Random Politics & Religion #10

I don't think many either party would admit their president did bad.

Goldman Sachs has enacted a set of rules that bans the firm’s top employees from contributing to certain campaigns, including the Trump-Pence ticket.

The rules kicked in Sept. 1 and will apply only to partners of the firm. The memo detailing the rule change was first reported by Politico. The firm says the rules were meant to remove any implication of so-called “pay to play.” Four years ago, the bank paid $12 million to settle charges that a former Boston-based banker had picked up bond underwriting business in the state while working for and contributing funds to the campaign of a then Massachusetts state treasurer and governor-hopeful, Tim Cahill.

But the people in the Trump campaign are sure to question the timing. That’s because the rules ban donations to politicians running for state or local offices, as well as donations to state officials who are seeking federal office. That makes campaign contributions to the Trump-Pence ticket a no-no. Pence is the current governor of Indiana.

In the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Fortune, Goldman specifically mentions the Trump-Pence campaign as an example of one Goldman partners can no longer support. Among the type of donations that are banned, according to the memo, are, “Any federal candidate who is a sitting state or local official (e.g., governor running for president or vice president, such as the Trump/Pence ticket, or mayor running for Congress), including their Political Action Committees (PACs).”

At the same time, the rules do not restrict donations to Clinton-Kaine. Kaine is a U.S. Senator for Virginia, and not considered a local official under Goldman’s rules. Although the memo does say that Goldman partners are no longer able to donate to the Virginia Democratic party, which could be a reference to Kaine. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s CEO, has declined to say who he is supporting for president, but is known as a long-time Clinton supporter. Blankfein donated to Clinton when she ran against Obama is 2008.

Goldman declined to comment on this story.

I don't think many either party would admit their president did bad.

(CNN)Italy's highest court has ruled that masturbation in public is not a crime, as long as it is not conducted in the presence of minors.

The decision came down from the Italian Supreme Court -- La Corte di Cassazione -- in the case of a 69-year-old man, identified only as "PL," who was caught masturbating in Catania, a city on Sicily's east coast.

The man was convicted in May 2015 after he performed the act in front of students on the University of Catania campus, according to documents filed with Supreme Court. The man was sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of €3,200 (around $3,600).

However, the defendant's lawyer appealed the case to the country's highest court, which ruled on the side of the accused in June but only just made its decision public. Judges ruled that public masturbation out of the presence of minors is no longer deemed criminal conduct due to a change in the law last year, which decriminalized the act.

The new iteration of the criminal code does call for imprisonment -- of up to four-and-a-half years -- if the act is witnessed by a minor.

In light of this ruling, the court overturned "PL's" sentence. The case has been sent back to local courts in Catania to determine exactly what the administrative fine -- between €5,000 ($5,651) and €30,000 ($33,912) -- will be.

Public masturbation remains a criminal offense in many other parts of the world, where it can lead to a jail sentence.

A judge in Canada is facing removal from the bench for his conduct when he asked a woman in a rape case why she couldn't "just keep [her] knees together."
Federal Court Judge Robin Camp is in the midst of a week-long judicial council hearing, which will determine whether he ought to be booted from his position.

The case in question took place in 2014 when Camp was a provincial court judge. (He became a Federal Judge last year.)
The 19-year-old woman said she was raped over a bathroom sink during a house party.
According to records of the trial, Camp asked her why she didn't "skew her pelvis" or push her bottom into the sink to avoid penetration. He openly wondered, "Why couldn't you just keep your knees together?"
On the subject of sex in general, and sex with young women in particular, he said, "Young wom[e]n want to have sex, particularly if they're drunk."
In a different part of the trial, he said "Some sex and pain sometimes go together...that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Camp, 64, ultimately acquitted the man charged with the crime, and then told him:
"I want you to tell your friends, your male friends, that they have to be far more gentle with women. They have to be far more patient. And they have to be very careful. To protect themselves, they have to be very careful."
The verdict was overturned on appeal. A new trial is scheduled for November.

These and other moments from the trial led the Canadian Judicial Council to open its investigation.
Camp, the council said, "engaged in stereotypical or biased thinking in relation to a sexual assault complainant."
Testifying at the hearing Friday, Camp offered this defense for his comments: "a non-existent" knowledge of Canadian criminal law.
The South African-born judge said he didn't receive training on sex assault cases. In his legal career, he focused mostly on contract and bankruptcy cases, he said.
"My colleagues knew my knowledge of Canadian law was very minimal. It was non-existent," he said at the hearing Friday. "Please remember I wasn't in this country through the 1960s, '70s and '80s."
He also apologized to the woman for his comments, calling them "rude and insulting."

It hasn't taken a full two years for people to notice Camp's off-color comments. According to a Notice of Response from the judicial council, Camp has undergone sensitivity training and has apologized publicly several times.
"[Camp] has undergone counseling and training with [a] Superior Court Justice...with a psychologist... and with an expert on the law of sexual assault...with a view to interrogating his beliefs and improving his understanding of the law, the social context of sexual violence and the psychological impact of sexual assault," the notice reads.
After the hearing Monday, the panel will send its recommendation about Camp's future to the full Canadian Judicial Council.

Camp, 64, ultimately acquitted the man charged with the crime, and then told him:
"I want you to tell your friends, your male friends, that they have to be far more gentle with women. They have to be far more patient. And they have to be very careful. To protect themselves, they have to be very careful."

Well he apologized, understood his mistake and even sought to improve himself. Sounds like a good end to me.