July 31, 2020

Republican coronavirus relief bill reportedly protects employers from employee lawsuits over coronavirus exposure at work, but lets employers sue employees who claim they were exposed at work, superseding all federal workplace safety laws. “The most obnoxious provision of the GOP proposal is one that shifts the liability in COVID cases from the employer to employee. This provision allows employers to sue employees or their representatives for bringing a claim for a COVID infection and offering to settle out of court…. Atty. Gen. William Barr would get the right ‘to sue unions, labor activists, lawyers, doctors — everyone involved in coronavirus claims’.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/column-gop-plan-cant-sue-172938487.html

Republican leaders refuse to back President Trump on delaying election. “… more than a dozen members in both the House and Senate and in the party’s leadership openly rejected President Donald Trump’s suggestion Thursday that November’s presidential election should be delayed.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/30/politics/trump-election-tweet-republican-reaction/index.html

Homeland Security accused of creating dossiers on journalists who tweeted about Portland operation leaks, and on arrested protesters. “…(DHS) personnel relied on ‘FINTEL’, an acronym for financial intelligence, as well as finished intelligence ‘baseball cards’ of arrested protesters to try to understand their motivations and plans. Historically, military and intelligence officials have used such cards for biographical dossiers of suspected terrorists, including those targeted in lethal drone strikes.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-compiled-intelligence-reports-on-journalists-who-published-leaked-documents/2020/07/30/5be5ec9e-d25b-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html

Former Republican presidential candidate and Trump campaign organizer Herman Cain dies of coronavirus. “When the (Tulsa) rally went forward on June 20, Mr. Cain, one of the most prominent African-American Trump supporters and a member of his Black Voices for Trump coalition, posed for a photo with other Black attendees. None, including him, wore masks.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/politics/herman-cain-gop-coronavirus.html

Alabama legislator urged to resign after Facebook post about attending event commemorating birthday of Klan founder. “State Rep. Will Dismukes, a Republican from Prattville, said Tuesday he has no plans to resign as a growing chorus of officials calls for him to step down after he attended a celebration for Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a leader in the Confederate Army and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.” https://www.wsfa.com/2020/07/28/alabama-lawmaker-says-he-wont-resign-after-celebrating-klan-leader/

Jeffrey Epstein accuser claims she saw Bill Clinton and Al Gore on Epstein’s airplane. “Virginia Giuffre… told lawyers in 2011 that Clinton visited Epstein’s private Little St. James Island with Maxwell, herself and ‘two young girls’ from New York.” https://nypost.com/2020/07/31/jeffrey-epstein-hosted-bill-clinton-on-private-island-court-docs/

12 pro-democracy candidates blocked from running in Hong Kong election. “Many of the barred candidates are young and support more confrontational tactics to fight for their cause. But it came as a surprise that four candidates from the Civic Party… were also banned. The party is considered a more moderate wing of the democratic movement.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53593187 Election postponed for a year. “The Hong Kong government has postponed its upcoming elections for one year, citing the growing coronavirus outbreak in the territory but sparking immediate accusations that the pandemic was being used as a pretext to suppress democracy.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/concern-as-hong-kong-postpones-elections-for-one-year-citing-covid-19

Coronavirus infections reportedly widespread in food production sector. “At least 49,369 U.S. meatpacking, food processing and farmworkers have contracted Covid-19 since March, 10,104 of whom were meatpackers at Tyson foods, according to a July 30 report by the FERN.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/07/30/over-10000-tyson-employees-reportedly-test-positive-for-covid/

Dunkin’ Donuts to close about 800 outlets. “Dunkin’… said the affected locations are in ‘low-volume sales locations’ that only represent 2% of its US sales as of 2019.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/30/business/dunkin-donut-closures/index.html

New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, accused of protecting the state’s billionaires from tax hikes. “New York disclosure records show that 43 of New York’s 118 billionaire families have donated money to Cuomo’s campaigns and the state Democratic Party committee he controls. In all, those billionaires and their family members have delivered more than $8m to Cuomo’s political apparatus since his first gubernatorial campaign.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/31/cuomo-new-york-governor-billionaires-super-rich

Every NBA player, coach and referee kneels for the national anthem before Jazz/Pelicans game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNfv0ohsu34

Former president Barack Obama delivers eulogy at John Lewis funeral. ‘Bull Connor may be gone, but today we witness with our own eyes, police officers kneeling on the necks of black Americans,” Obama said, never mentioning his successor by name. “George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/30/barack-obama-john-lewis-eulogy-funeral

More than 50 journalists in India arrested, cited or attacked over coverage of coronavirus pandemic. “‘The indirect message is that we cannot show the government in poor light.’ …. Police had charged (Om Sharma) over a Facebook live report that showed stranded workers in need of food during the lockdown.” https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/31/india-arrests-50-journalists-in-clampdown-on-critics-of-covid-19-response

Mexico’s supreme court dodges issue of abortion. “In a 4-1 decision, the court voted on Wednesday against the proposal (to decriminalize abortion) for technical reasons – without addressing arguments that restrictions on abortion violated women’s rights and contravened international treaties to which Mexico is a signatory.” https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/30/mexico-abortion-ruling-supreme-court

U.S. Senate breaks for another three-day weekend without passing emergency pandemic relief bill. “The biggest roadblocks remained McConnell’s plan to shield employers against lawsuits stemming from Covid-19 infections, and Democrats’ drive to maintain the $600-a-week supplemental unemployment payments and provide $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/congress-heads-for-weekend-with-no-deal-on-virus-relief-in-sight/ar-BB17pbHy?li=BBnbcA1 No rush, they’re still getting paid.

At least 11.6% of U.S. workforce still unemployed. “Including 12.4 million Americans claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and 1 million claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, a total of 30.2 million Americans are receiving jobless benefits.” https://www.courthousenews.com/us-jobless-claims-on-the-rise-accelerating-with-virus-infections/ Or at least they were receiving jobless benefits, until the funding ended and the Senate left for a three-day weekend….

Federal appeals court rules in favor of indigenous tribe in lawsuit over city’s festival permits, get their entire reservation back. “In sum,” (U.S. Circuit Judge David) Hamilton wrote, “as a matter of federal law, the entire reservation as established by the 1838 treaty remains Indian country. The village lacks jurisdiction to apply its ordinance to the nation’s on-reservation activities.” https://www.courthousenews.com/wisconsin-tribe-wins-fight-over-event-permits-at-seventh-circuit/

Homeland Security officers reportedly seized $2 billion from travelers at airports over 16 years, often simply because airline passengers failed to report that they were traveling with large sums of money. “…the Institute for Justice found the federal government has routinely relied on civil forfeiture — allowing DHS agencies to seize property without charging owners with a crime — to commandeer currency from airport travelers 30,574 times from 2000 to 2016…. ” https://www.courthousenews.com/report-finds-homeland-security-seized-2-billion-from-travelers/

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July 30, 2020

Federal agents to be withdrawn from Portland. “… Mr. Trump has used images of tactical agents cracking down on protesters in his campaign videos…. Among the thousands of protesters who had joined demonstrators in recent weeks were a Wall of Moms, nurses in scrubs and military veterans.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/protests-portland-federal-withdrawal.html

Little progress made in negotiations over coronavirus relief package. “We’re nowhere close to a deal.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/coronavirus-stimulus-updates-gop-and-democrats-negotiate-relief-bill.html

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development announces plan to revoke fair housing rule that targeted racial segregation, President Trump tweets his approval. “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood.” https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tweets-suburbanites-wont-be-bothered-by-low-income-neighbors-2020-7 OK all you poor people, back on the other side of the tracks! (sarcasm) I wonder if the Trump Organization or the Kushner real estate empire are developing or marketing any Suburban Lifestyle Dream properties these days?

Life in a developed market economy: Freight train cars plunge to the ground, others burst into flames, after bridge collapses near Tempe, Arizona. “The south side of the bridge collapsed, sending rail cars into an empty park below, the statement said. The bridge had its annual inspection on July 9.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/29/us/tempe-arizona-train-derailment/index.html “The bridge, which is formally called the Salt River Union Pacific Bridge, was built in 1912 and was still being used by trains as recently as Wednesday.” https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/tempe-town-lake-bridge-had-a-long-history-in-the-valley/75-2c132200-7cdd-4a32-802d-091a12d6bbf4

Four Hong Kong activists arrested, accused of organizing independence movement on social media. “The four were detained for ‘inciting secession’ on social media after the new (national security) law began on 1 July, police said.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53585747

Pakistani-American on trial for blasphemy is assassinated in Peshawar courtroom. “The man on trial, Tahir Shamim Ahmad, had claimed he was Islam’s prophet and was arrested two years ago on blasphemy charges, according to Azmat Khan, (a) police officer.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistan-blasphemy-suspect-killed-courtroom/

Hong Kong professor fired over pro-democracy activism. “The decision to fire Benny Tai, tenured law professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), goes against a previous ruling by the university senate, which said that there were insufficient grounds to remove him.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/benny-tai-university-of-hong-kong-fired The Ward Churchill treatment.

Zimbabwe promises to compensate white farmers for confiscated infrastructure. “Two decades ago (Robert) Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of 4,500 white farmers and redistributed the land to around 300,000 Black families, arguing it was redressing colonial land imbalances. The agreement signed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State House offices in Harare showed white farmers would be compensated for infrastructure on the farms and not the land itself, as per the national constitution.” https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN24U1QL-OZATP

Twitter representative explains that the company doesn’t hide threats against Israel posted by Iranian leaders because they are just ‘foreign policy saber-rattling’. “Why have you not flagged the tweets of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has literally called for the genocide of Israel and the Jewish people?” https://nypost.com/2020/07/29/twitter-defends-blocking-trump-tweets-but-not-irans-ayatollah-khamenei/

Airline support companies accused of taking emergency federal payroll aid but laying off employees anyway. “(The three House committee chairs) said they have started an investigation into the aid to contractors and said they found at least 12 that accepted more than $720 million in government support after laying off about 9,300 people.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/lawmakers-urge-treasury-department-to-cut-off-federal-coronavirus-aid-for-airline-contractors-that-laid-off-workers.html

Judges orders states to pay idled Uber and Lyft drivers unemployment benefits. “A federal judge has ordered the state of New York to quickly pay unemployment benefits to four Uber and Lyft drivers who have been waiting for the payments since March or April.” https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/judge-orders-new-york-to-pay-unemployment-to-uber-and-lyft-drivers/ “In a 5-2 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that an Uber driver did not forfeit eligibility for unemployment benefits by starting to drive for the tech giant.” https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/pa-supreme-court-rules-that-uber-driver-is-not-a-contractor-is-eligible-for-unemployment/

Federal magistrates reportedly ordering Portland protesters to stay away from protests as a condition of being released from jail. “Legal experts describe the move as a blatant violation of the constitutional right to free assembly, but at least 12 protesters arrested in recent weeks have been specifically barred from attending protests or demonstrations as they await trials on federal misdemeanor charges.” https://www.propublica.org/article/defendant-shall-not-attend-protests-in-portland-getting-out-of-jail-requires-relinquishing-constitutional-rights

Many police departments not saying if officers caught on video abusing protesters have been punished. “In case after case, departments have cited ongoing investigations for not providing details such as whether officers captured in the videos remain on active duty; they also often can’t say how long the investigations might take.” https://www.propublica.org/article/what-has-happened-to-police-filmed-hurting-protesters-so-far-very-little

News media and protesters to be considered ‘adversaries’ when they cover stories or call attention to things the military wants to hide from the public, according to Department of Defense training course. “The protest group was an adversary, not because of its political beliefs, but because its intentions were contrary to the success of the training mission,” the narrator says. “Reporters also had contrary intentions and capabilities. They wanted to capture exercise activities and on video and report them on the evening news. In this instance, the reporters are adversaries.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/29/pentagon-protesters-journalists-adversaries-386854

Egypt and Saudi Arabia urged to release imprisoned journalists. “Egypt and Saudi Arabia are currently the world’s biggest jailers of journalists after China. (Reporters Without Borders) has identified 30 detained journalists in Egypt and 33 in Saudi Arabia.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/rsf-urges-egypt-saudi-arabia-release-detained-journalists-200729192252676.html

Ten anti-government protesters reportedly hospitalized in Israel after being attacked by far-right group. “… the attackers were seen hitting demonstrators with glass bottles, clubs and chairs and spraying them with mace. Organizers of the protest said five people were hospitalized, including two with stab wounds to their backs. Later reports said 10 people were hospitalized.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/protesters-say-they-were-attacked-in-planned-ambush-blast-police-response/

Jordanian police club striking teachers, arrest dozens. “(Associated Press) journalist Omar Akour was also beaten on the head with a club, despite telling police he was a journalist…. Akour fell to the ground after being struck, where another policeman kicked him. Police smashed his cellphone, destroying the footage he filmed of the clashes.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/jordanian-police-beat-arrest-protesting-191138104.html

Some landlords reportedly ignoring eviction bans. “In at least one (California) county, the sheriff’s department has directly carried out evictions and the local courts have allowed them, despite statewide orders. Some landlords have made the rental units unlivable for renters who refuse to leave…. After (Christopher Borunda) did not immediately move out, his electricity was shut off, the locks were changed, and his landlords began demolishing the kitchen and bathroom, making it uninhabitable, according to photos and his legal complaint.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/30/california-covid-19-evictions-landlords-tenants

House Antitrust Subcommittee grills leaders of giant tech companies about their business practices. “… Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Jeff Bezos of Amazon finally had to answer questions about how their businesses operated. And the answers they gave weren’t pretty.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/30/congress-forced-silicon-valley-to-answer-for-its-misdeeds-it-was-a-glorious-sight

U.S. GDP shrinks by almost 33% in second quarter. “The annualized figure is the largest drop in quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) – the broadest measure of the economy – since records began in 1945.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/30/us-gdp-economy-worst-quarter-covid-19-unemployment

President Trump suggests postponing November election due to ‘INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT’ mail-in voting. “With Universal Mail-In Voting… 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???” https://www.wftv.com/news/politics/trump-floats/R7L6H4HXIZRQ7P6YQI7XMPDBXE/

Federal judge throws out New York’s ban on courthouse protests. “The underlying case stemmed from an incident involving Michael Picard, who was picketing for jury nullification outside the Bronx County Hall of Justice in December 2017 when he was taken into custody by a court officer who insisted Picard was breaking a New York penal law by picketing for jury nullification within 200 feet of the courthouse.” https://www.courthousenews.com/new-york-law-banning-courthouse-picketing-ruled-unconstitutional/

Ex-felons trapped in poverty. “(Robert Luma) is branded for life as a felon…. He is denied public assistance, food stamps, public housing, the right to vote, the right to serve on a jury, the ability to collect Social Security for the 40-hours a week he worked in prison, barred from obtaining hundreds of professional licenses, burdened with old fees, fines and court costs he cannot pay, as well as losing the right to be free from employment discrimination because of his record.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/07/29/chris-hedges-americas-social-hell/

July 29, 2020

Trump administration reportedly refusing to accept new DACA applicants or allow them to return after leaving the country, despite a recent Supreme Court ruling restoring the program. “This June, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration’s actions were ‘arbitrary and capricious’ under federal law and therefore ‘set aside’ (Trump’s) DACA repeal…. U.S. District Judge Paul Grimm compelled the administration to restore DACA to its pre-repeal condition on July 17…. But DHS did not do that.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/daca-donald-trump-supreme-court.html

Protester snatched off Manhattan street by men in unmarked van. “Civil liberties are ‘on the brink’, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has warned, after a woman was arrested by plainclothes officers and bundled into an unmarked van in Manhattan on Tuesday.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-new-york-protester-arrested-unmarked-police-van-a9643166.html There is apparently video here, but I can’t view it because my internet is apparently being throttled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbIQ7ULyloY

‘Umbrella man’ who started property damage during Minneapolis George Floyd unrest is associated with a white supremacist prison gang, local police claim. “Police confirmed that the man is a member of the Hell’s Angels and an associate of the Aryan Cowboys, which is a known prison gang out of Minnesota and Kentucky…. protesters in Minneapolis confronted and filmed him on May 27 while he was in the act of smashing several windows of an AutoZone store…. the man also (allegedly) spray painted the words ‘free sh*t for everyone zone’ on the doors of the AutoZone.” https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/07/28/mpd-umbrella-man-believed-to-be-member-of-hells-angels-who-wanted-to-sow-racial-unrest-during-floyd-protests/

Police agencies who had offered to provide security at Democratic Party’s national convention back out after Milwaukee’s city government bans use of tear gas and pepper spray on protesters. “Since the Milwaukee order was issued, more than 100 law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin and across the US decided against coming to Milwaukee, Morales told WTMJ-TV on Tuesday.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/police-agencies-withdraw-convention-duty-tear-gas-rules-200728225853091.html

Uninvited federal agents sent to quell unrest in Seattle leave. “This demobilization means Washingtonians no longer have to worry about the White House’s aim to provoke confrontation and undermine peaceful protests.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/29/seattle-mayor-jenny-durkan-says-us-agents-left-city/5533945002/

Sheriff refusing to provide service to county library in Nevada after it posts statement of support for Black Lives Matter movement. “Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help,” (Sheriff Dan) Coverley wrote. “I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior, since those are just some of the recent calls my office has assisted you with in the past.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/28/nevada-sheriff-library-support-blm-dont-bother-calling-911/5532412002/

Pharmaceutical CEO issues dire warning over President Trump’s new drug pricing rules. “Trump on Friday signed four executive orders designed to bring U.S. drug prices at least on par with their costs overseas…. ‘They pose enormous destruction in a time when the industry needs to be completely focused on developing a potential Covid-19 vaccine or treatment.'” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/pfizer-ceo-says-trumps-executive-orders-overhauling-us-drug-pricing-will-cause-enormous-destruction.html Pfizer says Albert Bourla told investors the rules would pose enormous ‘distraction’, transcription service claims he said ‘create enormous disruption’.

House and Senate intelligence committees want Homeland Security to provide details of its surveillance of protesters. “We have not received satisfactory responses.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-usa-congress/us-congress-pushing-homeland-security-for-details-on-protest-surveillance-idUSKCN24T28Y Uh-oh, sounds like they’ve infiltrated the protests, but I’m just guessing….

Turkish legislature passes law restricting social media content. “The law requires social media firms with more than a million Turkish users to set up local offices and comply with requests to remove content. If companies refuse, they face fines and may have data speeds cut.” https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53579089 Have their data speeds cut? Wow, I know how annoying that can be!

Hundreds of people killed last year trying to defend indigenous land or the environment. “More than four defenders were killed every week in 2019, according to an annual death toll compiled by the independent watchdog Global Witness…. Colombia and the Philippines accounted for half of the 212 people killed last year…” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/record-212-land-and-environment-activists-killed-last-year

Headline: ‘Russia used English-language sites to spread Covid-19 disinformation, US officials say’. Actual story: Russians spread disinformation on THEIR OWN English language websites, which few Americans have ever, or will ever, actually visit. “Though US officials have warned before about the spread of disinformation tied to the pandemic, they went further on Tuesday by singling out a particular information agency that is registered in Russia, InfoRos and that operates a series of websites – InfoRos.ru, Infobrics.org and OneWorld.press – that have leveraged the pandemic to promote anti-western objectives and to spread disinformation.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/28/russia-covid-19-disinformation-websites-us-intelligence The Guardian builds the story up for eight paragraphs before revealing there was actually no disinformation planted on any popular English language websites where substantial numbers of Americans would actually see it. But in paragraph six there’s this: “US officials look to avoid a repeat of the 2016 race, when Russia launched a covert social media campaign to divide American public opinion and to favor then-candidate Donald Trump over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton,” implying that this coronavirus disinformation campaign has a similar reach. At least they actually named the websites, so that people wouldn’t be left to wonder which major news organization had been compromised by Russian disinformation! But this free publicity will probably massively increase the number of visitors to the Russian websites, so you have to wonder – is that an intended or an unintended result of releasing this ridiculous story?

Australian police break up banned Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney. “The march was planned to highlight the deaths of Aboriginal people in custody…. Police had said the gathering was unauthorised and in breach of coronavirus prevention measures…” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-protests-australia/australian-police-disperse-black-lives-matter-rally-idUSKCN24T00O Five people, presumably the organizers, were fined $1,000 Australian dollars each! It will be interesting to see if this story gets the same amount of news coverage as when Putin uses this excuse to ban protests in Moscow.

Five Egyptian women sentenced to two years in prison over racy TikTok videos. “Social media influencers Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three other women, who weren’t publicly identified, were found guilty of promoting immorality and ‘violating public morals’.” https://nypost.com/2020/07/27/five-tiktok-stars-jailed-in-egypt-over-indecent-videos/

10,000 children a month dying due to pandemic induced malnutrition says UNICEF. “An additional 550,000 children a month area experiencing ‘wasting’, a term used by the U.N. to (describe) malnutrition that leads to spindly limbs and distended stomachs.” https://www.foxnews.com/world/coronavirus-leads-to-mass-hunger-killing-10000-children-a-month-un-warns

After President Trump orders withdrawal of about 1/3 of U.S. soldiers from Germany, defense officials claim it will cost ‘billions’ and take ‘years’. “Approximately 11,900 US troops, a mix of Army and Air Force units, will be removed from Germany to meet Trump’s mandated cap of 25,000 US forces in Germany, according to a senior US defense official…” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/29/politics/us-withdraw-troops-germany/index.html

Third protester in Baghdad dies after being hit with tear gas canister. “An Iraqi protester died Tuesday after being shot with a tear gas canister in overnight skirmishes with police in the capital, medical and security sources told AFP…. with two men dying on Monday morning after being hit directly by tear gas canisters that are otherwise fired in arced and less powerful trajectories to disperse protesters.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/third-iraq-protester-dies-of-tear-gas-canister-wound-this-week/ar-BB17gSe5

ACLU accuses federal agents of violating court order not to target journalists and legal observers. “Federal agents violated the order just hours later and have continued to violate it every night since, according to attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm BraunHagey & Borden…. The suit asks (federal judge Michael) Simon to find the federal agencies in contempt and for sanctions including a fine of $500 for ‘every day a journalist or legal observer is shot, beaten, arrested, or intimidated by a federal agent’.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/portland-protests-feds-are-flouting-court-order-to-stop-targeting-journalists-aclu-says.html Why not $500 per violation? Why not have them arrested for violating the court’s order, like regular people are? “This administration claims to be defending the federal courthouse, but won’t obey the orders coming out of it. What purpose are these agents actually serving then?”

Donald Trump, Jr.’s Twitter account suspended over alleged coronavirus misinformation. “Twitter temporarily suspended Donald Trump Jr. Tuesday after he shared a video featuring Stella Immanuel and other doctors making false claims about the coronavirus.” https://www.democracynow.org/2020/7/29/headlines/twitter_suspends_donald_trump_jr_for_spreading_covid_19_misinformation The craziness is coming from the top, not the bottom! But what’s the goal, to make the pandemic worse? So Donald Sr. loses the election? Or is it just to work the base up into a frenzy of paranoia?

National Guard officer tells Congress that attack on protesters in Lafayette Park prior to Trump photo op was unwarranted. “Having served in a combat zone, and understanding how to assess threat environments, at no time did I feel threatened by the protestors or assess them to be violent…. the use of force against demonstrators in the clearing operation was an unnecessary escalation of the use of force.” https://theintercept.com/2020/07/28/dc-lafayette-square-protesters-congress-hearing/

Climate scientists say their prediction of more than 20 named storms this year likely to be on target. “In April, Mann, ESSC scientist Daniel J. Brouillette, and alumnus Michael Kozar released their pre-season forecast for the 2020 North Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from the beginning of June to the end of November. They predicted a range of 15 to 24 named storms, with a ‘best estimate’ of 20, for this year’s season.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/28/climatologist-michael-mann-2020-atlantic-hurricane-season-hate-say-we-told-you-so The average number of named storms is about 12. http://www.stormfax.com/huryear.htm

Proposed tax on overpaid executives to appear on San Francisco ballots. “A charter amendment called the “overpaid executive tax” will target businesses whose CEOs make at least 100 time more than the median workers in San Francisco, adding at minimum a 0.1% surcharge to what they already pay every year in business taxes from their gross receipts.” https://www.courthousenews.com/san-francisco-voters-to-decide-fate-of-overpaid-executive-business-tax/ This is weak sauce. How about taxing executives who make 50 times more than the lowest paid worker a 1% surcharge?

Trump campaign laundered $170 million claims elections watchdog. “As detailed in an 81-page complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission, the money went to business associates and Trump family members through two entities set up and controlled by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale: a clearinghouse firm called American Made Media Holding Corporation and Parscale Strategy.” https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-camp-hiding-nearly-170-million/

Lawsuit accuses power company of bribing Illinois House Speaker. “In the federal class action, (Lawrence) Gress claims the bribery conspiracy resulted in changes in state law that allowed the utility to raise rates, costing the class members millions of dollars in excessive electric costs.” https://www.courthousenews.com/illinois-electric-utility-accused-of-bribing-top-state-lawmaker/

July 28, 2020

Former The Simpsons composer sues Disney and Fox, claiming he was terminated due to a medical condition. “At the heart of (the August 5th court hearing) will be to determine whether the now 79-year-old (Alf) Clausen was axed after almost 30 years on the animated series ‘a month after telling Fox he had Parkinson’s disease’ because of his condition or not.” https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disney-fox-full-lies-deceit-000751422.html

Independent candidates fear they will be left out of U.S. Senate race debates in Maine. “A joint statement from Lisa Savage (Green Party), Max Linn and Tiffany Bond — the latter of whom is suing to get ballot access while arguing the coronavirus rendered state requirements too onerous — demanded they be part of the process, saying excluding them would be ‘undemocratic, dismissive of Maine voters, and wholly unacceptable’.” https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/18/politics/susan-collins-sara-gideon-no-closer-to-debating-in-toss-up-maine-race/ Maine has ranked-choice voting, so people who vote for one of these other candidates as their first choice can direct their vote to another candidate if the person they initially voted for doesn’t receive enough votes. “The candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated from the race. Then their supporters’ ballots are reallocated to their second-chance candidates for another tally. The process continues – with candidates being eliminated from the bottom up – until one person has received a clear majority.” https://www.pressherald.com/2020/07/23/federal-lawsuit-challenges-ranked-choice-voting-in-maine/

Tom Cotton unable to cite a ‘founding father’ who said ‘slavery is a necessary evil’. “When asked to point to a founding father who used the phrase ‘necessary evil’ to describe the existence of slavery at the nation’s founding, James Arnold, a spokesman for Cotton, referred to a passage from an Abraham Lincoln-Stephen Douglas debate in 1858, but did not provide evidence of a founding father making that claim.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/27/politics/tom-cotton-slavery-necessary-evil-1619-project/ It was a long debate, and I was unable to find the phrase when skimming through the transcript, not knowing whether it was Lincoln or Douglas who suggested this. If you find it, let me know where it is. Even if one of these two men asserted that this was the position of one of the founders, it’s tough to prove without a direct citation of one of the founders saying or writing this. If one of the founders DID say this, I would think that would actually weaken Cotton’s argument that the American republic was not fundamentally based on slavery. I’ve actually argued that slavery was not a central issue at the founding, because it was something that existed and was tolerated, so it was ‘normal’, in the same way that only white men with property being allowed to vote was accepted as being normal. Some fringy, sensitive people back then, known as ‘abolitionists’, thought it was bad, in the same way that some people today feel eating animals is bad, or letting rich people run the economy and boss the rest of us around and keep the profits is bad. Wanting to abolish slavery was not a mainstream position. The founders tussled with the issue a little, because many of them were fringy and sensitive (being an anti-monarchist republican back then was like being a Berner, or worse, a Green, or even antifa!), but abolishing slavery in the middle of a revolution was a bridge too far for them, and the status quo remained intact. Imagine there was a revolution tomorrow and some of the more sensitive and fringy revolutionaries wanted to ban eating meat. Are you really going to set off a civil war within your revolution by banning meat? Probably not. You might think it’s really evil and cruel, but most people think it’s normal. Maybe that’s a fight for another day? You wouldn’t say ‘it’s a necessary evil’ because eating meat is not really necessary, but you might say, ‘it’s something we have to tolerate for the time being’. On the other hand, if the 1619 Project were right, the issue of slavery would not have come up at all, like wage slavery doesn’t come up at all in current political discourse. Even though Bernie Sanders says wage slaves should be paid better and receive low-cost, public health insurance, etc., he doesn’t question the idea of an economy that divides people into two classes, employees by employers, or the idea that if you have enough money you can hire people to be your ‘slaves’, but if you don’t have the money then you have to be someone else’s ‘slave’, at least for a certain number of hours per week, and the ‘slave-renters’ get to keep the profits that result from the rent-a-slaves’ labor. Imagine you work at a sandwich shop and you make 80 sandwiches during the two hour lunch rush. With your wages from those two hours you can buy maybe four of those sandwiches. The boss has overhead and has to buy the ingredients, so maybe that’s 36 more sandwiches. If so, he’s making straight profit off the other 40 sandwiches, 10 times what you got, and it all goes to him, and he didn’t have to make ANY sandwiches! Of course, like the slave owners of old, he’ll argue that he had to organize and finance it all, and attract customers, and keep it all running, so it’s actually a fair system. In fact, he’ll argue, he’s actually doing the slaves a huge favor, because in effect he’s feeding and clothing them, providing their housing, etc., etc., and all the slaves have to do is show up and do the actual work, without mentioning that this system has made him, and only him, wealthy.

At President Trump’s request, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration asks the FCC to regulate moderation on social media websites. “The NTIA said in Monday’s petition it wants the FCC to require social media firms to ‘publicly disclose accurate information regarding its content-management mechanisms’ to ‘enable users to make more informed choices about competitive alternatives’.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-trump/trump-administration-petitions-fcc-on-social-media-content-rules-idUSKCN24S2QM Some suspect this is about the president’s posts being flagged by Twitter as being ‘unsubstantiated’.

Republican version of the upcoming coronavirus relief bill includes $1.75 billion for a new FBI headquarters building. “In late 2018, senior House Democrats said they had reviewed documents indicating that Trump was ‘directly involved with the decision to abandon the long-term (FBI headquarters) relocation plan and instead move ahead with the more expensive proposal to construct a new building on the same site, and thereby prevent Trump Hotel competitors from acquiring the land’.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/27/politics/senate-gop-coronavirus-bill-fbi-headquarters/index.html Republican plan also cuts federal $600 a week unemployment boost to $200. “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the proposal a “tailored and targeted” plan focused on getting children back to school and employees back to work and protecting corporations from lawsuits, while slashing the expiring supplemental unemployment benefits of $600 a week by two-thirds.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/27/gop-pandemic-bill-slashes-emergency-unemployment-benefits/ Republican plan also makes business lunches 100% tax deductible, but includes no additional aid for low-income families whose children will not be receiving subsidized school lunches. “… under the Senate Republican plan, meals for corporate executives would be more heavily subsidized, but a strengthening of SNAP benefits for people facing hunger and food insecurity didn’t make the cut.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/28/pathetic-would-be-too-mild-word-sanders-rips-gop-plan-subsidize-business-meals

In possible bargaining ploy, President Trump reportedly signs executive order, so far unreleased to the public, which cuts the amount Medicare will pay pharmaceutical companies for drugs. “The executive order in question would lower the prices Medicare pays for certain drugs by tying them to lower prices in other countries. Trump said Friday he would delay the order from going into effect until Aug. 25 to give companies time to propose an alternative.” https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/509243-pharma-execs-decline-trump-offer-for-meeting-on-drug-prices Big Pharma is not happy…

Couple who wore Nazi face masks inside Walmart as an act of protest are banned for a year for ‘causing a disturbance’. “The shoppers were apparently protesting the mask requirements as being the equivalent of Nazi-like demands, as opposed to espousing Nazi ideology themselves.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/minnesota-couple-barred-walmart-after-wearing-nazi-swastika-masks-store-n1234972 This was a childish, misguided protest, but it was a protest. Either you support freedom of speech or you don’t. The only reason there was a ‘disturbance’ is that some of the other customers were offended and made a fuss about it. I see they’re selling NWA t-shirts now that say ‘Strongly Dislike the Police’ – maybe this is so that other people won’t be offended and get them banned from Walmart? A quick Google search does not turn up any real Walmart dress code for customers.

360 Democratic National Convention delegates say they will vote against the party’s new platform if it does not include Medicare for All. “‘This pandemic has shown us that our private health insurance system does not work for the American people. Millions of people have lost their jobs and their health care at the same time,’ said Judith Whitmer, a (Bernie) Sanders delegate and chair of the convention’s Nevada delegation who helped spearhead the pledge.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/27/bernie-supporters-medicare-single-payer-381972

Democratic Party platform committee rejects Medicare for All. “The DNC Platform Committee rejected the Medicare for All amendment introduced by longtime single-payer advocate Michael Lighty by a vote of 36-125 during a virtual meeting Monday.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/28/history-will-not-judge-kindly-dnc-platform-committee-votes-down-medicare-all Oh well, you’ll just have to vote for Green Party candidates instead.

President Trump calls Twitter’s ‘trending’ tweets ‘illegal’. “So disgusting to watch Twitter’s so-called “Trending”, where sooo many trends are about me, and never a good one. They look for anything they can find, make it as bad as possible, and blow it up, trying to make it trend. Really ridiculous, illegal, and, of course, very unfair!” https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/509286-trump-blasts-trending-section-on-twitter-really-ridiculous-illegal Take note Twitter users, it’s now illegal to make fun of the president! Unless he or she is a Democrat.

President Trump selects Fox News personality as ambassador to Germany. “(Douglas) Macgregor, who retired from the Army in 2004, has written extensively on military force design and strategy. He has been a regular military expert on Fox anchor Tucker Carlson’s show, which Trump watches frequently.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-germany-diplomacy/trump-nominates-fox-news-pundit-macgregor-as-us-ambassador-to-germany-idUSKCN24S2OO

New Zealand suspends its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. “Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said on Tuesday that ‘New Zealand can no longer trust that Hong Kong’s criminal justice system is sufficiently independent from China’.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/zealand-suspends-extradition-treaty-hong-kong-200728031511706.html

Portland protesters sue federal agencies over use of projectiles. “The complaint argues that while federal law allows federal officials to protect federal property, the heavily militarized agents who have responded in Portland have gone far beyond simply protecting property. Instead, it said, they have repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades at the crowds in an effort to quell the protests in violation of the Constitution.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/28/portland-blm-protestors-wall-moms-sue-trump-administration/5524660002/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/28/portland-blm-protestors-wall-moms-sue-trump-administration/5524660002/

The day Martin Luther King, Jr. was called an ‘untouchable’. “… King and his wife journeyed to the southern tip of (India), to the city of Trivandrum in the state of Kerala, and visited with high-school students whose families had been ‘untouchables’ (members of the lowest caste). The principal made the introduction. ‘Young people,’ he said, ‘I would like to present to you a fellow untouchable from the United States of America.'” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/untouchables-caste-system-us-race-martin-luther-king-india

California Democrats introduce their own $100 billion coronavirus stimulus package. “Lawmakers said the massive package stands to fill a critical void left by Congress’ failure so far to produce another round of pandemic aid.” https://www.courthousenews.com/california-democrats-tout-100-billion-covid-relief-plan/

Journalists covering protest unrest in Richmond, Virginia say they were arrested by police. “Officers were clearing the area, but before I could get to the street I was grabbed and put in handcuffs,” he tweeted. “They released me on the grounds that I do not return to the park tonight.” https://www.courthousenews.com/richmond-police-crack-down-as-weekend-protests-turn-violent/

July 27, 2020

Black Lives Matter protester shot by a motorist in Austin is identified, was a military veteran carrying a rifle. “(Garrett) Foster’s mother said her son had attended several peaceful protests with his fiancee Whitney Mitchell, who is a quadruple amputee. (She) said Foster was pushing his fiancee (in her wheelchair) right before he was fatally shot.” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8561833/PICTURED-Protester-shot-dead-Austin-protest.html Leave the rifles at home, please! Not that this was Garrett’s fault, but having been to a fair number of protests myself it’s just not a good idea. Unless you are protesting against a violent extremist group.

Peaceful protests turn destructive around the country. “In Portland, thousands of people gathered Saturday evening for another night of protests over George Floyd’s killing and the presence of federal agents recently sent to the city by President Donald Trump…. Police declared the situation to be a riot, and at around 1:20 a.m. they began ordering people to leave the area…. In Oakland, California, protesters set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station, broke windows, spray-painted graffiti, shot fireworks and pointed lasers at officers after a peaceful demonstration Saturday evening turned to unrest, police said.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/26/police-and-protesters-clash-in-portland-and-cities-across-the-us-in-violent-weekend.html

NFAC black militia leader explains the group’s separatist agenda. “… the United States has a choice; they carve us a piece of land out here – we’ll take Texas – and let us do our own thing, or exodus out of here and go somewhere where they will give us our own land to build our own nation.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/26/americas-race-protests-take-sinister-new-turn-show-force-armed/

Protesters target Washington, D.C. home of Homeland Security chief. “A group of about 30 protesters gathered outside of acting Secretary Chad Wolf’s Alexandria, Va., home to demonstrate against the reported detainment of protesters in Portland.” https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/509105-demonstrators-protest-portland-tactics-outside-home-of-dhs-chief “Who’s afraid of the big bad Wolf?” protesters shouted. “We’re not afraid of the big bad Wolf.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/chad-wolf-protest/2020/07/26/ba388f0c-cf6a-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html

Police in Jerusalem deploy water cannons against anti-Netanyahu protesters. “Near daily protests have been going on for the past few weeks, sparked by what critics see as a government failure to handle the coronavirus crisis. Corruption charges against (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu… have further fueled the demonstrations.” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8561195/Israeli-security-forces-blast-protesters-water-demonstration-against-Benjamin-Netanyahu.html

80% of Americans polled say country is headed in the wrong direction. “A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds Trump’s approval for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic falling to a new low, with just 32% of Americans supportive of his approach.” https://www.aol.com/article/news/2020/07/26/ap-norc-poll-us-course-at-record-low-trump-sinks-on-virus/24572620/ 32%? Must be Donald Trump dead-enders!

About 1,000 people per day are dying from coronavirus in the U.S. “That brings the total US death toll from the virus to more than 146,000 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/26/health/us-coronavirus-sunday

U.S., Australian and Japanese warships challenge China’s South China Sea claims. “The (five) Australian vessels joined a task force centered around the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, which includes the US Navy’s guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam and guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Akizuki-class destroyer JS Teruzuki.” https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1314520/south-china-sea-latest-news-australia-usa-japan-task-force-navy What could go wrong?

Chinese group claims U.S. is sending three to five reconnaissance flights a day over South China Sea. “On peak days, SCSPI said it had counted as many as eight US aircraft, including types P-8A EP-3E, RC-135W and KC-135.” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3094541/us-puts-record-number-eyes-skies-china-coast-july

Congress approves $3.8 billion in military assistance for Israel. “Also included in the House version of the NDAA was $1 million for the office of the State Department’s anti-Semitism monitor, doubling the current amount.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/aipac-praises-3-8b-in-israel-defense-assistance-after-it-sails-through-congress/ “The US State Department has updated its definition of antisemitism to include ‘drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’ as an example of antisemitism in public life.” https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/State-Department-redefines-antisemitism-Dont-compare-Israel-to-the-Nazis-597905 Does this include Jewish Holocaust survivors? “In 2011, (Hajo) Meyer went on a 13-city speaking tour throughout the U.S. and Canada called Never Again for Anyone. Meyer likens the experience of the Palestinians to that of Eastern European Jews during the Holocaust, ‘in that they are very often held up at checkpoints, or they are not allowed to move from one place to another’. To Meyer, Israel’s mentality bears comparison to National Socialism; he believes Israel has ‘given up everything that has to do with humanity, with empathy, for one thing: the state. The ‘blood and soil,’ just like the Nazis. I learned in school about blood and soil, and that’s exactly their idea, too’.” https://www.alternet.org/2014/08/6-holocaust-survivors-who-fight-against-israels-treatment-palestinians/ “As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine…. We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people. We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. ‘Never again’ must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!” https://www.haaretz.com/holocaust-survivors-condemn-israel-for-gaza-massacre-1.5260588 Personally, I’m not sure I would go so as far as to make this comparison, I see Israel as more of an apartheid state like the former South Africa, but I don’t believe it is ALWAYS anti-Semitic to make such a comparison, especially when Americans are free to call their own over-zealous or misdirected government agents ‘jack-booted Nazis’ or ‘the Gestapo’, even though the analogy is weak and it’s clearly an exaggeration. But regarding our military invasions and occupations of weaker countries, and the installation of ‘puppet governments’ funded by U.S. taxpayers, and the brutal extermination of any resistance movements, perhaps in that context it is less far-fetched.

27 former Israeli officials urge the Democratic Party to oppose the occupation of the West Bank in their party platform. “We are reaching out to our friends in the Democratic Party to ask that you ensure that the party’s platform explicitly rejects Israel’s occupation over the Palestinian people, the Trump plan, and the annexation of any part of the occupied territories. We call upon you to voice your support for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel with Jerusalem as a shared capital, and with both peoples living in peace and security.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/dovish-former-mks-urge-democrats-to-reject-occupation-in-platform/

Journalists publish NYPD disciplinary records. “ProPublica said it excluded allegations that investigators deemed unfounded from the material it published. In all, the searchable database contains 12,056 complaints against 3,996 active NYPD officers.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/propublica-posts-nypd-records-bypassing-195357325.html Here is the ProPublica story with links to the database: https://www.propublica.org/article/nypd-civilian-complaint-review-board-editors-note

Jordan arrests union leaders, raids and shutters their offices. “Prosecutors charged Nasser Nawasreh, the acting head of the Jordanian Teachers Syndicate, with incitement over a speech to supporters last Wednesday that criticised Prime Minister Omar al Razzaz’s government.” https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jordan-opposition-teachers/jordan-arrests-leaders-of-teachers-union-in-opposition-crackdown-idUKKCN24Q0MU

State Department employees reportedly break into abandoned Chinese consulate in Houston. “A group of men has forced open a door at the Chinese consulate in the city of Houston and entered the diplomatic mission shortly after staff there vacated the building on the orders of the United States government…. men who appeared to be US officials pried open a rear door. Then, two uniformed members of the US State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security arrived to guard the door.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/china-ties-fray-beijing-houston-consulate-shuts-200725070502466.html

Some Portland city officials claim Portland police have been working closely with federal agents to target protesters. “There is mounting evidence that, despite across-the-board condemnation from the city’s politicians, Portland’s own police force has coordinated closely with federal police in attacking protests.” https://theintercept.com/2020/07/24/portland-federal-police-protests/

Republican senator claims the country’s founders considered slavery to be ‘a necessary evil’. “‘As the Founding Fathers said, (slavery) was the necessary evil upon which the union was built, but the union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction,’ (Sen. Tom Cotton) said.” https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jul/26/bill-by-cotton-targets-curriculum-on-slavery/?latest Google and Wikipedia are not turning anything up on this Sen. Cotton, can you cite your source? I did find this, but it doesn’t mention any of the founders: “In the 19th century, proponents of slavery often defended the institution as a ‘necessary evil’. At that time it was feared that emancipation of black slaves would have more harmful social and economic consequences than the continuation of slavery.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States#%22A_necessary_evil%22

Some law enforcement agencies reportedly refusing to enforce emergency mask rules. “All I’m saying is if you want to wear a mask, you have the freedom to choose that,” said (Marshall, Arkansas police chief Lang) Holland, who said he supports President Trump. “It should not be dictated by the nanny state.” https://www.courthousenews.com/some-us-police-refuse-to-enforce-virus-mask-mandates/

July 26, 2020

Black militia marches in support of Breonna Taylor protesters in Louisville, Kentucky, right-wing militia says it’s there to back-up law enforcement. “Hundreds of armed, predominantly Black, activists demanded justice for Breonna Taylor during peaceful demonstrations Saturday in her Kentucky hometown that drew counter-protesters from a white militia group.” https://www.tampabay.com/news/nation-world/2020/07/25/breonna-taylor-protest-brings-black-white-militias-to-louisville/ “Right across (from NFAC) was a smaller group of 50 far-right Three Percenter militia members, who were also heavily armed. The opposing militia said it showed up in response to NFAC and to aid police.” https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/07/25/louisville-protests-nfac-three-percenters-expected-demonstrate/3288198001/ Making people wear masks during a deadly pandemic is government tyranny, but cops killing handcuffed suspects is ok? Or just as long as they’re black?

Dozens of protesters arrested in Seattle. “At least 45 people have been arrested on charges of assaulting officers, obstruction and failure to disperse, police said.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/25/us/seattle-protest-riot/index.html

Man drives into crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Austin, Texas, then opens fire with pistol, killing one. “According to a witness, the incident began when the driver on Fourth Street honked, turned right and sped down Congress, driving through the crowd…. The driver fired several shots, then sped away, he said.” https://www.statesman.com/news/20200725/man-shot-to-death-during-downtown-austin-protest

Major league baseball players take a knee during opening ceremony. “At both Nationals Park in Washington and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, players took part in a pre-game tribute to Black Lives Matter, dropping to one knee while lifting a giant black banner in unison…. In Washington, all players on the field then got to their feet to stand for the US national anthem. But in Los Angeles, the Dodgers’ newly signed African-American star Mookie Betts remained on one knee…” https://sports.yahoo.com/nationals-yankees-kneel-baseball-season-opens-234952212–mlb.html

Supreme court votes 5-4 not to micro-manage state and local officials over coronavirus restrictions, conservatives unhappy about it. “Calvary Chapel involved a Nevada public health order governing which businesses and institutions are able to remain open during the pandemic, and under what terms these institutions may do so. According to that order, churches may not admit more than 50 people at the same time. Yet other institutions, such as casinos, breweries, bowling allies, and gyms, may operate at 50 percent capacity.” https://www.vox.com/2020/7/25/21338216/supreme-court-churches-pandemic-covid-samuel-alito-brett-kavanaugh-calvary-chapel On the other hand, the court is taking the same approach to voting rights. “… under (Chief Justice John) Roberts, (Duke Law professor Guy-Uriel) Charles says, we have a ‘court that says, ‘You know what, we’re not going to get involved’.'” https://www.npr.org/2020/07/25/895185355/as-concerns-about-voting-build-the-supreme-court-refuses-to-step-in

26 arrested at protest rally in Moscow for violating coronavirus rules which currently only limit outdoor gatherings. “Around 50 Left Front activists assembled outside the Russian general prosecutor’s office calling for a reversal of the ban enforced in Russia’s capital since the outbreak of the coronavirus in late March…. More than 100 activists from another left-wing movement called ‘For New Socialism’ also protested in Moscow’s centre on Saturday.” https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/arrests-at-moscow-protest-against-gatherings-ban.html

Thousands of marchers protest Poland’s plan to withdraw from European treaty targeting violence against women. “‘The aim is to legalise domestic violence,’ Magdalena Lempart, one of the protest organisers, said on Friday at a march in Warsaw…. The government says the treaty is disrespectful towards religion and requires teaching liberal social policies in schools…” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/poland-withdraw-treaty-violence-women-200725183422417.html

President Trump calls anti-brutality protesters ‘terrorists’, putting him in bad company. “While the picture in the US may not be as grim as in places like China, Turkey and Egypt, the events in Portland, as well as an earlier crackdown on protesters outside the White House recently, are just the latest signs that Trump is looking to those countries for inspiration, said (Prof. Conor) Gearty, who describes Trump as an ‘aspirant authoritarian’.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/25/politics/us-protests-trump-terrorists-intl/index.html

Goldman Sachs agrees to settle 1MDB corruption scandal with Malaysian government for $3.9 billion. “The funds were allegedly siphoned off from 1MDB (Malaysian Development Bank) in a fraud said to have involved the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian financier Jho Low, and his associates…. (Tim) Leissner, a former partner at Goldman Sachs in Asia, pleaded guilty in the US in August 2018 to conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and agreed to forfeit $43.7m.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/24/goldman-sachs-settle-1mdb-corruption-scandal-malaysia

July 25, 2020

Government insiders drop hints about recovered UFOs. “(Former Senate majority leader Harry) Reid… said he believed that crashes of objects of unknown origin may have occurred and that retrieved materials should be studied…. (Eric) Davis, who now works for Aerospace Corporation, a defense contractor, said he gave a classified briefing to a Defense Department agency as recently as March about retrievals from ‘off-world vehicles not made on this earth’.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/us/politics/pentagon-ufo-harry-reid-navy.html

Transparency group funded by U.K. and U.S. governments failing to stand up for Julian Assange. “Transparency International has been vocal in defending jailed opposition activists in states such as Zimbabwe, Russia and Venezuela. But when it comes to Assange – far-and-away the world’s most prominent imprisoned transparency activist – the NGO has not said a word since a week after his arrest in April 2019.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/07/22/state-dept-funded-transparency-international-silent-on-jailed-transparency-activist-julian-assange/

Close associate of Julian Assange says he offered to provide testimony during Mueller investigation, but was not contacted. “(Former U.K. ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig) Murray has said that different persons with legal access to the DNC and Podesta emails were WikiLeaks’ sources. ‘I wrote to Mueller offering to give evidence, never received any reply,’ Murray wrote to (former CIA analyst Ray) McGovern on Wednesday. ‘Never had any request for an interview by any US authorities.'” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/07/22/cia-obsessed-with-former-uk-envoy-who-will-testify-in-spying-on-assange-case/

18 arrested so far during protests at federal courthouse in Portland. “Five people were arrested during a protest that started Monday night, seven people for Tuesday night’s incidents and six were detained in one than began Wednesday…. Most are charged with failing to comply with a lawful order, according to the US Attorney’s office.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/24/us/portland-protests-18-arrested/index.html

ICE official accused of demanding changes to six-part documentary on the agency’s enforcement of immigration laws. “In heated phone calls and emails, they said, the official pushed to delay publication of the (Immigration Nation) series, currently set to air on Netflix next month. He warned that the federal government would use its ‘full weight’ to veto scenes it found objectionable.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/us/trump-immigration-nation-netflix.html Such as, reportedly, ICE agents picking locks, lying to suspects, separating young children from their families, and the agency evaluating its effectiveness based on the number of dead migrants found in the desert.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says he and his family have received death threats. “… serious threats against me…. against my family, my daughters, my wife. I mean, really? Is this the United States of America?” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fauci-threats-wife-daughters-family/

Michael Cohen claims he was sent back to prison over book deal, ACLU intervenes on his behalf. “… on Thursday a judge in New York found the federal government had acted unconstitutionally in demanding Cohen not publish if he wanted to stay out of prison, and should also refrain from talking to the press or using social media. ‘I’ve never seen such a clause, in 21 years in being a judge and sentencing people,’ Judge Alvin Hellerstein said. ‘How can I take any other inference but that it was retaliatory?'” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/24/michael-cohen-prison-release-trump-book-aclu

Overwhelmed Texas hospital says it will have to start sending coronavirus patients home to die. “Unfortunately, Starr County Memorial Hospital has limited resources and our doctors are going to have to decide who receives treatment, and who is sent home to die by their loved ones,” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “This is what we did not want our community to experience.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/24/us/texas-starr-county-hospital-coronavirus/index.html

Bystander video shows San Jose police officer kicking woman who is on the ground, then dragging her face-down across the pavement by her handcuffed arms. “If anyone wanted a prime example of use of excessive force by a police officer, this incident is one.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK9aesGov00

Governor of Minnesota signs police reform bill into law. “Beyond prohibiting chokeholds, the new law requires officers to intervene when someone else is violating the new restrictions. It mandates that police departments in the state report use-of-force incidents to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, creates a statewide database of officer discipline records and institutes mental health and crisis intervention training, among other things.” https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/508728-minnesota-governor-signs-ban-on-chokeholds-as-part-of-new-police-reform It’s a start. How about prohibiting officers from shooting at fleeing suspects? Or using tasers on people in handcuffs? Or having them injected with powerful tranquilizers (also known as ‘date rape drugs’? Or carrying machine guns?

Local NAACP leader denounces Portland protesters as ‘anarchists’ and ‘antifa’, calls nightly protests a ‘white spectacle’. “Vandalizing government buildings and hurling projectiles at law enforcement draw attention — but how do these actions stop police from killing black people? What are antifa and other leftist agitators achieving for the cause of black equality?” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/black-lives-white-spectacle-portland-protests-have-lost-focus-civil-n1234886 It’s called a ‘coalition’ – working with others to achieve shared goals. If you’d be happy with racial equality within a militarized police state, you can just vote for Joe (I wrote the Patriot Act) Biden.

‘Wall of veterans’ joins protest in Portland, Oregon. “A group of military veterans joined protesters in the city for the first time Friday night, standing with their hands clasped behind their backs or holding Black Lives Matter signs, according to a New York Times reporter and others from the scene.” https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/new-wall-of-military-veterans-protect-protesters-in-portland/

Indiana legislator posts photo of pistol, asks governor what he’ll do if he refuses to comply with mask law, claims it’s not a threat. “Starting Monday, the governor wants to lock me in a cage for 180 days and fine me $1,000 if I don’t wear a mask that has no published standards for effectiveness,” Jim Lucas, who has served his southern district since 2012, wrote on Facebook. “What if I don’t comply, Governor Eric Holcomb?” https://www.businessinsider.com/indiana-republican-state-lawmaker-photo-of-handgun-governor-mask-order-2020-7 I’m going to try it! “The Kansas Highway Patrol says it will fine me $60 if I refuse to put my child in a car seat, which people didn’t have to use for decades to drive their kids around, until being forced to use them against their free will, even though some children have been injured in car accidents when they were sitting in car seats. What if I don’t comply, Highway Patrol? (attaches photo of firearm) By the way, this is NOT a threat!” (sarcasm)

Belarus presidential candidate flees the country, fearing government plot to take away his children. “(Valery) Tsepkalo’s campaign said officials from the General Prosecutor Office had come to the boys’ school asking for written statements that his family were not taking good enough care of the children.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/belarus-opposition-leader-flees-abroad-with-two-sons-ahead-of-election-idUSKCN24P1MV

Many Americans have been seriously injured, maimed or killed by ‘less-than-lethal’ police weapons. “Rohini Haar, an emergency room physician and researcher at the University of California Berkeley, co-authored research in 2017 with Physicians for Human Rights on the damage inflicted by less lethal rounds. In a study of nearly 2,000 shooting victims, 3% died and 15% were permanently disabled…. (During 2020 protests,) at least 60 people (have) sustained serious head injuries, including a broken jaw, traumatic brain injuries and blindness…” https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/07/24/rubber-bullets-less-lethal-weapons-victims-police-protesters-decades/5410519002/

The Trump administration’s coronavirus PPP business loans cost taxpayers $517 billion and kept about 2.31 million people employed – a cost of about $224,000 per employee, say researchers. “If each of those 2.31 million people who kept their jobs had gone on unemployment instead, and received a $600 check from the federal government each week, it would have cost Washington just $9,600 a head—$22 billion total—over four months.” https://slate.com/business/2020/07/paycheck-protection-program-was-a-flop.html Sounds like a huge, taxpayer-funded scam to me.

Life in a developed market economy: 641 people in 11 states sickened by contaminated salads. “The salads contained iceberg lettuce, red cabbage and carrots and include products made by Fresh Express for retail store brands sold at ALDI, Giant Eagle, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, ShopRite and Walmart, according to the FDA.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/25/health/cyclospora-salad-infections-trnd/index.html

$740 billion military spending bill passes U.S. Senate with bipartisan support. “The annual military budget bill was passed with a vote of 86-14, with 37 Democrats joining the Republicans in supporting the proposal. View the full roll call here.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/07/24/37-senate-dems-join-gop-to-approve-740-billion-war-budget/

U.N. human rights official urges U.S. to de-escalate violence against protesters. “The authorities should ensure that federal and local security forces deployed are properly and clearly identified and would use force only when necessary, proportionately and in accordance with international standards.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/rights-office-urges-rein-police-protests-200724093323574.html

Republicans decide to leave for the weekend without passing coronavirus relief bill. “Senate Republicans have left Washington without passing the HEROES Act, without proposing their own Covid relief package, and without extending enhanced unemployment benefits for millions…” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/24/whole-house-cards-gonna-collapse-gop-shutters-senate-us-verge-economic-catastrophe

Progressive Democrats introduce bill to end government oil and gas subsidies. “Taxpayers provide $15 billion in direct federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry every year. That ends with this bill.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/24/greener-future-omar-sanders-lead-bill-end-destructive-taxpayer-subsidies-fossil

U.N. proposes ‘temporary basic income’ for world’s poorest due to pandemic. “The (U.N. Development Program) indicates that the basic income can be paid for in its entirety by reappropriating scheduled payments on external debts,” economic anthropologist Jason Hickel tweeted. “The case for implementing this proposal is unimpeachable and world leaders should proceed immediately.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/24/un-calls-temporary-basic-income-worlds-poorest-27-billion-people-lifeline-amid

July 24, 2020

Federal judge issues restraining order forbidding federal agents from arresting, or using force against, journalists and legal observers. “Per the order — issued by U.S. District Judge Michael Simon — the stationed federal officers also cannot seize any photography, audio- or video-recording equipment or press passes from the journalists and legal observers. Additionally, journalists and legal observers cannot be made to stop recording or photographing a protest.” https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/508834-federal-judge-temporarily-bars-federal-officers-in-portland-from

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives eloquent floor speech against vulgarity and sexism, after being called a bad name behind her back by a Republican colleague. “A young congresswoman from New York delivered one of the most thorough thrashings the Capitol has seen since Representative Preston Brooks brutally caned Senator Charles Sumner on the Senate floor in 1856. And she did it all with dignity, eloquence and poise.” https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-07-23/aoc-floor-speech-about-yoho-s-sexism-shows-her-political-talent “‘You are out of your freaking mind,’ Yoho told her. Ocasio-Cortez shot back, telling Yoho he was being ‘rude’. The two then parted ways. Ocasio-Cortez headed into the building, while Yoho, joined by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), began descending (the steps) toward the House office buildings. A few steps down, Yoho offered a parting thought to no one in particular. ‘Fucking bitch’, he said.” https://thehill.com/homenews/house/508259-ocaasio-cortez-accosted-by-gop-lawmaker-over-remarks-that-kind-of Never a dull moment in Washington, D.C.

New Yorkers allowed back into ‘Trusted Traveler’ TSA program after lawsuits, state will provide the feds with access to driver’s license data for applicants. “… the New York (Green Light) law restricted immigration authorities from gaining access to state Department of Motor Vehicles records without a court order.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/nyregion/trusted-traveler-homeland-security.html The Green Light law allowed undocumented residents to obtain New York driver’s licenses. “New York’s Green Light Law took effect Saturday, allowing those without legal immigration status to apply for driver’s licenses in New York.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/19/new-york-drivers-licenses-open-undocumented-immigrants-green-light-law/2696451001/

Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri says he learned about federal agents deployed to his city on Twitter. “I learned about Operation Legend from, actually, someone on Twitter who had notified me that it was occurring.” https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/23/894548458/kansas-city-mayor-discusses-the-effect-of-federal-officers-presence-in-his-city

Trump administration scraps Obama administration plan to reduce racial discrimination in housing. “It’s a dark day for the country when the President boasts about maintaining housing segregation, and the agency charged with carrying out the Fair Housing Act becomes a tool to help him do it.” https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/508745-trump-administration-ends-obama-fair-housing-rule

Justice Dept. finds use of excessive force in Alabama’s prison system ‘pervasive’. “Last year, two inmates died after use of force incidents at two separate prisons in the state. In one case, officers reported that an inmate fell from a bunk bed, however, the autopsy showed that the prisoner died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and that he suffered from ‘intracranial bleeding, fractures of his nose and left eye socket, and had at least six teeth knocked out’.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alabama-prisons-excessive-force-justice-department-report/

Republican congressman introduces legislation to ban the Democratic Party for its historical support of the Confederacy and racism. “… the Democratic Party supported slavery and the Confederacy and largely opposed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Democratic voters in the south also founded the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan terrorist group in 1865.” https://www.newsweek.com/gop-rep-introduced-bill-ban-democratic-party-past-support-slavery-1520152

Charges dropped in case of Thai billionaire’s son who allegedly killed motorcycle cop with his Ferrari. “(Vorayuth) Yoovidhya, 28, was behind the wheel of his Ferrari on September 3, 2012, when it collided with an on-duty policeman on a motorbike in downtown Bangkok leading to the death of the police officer. Yoovidhya was subsequently charged with drunk driving, negligent death and committing a hit and run.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/23/asia/red-bull-vorayud-yoovidhya-charges-dropped-intl/index.html

Columbus statue in Chicago’s Grant Park removed by order of the city’s mayor. “Crews arrived at Grant Park sometime around 1:00 a.m. and began the process of bringing down the monument honoring Columbus a little afterward. A couple dozen people cheered from across the street and passing cars honked as the statue came down at about 3 a.m. Friday morning.” https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-chicago-christopher-columbus-statue-grant-park-lori-lightfoot-20200724-2hsbobbt7ndmpmkgyh6vfl7cvq-story.html

Facebook to pay $650 million to settle Illinois facial recognition lawsuit. “The lawsuit is over Facebook’s photo-tagging feature, which used facial recognition software to identify faces in users’ photos. The state of Illinois, however, has a law against businesses collecting biometric data — which includes facial recognition — without first obtaining consent.” https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/23/21335806/facebook-settlement-illinois-facial-recognition-photo-tagging

Study projects huge increase in plastic waste in the next 20 years, polluting land, air and the oceans. “A combination of cutting plastic production and consumption, replacing plastic with paper or compostable products, creating recyclable products, expanding waste collection capacity around the world and curbing waste exports could reduce plastic flow into the oceans by 80% of the level projected for 2040, the report said.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/23/enormous-amount-of-plastic-will-fill-oceans-and-land-by-2040-report.html

ICE contractor accused of housing children and toddlers in hotels while they awaited deportation. “Immigrant rights attorneys say this violates federal anti-human-trafficking laws that demand unaccompanied immigrant children be sent to government shelters or placed with sponsors.” https://www.democracynow.org/2020/7/23/headlines/report_us_holding_immigrant_toddlers_in_hotels_for_weeks_before_deportation

Air Force special operations surveillance plane reportedly spotted circling Portland, Oregon. “While the Cougar’s impressive potential for wide-area wartime surveillance is clear, it’s less obvious why a warplane is flying tight circles — typically a dead giveaway of aerial surveillance — near domestic protests, or on whose orders.” https://theintercept.com/2020/07/23/air-force-surveillance-plane-portland-protests/

Republican coronavirus relief bill reportedly includes Mitt Romney TRUST Act that would empower a Social Security ‘death panel’. “This would allow benefit cuts to be fast-tracked through Congress,” said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. “Seniors and people with disabilities need their benefits boosted, not slashed.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/24/gop-coronavirus-relief-package-include-romney-bill-would-fast-track-social-security They wouldn’t have to slash benefits, they could just raise the retirement age again, from 67 to 78. It would save the Social Security system a ton of money because most people wouldn’t live long enough to collect any benefits, they’d have to keep working and paying into the system until they die. (sarcasm)

Republican coronavirus relief bill includes $0 for election assistance. “It is outrageous that this proposal contains not one penny to help states conduct safe elections during a global pandemic,” Sean Eldridge, founder and president of Stand Up America, said in a statement. “Policymakers should be doing everything they can to ensure voters are not forced to risk their health to cast their ballot.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/23/mcconnell-accused-doing-everything-he-can-suppress-vote-proposing-0-election That’s only if the WANTED people to vote. Apparently they don’t.

Israel accused of demolishing Palestinian coronavirus test center over lack of a building permit. “According to Haaretz, the Palestinian Health Ministry was involved in the decision to build the coronavirus center, and (Hazem) Maswada donated his land to the city of Hebron temporarily to help the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/23/cruelty-occupation-knows-no-bounds-israel-demolishes-covid-19-clinic-epicenter-west

Environmental groups petition Democrats over the party’s climate platform. “Polling released in mid-July by Data for Progress showed that U.S. voters, particularly Democrats, want to see candidates who are committed to achieving 100% clean energy by 2035 and creating millions of jobs as part of that transition…. Earther‘s Dharna Noor, reporting on the (DNC’s platform) draft Wednesday, pointed out that the climate section is longer than the party’s 2012 or 2016 platforms and includes ‘some notable bright spots’ but ‘still falls far short of the recommendations of leading climate scientists because it doesn’t have a plan to phase out U.S. fossil fuel production or use’.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/23/amid-disappointment-over-partys-draft-platform-25000-people-urge-dnc-adopt-climate “The Green New Deal, according to (Green Party presidential candidate Howie) Hawkins, should aim to get the U.S. to zero… greenhouse emissions and 100% clean energy by 2030.” https://auburnpub.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/syracuses-howie-hawkins-a-lifelong-activist-is-green-partys-nominee-for-president/article_d592c686-3440-51da-abcd-df569564e258.html

July 23, 2020

ACLU accuses federal and local law enforcement officers of interfering with Portland protest medics. “Our clients have been tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, beaten and shot with rubber bullets, even while administering care to injured protesters,” (outside counsel Shane) Grannum said in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks to ensure that the Trump Administration and Portland Police will be held accountable for their violent, lawless and unconstitutional actions.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-forces-keeping-medics-doing-their-jobs-portland-protests-aclu-n1234659

Conservative media accused of giving the public the false impression that cities with police brutality protests are ‘out of control’. “Trump’s quest to magnify urban violence comes as his campaign seeks to denigrate Joe Biden as weak on crime. The line of argument, backed by millions of dollars boosting television ads painting a grim portrait of Biden’s America, is at odds with criticism of the presumptive Democratic nominee as an advocate for the 1994 crime bill, which is frequently blamed for mass incarceration.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-media-helps-trump-perform-law-and-order-in-portland-with-risks-for-november/2020/07/22/c12b95a4-cb85-11ea-91f1-28aca4d833a0_story.html

Trump administration links rise in crime to anti-brutality protests. “Several cities that have attracted large-scale protests, including New York, Chicago and Minneapolis, have seen violent crime spike this summer, leading to a back-and-forth between police officers and activists about the root cause…. But violent crime has also risen in Republican-led cities, a development covered less often by Mr. Trump and his advisers.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/elections/biden-vs-trump.html

U.S. House votes to remove statues of Confederate figures and individuals linked to racism from Capitol building. “The bill specifically mentions the removal of statues of John C. Calhoun, Charles B. Aycock and John C. Clarke, whom it identifies as playing a major role in defending slavery and segregation. The bill (also) calls for the removal of a bust of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who wrote the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, which declared slaves were not citizens and did not have the right to sue.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/22/confederate-statues-house-vote-removal-statues-capitol/5485146002/

Man suspected of shooting federal judge’s family also a suspect in the murder of another men’s rights activist who he may have perceived as a rival. “Paul Elam, a friend of (Marc) Angelucci and fellow men’s rights activist, said he believes (Roy) Den Hollander harbored a grudge against Angelucci for years because they both represented cases contesting… male-only selective service registration.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/22/us/marc-angelucci-roy-den-hollander-killing/index.html

An estimated 12 million Americans facing eviction when federal coronavirus eviction ban ends. “One in 5 adult renters are behind in their rent.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eviction-moratorium-ends-friday-millions-at-risk/

U.K. revokes diplomatic immunity for family members of American officials working there. “Police say that Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. diplomat, hit the (19 year-old) man (named Harry Dunn) while driving on the wrong side of the road after she left a nearby air force base. Sacoolas returned to the U.S. shortly after the incident, despite telling police she had no plans to leave the U.K.” https://www.npr.org/2020/07/22/894204666/u-s-u-k-change-diplomatic-immunity-rules-after-british-man-was-killed The U.S. ‘diplomat’ was allegedly an intelligence official. “(Harry) Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles has said the family is ‘full of anger’ following claims Ms Sacoolas, who was able to flee the country after claiming diplomatic immunity due to her husband’s work as an intelligence analyst, was employed as an agent by the CIA.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/harry-dunn-anne-sacoolas-extradition-us-cia-spy-husband-diplomatic-immunity-foreign-office-a9326011.html Sacoolas fled Britain on a private plane, the country’s former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has implied. “… if a British diplomat had been involved in a road accident in the United States where someone had died and had fled on a private plane back to the UK and was evading justice – I don’t think President Trump would stand for that for one second.” (same source as above)

Woman imprisoned for leaking information on Russian election interference to the press, Reality Winner, diagnosed with coronavirus. “Winner’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, told CNN her daughter is one of at least 510 inmates and staff at the prison in Fort Worth who, according to a Bureau of Prisons report, have tested positive for the coronavirus.” https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/508505-nsa-leaker-reality-winner-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-at-texas

Canada withdraws from refugee agreement with U.S. “The evidence clearly demonstrates that those returned to the US by Canadian officials are detained as a penalty.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/canada-court-throws-asylum-pact-refugee-detentions-200723041355105.html

15 year-old fights off Taliban assassins after they kill her parents. “(Qamar) Gul grabbed her father’s rifle, which he had taught her to use, and opened fire. Two Taliban insurgents were killed in the shooting and another wounded…” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-teenage-girl-kills-taliban-attackers-with-dads-ak-47-after-parents-slain/

Russian activists documenting Stalin-era atrocities are allegedly being harassed and charged with crimes by the authorities. “It comes against the backdrop of a wider campaign under president Vladimir Putin in the last several years to downplay the importance of Soviet crimes in Russian history and rehabilitate Stalin’s image.” https://abcnews.go.com/International/russia-convicts-historian-yuri-dmitriyev-uncovered-stalins-mass/story?id=71920035

A Trump campaign ad on Facebook reportedly passed off photo of Ukrainian protesters attacking a police officer in Kiev in 2014 as being from recent U.S. protests. “However, the image the Trump campaign used is not from the US – or from this year. It was uploaded on Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia’s public-domain media archive, in 2014…” https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-ad-police-officer-attacked-2014-ukraine-protests-2020-7

34 arrested in Jerusalem during anti-Netanyahu protests. “Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government’s dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.” https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/thousands-gather-in-jerusalem-to-protest-against-netanyahu-govt-635846

25% of Americans polled say they’ve recently had a credit card cancelled, 1 in 3 have had their credit limit reduced. “It means that an awful lot of Americans had one of their financial security nets taken out from under them in one of the most difficult economic times in American history.” https://money.yahoo.com/banks-close-credit-cards-and-slash-credit-limits-amid-the-pandemic-survey-finds-170739834.html

Eight Afghan civilians reportedly killed in government airstrike, 12 wounded. “Noor Rahmati, 28, said he and his family were driving away from a welcome-home celebration for a released Taliban prisoner in western Herat province Wednesday morning, when several Afghan army helicopters swooped low, firing and dropping bombs on the village compound.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-airstrike-kills-civilians-and-taliban-supporters-at-prisoners-homecoming/2020/07/23/403c8442-ccae-11ea-99b0-8426e26d203b_story.html

A brief history of ‘excited delirium’, the condition that police often blame for the sudden deaths of detained suspects. “It’s not a concept recognized by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association…. Excited delirium implies that there is a medical condition that predisposes certain individuals, often black men, to die in police custody.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/chokehold-police-excited-delirium/2020/07/17/fe907ec8-c6bc-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html

Turkish troops moving deeper into northern Iraq. “A ground assault launched on June 17 and dubbed Operation Claw Tiger has seen Turkish troops advance up to 40 km (25 miles) inside Iraq and establish over 30 ‘temporary bases’, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-iraq/turkey-shifts-fight-against-kurdish-militants-deeper-into-iraq-idUSKCN24N26F

Senate defeats Bernie Sanders’ amendment that would have cut the military budget by 10%. “The proposed addition to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act would have slashed the Pentagon budget by 10% and put that money into jobs, education, health care and housing in the poorest communities in America.” https://www.wcax.com/2020/07/22/senate-rejects-sanders-amendment-to-slash-pentagon-budget/

Black Live Matter protesters reportedly ‘disappeared’ in NYPD custody for days. “Stuck in holding pens without masks and exposed to soiled conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, they were unable to reach loved ones or lawyers…. public defenders accused the police department of deliberately slow-rolling standard procedures to keep protesters in jail as payback for demonstrations against police brutality.” https://theintercept.com/2020/07/22/nypd-protesters-detention/

Relief group Oxfam proposes ‘excess profits tax’ to fund coronavirus recovery programs. “Corporations like Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Facebook, Pfizer, and Visa, flush with billions in pandemic profits and disproportionately benefiting from taxpayer-funded economic relief, now have the opportunity to gobble up smaller companies and deepen their market power at the expense of true competition. Taxing these windfall profits is a fair, time-tested way to rebuild better.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/22/oxfam-america-calls-tax-pandemic-profiteers-fund-covid-19-recovery-and-common-good

ACLU says client has been released to another country after being detained for 17 months by the Trump administration without being charged or tried. “The Trump administration had tried to indefinitely detain (Adham) Hassoun—claiming without evidence that he is a threat to national security—since he was transferred to immigration custody in 2017 after completing a 15-year sentence for providing material support to terrorist activities.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/22/aclu-says-release-adham-hassoun-confirms-us-government-lacks-power-lock-someone

Vice presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren votes ‘yes’ to cutting military spending, while Kamala Harris and Tammy Duckworth vote ‘no’. “(A ‘no’ vote) suggests a failure to understand this historic moment when people are crying out for more funding for services to poor and working class communities and less funding to police and military.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/22/top-vp-contenders-diverge-warren-votes-yes-and-harris-votes-no-slashing-pentagon

Secretary of Homeland Security says Portland protesters are being arrested ‘proactively’. “In other words, they’re arresting people who haven’t actually done anything wrong.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/22/stirring-fears-pre-crime-policing-dhs-head-chad-wolf-confirms-federal-agents

U.S. House votes to rescind Trump ‘travel ban’. “As a result of the Muslim ban, our reputation as a beacon of hope and tolerance from those fleeing persecution has been forever tarnished.” https://www.courthousenews.com/house-votes-on-party-lines-to-repeal-trump-travel-ban/ Story notes that the vote was on party lines, and that the Senate is unlikely to approve this.

Mexican Human Rights Commission blames the country’s navy for 27 ‘disappearances’. “Of the disappeared, 12 were found dead, some in ‘clandestine burials’, the CNDH said. The ombudsman asked federal prosecutors to continue searching ‘exhaustively’ for the 15 people still missing and to investigate the sailors identified by relatives of the victims.” https://www.courthousenews.com/mexican-navy-implicated-in-disappearance-of-27-people/

July 22, 2020

President Trump tells reporters he met with Ghislaine Maxwell ‘numerous times’ when she and Jeffrey Epstein were living in Palm Beach, Florida. “I just wish her well, frankly. I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach and I guess they lived in Palm Beach.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ghislaine-maxwell-prince-andrew-jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-a9631351.html

Former Dept. of Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge criticizes President Trump for sending federal agents into cities. “The department was established to protect America from the ever-present threat of global terrorism. It was not established to be the president’s personal militia.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/officials-defend-deployment-federal-officers-portland-200721210716469.html

NBC identifies federal agencies with officers deployed in Portland. “At the beginning of July, agents with Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protection Service arrived in Portland.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-agents-portland-protesters-standoff-chaos-envelopes-portions-city-n1234520

FBI arrests Ohio’s House Speaker, his advisor, a former Republican Party chairman, a lobbyist and a consultant in connection with state’s bailout of nuclear power plants. “(Speaker Larry) Householder was one of the driving forces behind the nuclear plants’ financial rescue, which added a new fee to every electricity bill in the state and directed over $150 million a year through 2026 to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/larry-householder-ohio-house-speaker-arrested-bribery-case/

Minnesota legislators pass police reform bill. “The police accountability measures include a ban on neck restraints like the one used on Floyd before his death on May 25. The package also bans chokeholds and so-called warrior-style training. It changes rules on the use of force to stress the sanctity of life, and it changes arbitration rules affecting police unions. Officers will get more training in dealing with people who have mental health issues and autism.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/minnesota-lawmakers-approve-more-police-training-bans-chokeholds

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York denounces the organization’s founder. “The removal of Margaret Sanger’s name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood’s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color,” said PPGNY board chair Karen Seltzer. “Margaret Sanger’s concerns and advocacy for reproductive health have been clearly documented, but so too has her racist legacy.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/planned-parenthood-greater-new-york-remove-late-founder-s-name-n1234483 The article points out that this is not actually a fair accusation, however. “In the 1920s, many eugenicists (who were largely white) applied their theory in racist fashion, falsely assuming that many ethnic groups were biologically inferior,” but Sanger wrote in 1934 that if “by ‘unfit’ is meant the physical or mental defects of a human being, that is an admirable gesture, but if ‘unfit’ refers to races or religions, then that is another matter, which I frankly deplore.”

Detroit cop accused of shooting three journalists with rubber bullets. “The three identified themselves as members of the press and held their hands up when he approached and they asked to cross the street. It was when they began to cross the street, prosecutors say, that (Cpl. Daniel) Debono fired the rubber pellets in an “unprovoked” shooting.” https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/21/893660102/detroit-officer-charged-over-allegedly-shooting-journalists-with-rubber-pellets

Joe Biden used to take credit for drafting USA PATRIOT Act. “Biden not only voted for the 2001 Patriot Act, he, on many occasions, claimed credit for writing it. ‘I drafted a terrorism bill after the Oklahoma City bombing,’ Biden was quoted as saying by the New Republic in 2001. ‘And the bill John Ashcroft sent up was my bill,’ Biden continued, referring to the Patriot Act.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/surveillance-joe

Ukrainian man ends hostage standoff after country’s president recommends animal rights film on Facebook. “A gunman in Ukraine armed with an automatic rifle and grenades has surrendered to police and released 13 hostages after the country’s president consented to his demand to recommend the 2005 film Earthlings starring Joaquin Phoenix.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/21/hostage-siege-ends-after-ukrainian-president-endorses-joaquin-phoenix-film

China accused of using forced Uighur labor to make masks and clothing for U.S. companies. “One example cited by The (New York) Times was a shipment of face masks sent to a medical-supply company in the state of Georgia from a Chinese factory where more than 100 Uighurs were sent to work.” https://www.businessinsider.com/china-ppe-exports-uighur-labor-nyt-2020-7

$22 million reportedly spent by political groups and Trump campaign at Trump properties since 2015. “Trump campaign officials say the activity is perfectly legal. Campaign-finance watchdogs say it reeks of self-dealing…” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/21/politics/trump-campaign-spending-at-trump-properties/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/21/politics/trump-campaign-spending-at-trump-properties/index.html

Trump businesses accused of importing 8 tons of furniture from China. “More than six tons of tables were delivered to Trump International Hotel in New York last fall…. A shipment of two tons of wooden and glass showcase cabinets arrived at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles from Shanghai just two months ago.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/21/politics/trump-org-china-imports/index.html

Mayors of 15 cities sign letter asking Trump administration to withdraw federal riot squads. “The majority of the protests have been peaceful and aimed at improving our communities. Where this is not the case, it still does not justify the use of federal forces. Unilaterally deploying these paramilitary-type forces into our cities is wholly inconsistent with our system of democracy and our most basic values.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/22/us/portland-protests-mayors-withdraw-federal-forces/index.html

Psychiatrist says U.S. prisons are not working. “… in the U.S., people with serious mental illnesses are far more likely to be incarcerated than they are to be treated in a psychiatric hospital — despite the fact that incarceration often makes mentally ill people worse…. (Norway) decided to do a needs assessment of everyone who came into prison immediately… to see, “Do you have a substance use problem? Well, then we will use the time that you’re incarcerated to get you mental health treatment for your addiction. Do you need job training? Do you need education? Do you need language assistance? Do you need anger management classes or parenting classes? What are the root causes of the behaviors that are getting you arrested that we can try to address…?” https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/07/16/891438605/psychiatrist-americas-extremely-punitive-prisons-make-mental-illness-worse

U.S. House defeats amendment that would have cleared the way for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. “(Rep. Ilhan Omar’s) amendment (pdf) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) fell by a vote of 129-284, with 103 House Democrats joining 181 Republicans in voting no.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/21/103-democrats-join-gop-voting-down-omar-amendment-accelerate-us-withdrawal

U.S. House votes down amendment to cut military spending by 10%. “The final vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment sponsored by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) was 93-324, with 139 Democrats joining 185 Republicans in voting no.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/21/fight-isnt-over-say-anti-war-groups-139-house-democrats-vote-gop-reject-10-pentagon

U.S. Senate defeats proposal, 51-49, that would have blocked transfers of military equipment to police departments. “The amendment from Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, was to ban transfers of grenade launchers, bayonets, drones, tracked armored vehicles, and high-powered firearms and ammunition, but not prohibit defensive equipment, like body armor.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/07/21/senate-rejects-broad-limit-on-military-equipment-to-police/

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper concerned about police officers dressing up like soldiers, says spokesperson. “The secretary has a expressed a concern of this within the administration, that we want a system where people can tell the difference.” https://taskandpurpose.com/news/portland-military-uniforms-esper As the article points out, this is what Esper is hearing from military leaders.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Ut.) ask Trump administration to clarify status of warrantless mass surveillance programs, which were supposed to have ended when FISA Act expired. “The letter to Attorney General William Barr and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe raises concerns that the administration may be be continuing to conduct surveillance operations by relying on Executive Order 12333.” https://thehill.com/policy/technology/508437-senators-demand-answers-on-expired-surveillance-programs

Five arrested in Hong Kong during commemoration of Yuen Long train station attack, ‘swarms’ of riot police break up gatherings with pepper spray. “Hundreds were detained and searched throughout the night, and police said at least five arrests made, as officers used loudhailers to warn people against ‘unlawful assembly’.” https://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-police-swarm-border-town-anniversary-protest-001632450.html

New York City police officers clear protesters and homeless camped in park near City Hall, at least seven arrested. “The Occupy City Hall protest was part of a national ‘defund the police’ movement seeking to redirect funds from policing to community needs like housing and education.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/22/occupy-new-york-camp-cleared-by-police

Fewer than 15% of U.K. residents want life to return to ‘normal’ after pandemic. “A YouGov survey suggests that eight out of 10 people want the government to prioritise health and wellbeing above economic growth during the pandemic, and six out of 10 would like it to stay that way when (or if) the virus abates. A survey by Ipsos produced a similar result: 58% of British people want a green economic recovery, while 31% disagree.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/21/greener-happier-world-politicians-boris-johnson-consumerism-planet

Federal agents accused of attacking non-violent Portland ‘moms’. “In front of the federal courthouse, federal agents in tactical gear used batons to push back the moms in bike helmets. Dozens were tear-gassed. Some were hit with less-lethal bullets fired into the crowd.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/22/portland-moms-protests/

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