Parliament Continues to Devolve, Now Upset Over The Word “Surrender”
The British Parliament, otherwise known was the House of Commons, continues to justify anonymous vandal/painter Banksy’s portrayal of it as a house of chimpanzees. MPs freshly recalled from their proroguement, which legally never actually happened now, are now disparaging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for using “inflammatory language” in his description of the Benn Bill, which seeks to force Johnson to request another Brexit extension from the European Union. The inflammatory language in question, which some MPs fear is “dangerous” and could supposedly get them killed, they complain, is the use of the word “surrender”, a word which apparently now is inflammatory and encourages violence. This, despite the fact that surrendering is the cessation of violence by definition, but tell that to Parliament. They’ll say that you’re threatening them with definitions. Meanwhile, Johnson continues to rise in the polls, with the latest poll from the Express showing that Britons are demanding the UK leave the EU as soon as possible by a margin of 47% to 37% remain. The opposition continues to refuse to call early elections, fearing that it would lose, preferring to stick with the tried-and-true “surrender is violence” theme.
SEE: Cannabis Stock News Daily Roundup September 24
Pelosi Having Second Impeachment Thoughts?
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, may be having second thoughts about calling for an impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump. She apparently left the impeachment speech she composed for the occasion on the plane. No word on whether she has another copy. Nothing to worry about according to the source, says Reuters, as “At least she had organized it in her head,” said said source.
Justice Department Opening New Antitrust Investigation Into Facebook
The U.S. Department of Justice is opening another antitrust investigation into Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). Now, both the Federal Trade Commission and the DoJ are opening investigations into the same companies, which is either wasting resources or stimulating the economy, depending on the economist you want to ask. The agencies still can’t agree about how to divvy up the investigation of really big tech companies, even after they supposedly reached an agreement as to how to do this earlier this year. Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, was on Capitol Hill last week meeting with lawmakers and the President about future internet regulation.
House Votes To Allow Banks to Work with Cannabis Shops
In a major victory for the cannabis industry, the House of Representatives, the same one now conducting an impeachment inquiry into Trump but lacking a speech to introduce it, has voted to allow federally chartered banks to do business with cannabis companies. Practically, this means that cannabis dispensaries won’t have to operate entirely in cash, as it is now legal for them to deposit money into bank accounts. The bill was the first ever stand-alone cannabis bill, billed the Secure and Faire Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. It was passed on a bipartisan basis, though a majority of Republicans voted against it. The bill now faces the senate and has 33 cosponsors, which means it only needs 18 more supporters in the Senate to pass, unless it is vetoed by President Trump who doesn’t like marijuana too much, or so he tells the world. (NYSEARCA:MJ)
Volkswagen Stands By CEO, Chairman, in Wake of Manipulation Charges
Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VWAGY) is standing behind its CEO Herbert Diess and its Chairman after the two have been charged for market manipulation in the wake of the still ongoing (somehow) diesel emissions scandal of 2015. The accusation is that Diess did not disclose just how dangerous the emissions scandal was to Volkswagen investors. Volkswagen disputes this. “Based on its own extensive and independent investigations since autumn 2015, the supervisory board still can … not see that the capital market was deliberately not informed,” it said. The stock has yet to fully recover from the decline in the aftermath of the scandal, which revealed that the company had installed defeat devices on its cars to fool regulators into thinking that NOx emissions were lower than they actually were.