “So that’s the main message I now hope to send.”
Michael Cohen & Peter Strzok
Former FBI agent Peter Strzok has a book coming out called “Compromised.” In it, he alleges that FBI investigators came to believe it was “conceivable, if unlikely” that Russia was secretly controlling President Trump after he took office:
“We certainly had evidence that this was the case: that Trump, while gleefully wreaking havoc on America’s political institutions and norms, was pulling his punches when it came to our historic adversary, Russia,” Strzok writes. “Given what we knew or had cause to suspect about Trump’s compromising behavior in the weeks, months, and years leading up to the election, moreover, it also seemed conceivable, if unlikely, that Moscow had indeed pulled off the most stunning intelligence achievement in human history: secretly controlling the president of the United States — a Manchurian candidate elected.”
He now says he doesn’t believe that Trump is literally a Russian spy: “I don’t think that Trump, when he meets with Putin, receives a task list for the next quarter,” Strzok said, referencing the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. “But I do think the president is compromised, that he is unable to put the interests of our nation first, that he acts from hidden motives, because there is leverage over him, held specifically by the Russians but potentially others as well.” In an interview with Politico, Strzok confirms that he and then-deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, opened a counterintelligence case on the president, but that it likely was never pursued. Two weeks ago, NYT reported that Rosenstein secretly closed it. As if there weren’t enough political books coming out this summefall, Michael Cohen is releasing his, called “Disloyal: A Memoir.” The following a couple of quick takeaways: Cohen says that he, Trump, Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, and others, watched a strip show in Las Vegas where one performer simulated peeing on another performer, who pretended to drink it. Trump reportedly reacted with “delight.” Aras Agalarov, a Russian real estate mogul, is a trusted associate of Putin and reportedly served as a liaison between Trump and the Russian president during Trump’s trip to Moscow. WaPo:
On Russia, Cohen writes that the cause behind Trump’s admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin is simpler than many of his critics assume. Above all, he writes, Trump loves money — and he wrongly identified Putin as “the richest man in the world by a multiple.” Trump loved Putin, Cohen wrote, because the Russian leader had the ability “to take over an entire nation and run it like it was his personal company — like the Trump Organization, in fact.” ...According to Cohen, Trump’s sycophantic praise of the Russian leader during the 2016 campaign began as a way to suck up and ensure access to the oligarch’s money after he lost the election. But he claims Trump came to understand that Putin’s hatred of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, dating to her support for the 2011 protest movement in Russia, could also help Trump amass more power in the United States.
USPS & mail voting
According to a Washington Post report yesterday, Postmaster Louis DeJoy engaged in campaign money laundering, also called a straw-donor scheme, at his former logistics business. Five of his former employees told WaPo that they were “urged” to donate to politicians in North Carolina and would be paid back through bonuses from DeJoy. Such a plan would allow DeJoy to illegally circumvent campaign donation limits.
“Louis was a national fundraiser for the Republican Party. He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” said David Young, DeJoy’s longtime director of human resources, who had access to payroll records at New Breed from the late 1990s to 2013 and is now retired. “He would ask employees to make contributions at the same time that he would say, ‘I’ll get it back to you down the road,’ ” said [another] former employee. ...A Washington Post analysis of federal and state campaign finance records found a pattern of extensive donations by New Breed employees to Republican candidates, with the same amount often given by multiple people on the same day. Between 2000 and 2014, 124 individuals who worked for the company together gave more than $1 million to federal and state GOP candidates. Many had not previously made political donations, and have not made any since leaving the company, public records show.
More than one million mail-in ballots were sent late to voters during the 2020 primary elections, an audit by the USPS IG’s office determined. Most of the ballots were late, the USPS says, because local election boards sent the ballots to voters at the last minute. Official press release.
[The audit] found the problems during primaries had been most pronounced in Kentucky and New York, where a combined 628,000 ballots were sent out late. In 17 states, the audit found, more than 589,000 ballots were sent from election boards to voters after the state’s ballot mailing deadline. In 11 states, more than 44,000 ballots were sent from election boards to voters the day of or the day before the state’s primary election. One particularly troubling situation, auditors found, unfolded in Pennsylvania, where 500 ballots were sent to voters the day after the election.
Furthermore, only 13% of the ballots were mailed with the recommended bar code tracking technology. Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) was blocked from attending two scheduled tours of USPS facilities last week. Local Postal Service officials informed her and union leaders waiting to accompany her into the building that national USPS leadership had directed them to bar the group from the building. A Postal Service spokeswoman said they simply needed more notice for a tour. Many states, including important battleground states, are not legally permitted to process mail-in/absentee ballots until Election Day, leading to concern that results will be delayed by days or weeks. For instance, in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan election officials cannot even begin processing ballots until Election Day. Processing involves opening envelopes, flattening ballots to run through the scanning machine, and prepping for the scanning.
"When voters have to wait so long for results, it erodes trust in the process and leaves room for partisan bad actors to dispute the will of the people," said Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, a nonprofit organization.
AG Bill Barr made three stunning false claims about mail voting during an interview with Wolf Blitzer last week. First, Barr wouldn’t even acknowledge that voting twice is a crime - because just hours earlier, Trump encouraged his North Carolina supporters to vote twice to “test” the state’s mail-in voting system (clip).
BLITZER: It sounds like he’s encouraging people to break the law and try to vote twice. BARR: It seems to me what he’s saying is, he’s trying to make the point that the ability to monitor this system is not good. And it was so good, if you tried to vote a second time you would be caught if you voted in person. BLITZER: That would be illegal if they did that. If somebody mailed in a ballot and then actually showed up to vote in person, that would be illegal. BARR: "I don't know what the law in the particular state says.” BLITZER: You can’t vote twice. BARR: "I don't know what the law in the particular state says.”
Then, Barr tried to assert that foreign countries could fake ballots, but when challenged he admitted he had no evidence (clip).
BLITZER: You’ve said you were worried that a foreign country could send thousands of fake ballots, thousands of fake ballots to people that it might be impossible to detect. What are you basing that on? BARR: I’m basing — as I’ve said repeatedly, I’m basing that on logic. BLITZER: Pardon? BARR: Logic.
Finally, Barr cited a supposed incident of mail-in voting fraud in Texas. Too bad it doesn’t exist.
The payroll
Charles Rettig, the Trump-appointed IRS Commissioner who has refused to release President Trump’s tax returns, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars renting out Trump properties while in office. Rettig makes $100,000 - $200,000 a year from two units at Trump International Waikiki. When first nominated, Rettig failed to disclose his financial ties to Trump Waikiki. When questioned by Congress, he did not directly answer concerns about the properties.
CREW: With Trump’s name removed from some buildings as it began to hurt property values, we can only imagine how toxic it would become if a bombshell in his tax returns were released. Which means the IRS Commissioner has a vested interest in the success of the Trump brand—and of preventing anything that could damage it.
Voice of America staffers say Trump appointee Michael Pack is threatening to wash away legal protections intended to insulate their news reports from political meddling. Since arriving, Pack has fired the network's leaders, pushed out agency executives, refused to approve allotted budgets, and refused to renew visas for foreign employees.
Further reading: “Deleted Biden video sets off a crisis at Voice of America,” Politico.
Pack suggested the staff he fired and foreign journalists he essentially kicked out may have been foreign spies, without offering any evidence to support his claim. A group of 14 senior VOA journalists are openly disputing his explanation:
“Mr. Pack has made a thin excuse that his actions are meant to protect national security, but just as was the case with the McCarthy ‘Red Scare,’ which targeted VOA and other government organizations in the mid-1950s, there has not been a single demonstrable case of any individual working for VOA — as the USAGM CEO puts it — ‘posing as a spy,’ ” they wrote.
The White House is searching for a replacement for Federal Trade Commission Chair Joe Simons, a Republican who has publicly resisted President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on social media companies. Simons, a veteran antitrust lawyer, cannot legally be removed by the president except in cases of gross negligence. But the White House has already interviewed at least one candidate for the post.
RELATED: The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month, after Attorney General William P. Barr overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case.
Richard Grenell, formerly the highest-ranking out gay official in the Trump administration, has joined a law firm founded by Pat Robertson that has a history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Grenell also recently joined the Republican National Committee to do outreach to LGBTQ+ voters. The Trump administration has quietly named a new acting State Department inspector general. Matthew Klimow, the U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan since mid-2019, is the third acting IG since Trump and Pompeo ousted Senate-confirmed IG Steve Linick in May. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s current special envoy to Northern Ireland, former Chief of Staff, and former acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is starting a hedge fund focused on financial services regulation. Ethics experts say Mulvaney explicitly using his knowledge of CFPB to place bets for and against companies gives him an unfair and perhaps illegal advantage.
Court and DOJ matters
Court cases The Trump administration must, for now, stop winding down in-person counting efforts for the 2020 census, a federal judge in California ordered. The three-judge panel hearing a challenge to Trump’s new anti-immigrant census policy seemed hostile to the government’s arguments in a hearing last week. A federal judge has stopped the Trump administration from enforcing a rule change that would let health care providers deny medical services to LGBTQ patients on the grounds of religion. Justice Department Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge longtime GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy in connection with efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests. Broidy helped raise millions for Donald Trump’s election and the Republican Party. Barr ordered another round of changes to FISA rules, tightening the use of government surveillance on political candidates or their staffers — a move conservatives will likely cheer, as they have long criticized how the FBI investigated the Trump campaign in 2016.
Before conducting physical searches or wiretaps of a federal election official, members of the official's staff, candidates for federal office, or their staff or advisers, the FBI must now consider giving them a "defensive briefing," to tell them that they could be the target of foreign influence.
Matched Betting - Make £££ anything from £50-£2000+ a month
Matched betting is the ultimate side hustle. It involves profiting from the free bets and incentives that bookmakers offer to entice you to use their gambling services. It is a completely legal, effective and risk-free way of making money (when done properly). HOW MUCH CAN I EARN? Earnings vary depending on how much time you put in. The bigger the offer the more profitable they are, and after that you move onto the reload offers. These are offers that bookmakers give out to retain customers. For each matched bet, you will be left with up to 80% of the free bet amount as profit (e.g. a £25 free bet could earn you £20). You are likely to make a small loss on your first bet, but will make this back up once you claim your free bet. It’s also worth pointing out that earnings from the gambling industry are currently tax-free in the UK! Tons of people report earning a full-time income from matched betting. But if you don’t have that much time to dedicate to finding the offers and placing your bets, you can still earn a substantial amount of money. Odds Maker report that with as little as 3 hours worth of work a week you can earn over £300! You can increase your profits even more by signing up to the bookmakers through Topcashback (and earning cashback for signing up too). Ref Link HOW DOES MATCHED BETTING WORK? To start your matched betting hustle, you will need to use mathematical equations to match a lay bet with a back bet, cancelling out any risk of losing money and profiting from your free bet (or similar incentive). The best way to ensure that you don’t make any mistakes is by using an odds calculator. Odds calculators often come at a small cost but will speed up and maximise your profits. I’d recommend signing up to Profit Accumulator; they can talk you through the process and guide you to making money quickly! Ref Link Non Ref Here are the two types of bets you need to place to cash in on your free money: THE ‘BACK’ BET The back bet is the most traditional form of bet, essentially you’re backing your predicted outcome and saying “I think this will win”. If the team, horse, or whatever else you place your back bet on wins, then you’ll win your bet and the profit along with it. THE ‘LAY’ BET The lay bet is the exact opposite to the back bet, you’re betting on every eventually other than a specific outcome and saying “I don’t think this will win”. If the team that you bet on don’t win the match (they draw or lose), you win your lay bet. Betfair is the most commonly used betting exchange website that allows you to place ‘lay’ bets. Keep in mind that you’ll be charged 5% commission on your winnings from Betfair. THE FREE BET Following your ‘qualifying’ bet, you are then given the free bet (or similar incentive) to play with. This is where you make your profit! Repeat the process of placing your back bet and lay bet using your free bet and cash out your winnings! Any questions and I'll be more than happy to help!
Start Matched Betting Today with Profit Accumulator
Matched betting is the ultimate side hustle. It involves profiting from the free bets and incentives that bookmakers offer to entice you to use their gambling services. It is a completely legal, effective and risk-free way of making money (when done properly). Ref Link HOW MUCH CAN I EARN? Earnings vary depending on how much time you put in. The bigger the offer the more profitable they are, and after that you move onto the reload offers. These are offers that bookmakers give out to retain customers. For each matched bet, you will be left with up to 80% of the free bet amount as profit (e.g. a £25 free bet could earn you £20). You are likely to make a small loss on your first bet, but will make this back up once you claim your free bet. It’s also worth pointing out that earnings from the gambling industry are currently tax-free in the UK! Tons of people report earning a full-time income from matched betting. But if you don’t have that much time to dedicate to finding the offers and placing your bets, you can still earn a substantial amount of money. Odds Maker report that with as little as 3 hours worth of work a week you can earn over £300! You can increase your profits even more by signing up to the bookmakers through Topcashback (and earning cashback for signing up too). Ref Link HOW DOES MATCHED BETTING WORK? To start your matched betting hustle, you will need to use mathematical equations to match a lay bet with a back bet, cancelling out any risk of losing money and profiting from your free bet (or similar incentive). The best way to ensure that you don’t make any mistakes is by using an odds calculator. Odds calculators often come at a small cost but will speed up and maximise your profits. I’d recommend signing up to Profit Accumulator; they can talk you through the process and guide you to making money quickly! Sign up here today and get your first month free : Ref Link Non Ref Here are the two types of bets you need to place to cash in on your free money: THE ‘BACK’ BET The back bet is the most traditional form of bet, essentially you’re backing your predicted outcome and saying “I think this will win”. If the team, horse, or whatever else you place your back bet on wins, then you’ll win your bet and the profit along with it. THE ‘LAY’ BET The lay bet is the exact opposite to the back bet, you’re betting on every eventually other than a specific outcome and saying “I don’t think this will win”. If the team that you bet on don’t win the match (they draw or lose), you win your lay bet. Betfair is the most commonly used betting exchange website that allows you to place ‘lay’ bets. Keep in mind that you’ll be charged 5% commission on your winnings from Betfair. THE FREE BET Following your ‘qualifying’ bet, you are then given the free bet (or similar incentive) to play with. This is where you make your profit! Repeat the process of placing your back bet and lay bet using your free bet and cash out your winnings! Any questions and I'll be more than happy to help! Ref Link
Partypoker stealing 100k of my money! What are my options and what is my probability of success and the coast associated to sue them.
This is a repost: You find the story behind this incident below. I want to know if it is an option to sue GVC in the UK since this is a company listed on the London Stock exchange. Suing them in Gibraltar, where they got the licence or in Germany, where I am from, are unfortunately no options, due to lack of prospects of success. Is it possible to sue them in the UK? Which costs would be associated with that? What probability of success are you estimating? I also posted this in scams (and this is a repost as my original on is still pending a few days in) as i want to let as many people know about the business practices of Partypoker / GVC: I want to warn other gamblers about Partypoker. They basically stole more than 100k of my money, 50k of which were deposits. They can do this really easily, especially in Germany (as I will explain later). This warning is not just about Partypoker as the parent company (GVC) holds more big brands. For example: Bwin Ladbrokes Coral ..... I played there for 2 or 3 years. I was also constantly increasing my wager over time. At the end of october 2019, they locked my account and put it under security review. They also ask for documents which I already had sent in before. Nevertheless I sent them again. After some emails back and forth they gave me my christmas gift. This is the original Email: "Dear XXX, We are contacting you regarding your partypoker account "XXX". An investigation into your account has highlighted suspicious activity related to your account. This activity is in breach of points 4, 6, 13 and 16 of the terms and conditions of partypoker. The full terms and conditions are available at: https://help.partypoker.com/en/general-information/legal-matters/general-terms-and-conditions As a result, your partypoker account has been closed and the funds remaining in your account will be confiscated. Please be aware that you are no longer permitted to create or use any account on the partypoker network. Kind Regards, Poker Operations Team" They quoted half of their terms and stole my money. I ask for a reason and for proof, which was not given at any point. By the way I was not playing poker but casino games, most of the time Black Jack, not even card counting, which they might deem as illegal (which it clearly isn't). I also messaged the regulators in Gibraltar, they took a few month and also basically said they are fine with the way party handled the situation, at least they said what they are accusing me of: This also is the original email: "Good morning XXX, I write with regards to your complaint against Party Poker. Please be advised that I have been in dialogue with Party Poker on the matter, who have provided me with a detailed and technical report with regards to your account. I have also made my own enquiries. The substantial and technical material that I have seen indicates that your account is being operated by a third party who is the controller of a series of accounts for the purpose of systematically abusing promotional bonuses. Your account is de facto a proxy account. There is strong and clear evidence that the identity used on your account and the identities used on the other accounts are all associated. The controller of all accounts knows that they are prohibited from operating any account either directly or indirectly. I will not disclose how all of the accounts have been detected as to do so would be to the detriment of Party Poker and to the advantage of those that seek to circumvent its security protocols. Nevertheless, further information on the Gambling Commissioner’s views on ‘bonus abuse’ can be found here: https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/finance-gaming-and-regulations/gambling-commissioners-advice-complainants#ancla8. I am satisfied that Party Poker is acting appropriately and in accordance with its terms and conditions and I am unable to recommend that it pays you any monies.This is my Proposed Determination to your complaint. I am also forwarding Party Poker a copy. I am now inviting you and Party Poker to comment on this Proposed Determination. It is also the opportunity for both parties to bring to my attention any facts or issues either party believes I have omitted or misunderstood in my assessment. Regards, John" Again no evidence was given. It's also hard to defend myself without getting presented with the evidence. This by the way is complete bullshit, I always have used my account myself and nobody other than me was using it. I think they used fabricated evidence to not pay big players. It was even worse than that: They baited me to play there with a 10% cashback offer on my losses. Before End of November I lost many weeks in a row. Most of the time 50k €. They had a ponzi scheme like promo going. Letting me play until I finally win and when don't pay me anyways. No risk for the house at all, they keep the money no matter the outcome (deposits included). The Gibraltar Gambling commission is also highly corrupt. They basically don't even want any complaint to get in at all. You can't submit a complaint online. You have to print several pages and fill out everything by hand. They will also ignore your claims until you get really annoying with all your reminders and messages you sent to them, then they will decide in favor of the casino. I can't even sue the casino, because the legal situation in Germany regarding Online gambling and Online casinos without a licence is fucked up. I consulted many different lawyers all telling me not to sue them, because my chances of winning are slim, not because partypoker is right, but because this is deemed illegal gambling and I basically can't get any money back. Even in case of winning it would not be clear if i can get any money back, because Gibraltar is not in the EU where i could enforce GVC to pay what they owe me. A judge friend of mine even advised me not to sue, because Gibraltar is too corrupt and the legal fees are astronomical. So neither in Germany I can get what's mine nor in Gibraltar (most probably). Basically Party knew about the loophole in German law and exploited it. I think especially German Players are in danger, no way they could get away with this in Great britain for example. CLIFFS: -Partypoker stole almost 105k of my money (half winnings, half deposits) with a far fetched explanation, which I only got from the regulators after filling a complaint. At no point any evidence was shown. -The regulators also decided not to hold partypoker accountable. -Partypoker also used a ponzi like scheme to bait me in and take my money as long as i kept losing, once i had a big upswing, they kept my winnings and deposits anyways. - Partypoker also knew about a loophole in German law about illegal Gambling and exploited it, in order to get away with "confiscating" (stealing is a better word) my entire balance.
Partypoker stealing 100k of my money! What are my options and what is my probability of success and the coast associated to sue them.
This is a repost: You find the story behind this incident below. I want to know if it is an option to sue GVC in the UK since this is a company listed on the London Stock exchange. Suing them in Gibraltar, where they got the licence or in Germany, where I am from, are unfortunately no options, due to lack of prospects of success. Is it possible to sue them in the UK? Which costs would be associated with that? What probability of success are you estimating? I also posted this in scams (and this is a repost as my original on is still pending a few days in) as i want to let as many people know about the business practices of Partypoker / GVC: I want to warn other gamblers about Partypoker. They basically stole more than 100k of my money, 50k of which were deposits. They can do this really easily, especially in Germany (as I will explain later). This warning is not just about Partypoker as the parent company (GVC) holds more big brands. For example: Bwin Ladbrokes Coral ..... I played there for 2 or 3 years. I was also constantly increasing my wager over time. At the end of october 2019, they locked my account and put it under security review. They also ask for documents which I already had sent in before. Nevertheless I sent them again. After some emails back and forth they gave me my christmas gift. This is the original Email: "Dear XXX, We are contacting you regarding your partypoker account "XXX". An investigation into your account has highlighted suspicious activity related to your account. This activity is in breach of points 4, 6, 13 and 16 of the terms and conditions of partypoker. The full terms and conditions are available at: https://help.partypoker.com/en/general-information/legal-matters/general-terms-and-conditions As a result, your partypoker account has been closed and the funds remaining in your account will be confiscated. Please be aware that you are no longer permitted to create or use any account on the partypoker network. Kind Regards, Poker Operations Team" They quoted half of their terms and stole my money. I ask for a reason and for proof, which was not given at any point. By the way I was not playing poker but casino games, most of the time Black Jack, not even card counting, which they might deem as illegal (which it clearly isn't). I also messaged the regulators in Gibraltar, they took a few month and also basically said they are fine with the way party handled the situation, at least they said what they are accusing me of: This also is the original email: "Good morning XXX, I write with regards to your complaint against Party Poker. Please be advised that I have been in dialogue with Party Poker on the matter, who have provided me with a detailed and technical report with regards to your account. I have also made my own enquiries. The substantial and technical material that I have seen indicates that your account is being operated by a third party who is the controller of a series of accounts for the purpose of systematically abusing promotional bonuses. Your account is de facto a proxy account. There is strong and clear evidence that the identity used on your account and the identities used on the other accounts are all associated. The controller of all accounts knows that they are prohibited from operating any account either directly or indirectly. I will not disclose how all of the accounts have been detected as to do so would be to the detriment of Party Poker and to the advantage of those that seek to circumvent its security protocols. Nevertheless, further information on the Gambling Commissioner’s views on ‘bonus abuse’ can be found here: https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/finance-gaming-and-regulations/gambling-commissioners-advice-complainants#ancla8. I am satisfied that Party Poker is acting appropriately and in accordance with its terms and conditions and I am unable to recommend that it pays you any monies.This is my Proposed Determination to your complaint. I am also forwarding Party Poker a copy. I am now inviting you and Party Poker to comment on this Proposed Determination. It is also the opportunity for both parties to bring to my attention any facts or issues either party believes I have omitted or misunderstood in my assessment. Regards, John" Again no evidence was given. It's also hard to defend myself without getting presented with the evidence. This by the way is complete bullshit, I always have used my account myself and nobody other than me was using it. I think they used fabricated evidence to not pay big players. It was even worse than that: They baited me to play there with a 10% cashback offer on my losses. Before End of November I lost many weeks in a row. Most of the time 50k €. They had a ponzi scheme like promo going. Letting me play until I finally win and when don't pay me anyways. No risk for the house at all, they keep the money no matter the outcome (deposits included). The Gibraltar Gambling commission is also highly corrupt. They basically don't even want any complaint to get in at all. You can't submit a complaint online. You have to print several pages and fill out everything by hand. They will also ignore your claims until you get really annoying with all your reminders and messages you sent to them, then they will decide in favor of the casino. I can't even sue the casino, because the legal situation in Germany regarding Online gambling and Online casinos without a licence is fucked up. I consulted many different lawyers all telling me not to sue them, because my chances of winning are slim, not because partypoker is right, but because this is deemed illegal gambling and I basically can't get any money back. Even in case of winning it would not be clear if i can get any money back, because Gibraltar is not in the EU where i could enforce GVC to pay what they owe me. A judge friend of mine even advised me not to sue, because Gibraltar is too corrupt and the legal fees are astronomical. So neither in Germany I can get what's mine nor in Gibraltar (most probably). Basically Party knew about the loophole in German law and exploited it. I think especially German Players are in danger, no way they could get away with this in Great britain for example. CLIFFS: -Partypoker stole almost 105k of my money (half winnings, half deposits) with a far fetched explanation, which I only got from the regulators after filling a complaint. At no point any evidence was shown. -The regulators also decided not to hold partypoker accountable. -Partypoker also used a ponzi like scheme to bait me in and take my money as long as i kept losing, once i had a big upswing, they kept my winnings and deposits anyways. - Partypoker also knew about a loophole in German law about illegal Gambling and exploited it, in order to get away with "confiscating" (stealing is a better word) my entire balance.
States are not homogenous entities. They are composed of dozens of different interest groups and cliques, each with their own vision for what the state ought to do and what society ought to look like. In functioning states, these groups agree on more things than they disagree on--or at least, the powerful groups are able to monopolize power enough to keep dissident voices drowned out. Carefully crafted power sharing arrangements, usually aided along by some sort of common enemy or common mission, keep states functioning well enough to work as coherent actors in the international arena. But these alliances are not set in stone. Like the sands of the Rub’ al Khali, they shift with the winds. One day, two factions may be the closest of allies. The next, one might overreach. One might think they have become too powerful to need to be held down by the commitments they’ve made to their erstwhile allies. And what happens when they’re wrong? Chaos. Power in Saudi Arabia On paper, the King of Saudi Arabia holds near-absolute power over the country. With no constitutional constraints, it would seem that the King (or more recently, the Crown Prince) enjoys unlimited power in Saudi society. There is no elected--nor even appointed--legislature to serve as a check on the King’s power. If the King wishes to permit women to drive, he need nearly decree it, and so shall it be. Viewing Saudi Arabia through this lens, however, flattens the existing power dynamics in the country. The King’s absolute power is in practice constrained by the varied interest groups that help to lend legitimacy to the institution of the monarchy, such as (to name a few) the military, the House of Saud, and the religious establishment (the ulema). The relationship between the ulema and the monarchy has been critical to the continued existence of the Saudi Arabian state. Starting with the 1744 alliance between Muhammad ibn Saud, the founder of the al-Saud dynasty, and Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, the two groups have formed something of a symbiotic relationship. The House of Saud provides the Wahhabist movement with protection and propagates its beliefs, and in exchange the Wahhabist movement lends legitimacy to the monarchy. The Grand Mosque Seizure; or, Why Saudi Arabia is the Way it Is In November 1979, hundreds of armed religious militants took control of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca--the holiest site in Islam. Their leader, Juhayman al-Otaybi, declared his brother-in-law, Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani, to be the *Mahdi--a redeeming figure in Islami prophesied to arrive on Earth several years before Judgement Day. For a period of two weeks, al-Otaybi and his supporters managed to maintain control of the Mosque. The ensuing assault led to the deaths of hundreds of fighters and pilgrims. The Grand Mosque Seizure was, in part, a response to the growth of “western influence” within Saudi Arabia. Al-Otaybi condemned the West calling for the abolition of television and radio, the expulsion of non-Muslims, and the removal of women from the workplace. For al-Otaybi, the ruling al-Saud family’s refusal to resist this western influence had robbed them of their right to rule. While al-Otaybi was ultimately unsuccessful in overthrowing the House of Saud, his insurrection did led to an important revelation for the Saudi monarchy: religious extremism was perhaps the single greatest threat to their continued hold on power in Saudi Arabia. Rather than restricting the power of the ulema in an attempt to curtail this threat, King Khalid dramatically expanded the role of the ulema and the religious police, surrendering some of the House of Saud’s power in exchange for additional stability and security. This state of affairs, with some tinkering, would remain the status quo for the next three decades. Shifting Sands Since the September 11th, 2001 attacks and the beginning of the Global War on Terror, the monarchy has taken significant steps to attempt to curtail the influence of the ulema. The monarchy has become much less tolerant of clerics that speak out against the monarchy, often arresting them (though these arrests are usually temporary, they are enough to scare the dissident clerics into silence). The rise of Mohammad bin Salman in the mid-2010s accelerated this curtailment of the ulema’s power. Viewed as a youthful reformer, MbS has undone many of the laws that were put in place following the Grand Mosque Seizure: in 2018, he removed the ban on female drivers, while in 2021, he legalized gambling and the consumption of alcohol. While he was within his rights to do so--again, the monarchy has no formal restrictions on its authority--these actions flew in the face of the alliance struck between the House of Saud and the ulema. Had the Crown Prince stopped there, conservative opposition to his rule might have been vocal, but nevertheless manageable. Resistance in this period was largely restricted to existing Saudi exile groups like Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia and Hizb ut-Tahrir. A collection of senior clerics in Saudi Arabia rallied together to compose a new Memorandum of Exhortation--a call-back to the 1992 Memorandum written in the aftermath of Gulf War--condemning the Kingdom’s slide away from righteousness and towards western hedonism. The participating clerics were quickly stripped of their positions, arrested, or forced into exile, but their memorandum nevertheless made the rounds--especially in more rural, more conservative communities, where the monarchy had less power (relatively) than the ulema. Still, it spawned little but discontent whispers and prayers that someone would do something to set the Kingdom back on the righteous path. But he didn’t stop there. No more than four months later, Saudi Arabia invited the Bahraini Shi’a cleric Isa Qassim to Saudi Arabia. By itself, this would have created a diplomatic incident--Qassim was, in essence, the leader of the Shi’a opposition to the Saudi-aligned Sunni ruling dynasty of Bahrain, serving as a persistent thorn in the side of the Bahraini royal family. The fact that the House of Saud was inviting him to Saudi Arabia not just as a guest, but paying for the construction of a Hawza (a Shi’a seminary), was nothing short of sacreligious. The moment this news went public, conservative Saudi society flew into an outrage. How dare the monarchy collaborate with the radifa. Whatever control the monarchy had over the clergy melted away overnight, with most every Sunni cleric in the country denouncing the government’s support of the heretics in some form or another. Eight of the twenty-one members of the Council of Senior Scholars, the highest religious body in the country (and also one of the religious institutions most aligned with the House of Saud) resigned in protest. Among those resigning included several members of the al ash-Sheikh family, the foremost family of religious scholars and the direct descendents of al-Wahhab. Even Abdul-Rahman Al Sudais, the Imam of the Great Mosque of Mecca, issued a public denouncement of the government’s decision to fund the Hawza. Protests broke out throughout the country, especially in Mecca, Medina, and the Nejd, and while Saudi security forces were able to break their resolve after a week or two of protests, their discontent did not dissipate. The Saudi government’s 2022 decision to invite sixteen new American military bases only reignited tensions. Overnight, Saudi Arabia went from having no American bases to being the country with the sixth most American military bases. That anger stayed, bubbling beneath the surface. Waiting for an outlet. It finally found that outlet in 2022. At the opening ceremony of the new Hawza 'Ilmiya Dammam, a car bomb ripped through the crowd, destroying the largest building in the compound. When first responders arrived at the scene to treat the casualties, another suicide bomber--this one disguised as a first responder himself--detonated his vest, killing several dozen paramedics and security personnel. Several hours later, on the other side of the country in Jazan, a car bomber struck an under-construction American base, killing several Saudi construction workers (most of whom were migrant workers from South Asia or the Philippines), two American contractors leading the construction effort, and three American officers. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks the next day. In total, some eighty-four people, including three American servicemen, two American contractors, and forty Saudi nationals, died in the attacks, while another two- to three-hundred were wounded. Among those dead were several of the most important clerics of the new Hawza, including Qassim and the Pakistani marja’ Muhammad Hussain Najafi. The other Pakistani marja’ involved in the Hawza, Bashir al-Najafi, succumbed to his injuries a week later. The response from the predominantly Wahhabi Sunni clergy in the country ranged from silence (for those not willing to risk the ire of the monarchy) to celebratory (for those more dedicated to their faith than self-preservation). For the Saudi government, this was a concerning sign of what was to come. Older members draw comparisons between the current political moment and that of the 1990s, when outrage against the monarchy led to the formation of conversative opposition groups and an increase in terror attacks by groups like al Qaeda. And indeed, their fears may be legitimate. Anti-American protests are becoming increasingly common throughout the country, with the country’s American embassies, consulates, and base construction sites under near constant siege by conservative protesters. The Sahwa movement, a peaceful Islamist group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood opposed to American bases on the Arabian peninsula, has returned in full force after being all but crushed by government repression in the 1990s. Increasing numbers of Saudi clerics are issuing open criticisms and condemnations of the government and its recent activities, posing a serious challenge to the legitimacy of the rule of King Salman and the Crown Prince. In a different world, the monarchy might have been able to find some way to placate these dissidents. The warnings were there. But once the genie is out of the bottle, it’s impossible to put it back in. In April 2022, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman launched an unprecedented purge of the religious establishment and the non-ruling branches of the House of Saud. Over the course of 48 hours, Saudi security forces rounded up and arrested numerous prominent figures on corruption charges. While this was in and of itself insignificant--MbS had already used corruption arrests to establish his power in the House of Saud in the past--the scale of them was substantially larger than any previous arrests. Moreover, those royals detained through this process found themselves stripped of the rights and comforts they had come to expect during detentions like these: rather than the Ritz Carlton, they instead found themselves thrown into dank, musty jail cells, as though they were any other criminal. This was a signal to the rest of the House of Saud: Mohammad bin Salman would no longer tolerate anything even remotely resembling opposition to his agenda. The Prince’s seizure of power did not end there. Later that week, King Salman announced that the Wahhabi religious clerics would no longer have any temporal power outside of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia, according to the King, was going to become a more tolerant, progressive nation. Non-Muslims would have the same rights as Muslims for the first time in the Kingdom’s history. As if this weren’t an insult enough to the religious establishment, the King then declared that the Kingdom would be holding an interfaith celebration in the city of Mecca. This celebration would mark the first time that non-Muslims were (legally) allowed entrance into the Grand Mosque in over a thousand years--flying in the face of a restriction that predated the House of Saud itself. While King Salman’s decree robbed the Wahhabi religious establishment of its temporal power, it could never hope to so suddenly deprive them of their ability to sway the hearts and minds of the masses. Almost every cleric in the country, Salafi or Sufi, Wahhabi or Shafi’i, Sunni or Shi’a, immediately and unequivocally condemned the King’s decision to reverse a thousand years of tradition and allow non-Muslims into the holiest site of Islam. The Imam of the Grand Mosque resigned in disgust, stating that he would rather die than preside over kafirs gaining entrance to Holy City. Most of the Mosque’s clerics resigned with him.
The Situation on the Ground
The country has exploded into massive protests, attended by millions of people across the country. There are near-constant masses of people in the streets of Saudi Arabia’s major cities, while construction work on the proposed Church in Riyadh has been unable to continue due to the hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters surrounding the site at all times. Every day, their grip on Saudi society seems to slip further. Saudi Arabia has long relied on the cooperation of the religious establishment to quash dissent and break up protests. With that alliance shattered by King Salman’s recent actions, Saudi Arabia has had a harder time containing these protests than ever before. There are frequent reports of Saudi security personnel collaborating with the protesters, often sneaking advance warning of police crackdowns to protesters or allowing protest leaders to slip away from arrest warrants. This environment has allowed numerous critics of the government a new lease on life, as dissent is simply too large and too widespread for the government to crack down on all dissidents at once. One major resurfaced critic of the Saudi government has been the Muslim Brotherhood. Once an ally of the Saudis, the Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization in 2014, after its Egyptian leadership was deposed in the 2013 coup d’etat. Since then, the group’s Saudi Arabian leaders were forced to flee into hiding in Qatar, Iraq, and, to a lesser extent, Bahrain. While the Muslim Brotherhood itself is not Wahhabist, and has many doctrinal disputes with the leading branch of Islam in Saudi Arabia, it has nevertheless made significant inroads into Saudi society over the past several months. As clerics and Saudi conservatives have become convinced that monarchy is unable to deliver the Sharia-adherent society they so desire (and worse, that they have little ability to coerce the monarchy into doing so), many have turned towards the Muslim Brotherhood and its promises of democracy. If nothing else, at least the system promoted by the Muslim Brotherhood would allow them to vote out incompetent royals like Mohammad bin Salman! While many of these groups are not openly violent and are content to continue peaceful (if still terribly disruptive) means of protest against the government, other groups are not. Saudi intelligence is reporting a large surge in the membership numbers of extremist groups like Al Qaeda, Islamic State, and their affiliates. These groups are able to tap into the discontent that has manifested in Saudi society, using the more peaceful groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Sahwa Movement as a front for radicalizing and recruiting disenfranchised and disgruntled Saudi conservatives. Saudi intelligence suspects that the Kingdom’s sky-high youth unemployment rate--about 25 percent in 2019--has not helped matters, with many of the new recruits coming from the under-30 age group. Saudi intelligence suspects that the growth of these dissident and jihadi groups has also been assisted by covert funding from Qatar and the Qatari nobility (and in the case of the Muslim Brotherhood only, from Turkey as well), though as of yet, they have been unable to find concrete proof. Perhaps the most major opposition to Saudi rule, though, comes from the Wahhabi clerics that once lent so much legitimacy to the Saudi monarchy. Wahhabi clerics that had erstwhile been major supporters of the Saudi government took to every venue available to them--the pulpit, the streets, the internet, the radio--and loudly and repeatedly condemned the actions of the King and the Crown Prince, declaring that they had strayed from the path of the righteous and no longer had the moral authority to lead. Throughout the country, these Saudi intelligence and security forces have been overwhelmed trying to track down and arrest all of the clerics that have broken the law--either by insulting the King, calling for the death of unbelievers, or some other crime. Increasingly, they find that the public is providing a great deal of assistance in avoiding security personnel, providing housing, food, and other essentials that allow the clerics to go to ground and avoid arrest. Worse still, upper levels of the Saudi security apparatus have reported that their subordinates are, in some cases, simply refusing to carry out these arrest orders. Finally, elements of Saudi intelligence loyal to the Crown Prince himself are reporting rumors that should have Mohammad bin Salman very concerned. The recent instability in Saudi Arabia has led several members of the House of Saud to think that they could do a much better job running the country than this upstart reformer. While intelligence is unable to pinpoint exactly who is a threat to Mohammad bin Salman at this time, they have managed to suss out that there are ongoing talks between some members of the House of Saud and some members of the religious establishment that a palace coup might be the best way to ensure that their interests are protected. King Salman and MbS go away, the House of Saud can continue with its graft and corruption, and Sharia law and the power of the Wahhabis comes back. It’s a win for everyone. In short, Mohammad bin Salman faces a great number of issues that must be addressed--quickly--if he is to retain power.
Government Pockets Dry Up
(Written by Erhard) Saudi Arabia has been largely discounting oil export revenues to favor stronger relationships with its allies. This was destined to cause problems when $200 Bn, over 90% of total Saudi exports, come from revenues off of the oil they export. These oil revenues are so critical to the Saudi economy, that cutting off the revenue would send the economy into recession. The targets of these discounts were namely strong Saudi allies like the US, UK, Australia, India, Japan, and many more who are all known to be heavy oil consumers. Saudi Aramco, one of the largest companies on Earth by revenue, had shored up many of its accounts and had begun selling off assets to private investors and other companies just to keep itself afloat. The company, a state-owned enterprise, had to consult the government for this, but had really no other way to save itself. There were rumors in the company of bankruptcy, in one of the most profitable organizations, and layoffs had begun. Of the 76,000 employees, the company quickly shrunk down to 40,000 to recoup the losses. Oil prices across the world had never ever been lower. Fuel across the US was reporting record prices of $1.12 per gallon, which made consumers very happy while the Saudi economy was doing damage control, preparing for an implosion. It would seem the only way the company could recover would be to cut oil operations to slow the quantity to the market, and jack up the price to 20% over market value, effectively eliminating the discount and charging premiums to those who formerly had discounts. If implemented, the US consumer’s dream would be short-lived as they would approach prices of $4.15 per gallon, but would likely save the economy.
The Paper Tiger
A recent series of arrests has also brought to light an unanticipated vulnerability in the Saudi security establishment. Early in 2022, the Ministry of Defense announced plans to double the number of active-duty personnel in the Saudi Land Forces in a period of just two years. Assuming no retirements or fatalities (something that is hard to assume, given the ongoing Saudi intervention in Yemen), the Royal Land Forces will have to hire over three hundred people per day. Meeting this requirement in a country without conscription has required a massive increase in recruitment targets, coupled with a corresponding decrease in the standards used in hiring. In essence, anyone with a warm body that can hold a rifle and walk is being allowed into the military. Moreover, the massive increase in junior enlisted personnel has further taxed the brass’s ability to maintain discipline and unit cohesion: the army’s absenteeism rate has sky-rocketed, as there are simply too many recruits and too few skilled officers and NCOs in order to adequately enforce punishments. While the drop in Saudi Arabia’s combat capacity that this has caused is concerning on its own, far more concerning is the fact that not all of the recruits to the Saudi military have the country’s best interests at heart. A recent arrest of an Al Qaeda member in Riyadh revealed that numerous terrorist organizations, as well as other dissident organizations, have infiltrated substantial amounts of their members into the newly-expanded Saudi military. If left unchecked, these cells will pose a significant threat to the security of Saudi Arabia, and will be able to use their military training to greatly improve the efficiency of their parent organizations in the future. Moreover, it will give their parent organizations access to classified intelligence on Saudi (read: American) weapons systems, and likely lead to some of these systems ending up in the hands of militant groups in countries like Yemen. Similarly worrying is the monarchy’s deteriorating control of the Saudi Arabian National Guard. Separate from the traditional command structures of the Saudi military, the SANG has long served as the anti-coup, counter-insurgency, and counter-protest wing of the Saudi security establishment. It is comprised of a mixture of (largely conservative) tribal militias and personnel recruited from the Wahhabi religious establishment. Traditionally, these affiliations have helped protect the government from coups by the more liberal-minded military. In this instance, where the threat to the regime’s existence comes from conservative, religious parts of society, the loyalty of the National Guard has been called directly into question. Some worry that the ousted clerics and the more conservative elements of the House of Saud have compromised the integrity of the SANG, and may be able to use it in order to depose the current ruling family. Whatever the case, most agree that something needs to be done--and soon.
Issues Abroad
Naturally, when things go badly in a country as large as Saudi Arabia, they have a tendency to spill over into their neighbors. Below is a brief summary of some of the spillover effects in neighboring countries. The United Arab Emirates While the United Arab Emirates has long been the most “progressive” of the Gulf States, it is not without hardliners and conservatives. The country’s recent decision to decriminalize gay marriage has been met with considerable criticism from the country’s right-wing. Outrage against this decision--coupled with, Emirati intelligence suspects, but cannot prove, some assistance and funding from Qatar--has led to a revival of Al Islah, the UAE-branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The US presence in the UAE at Al Dhafra Air Base has also under scrutiny as the Sahwa Movement has spread across the border into the UAE, but so far, the movements are still content to resort to peaceful protest. Bahrain The death of Isa Qassim has sent shockwaves throughout Bahraini society, worsening already-existing tensions in the Shi’a-majority, Sunni-dominated nation. An important leader of the Shi’a community and political movement on the island, Qassim served as a constant voice for peace, frequently working to curtail the more militant wings of the Shi’a rights movement and channel them into peaceful activities like protest and, before the suspension of the legislature, voting. His martyrdom (and indeed, he is viewed as a martyr now in Bahrain) on Saudi territory has led to a great deal of suspicion in the Shi’a community of Bahrain, with many believing that Saudi security forces let the assassination occur in order to eliminate one of the peninsula’s largest Shi’a opposition leaders. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant: enough people believe it that the new leaders of the opposition who have risen to fill the void have become more convinced that the only way to have their demands met is through violence. In the future, Shi’a opposition groups on the island will be more likely to turn to violence in order to have their demands met. The royal family has become increasingly skeptical of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to their continued existence and independence following its actions in Qatar. While they are not brave enough to stand up to Saudi Arabia (yet) owing to their proximity to the country, the Royal Family is deeply uncomfortable with the Saudi coup in Qatar. In essence, it appears to the Royal Family that Saudi Arabia will abuse the Crown Prince’s marriage ties in order to replace other leaders of the GCC as punishment for working against Saudi interests. Given the marriage ties between the grand daughter of the King of Bahrain and the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Bahrain considers itself to be at heavy risk of one of these new “succession coups.” As such, Bahrain has started to (quietly) search for new allies to help guarantee its security against an aggressive Saudi Arabia. Iraq The death of Grand Ayatollah Basheer al-Najafi on Saudi territory at the hands of Sunni jihadists has led to a dramatic flare-up in sectarian tensions in Iraq. As one of the Big Four clerics in the holy city of Najaf, al-Najafi was one of the preeminent leaders of the Shi’a faith. Candlelight vigils and other mourning ceremonies have been held throughout the country to mark the passing of one of Shi’a Islam’s greatest minds, while anti-Saudi sentiment has been further cemented in the country. tl;dr
Saudi Arabia has dramatically curtailed the powers of the religious establishment, and broken a thousand-year-old prohibition on non-Muslims entering the Holy City of Mecca
There are massive conservative protests in Saudi Arabia. The largely conservative security establishment is sympathetic to these protests, hampering the Saudi response.
The threat of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia has increased dramatically
So far, two Al Qaeda attacks have led to the destruction of the Hawza in Dammam (and the death of three very important Shi'a marja') the death of 84 people (including forty Saudi nationals, three American servicemen, and two American contractors), and the injury of another two- to three-hundred
Saudi Arabia is facing a massive revenue crisis due to its heavy discounting of oil exports
There is large resistance to the rule of MbS and King Salman within conservative circles, with some suspecting that they will not be in power for much longer.
Smaller conservative protests are occurring in the UAE
Partypoker stealing 100k of my money! What are my options and what is my probability of success and the coast associated to sue them.
This is a repost: You find the story behind this incident below. I want to know if it is an option to sue GVC in the UK since this is a company listed on the London Stock exchange. Suing them in Gibraltar, where they got the licence or in Germany, where I am from, are unfortunately no options, due to lack of prospects of success. Is it possible to sue them in the UK? Which costs would be associated with that? What probability of success are you estimating? I also posted this in scams (and this is a repost as my original on is still pending a few days in) as i want to let as many people know about the business practices of Partypoker / GVC: I want to warn other gamblers about Partypoker. They basically stole more than 100k of my money, 50k of which were deposits. They can do this really easily, especially in Germany (as I will explain later). This warning is not just about Partypoker as the parent company (GVC) holds more big brands. For example: Bwin Ladbrokes Coral ..... I played there for 2 or 3 years. I was also constantly increasing my wager over time. At the end of october 2019, they locked my account and put it under security review. They also ask for documents which I already had sent in before. Nevertheless I sent them again. After some emails back and forth they gave me my christmas gift. This is the original Email: "Dear XXX, We are contacting you regarding your partypoker account "XXX". An investigation into your account has highlighted suspicious activity related to your account. This activity is in breach of points 4, 6, 13 and 16 of the terms and conditions of partypoker. The full terms and conditions are available at: https://help.partypoker.com/en/general-information/legal-matters/general-terms-and-conditions As a result, your partypoker account has been closed and the funds remaining in your account will be confiscated. Please be aware that you are no longer permitted to create or use any account on the partypoker network. Kind Regards, Poker Operations Team" They quoted half of their terms and stole my money. I ask for a reason and for proof, which was not given at any point. By the way I was not playing poker but casino games, most of the time Black Jack, not even card counting, which they might deem as illegal (which it clearly isn't). I also messaged the regulators in Gibraltar, they took a few month and also basically said they are fine with the way party handled the situation, at least they said what they are accusing me of: This also is the original email: "Good morning XXX, I write with regards to your complaint against Party Poker. Please be advised that I have been in dialogue with Party Poker on the matter, who have provided me with a detailed and technical report with regards to your account. I have also made my own enquiries. The substantial and technical material that I have seen indicates that your account is being operated by a third party who is the controller of a series of accounts for the purpose of systematically abusing promotional bonuses. Your account is de facto a proxy account. There is strong and clear evidence that the identity used on your account and the identities used on the other accounts are all associated. The controller of all accounts knows that they are prohibited from operating any account either directly or indirectly. I will not disclose how all of the accounts have been detected as to do so would be to the detriment of Party Poker and to the advantage of those that seek to circumvent its security protocols. Nevertheless, further information on the Gambling Commissioner’s views on ‘bonus abuse’ can be found here: https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/finance-gaming-and-regulations/gambling-commissioners-advice-complainants#ancla8. I am satisfied that Party Poker is acting appropriately and in accordance with its terms and conditions and I am unable to recommend that it pays you any monies.This is my Proposed Determination to your complaint. I am also forwarding Party Poker a copy. I am now inviting you and Party Poker to comment on this Proposed Determination. It is also the opportunity for both parties to bring to my attention any facts or issues either party believes I have omitted or misunderstood in my assessment. Regards, John" Again no evidence was given. It's also hard to defend myself without getting presented with the evidence. This by the way is complete bullshit, I always have used my account myself and nobody other than me was using it. I think they used fabricated evidence to not pay big players. It was even worse than that: They baited me to play there with a 10% cashback offer on my losses. Before End of November I lost many weeks in a row. Most of the time 50k €. They had a ponzi scheme like promo going. Letting me play until I finally win and when don't pay me anyways. No risk for the house at all, they keep the money no matter the outcome (deposits included). The Gibraltar Gambling commission is also highly corrupt. They basically don't even want any complaint to get in at all. You can't submit a complaint online. You have to print several pages and fill out everything by hand. They will also ignore your claims until you get really annoying with all your reminders and messages you sent to them, then they will decide in favor of the casino. I can't even sue the casino, because the legal situation in Germany regarding Online gambling and Online casinos without a licence is fucked up. I consulted many different lawyers all telling me not to sue them, because my chances of winning are slim, not because partypoker is right, but because this is deemed illegal gambling and I basically can't get any money back. Even in case of winning it would not be clear if i can get any money back, because Gibraltar is not in the EU where i could enforce GVC to pay what they owe me. A judge friend of mine even advised me not to sue, because Gibraltar is too corrupt and the legal fees are astronomical. So neither in Germany I can get what's mine nor in Gibraltar (most probably). Basically Party knew about the loophole in German law and exploited it. I think especially German Players are in danger, no way they could get away with this in Great britain for example. CLIFFS: -Partypoker stole almost 105k of my money (half winnings, half deposits) with a far fetched explanation, which I only got from the regulators after filling a complaint. At no point any evidence was shown. -The regulators also decided not to hold partypoker accountable. -Partypoker also used a ponzi like scheme to bait me in and take my money as long as i kept losing, once i had a big upswing, they kept my winnings and deposits anyways. - Partypoker also knew about a loophole in German law about illegal Gambling and exploited it, in order to get away with "confiscating" (stealing is a better word) my entire balance.
Bitcoin (or BTC) is a decentralized virtual currency which is traded in the same way as currencies or bonds, except that for the storage of Bitcoins it is necessary to download an “electronic wallet”. According to Bitcoin there is no person, company or government that controls Bitcoin, so it requires users for its operation and the greater the demand, the greater its value. One of the main attractions of Bitcoin is its possible anonymity which allows the user to buy, pay and sell products and services without the intervention of any bank or financial institution. Best Online Casinos to Play Bitcoin Poker of October 2020 In its beginnings, in 2008, Bitcoin did not obtain great popularity, but little by little it began to be adopted by more users and companies. It was in 2011 that the newspapers began to read about Bitcoin, since then companies of great international impact have begun to open their doors to transactions with Bitcoin, some of these companies are: Dell, Overstock and Microsoft. The increasing adoption of Bitcoin by multinational companies spurred a reaction from government entities, with each country taking very different actions. In August 2013, the German Finance Minister declared Bitcoin as a "unit of account" which can be used for private transactions, which allowed Germany to control this virtual currency. In December 2013, the Chinese government prohibited banks and financial institutions from transacting with Bitcoins due to security and transparency issues. This government action caused a considerable drop in the value of Bitcoin since users in this country could not change their Bitcoins to the local currency. The United Kingdom and the European Union have also recognized Bitcoin as a type of currency and every day this cryptocurrency is accepted by more countries. However, each specific case must be analyzed, for example: in the case of the United States; Bitcoin is not considered a digital currency but rather a taxable product. Buying Bitcoins for the first time can seem a lot more difficult than it actually is. There are many methods to acquire Bitcoins, the most practical is to acquire them directly from an exchange house or Bitcoins exchange houses. Their names denote their difference, in exchange houses you will go to a provider who will sell you Bitcoins for your local currency, while in exchange houses you interact with other users to exchange Bitcoins for real money. Bitcoins transactions can last from 10 minutes to several hours and are made through a Bitcoin address (similar to mail methods, only the address in this case is a series of numbers and characters), once you receive the transfer you must move your Bitcoins to your electronic wallet before you can use them. In short, that's how easy it is to use Bitcoins: · Bitcoin is a virtual currency that is stored in an electronic wallet. · The value of Bitcoin is decentralized so it fluctuates depending on its demand. · You can make a Bitcoins transfer in seconds and its verification takes about an hour. · Once a Bitcoins transfer has been made, it cannot be reversed · For the most part, Bitcoins transactions are not subject to fees or commissions. For more detailed information, you can consult the Wikipedia site on Bitcoin here Sites to play online poker with Bitcoins Online poker sites have become more popular every day and since the use of Bitcoin is anonymous, decentralized and more or less instant transfers, online casinos have recognized in this cryptocurrency an excellent potential to attract new customers. The way Bitcoins are used to gamble online divides casinos into two categories: exclusive Bitcoin poker sites and online casinos that accept Bitcoin. So, what is the distinguish between using an online casino that accepts Bitcoins and using a Bitcoin casino to play poker? https://preview.redd.it/wo0is3x12wu51.png?width=621&format=png&auto=webp&s=b733c7964f58ba0441de2f060fed7aaf1dbfe4ed Differences between Bitcoin poker and poker sites that accept Bitcoins There are several differences between using an online casino that accepts Bitcoins and a Bitcoincasino, here are the most important ones: The great differentiation between these types of online casinos will be the total offer of payment methods to enter or withdraw funds from your casino account, Bitcoin casinos do not accept other payment methods other than Bitcoin transfer, while traditional online casinos They will offer you other payment options such as a bank account or PayPal. The expenses for using exclusive Bitcoins casinos are minimal and normally there are no fees for withdrawal of funds, contrary to the case of online casinos that accept Bitcoins as one of their payment methods since they most likely will charge you some commission. Another great advantage of choosing Bitcoin casinos over online casinos is anonymity since you will not need to link your email or personal data to create an account. In addition to the convenience that this anonymity provides, it also streamlines the transfer process in relation to online casinos that require documentation. You should consider that this anonymity also makes Bitcoin casinos vulnerable to security problems with other users. The game offer does not vary much between a Bitcoin casino and a traditional online casino, the most popular are: poker, roulette, slots and dice. Some small Bitcoin casinos do not turn to typical gaming providers like Playtech and Bets off as they tend to look for smaller providers that you may not have seen before. Some of the most relevant Bitcoin casinos are: PokerStars, SWC Poker, Bitcoin Casino and Bit casino. Pros of using Bitcoins when playing online poker Transfer money to and from your online casino account The requirements are basically the same as those of any traditional form of payment, of course you must have the electronic wallet software to use Bitcoins, but remember that withdrawals with this cryptocurrency they are usually much faster. User anonymity This advantage applies or not depending on the online casino you use, if when you sign up they only ask for information about your Bitcoin account then you will enjoy complete anonymity, however if you need to fill in personal or banking information to register at the casino then this benefit will not apply on that platform. American users can use Bitcoin Since Bitcoin is not recognized in the United States as a currency, it can be used as a means to enter and withdraw funds from an online casino account, remember that in the United States the laws vary a lot from one state to another so if you are an American user make sure you know the laws of your state in relation to online gambling before registering on a platform. The double bet with Bitcoin Many players opt for Bitcoin to place their bets since there is the possibility of winning some money depending on the exchange rate of Bitcoin when it comes to changing it to their local currency. This is why when used as a payment method for an online casino account, it is considered a double bet. Best Rake backs It is normal for Bitcoin casinos to offer better rake backs to their users since their expenses when using Bitcoin as the only payment method are lower, however this applies only to exclusive Bitcoin online casinos. Cons of using Bitcoins when playing online poker Where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages, here are the main cons you should consider when betting with Bitcoins. Bitcoin-exclusive online casinos are sites without regulation or oversight In the absence of a regulatory entity, it is hard to believe the promise of these casinos to use random platforms and take care of your funds. You must be much more careful when choosing an exclusive Bitcoins casino than a traditional online casino, the reputation and opinion of other players will be very important when choosing a Bitcoin Casino. Another factor that you should take into account is that the lack of regulation of gambling with Bitcoin does not mean that you are exempt from following the gambling regulations of the place where you live, especially in the case of the United States, where the government has previously intervened in activities of bets regardless of the means of deposit or withdrawal of funds from the companies. The fluctuating value of Bitcoin The value of Bitcoin can vary both upward and downward. Its value can change in a matter of hours, and the behavior of its value is not so similar to that of currencies such as euros, dollars, pounds or pesos, but is more similar to the behavior of products such as oil, gold or wheat, Relative anonymity of Bitcoin While it is possible to register to exclusive Bitcoin poker sites without giving personal information, the use of Bitcoins can be traced through the blockchains to a personal account. Lack of support from financial institutions Being a decentralized currency, Bitcoin is not backed by financial institutions or government, which gives you less support as a user. If there were to be a problem with the Bitcoins system, there would be no government intervention as would happen in the case of a bank. Of course, you should consider that it is thanks to this lack of intervention that transfers with Bitcoins do not charge fees or commissions. Being a virtual currency it is susceptible to cyberattacks. While the programming behind the Bitcoins System is sophisticated, so are the hackers' systems. In 2013, the UK Crime Agency reported that several users of this cryptocurrency had been victims of cyber extortion, after receiving an email their computer was infected with a virus and later they were sued for some bitcoins to repair the virus on their computers. Unfortunately there are more cases like this, in Europe a payment provider lost more than a million dollars after a cyberattack. All transactions are final Remembering that there is no intervention by financial institutions, it becomes evident that it will be difficult to file a dispute in the event of a transfer error, so you will have to be much more careful. conclusion Playing poker online is a game of both chance and strategy. For some bettors it is exceptionally alluring to utilize Bitcoins since they have the chance of expanding their benefits as indicated by the Bitcoin swapping scale. For many, traditional online casinos play poker with bitcoin will continue to be the best option due to the reliability and regulation of their transactions. What cannot be denied is that the use of Bitcoins grows day by day and in the world of online poker as in any cyber activity you must consider the most innovative and practical solutions that there is for you.
PayPal employees are so Incompetent they allow Active Fraud and Harvesting of Bank Account Details and PayPal Logins - Paypal is not longer safe. The UK.
Since I apprehended (Midnight Mon 28 Sept) Fraud and The Live Harvesting of banking details by a certain website I have been in contact with PayPal. PayPal was and still is being passed off as supporting the site whilst PayPal have zero connection. I was asked to send details directly to PayPal as well as report any further incidents. I was even told that these scammers are known to Paypal and have been attempting these frauds repeatedly. They have even managed to con the UK Gambling Commission into liscensing them as they run fake lotteries all over the globe. Over 24 hours late, I was notified that the PayPal servers were rejecting emails with the necessary evidence attached, so whoever may be looking at any report hasn't got the evidence requested. This is very alarming as the PayPal employee I was sp[eaking to on MOnday intimated that the email with attched evidence had been received - It's very naughty to tell Lies Like That! Now the scammers have admitted having no link to PayPal and have shifted to not asking for card details but actively attempting to get people to hand over paypal logins through fake payment portals on the website. You call Paypal - ask to speak to security - and be able to hand over the evidence and update them and ....... you are then hampered by the call center staff in the Philipines whose English language level is best described as Lower Intermediate and who are incapable to comprehend that you are not reporting fraud on your account but fraud and criminality aimed at PayPal and even passing off PayPal as a payment method. I'm a reasonable man - but when you have been on hold for an hour and the call is dropped my patience wears thin. You reasonable call back - have to do battle with call centre staff who are not Fit For Purpose and you end up on hold again for over 45 Minutes. At One point an British English voice told me I was on hold and them just interminable hold music designed to drive anyone off the line! Whilst waiting you cook a meal and eat it - and still, as asked, you are unable to furnish the relevant PayPal Employees with new evidence and proof from the scammers that they are commiting Fraud. Yes The Scammers are That Stupid they send you messages via their scam customer service portal. Their words are proof of Fraud, Attempted Theft of Banking Logins, Attempted Theft of PayPal Logins and all sorts of other lovely things. Never understimate the Idiocy of criminals. The scammers are doing this in the UK and so it is covered under The Fraud Act 2016, Sec 2, Fraud by false representation. I've even been contacted by Action Fraud about the matter - and they are waiting for details from PayPal..... the very evidence that PayPal don't have and which it seems there is zero way to get them to deal with. PayPal Sucks and is not a safe platform for financial transactions. Paypal admit that many IT Illiterate customers are at risk due to the emerging issue of Web Browsers Autopopulating input strings in web pages and portals - and those who are not aware being duped. They were effusive in praise for me having acted immediatly the issueds was known and they were equaly efusive concerning my knowledge and skills in dleaing witrh online criminality.... I have to wonder why PayPal are going to Such Lengths To NOT Have Evidence they say they want and have requested. Are they being sued in The US over allowing scammers/fraudsters into harvesting logins and costing many people money? Evidently, PayPal would not want that same issue showing up in the UK and proving negligence and liability against PayPal on a Global Scale. They are either so Incompetant that PayPal is a dangerous Platform, or Mendsacious and showing just how quickly they will destroy the Little Guy!
PayPal Sucks harder and shows more desperation than a $20 Rent Boy!
Quality of life (noun): the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group.
Example: "the things that are needed for a good quality of life" What is a lobby?
Lobby (noun): a group of people seeking to influence politicians or public officials on a particular issue.
Lobby (verb): seek to influence (a politician or public official) on an issue.
Example: "it is recommending that booksellers lobby their representatives" --Google online dictionary Our goal is to lobby lawmakers on issues that affect the quality of life of people in the USA. The only leverage we have to make sure that issues which affect our quality of life are addressed is our vote, but we are not communicating what those issues are to lawmakers nor are we vowing to vote according to their willingness to raise our quality of life--instead many of us are voting according to which party a representative is affiliated with. To do that we need to form a political platform. What is a political, also known as a party, platform?
Party platform (noun): A political party platform or program is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, ... , for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues.
--Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_platform And that is why we are here discussing what is lowering our quality of life and even why our grandparents had a higher quality of life than we do now. Once we identify why they had a higher quality of life than we do now and why we have a lower quality of life than they did, we can propose solutions and form a platform. We can lobby lawmakers to garner support and votes about the complicated topics and issues which are lowering our quality of life. They can find their own solutions to these issues or implement the ones we draw up, but they must address them. We can only hold them to it if we form a strong enough lobby. What is a strong lobby in this context? One with the power to vote them out or vote them in depending on their willingness to make our quality of life a policy objective. What is a policy objective?
Policy objective (noun): A policy objective is a desired outcome that policy-makers wish to achieve. A policy target is a specific level or rate set for the chosen objective.
When a lawmaker makes a law, there is a policy objective. Oftentimes, the policy objective is to increase the GDP, help the stock market, protect the oil or health care industries from domestic threats in their respective markets, or even to protect those same and certain other industries from unfair foreign competition. The goal of the Quality of Life Lobby is to lobby lawmakers to once more make the quality of life of people in the USA a policy objective.
Ever since NAFTA, there has been no policy objective to protect the USA labor market from unfair foreign competition--or from anything else for that matter. From white collar workers to the ones in the service industry, we have been subjected to lowering wages and higher inflation. The cost of living has increased and the purchasing power of the dollar in our domestic market is getting weaker and weaker yet our wages have not risen. Any attempts to raise wages are brushed aside with talks of inflation being the outcome of such measures, but no other solution is given. The ability of the market to correct itself thanks to competition has been overlooked. If Campbell's tries to sell beans for $4.00/can the invisible hand of the market will see to it that Goya or Procter & Gamble will compete with them by selling it for $3.00/can, $2.00/can and so forth until it is reasonably priced again. Inflation is no excuse to not address the cost of living issue in this country. How do we do that? What is causing the cost of living to rise while wages stagnate? That is why we are here. We need to discuss the problems at hand whether they be economic, social, or related to the justice system to identify the root source of each major quality-of-life-impacting issue and potential solutions. We aren't here to find one solution and praise it, flaws and all. Point out the flaws. Find ways around them if you can, or point them out so that someone else may. We need to create a platform on prevalent problems and proposed solutions so that we can lobby law makers and thereby raise our quality of life. Common problems mentioned on Reddit include:
Quality of life afforded by a 40-hour-per-week job. Many note that their grandparents could work one job and afford a high quality of life, but they themselves can not despite having more education. Many even are forced to work multiple part-time jobs because no one in their zip codes are hiring full time to avoid insurance, sick leave, and other liability associated with employing full-time labor. Leaving isn't an option since they can't accumulate the wealth needed to move (first and last month's rent in new accommodations and cost of living until they can secure a new job in their new zip code and moving costs such as a van in some instances.) As most can see, even when moving is an option, it more often than not isn't better anywhere else hence the widespread dissatisfaction on this front.
Cost of education. Most people remember that their parents or grandparents could afford university with a summer job. That is not the case now. Many university presidents are paid more than the president of the United States of America for crying out loud, and you or your children are going into usurious debt to finance it--and to boot, that is after your state taxes subsidize those selfsame universities. Why? You know it affects your quality of life and your local consumer and housing markets. You know it doesn't have to be that way because it wasn't before. What changed? How can we get this beast of a situation under control?
Selective law enforcement. We hear about some reports being prosecuted and others not being prosecuted, but there is little consistency in some cases. Someone steals your bike? Tough luck. Your car? Tough luck...sometimes...but maybe not. We need consistency. Are the police departments underfunded or unwilling? Do we need to commission RAND Corporation to find out and give suggestions? What is the law enforcement situation in your city or state, and how can it be improved? What support does law enforcement need to do its job, and how do we lobby our lawmakers for that support to be given?
Dismissal of the concerns of the middle class. This is pervasive. You pay $20,000 per year in taxes...and you have nothing to show for it. You have no subsidies under the affordable care act, your kids get no financial aid in university, you don't qualify for any type of assistance, but you probably are nearly out of money at the end of each month. No one takes your plight seriously because they compare you to the most poverty-stricken in society. It's enough to make you resent them. They are worse off, but it doesn't mean that you don't have problems--and as much as you pay in taxes, your problems should be a priority, too. Why are all the taxes put on you? Upper income households and corporations often can more adroitly lessen their tax liability, and corporations get subsidies and bailouts when times get bad, but what about you? Stop being the middle child in a dysfunctional household who has all of the responsibilities to take care of the younger children and none of the privileges of the first-born and make your plight heard NOW!
Demonization of the poor. You work two part-time jobs or one full-time job, but after rent, food, gas, car insurance, utilities, health insurance (part timers don't get company benefits), and finally day care if you have kids, nothing is left at the end of the month. You even need help with food. You get a food stamp card, now known as SNAP benefits, and despite all of your hard work some people have the nerve to call you a taker and blame you for their high taxes. They tell you to "better yourself" but don't explain who will pay your rent when you are in class instead of at work to do it. They don't explain who will pay your health insurance. They think you get everything for free when in reality medicaid will only cover you if you are the parent of a dependent child, permanently disabled, or over 65 no matter how in need you may be. You are scapegoated and arguably economically exploited by your employer. "Market value" of your skills is used to explain why you are not paid enough to live without a SNAP card despite working for a very profitable company and being very economically productive. If your coworkers and you suddenly couldn't show up, the company you work at would lose $5000-$10000 per day, but somehow you are not worth more than $80 per day despite having only a few other coworkers if you work in a small store or restaurant. Don't get me started on large stores. Your grandparents weren't demonized for working with their hands, and they could support themselves without being had for fools, paid so little as to need charity, and socially scorned. What went wrong for you? Make your voice heard now, too! If your company was forced to pay you according to your productivity as gauged by net profits every month instead of "market value," maybe the poor middle class wouldn't be taxed to death for your SNAP card and you could buy a few luxuries--which you certainly deserve for all of your hard work.
Tokenism. "Build a wall!" "Stop them from using the bathrooms!" "Let them use the bathrooms!" "Stop the abortion!" "Give the abortion!" "We shall build a turtle fence!" "I think I'll get a woman vice president." "I know more about viruses than anyone!" At what point are we being taken for a ride? When you wake up every day and go to work, how is any of this shit affecting you? The bathroom issue may, but once we know a candidate's stand on that--or any of the above for that matter--it is no good reason to vote for that person if (s)he only has that one stance going for him/her. What actually affects YOU, YOUR NEIGHBORS, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY, or SOME GROUP OF PEOPLE YOU FEEL SORRY FOR LIKE THE ELDERLY OR THE POOR? When a candidate is not running on a single-issue voter platform or engaging in tokenism, they are often focusing on issues that tug at your heart strings but don't fill your wallet. Who cares about a wall or a fence or anything else for that matter if you have less than $500 in your account at any given time and your car could break any minute? I bet the lawmakers running for office don't live with that kind of sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, and if you work 40 hours a week, as I live, you shouldn't either. Vote with that in mind. The goal here is to form a large group of voters who can lobby for issues that affect them with one voice and cut through the fluff that is, quite frankly, not going to affect the quality of life for you at all and only get into office someone who once there won't make your quality of life a policy goal.
If they pick on you it's because we let them. Let's not let them. WE have a democracy, and once we identify the problems affecting us and their solutions, law makers can either implement our solutions, find and implement their own solutions to our problems, or promptly be voted the fucking hell out of there. The choice can be theirs...if you make them. We have to form a lobby and a credible voting block--that means growing this sub. The companies kicking our working asses have lobbies. It's time to make our own or forever hold our peace. (It also would take less than one or two hours a week if it takes off for even the most active members since once we identify issues I and other moderators can compile them and the most supported proposed solutions and put them up for vote in a poll so that we can form a list of problems and their corresponding solutions one at a time. We can then have a document which we can use for our political platform and lobby lawmakers with. Once this document is made, it is not time consuming to publish it, lobby other voters with it, and form a voting block around it to lobby lawmakers with and vote them in or out depending on their ability to address OUR needs. Upon the completion of this hopefully less-than-10-pages-long political platoorm document, it can be shared on social media as well to gain traction.) P.S. To all of the high-income earners, you are not left out. Democracy and rights to the fruit of one's labor and a high quality of life are for everyone. If you are not underpaying your employees, we do not want your money. We want the people they work for to pay them (and probably you, too, so that you can invest in USA companies and create jobs through the creation of businesses or your increased consumption in the housing and consumer markets) so that your taxes don't get raised for their SNAP cards any more than they already have. We are not advocating socialism. Also, one may notice that as we have a mixed economy* some aspects of it are already socialized, like medicaid and disability. We are not going to set parameters on the discussion as we have faith in the critical thinking skills of everyone here to pick and choose from all ideas set before them on the merits of the ideas and not the system the one presenting the ideas may advocate for--or not advocate for. One may run out of other people's money, but you never run out of the money your labor has earned your company, and the goal here is to make sure that the people in the USA do not have their quality of life drastically affected because they don't get an equitable share of that. (One of the goals of this sub is to decide and debate what an 'equitable share of the fruits of their labor' is in terms of a percent of net profits of the entity they work for and what an equitable share of the fruits of one's labor is in the context of nonprofits, public entities like libraries and schools, etc and related minutiae.) If you are a doctor--as much money as doctors make--you still should not live in fear of a missed student loan payment or be worked to the bone with excessively long shifts for years. The same goes for other high-income earners. You should be paid according to your value to that hospital(or other employer), and they should take steps wherever possible--not just wherever convenient--to ensure that you and their other staff do not suffer unnecessarily. Suffering is going to happen, but the goal of the Quality of Life Lobby is to reduce it where it is not necessary and to find ways to do it without creating a bigger problem. Please feel free to contribute your concerns regarding your quality of life and how it can be higher even if you have a pretty high quality of life already or feel that others' concerns are more dire than your own. We are working for everyone here to raise everyone's quality of life as much as it can be in their own context. *Mixed economy (noun): an economic system that combines aspects of both capitalism and socialism. A mixed economic system protects private property and allows a level of economic freedom in the use of capital, but also allows for governments to interfere in economic activities in order to achieve social aims.Apr 27, 2020 Example: We have had a mixed economic system at the least since Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the Social Security Act of 1935 and a series of financial reforms, regulations, programs, and public work projects called the New Deal during the seven-year period of time spanning from 1933 to 1939. Example: One of the goals of the Quality of Life Lobby is to lobby for financial reforms and regulations to protect the quality of life of people in the USA from undue foreign market interference and from the affects of a growing population and decreased need for labor as caused by automation, AI, other technological advances, and competition with foreign markets which are not accounted for in traditional market theory. --www.investopedia.com
The UK Gambling Commission has come in for extreme criticism from a group of MPs reporting on how gambling regulation is protecting vulnerable people. The regulator is described as ‘toothless’ and in need of a ‘radical overhaul’. In a report published this morning, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee also branded the Department for … Gambling industry statistics are published twice a year (in May and November) and provide the latest information on each sector regulated by the Gambling Commission. The latest statistics cover the period between April 2019 – March 2020. Industry Statistics report on the size and shape of the gambling industry in Great Britain. Given the current pace of the Gambling Commission, this will most likely happen in 2022. Nevertheless, businesses must be aware of the incoming changes in order to stay compliant and continue growing. The future Gambling Act could very well be a transformative moment for the UK gambling sector. The Gambling Commission's report on Compliance and Enforcement action 2019 to 2020-Strategy. The Gambling Commission website uses cookies to make the site work better for you. Some of these cookies are essential to how the site functions and others are optional. Optional cookies help us remember your settings, measure your use of the site and personalise how we communicate with you. Any data ... Annual report & accounts. Our annual report and accounts contains details of the work we’ve done during the past financial year, including our financial statements, statistics and overviews from both the Commission’s chair and chief executive. 2018-19 saw us continuing our work to make gambling fairer and safer in Britain as part of our three-year strategy. • The Gambling Commission, the Betting and Gaming Council, and UK Finance should work with the Information Commissioner’s Office to create a consistent industry-wide approach on the sharing of ... The Gambling Commission is outpaced and outgunned by betting companies, according to a government report warning that the watchdog is struggling to protect people from gambling-related harm.. The ... www.nao.org.uk For further information about the National Audit Office please contact: ... £19 million total funding for the Gambling Commission in 2018‑19 (excluding its work on the National Lottery), almost all from licence fees paid by gambling operators £19.6 million total value of fi nancial penalties sanctioned by the Gambling Commission against gambling operators in 2018‑19, up ... Gambling industry figures recently seized on a report claiming that 200,000 people in the UK spend £1.4bn on black market sites every year, warning that tougher regulation could drive more people... Gambling Commission appoints Lived Experience Advisory Panel to advance work in player safety. The panel will continue the work of the interim Ex… 03 February 2021 Gambling Commission publishes National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms delivery update. The Gambling Commission is today publishing its la… 03 February 2021 Gambling Commission announces package of changes which make online ...
Betting using credit cards has been banned in England, Wales and Scotland following new regulations from the Gambling Commission. Read more: https://www.chri... Should the Gambling Commission be working with companies to share your data? This video is in response to recent racing post article that states there are plans for gambling companies to share ... Centro Formazione Croupier Easy chipping...students Vs pro.... Corsi Croupier certificati dalla Gambling Commission con garanzia d'impiego in 8 settimane. CFC è la Scuola Croupier vincitrice dell ... Sign in to report inappropriate content. Sign in. Transcript; Add translations. 718 views. ... Also, significant changes from the UK Gambling Commission that will affect licensees. Links to the ... SOURCE 1: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49074003SOURCE 2: https://www.thenational.scot/news/17771983.snp-conference-motion-says-loot-boxes-akin-39-gamb... For the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, one of the most respected jurisdictions in the world, this year's ICE Totally Gaming 2018 show is particularly important. Changes in UK Government ... Sign in to report inappropriate content. ... The Horror Of UK Esports - Duration: ... 30:44. Washington State Gambling Commission Tell Valve To Stop "Facilitating" Skins Gambling - Duration: 18:36. The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act, enacted in 2014 (“Act”) requires all UK facing gambling operators, wherever located, to obtain a licence from the UK Gambling Commission gambling ... Gamstop is the new UK nationwide online exclusion system, this will allow you to exclude yourself from using all gambling websites and applications that are licensed in the UK - https://www ... Sign in to report inappropriate content. ... Thanks to the UK Gambling Commission and HBF Britain for providing information discussed within: ... For success stories of my life and professional ...
![[gaming]UK Gambling commission post report about 11-16 year olds - includes in-game items.](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/Y-ZiN_HqrIjh1nvxSzSKz_cUmOeHyYn2tXz-IRWaLds.jpg "[gaming]UK Gambling commission post report about 11-16 year olds - includes in-game items.")
