October 31, 2020

Donald Trump, Jr. claims deaths due to coronavirus have dropped to ‘almost nothing’. “I went through the CDC data because I kept hearing about new infections, but I was like, ‘Well, why aren’t they talking about deaths?’ Oh, oh, because the number is almost nothing.” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/donald-trump-jr-says-covid-numbers-are-almost-nothing-day-n1245449 Number of recent deaths in the U.S. due to coronavirus: Oct. 19 = 517, Oct. 20 = 929, Oct. 21 = 1,208, Oct. 22 = 828, Oct. 23 = 925, Oct. 24 = 873, Oct. 25 = 339, Oct. 26 = 358, Oct. 27 = 983, Oct. 28 = 1,016, Oct. 29 = 1,004. When you Google this, you’ll see a very interesting periodic wave pattern in the data. I don’t know if that is real or if it’s due to reporting lags or something like that. If it’s real, it would be really interesting to investigate why that is happening. Looks like the low points recently are on Sundays or Mondays and the peaks are on Wednesdays. Google search term is: covid 19 deaths united states, then choose “30 days” of data.

Tucker Carlson’s staff still assessing recovered Hunter Biden documents. “Having retrieved them, Carlson did not go into any detail about them or about why they would be damaging to Joe Biden’s campaign.” https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-gave-no-details-hunter-biden-docs-damning-2020-10

Economists not thrilled about Joe Biden’s ‘alternative minimum corporate tax’ scheme, aka ‘the Amazon tax’, because it would penalize companies that make big infrastructure investments. “Alternative minimum taxes are always an admission that your tax system has failed. I’d always rather fix the tax system as a whole. Better would be: get rid of the loopholes that give rise to the problem in the in the first place.” https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/why-experts-on-both-political-sides-say-bidens-corporate-tax-proposal-is-problematic-153825021.html But closing tax loopholes is not why more than 131 billionaires have donated to his campaign.

NBC News says they didn’t run Hunter Bidengate story because they weren’t allowed to see all the emails. “Most mainstream news organizations, including NBC News, have not been granted access to the documents. NBC News asked by email, text, phone call and certified mail, and was ultimately denied…. It was (Rudy) Giuliani who ultimately told NBC News he would not be providing a copy of the hard drive. NBC News responded by asking if, instead of a full copy of the hard drive, he could just provide copies of the full set of emails. Giuliani did not agree to that proposal. NBC News then declined an offer of copies of a small group of emails.” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/here-s-what-happened-when-nbc-news-tried-report-alleged-n1245533

Protester shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse extradited back to Wisconsin to face homicide charges. “(Illinois judge Paul) Novak wrote that, under Illinois law, he may not decide the validity of Rittenhouse’s self-defense, or Wisconsin’s law that 17-year-olds are charged as adults, or consider potential political implications of Kenosha District Attorney Michael Graveley’s charging decisions, or opine on Rittenhouse’s future safety in Wisconsin custody.” https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/10/30/rittenhouse-lawyers-say-he-should-released-due-extradition-error/6085295002/ Rittenhouse has reportedly told police he and a friend were ‘hired’ to protect a Kenosha business, which the business owner has denied.

China missed a chance to replace the U.S. on the world stage by bullying neighbors and repressing dissent at home, claim observers. “… over the past three years, when Beijing wasn’t actively starting diplomatic fights with other countries it often talked down to or intimidated them…. (China) has also faced growing criticism within the international community over several domestic controversies, including its ongoing crackdown on human rights and dissent, the erosion of civil rights in Hong Kong…. (and) the treatment of Uyghur Muslims… ” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/30/world/trump-china-xi-election-intl-hnk/index.html

Supreme Court says it’s legal for election officials to count Pennsylvania and North Carolina ballots received after election day due to mail delivery delays. “The two cases involved broadly similar issues. In Pennsylvania, the question was whether the state’s Supreme Court could override voting rules set by the state legislature. In North Carolina, the question was whether state election officials had the power to alter such voting rules.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/us/supreme-court-pennsylvania-north-carolina-absentee-ballots.html

Facebook has reportedly suspended its personalized recommendations for the site’s political and social issue groups. “Confirmation of the move, which Facebook did not publicly announce, comes after members of the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee grilled Zuckerberg about Facebook Groups and the possibility for polarization and radicalization within them.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-suspended-group-recommendations-election

Bernie Sanders points out class-bias within Democratic Party. “I think it is fair to say that in many ways the Democratic Party has become a party of the coastal elites, folks who have a lot of money, upper-middle-class people who are good people, who believe in social justice in many respects,” Sanders responded. “But I think for many, many years the Democratic Party has not paid the kind of attention to working-class needs that they should’ve.” https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-says-democratic-party-has-become-party-coastal-elites-1543532

Kentucky State Police used Hitler quotes in training slides. “The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/10/30/kentucky-state-police-training-presentation-quoting-hitler-is-unacceptable-governor-says/6094075002/

New Zealand voters legalize assisted suicide, but not marijuana. “Sixty-five percent said “yes” to the proposition on the right to die…. The proposal to legalize recreational marijuana was much closer. New Zealanders narrowly rejected it by a margin of 53% to 46%.” https://www.npr.org/2020/10/30/929709055/new-zealand-supports-the-right-to-die-but-rejects-the-right-to-get-high

U.S. private security firms reportedly submitted proposals and bids for carrying out May 2020 Venezuelan coup attempt. “Goudreau’s lawsuit said that his (Silvercorp USA) plan was given the go-ahead over competing plans and that the group had considered one purportedly submitted by (Erik) Prince, the founder and former CEO of defense contractor Blackwater, that would have called for 5,000 troops and carry a price tag of $500 million.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/venezuela-coup-plotters-met-at-trump-doral-central-figure-says-us-officials-knew-of-plan/ar-BB1ayiaR

Calgary, Alberta police officer charged with assault after injuring handcuffed female prisoner in 2017 while attempting to take her mug shot. “The video from Dec. 13, 2017, shows (Constable Alex) Dunn escorting a woman, Dalia Kafi, into the arrest processing unit to have her picture taken…. Dunn is seen throwing the handcuffed woman face-first to the ground.” https://globalnews.ca/news/7424620/calgary-officer-alex-dunn-assault-trial-video/

President Trump implies doctors are inflating coronavirus death toll in order to fraudulently bill insurance companies. “… (Trump) said that ‘doctors get more money and hospitals get more money’ for reporting more deaths due to the coronavirus.'” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/elections/after-trump-accuses-doctors-of-profiteering-medical-professionals-push-back.html

Many anti-racism protesters now facing federal felony charges. “From the end of May through October, federal prosecutors have filed more than 300 cases related to protests, according to The Prosecution Project (TPP), a research group that tracks political violence…. Most are felonies.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/27/americas-protest-crackdown-five-months-after-george-floyd-hundreds-face-trials-and-prison

Amazon accused of infiltrating employee discussion groups to monitor labor organizing activity. “In September, Vice reported that Amazon’s HR department appeared to be monitoring employee listservs that were hotspots for employee activism. A separate Vice report found Amazon corporate employees were monitoring closed Facebook groups used by contracted Flex drivers to track planned strikes and organizing activity.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/24/how-amazon-prevents-unions-by-surveilling-employee-activism.html

Men arrested in Philadelphia in explosives-laden van suspected of being ATM thieves. “The explosives and tools recovered in the van are commonly used to attempt to dismantle and steal proceeds from ATMs (automated teller machines). There have been at least 30 ATM bombings in Philadelphia in the last four days.” https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-race-usa-philadelphia-explosiv/two-arrested-with-explosives-in-van-during-philadelphia-protests-police-idUKKBN27F11D

House Oversight Committee chairperson Rep. Carolyn Maloney says she will subpoena Customs and Border Protection agency to obtain withheld information about private Facebook group. “These documents include information about dozens of CBP employees who engaged in misconduct by participating in secret Facebook groups that shared racist, sexually violent, dehumanizing, and abhorrent material.” https://theintercept.com/2020/10/30/border-patrol-facebook-group-cbp-subpoena/

Worries Trump will declare victory early, before all votes are counted. “In the scenario, Trump’s declaration of victory is echoed on the conservative TV network Fox News and by powerful Republicans across the US. By the time final returns show that in fact Joe Biden has won the presidency, perhaps days later, the true election result has been dragged into a maelstrom of disinformation and chaos.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/31/red-mirage-trump-election-scenario-victory

Environmentalists upset over EPA’s approval of pesticide atrazine. “If EPA were actually doing its job, this chemical would have been off the market years ago…. it’s been banned in Europe for more than a decade…” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/30/epa-sued-once-again-putting-corporate-interests-over-public-health-or-environment

Philadelphia cops attack mom who got caught between police and rioters. “While she was trying to make a three-point turn as directed by officers, the police suddenly surrounded her SUV, smashing Young’s windows while the toddler sat in the back seat. The police violently dragged Young out of the car, beat her with batons, and then threw her to the ground.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/30/truly-sociopathic-behavior-after-mother-beaten-philly-cops-fraternal-order-police Video of the incident can be seen here: https://twitter.com/mattyford/status/1321872115549822977

>>> Progressive News Service does not receive any funding from the ads which appear on this website, nor does it have any control over which ads appear. These are ads placed by WordPress for the financial benefit of WordPress. <<<

October 30, 2020

Federal appeals court rules that Minnesota mail-in ballots must be received before or on election day to guarantee they will be counted. “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution.” https://www.npr.org/2020/10/29/929341533/no-pandemic-exception-to-the-constitution-court-rejects-minn-ballot-extension

Tucker Carlson’s missing Hunter Biden documents found! “After an extensive search, we have found the contents of the package and are arranging for its return,” the spokesperson reportedly said. “UPS will always focus first on our customers and will never stop working to solve issues and make things right.” https://www.newsweek.com/ups-locates-contents-tucker-carlsons-package-after-he-said-incriminating-biden-documents-went-1543323

FBI arrests two Michigan neo-Nazis for doxxing the wrong people. “At the time, the couple was unaware their new home address was being shared on a white supremacy message board. That’s because (members of The Base) wrongly believed the address belonged to Daniel Harper, host of an Antifa podcast “I Don’t Speak German,” according to an article in the Informant newsletter.” https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/29/fbi-arrests-accused-neo-nazis-michigan-crackdown-extremism/6067038002/ The home used to belong to a different Daniel Harper, who sold the house and moved to another state. While these guys are undoubtedly dangerous, my guess is that they are being arrested on a pretext for something worse that the feds don’t have enough evidence to prosecute them for, or are worried about possible plans for pre- or post-election violence. This is a weird thing to say, but it’s sort of encouraging that these neo-Nazis, who have allegedly proposed committing genocidal mass murders against communities they don’t like, didn’t just kill the family that was living there, thinking it was the home of their nemesis, and instead just shined flashlights in their windows, posted photos of their home and sent them taunting letters to scare them. ‘Midwestern nice’? If it had been the home of the person they thought it was, they were giving him time to move out and escape. Maybe they haven’t killed anyone yet and they are finding it difficult to actually do. They haven’t gone completely over to the Dark Side yet.

Philadelphia police officers who shot Walter Wallace Jr. were reportedly not equipped with tasers. “Both officers fired at least seven shots apiece at Wallace, police said. Neither had a Taser…. Officers had responded to the home two times earlier that day.” https://www.foxnews.com/us/wallace-philadelphia-shooting

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appears on cover of Vogue magazine modeling expensive designer outfit. “The criticism this time is centered around the ethics of Ocasio-Cortez wearing expensive, designer clothing on a magazine cover — and whether it is at-odds with her values as a (democratic socialist).” https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/10/10136827/aoc-vanity-fair-outfit-democratic-socialism-argument What if Bernie Sanders were pictured on the cover of Forbes driving a Mercedes-Benz? “The Sanders campaign advertises its candidate drives a fuel-efficient, 2011 Chevy Aveo…. But on Super Tuesday, CBS News reported that Sanders drove ‘himself and wife, Jane, to their polling location … in a (made in Japan) Subaru Forester’.” https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/04/presidential-candidates-car-choices-make-statement/4863616002/

Third night of demonstrations after death of scooter suspect during Washington, D.C. police chase, police release video. “Police have said the officers were trying to conduct a traffic stop of (Karon) Hylton, who was operating a rented Revel electric scooter, because he was driving it on the sidewalk and was not wearing a helmet.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/karon-hylton-crash-body-camera/2020/10/29/132727f6-19e2-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html

Governing board of Virginia Military Institute votes to remove Confederate ‘Stonewall’ Jackson statue from campus. “(General) Jackson taught at VMI in Lexington, where he owned several enslaved people, before the Civil War.” https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/vmi-to-remove-statue-of-thomas-stonewall-jackson-from-post/article_2441e159-673f-5696-89a0-c3dbe2135c56.html

U.K. Labour Party suspends former Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn. “The UK’s human rights watchdog says Labour broke the law by failing to stamp out anti-Jewish racism in its ranks when Mr Corbyn was leader. Mr Corbyn said the scale of Labour anti-Semitism had been ‘dramatically overstated’ by his (centrist) opponents. This comment prompted (the current party leadership) to suspend Mr Corbyn from the party.” https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54742096

Glenn Greenwald resigns from The Intercept after his Hunter Bidengate story is rejected. “The final, precipitating cause is that The Intercept’s editors, in violation of my contractual right of editorial freedom, censored an article I wrote this week, refusing to publish it unless I remove all sections critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the candidate vehemently supported by all New-York-based Intercept editors involved in this effort at suppression.” https://greenwald.substack.com/p/my-resignation-from-the-intercept Excerpt from Greenwald’s article that The Intercept’s editors did not want to publish: “There are sources in the email chains who have verified that the published emails are accurate. The archive contains private photos and videos of Hunter whose authenticity is not in doubt. A former business partner of Hunter has stated, unequivocally and on the record, that not only are the emails authentic but they describe events accurately, including proposed participation by the former Vice President in at least one deal Hunter and Jim Biden were pursuing in China. And, most importantly of all, neither Hunter Biden nor the Biden campaign has even suggested, let alone claimed, that a single email or text is fake.” https://greenwald.substack.com/p/article-on-joe-and-hunter-biden-censored The Intercept’s editors respond: “While he accuses us of political bias, it was he who was attempting to recycle the dubious claims of a political campaign — the Trump campaign — and launder them as journalism.” https://theintercept.com/2020/10/29/glenn-greenwald-resigns-the-intercept/ And he would do that because…. he’s a Trump supporter?

Due to the New York Post’s popularity, Facebook moderators had to manually block posts including the Hunter Biden laptop story. “Sites in the ‘Alexa 5K” list’, ‘which includes content in the top 5,000 most popular internet sites’, are supposed to keep their distribution high, ‘under the assumption these are unlikely to be spreading misinformation’.” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/30/facebook-leak-reveals-policies-restricting-new-york-post-biden-story

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden having trouble getting answers about a foreign government’s exploitation of an NSA ‘backdoor’ that it asked to have included in firewall software. “…the NSA drew up a report on what it learned after a foreign government exploited a weak encryption scheme, championed by the US spying agency, in Juniper firewall software. However, curiously enough, the NSA has been unable to find a copy of that report.” https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/28/nsa_backdoor_wyden/

Mother Jones claims Facebook’s 2017 tweak of its news feed algorithm resulted in a sharp drop in visitor traffic. “Big Tech CEOs were grilled Wednesday about how they moderate election disinformation and extremist content, and were accused by Republicans of censoring conservatives. Overlooked were reports that Facebook designed changes to its news feed algorithm in 2017 to reduce the visibility of left-leaning news sites like Mother Jones.” https://www.democracynow.org/2020/10/29/ari_berman_mother_jones_facebook_censorship

An estimated 68,000 people could die annually as a result of Republicans successfully abolishing Obamacare. “The authors of the study use the Urban Institute’s estimate that 19.9 million people will likely lose their health insurance, as well as several studies tying a lack of insurance to premature death, to calculate that the massive loss in health coverage will likely cause between 22,892 and 68,345 deaths per year among adults under 65.” https://theintercept.com/2020/10/29/affordable-care-act-supreme-court-case/ Assuming it’s not replaced by something else, like Medicare for All, for example.

Groups tally use of force incidents during this year’s anti-racism protests. “The database shows more than 1,000 (incidents), including:

more than 500 of instances of police using less-lethal rounds, pepper spray and teargas;
60 incidents of officers using unlawful assembly to arrest protesters;
19 incidents of police being permissive to the far right and showing double standards when confronted with white supremacists;
five attacks on medics;
and 11 instances of kettling….
and almost 150 incidents (involving attacks on journalists)… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/us-police-brutality-protest

Americans have bought a record 17 million firearms so far this year. “The previous record for estimated firearms sold in a single year was 16.6 million in 2016, when Hillary Clinton ran for president against Donald Trump and endorsed a strong gun-control platform…” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/coronavirus-pandemic-americans-gun-sales

Trump administration accused of trying to turn coronavirus public service announcements into campaign ads. “New documents released Thursday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee reveal that Trump administration officials explicitly attempted to use a $250 million taxpayer-funded ‘public advertising and awareness campaign’ to put a rosy spin on President Donald Trump’s disastrous coronavirus response and boost his effort to win reelection.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/29/documents-reveal-wh-officials-tried-use-250-million-taxpayer-money-covid-ad-campaign “The Department of Health and Human Services considered 274 marquee names for the still-unfinished public service announcement…. But after excluding people like Christina Aguilera because, as one contractor put it, she ‘is an Obama-supporting Democrat and a gay-rights supporting liberal’, the administration felt it had only 10 options for the PSA…. the singer Marc Anthony was dropped out of the running when he ‘sought an amendment to his contract to ensure that his content would not be used for advertisements to re-elect President Trump’.” https://www.courthousenews.com/audit-of-covid-psa-says-feds-sought-pro-trump-message-came-up-empty/ Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people were dying.

Michael Moore tells interviewers that he believes the election is closer than the polls are indicating, and that Donald Trump is probably scheming to steal the election. “Right now, as we sit here, Trump is already in the process of enacting his plan, with his evil minions…. What are they planning? What are they doing? Let’s be prepared for whatever’s going to happen….” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyn5rhRua-c

Labor unions reportedly exploring the option of a general strike if Donald Trump refuses to accept an election defeat. “The AFL-CIO’s executive council, approved a resolution on October 19 saying: ‘Democracies are not, in the last analysis, protected by judges or lawyers, reporters or publishers. The survival of democracy depends on the determination of working people to defend it. And America’s labor movement is indeed determined to defend our democratic republic.'” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/30/us-unions-general-strike-election-trump-biden-victory

October 29, 2020

UFO filmed over Hawaii, astronomers claim it’s just space junk re-entering the atmosphere. “People on different islands reported seeing these strange lights in the sky on Saturday night, shortly after 10 o’clock.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4lmM3pPrI4 I don’t know, it sure looks like a spaceship to me… No national news coverage.

Eleven people shot in Philadelphia during second night of unrest over fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. “At least 11 people were wounded during the overnight violence, with one Philadelphia officer saying: ‘Looters were shooting looters,’ according to FOX 29’s Steve Keeley.” https://www.foxnews.com/us/looters-looters-philadelphia-unrest-walter-wallace How convenient!

Officer who fatally shot teen motorist in Waukegan, Illinois did not have his body camera turned on. “The officer, who has not been identified, only turned on his body camera after the shots were fired.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/waukegan-shooting-marcellis-stinnette-officers-body-camera/ You can watch the dash camera video here. It doesn’t show the shooting, but you can hear what sounds like the suspect’s vehicle driving away as the officer opened fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF1PlAIfUUU

Tucker Carlson claims thieves stole incriminating Biden documents from overnight delivery service, which apparently involved locating the right envelope, opening it, and taking the documents, but leaving the empty envelope behind. “The company immediately launched an investigation, tracing the envelope from the moment it was dropped off in New York, until 3:44 a.m. Tuesday, when an employee at a sorting facility in another state noticed that the package had been opened and arrived empty.” https://www.foxnews.com/media/tucker-carlson-hunter-biden-documents-vanish-los-angeles Fox News staff neglected to keep a copy of the documents before forwarding the originals to Carlson. “On Wednesday night’s show, Tucker Carlson reported that his team had acquired incriminating documents. However, they sent them from Washington to Los Angeles, and the documents disappeared. And they neglected to make any copies. So now the only copy of the documents that would nail the probable next President of the United States are gone.” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/tucker-carlson-lost-only-copy-of-documents-nailing-biden.html

Trump supporters waited for hours in below-freezing weather for buses to take them away from Omaha airfield after rally, some gave up and walked. “Omaha police said in a written statement that first responders dealt with 30 people for medical reasons throughout the day and seven were sent to hospital.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/trump-supporters-hospitalised-after-being-stranded-in-freezing-temperatures-at-late-night-rally-omaha

Girl Scouts congratulate Amy Coney Barrett on their social media sites, then delete the posts after backlash. “‘Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the 5th woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789,’ the group tweeted around 1 p.m. ET, screenshots of the (now deleted) tweet show.” https://nypost.com/2020/10/28/girl-scouts-congratulates-amy-coney-barrett-then-deletes-post/

Stock markets slides on pandemic worries. “The Dow Jones has shed 2,400 points since Sept. 2, The Washington Post reported, a reduction of around 8%.” https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-slide-trump-negotiate-stimulus-deal-pelosi-economic-aid-2020-10

Virginia bans ‘no knock’ search warrants that allow police to enter homes without knocking or identifying themselves in advance. “Oregon and Florida have also banned no-knock warrants.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/28/us/virginia-bans-no-knock-warrants/index.html

One of the men who allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan’s governor also reportedly suggested hanging President Trump, liberals and Muslims. “I say we hang everything currently governing us, they’re all guilty!!!”, (Barry) Croft wrote in May on his Facebook page, which also included an image of Trump. “Wanna hang this mf’er too…” https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/28/militia-member-helped-feds-infiltrate-whitmer-kidnap-crew-fbi-says/6060368002/

Five arrested, accused of intimidating Chinese people living in the U.S. on behalf of the Chinese government. “If you are willing to go back to mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That’s the end of this matter!” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-arrests-five-u-s-accused-trying-coerce-chinese-citizens-n1245124

Despite using ranked choice voting, only Democratic and Republican party candidates allowed to participate in final Maine U.S. Senate election debate. “The debate, sponsored by WMTW-TV, was different from four previous debates because independents Lisa Savage (endorsed by the Green Party) and Max Linn weren’t invited.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/28/nation/susan-collins-sara-gideon-clash-final-debate-before-election-day/

Workers on strike, thousands in the streets as protests against Poland’s new abortion law continue for seventh day. “The ruling that declared it unconstitutional to terminate pregnancies for (birth) defects amounts to a near-total ban.” https://apnews.com/a8414de7c9544a0c2273671ba1ec5a49

Pro-democracy activists seeking asylum are reportedly turned away from U.S. consulate in Hong Kong. “(Tony) Chung, 19, was apprehended by several men and taken away before he could reach the consulate gates…. The other four — a U.S. citizen among them… — briefly entered the consulate later that afternoon, but they had their requests for refuge inside the compound rebuffed and were turned away…. The Hong Kong police said they had arrested three people between the ages of 19 and 21 on Tuesday…” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/hong-kong-us-consulate-asylum/2020/10/28/8f92a9dc-18d9-11eb-8bda-814ca56e138b_story.html

U.S. needs a non-partisan elections agency to run its elections, suggests horrified Australian. “The American electoral system is a shambles defying democratic norms…. Section 182 of Australia’s Commonwealth Electoral Act allows 13 days for ballots to be received if they are posted before 6 pm on polling day. No argument. It’s set out in a national law applying uniformly across the nation.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/29/the-us-electoral-system-is-a-shambles-they-could-learn-a-lot-from-australia 13 days? Maybe they need some help with their postal system?

After Zoom allegedly blocks presentations on Palestinian rights, academics move to other platforms. “For those of us who work in the field of supporting and protecting Palestinian rights, it’s no surprise to us that Palestinian speech is the first to be cracked down on.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/zoom-deleted-events-censorship

States have reportedly cut 20,818 polling sites compared to 2016. “Of the 45 states that weren’t using mail voting exclusively before the 2020 election, 40 of them have decreased the number of Election Day voting locations from 2016.” https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkde7n/uncounted-the-voting-access-project

Raytheon’s CEO: The idea that Biden will cut defense spending is ‘ridiculous’. “Defense has always been a bipartisan issue and when Biden was vice president, and previously as senator, I think he had a pretty good approach to national defense,” (Gregory) Hayes said. “He understood the need to work both sides of the aisle and to provide for the national defense.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/27/raytheon-ceo-its-ridiculous-to-think-biden-may-cut-defense-spending.html

Rust belt voters disillusioned after Trump’s re-industrialization promises failed to materialize. “Trump’s repeated promise to bring back factory jobs played well not only in Ohio, but also in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, helping win over many blue-collar voters, who were key to his narrow victories in those states…. Laid-off GM Lordstown workers still rail about that (Youngstown) speech.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/lordstown-ohio-trump-gm-plant-election

France imposes 4 week national lockdown to slow spread of pandemic. “All non-essential businesses, including bars and restaurants, will be closed from midnight on Thursday.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/28/france-expected-to-impose-four-week-national-lockdown-covid

International Crisis Group warns of potential for post-election violence in the U.S. “The report warns that ‘the ingredients for unrest are present’ in the United States and puts the onus for that squarely at the feet of the president and his right-wing supporters.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/28/extraordinary-step-international-crisis-group-issues-report-warning-us-election

Trump administration to open 9.3 million acres of old-growth Alaska forest to logging. “A standing, healthy forest is absolutely essential to the subsistence survival of Indigenous peoples. It’s also essential for mitigating the climate crisis that threatens us all. We will continue to fight for the Tongass (National Forest) and those who depend on it.” https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-opens-tongass-the-nations-largest-intact-protected-forest-to-logging/

U.S. Embassy employee accused of drugging and sexually assaulting at least 23 women. “The FBI began investigating (Brian) Raymond after Mexico City police responded to calls about ‘a naked, hysterical woman desperately screaming for help from the defendant’s balcony’ on May 31…. Mexican authorities… contacted US authorities because the incident took place in an apartment leased by the US embassy.” https://www.insider.com/us-embassy-staffer-brian-jeffrey-raymond-accused-drugging-abusing-women-2020-10 A Mexican source says Raymond arrived in Mexico City in August of 2018. The Insider story says the images found in his iCloud account, presumably of drugged women, date back to 2011. I wonder where he was posted before Mexico City? “(Raymond)… worked in at least six different countries over more than two decades of federal service…. A forensic search of Raymond’s phones, laptop, and iCloud account turned up hundreds of photos and videos of naked, unconscious women being abused in both Mexico City and the Washington, D.C., metro area.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/brian-jeffrey-raymond-accused-of-drugging-molesting-his-dates-in-embassy-apartment

October 28, 2020

Congress holds hearings on social media practices, but can’t agree if there is too much censorship or not enough censorship. “For Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the hearing is an opportunity to discuss concerns that the platforms express bias against conservatives through their moderation decisions…. Democrats have been more concerned with the platforms’ failure to remove or moderate what they see as harmful or misleading posts.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/27/facebook-google-and-twitter-ceos-to-defend-section-230-to-senators.html Personally, I’ve found that a frightening number of people are ok with censoring anything they happen to disagree with. And do we really want the government in the business of censoring social media content, like in China or Thailand? The bar for censoring free speech should be very high, like inciting people to commit targeted acts of violence. It should definitely NOT include the censorship of factual news stories which are embarrassing to the government.

Man gets 120 years in prison for leading sex cult. “Victims painted a picture of a charismatic self-help guru who lured followers with promises that he would help them take control of their lives. But once ensconced in his orbit, many of the women were indoctrinated by (Keith) Raniere, who pressured them to have sex with him, and even branded his initials on their skin with a cauterizing pen…. Camila said her sexual relationship with Raniere lasted 12 years.” https://www.npr.org/2020/10/27/928371831/nxivm-cult-leader-sentenced-to-120-years-in-prison I’m assuming the incredibly harsh penalty was not for running a cult and taking advantage of the gullibility of people who chose to remain members, but because SEX was involved. We seem to be going through a period of ‘neo-puritanism’, where any crime involving sex automatically becomes ten times more serious, even if no one is physically harmed or coerced. If Harvey Weinstein had been selling movie roles for tens of thousands of dollars, or had made women do his housework, wash his cars or walk his dogs without pay, he’d probably be a free man.

Waukegan police shooting victim claims her boyfriend was still breathing when cops covered him with a blanket. “They laid Marcellis (Stinnette) on the ground and covered him up with a blanket while he was still breathing. I know he was still alive,” (Tafara) Williams said through sobs. “They wanted us to bleed out on the ground.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-fatally-shot-illinois-police-still-breathing-when-covered-blanket-n1244952

Judge blocks Michigan secretary of state’s ban on openly carrying firearms at polling places. “State laws passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor ‘already provide law enforcement with the tools to stop those whose goal it would be to intimidate voters, whether with or without a firearm,’ Murray wrote.” https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/27/michigan-judge-halts-benson-ban-open-carry-guns-polling-places/3751933001/ If fifteen guys dressed up in military gear, carrying rifles and wearing skull masks, swastikas and Confederate flag patches, are hanging around outside a polling station, would they have to actively do anything aggressive to intimidate voters? I think not.

Men accused of being behind robocalls to voters charged with telecommunication fraud in Ohio. “(Jacob) Wohl, 22, and (Jack) Burkman, 54, pleaded not guilty in the Michigan case earlier this month for allegedly making 67,000 robocalls targeting majority black and urban areas discouraging people from voting by mail. The men made similar calls in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.” https://nypost.com/2020/10/27/jacob-wohl-jack-burkman-indicted-in-ohio-for-voter-suppression/

Texas National Guard to deploy to state’s major cities, not connected to election claims spokesperson. “Brandon Jones, a spokesperson for the Guard, said the deployment is not related to the election and troops would not be stationed at polling places. He said it was a continuation of peacekeeping efforts that began during anti-police brutality protests this summer.” https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/27/texas-national-guard-troops-election-deploy/

57 women now claiming they received unnecessary or questionable gynecological treatment while detained at ICE Irwin County Detention Center. “The medical review of pathology reports conducted by ALLGOOD showed ‘a pattern of overly aggressive care’, including ‘inappropriate, unconsented transvaginal procedures’, ‘exaggerated interpretations of imaging results’, and less invasive methods not being pursued.” https://theintercept.com/2020/10/27/ice-irwin-women-hysterectomies-senate/

Federal Elections Commission official schools President Trump on how elections work. “All we get on Election Night are projections from TV networks,” (Commissioner Ellen) Weintraub noted. “We never have official results on Election Night.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/28/top-federal-election-official-corrects-trump-counting-ballots-all-em-appropriate

FCC upholds its repeal of Net Neutrality standards, favoring internet service providers over consumers. “The Obama administration had enacted net neutrality rules requiring internet service providers to treat all online content equally and restored the FCC’s authority over the broadband industry under Title II of the Communications Act. However, under (Chairman Ajit) Pai—who was appointed by President Donald Trump—the agency reversed course. On Tuesday, Pai and the FCC’s other two Republican commissioners doubled down on their December 2017 decision to repeal the rules—which took effect in June 2018—with an Order on Remand responding to questions raised last fall by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/27/fcc-accused-prioritizing-corporate-interests-over-needs-american-people-doubling

More than you ever wanted to know about the CIA’s collection of spyware and hacking programs. “Programs included in the Vault 7 collection were designed to hack (cellphones) and other commonly used devices and systems remotely so they can corrupt the targets and also send the CIA the owner’s geographic location and all audio and text communications. Other programs were capable of turning on a device’s microphone and camera without the owner’s knowledge. Other attack-and-control programs targeted MAC OS X, Solaris and Linux operating systems.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/26/the-revelations-of-wikileaks-no-9-opening-the-cias-vault/

List of blacked out or partially blacked out news stories

Over the years I’ve stumbled across news stories, or details of news stories, that have been kept out of the news in the United States. I used to list these incidents in the Wikipedia article Media blackout, but the list was deleted and I was unable to find any other listing of these incidents. So I’ve decided to start listing these stories here as I come across them. Feel free to suggest any you’ve come across in the comments.

Unnamed American goes into a coma after his arrest by Tokyo police, dies after being unplugged from life support

A still unidentified American man who was working as an English teacher in Japan ‘went into cardiac arrest’ after being restrained by six Tokyo police officers on February 11, 2015, and remained in a coma until he died on March 1 after he was disconnected from life support. There was apparently no media coverage of the man’s arrest, injury or death by any major English language news organization, despite me contacting several of them personally but receiving no reply. This is in stark contrast to news coverage of the Otto Warmbier incident or of the murder of Lindsay Hawker. It was covered by a Tokyo tabloid under the title “English Teacher Dies after Being Restrained by Police”, after I tipped them off about it: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2015/03/english-teacher-dies-after-being-restrained-by-police/ The story was initially covered by the Wall Street Journal, but only in Japanese. That story has since been taken down. I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the State Department in April of 2015, but have still not received any information about the incident.

Infant in car hit by UK’s Prince Philip

Initial news reports on Prince Philip’s January 17, 2019 car accident did not mention that a nine-month old baby was a passenger in the other car, but only mentioned the two adult females. This is from a typical news story on this incident: “The other driver involved in the collision ‘suffered cuts while the female passenger sustained an arm injury, both requiring hospital treatment,’ police said in a statement.” https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/17/uk/duke-of-edinburgh-car-accident-gbr-intl/index.html This is from a news story published several days later, on an alleged attempt at a cover-up: “Philip’s Land Rover collided with a Kia car, in which Fairweather was riding with a 28-year-old female friend and the friend’s nine-month-old baby.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/21/prince-philip-car-crash-victim-suggests-royal-cover-up-says-he-and-the-queen-havent-apologized/

Many U.S. police forces are armed with automatic, military rifles, and they have apparently been using them

It is widely believed that some U.S. police forces are equipping officers with fully automatic rifles, but if so this is being mostly kept out of the news. This local story is a rare exception: “Nearly 5,000 M16 rifles have been distributed (to Ohio law enforcement agencies), including 999 to the Ohio Highway Patrol.” https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2014/08/defense_departments_gives_ohio.html

I’ve also had someone tell me personally that this is the case.

Buried in a report by the Maryland State’s Attorney for the City of Baltimore on the Tyrone Banks police shooting, it says that two of the officers involved in the shooting were carrying M4 rifles. In response to my Maryland Public Information Act requests, neither the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s office nor the Baltimore Police Department will confirm or deny that these were fully automatic rifles, or whether or not BPD officers are equipped with automatic rifles. The police body camera video that has been released appears to show automatic gunfire during the incident. Police officers open fire at about 5:40 in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aC-INS60Mk This story has only received local coverage. “Body camera footage released Friday in the Baltimore Police shooting that left a suspect dead and an officer and a bystander wounded shows the suspect brandish a gun two separate times before officers unleash a hail of gunfire lasting nearly a minute in total. In all, police said they recovered 154 shell casings from the scene, which occurred two days after the suspect, Tyrone Banks, allegedly opened fire on one officer and attempted to run another over with his SUV before leading a police on a high-speed chase through the city…” https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-body-camera-tyrone-banks-20190913-ilz5vstwv5dxxpfltdfh2fumc4-story.html As it turns out, Banks was suicidal and his pistol was not functional. “Officers recovered a 9mm Luger pistol with a cartridge casing jammed in the chamber, rendering it inoperable.” https://www.wbal.com/article/463627/124/states-attorney-mosby-clears-officers-in-fatal-shooting

“Now one of the key eyewitnesses who reportedly said he saw (Michael) Reinoehl brandishing an assault rifle says he was misquoted and didn’t see Reinoehl pull a weapon at all. His account corroborates what Dinguss told police. ‘No offense but myself and […] Cutler gave the same statement one time to everyone,’ said Smith to VICE News in a wide-ranging Facebook conversation. ‘Then the next we read [in] the media [and] it’s not at all what was said.’ Smith says he told reporters that he heard what sounded like an assault rifle, but didn’t actually see a gun that matched that description, admitting, ‘I’m a car guy not a gun person so I’m very unsure.’

Rolf Boone, a reporter at the Olympian who interviewed Smith and Cutler the night of Reinoehl’s death, said he stands by the account of what was said to him. ‘I stand by what Chad and his friend told me that evening as witnesses to a very fluid situation,’ he said in an email. ‘Is there a margin of error for witness accounts? Absolutely. That’s why they are treated as witness accounts.'” https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5pe59/a-key-eyewitness-in-the-portland-shooters-killing-says-his-account-was-misconstrued-reinoehl-assault-rifle

Details surrounding the fatal traffic accident involving the spouse of a senior U.S. intelligence official and British teenager Harry Dunn, and her subsequent extraction from the UK to evade prosecution

A lawsuit filed by the parents of British teenager Harry Dunn claims that Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. intelligence official stationed in Britain, did not phone the emergency services after accidentally colliding with Dunn’s motorcycle while she was driving on the wrong side of the road. This minor detail had apparently not been previously reported. “After the collision, Sacoolas allegedly did not call an ambulance for Dunn or report the crash to police. ‘Instead, she left Harry to suffer as he lay face down on the side of the road, afraid of dying, fully conscious with multiple broken bones, including open fractures on both legs and both arms, and internal injuries,’ the lawsuit states.” https://www.courthousenews.com/family-of-british-teen-killed-in-crash-sues-wife-of-us-diplomat/ It took more than 40 minutes for a doctor to arrive after a witness phoned in the accident. Dunn was later pronounced dead at the hospital, but it’s not clear exactly when he died. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-50321907 Shortly after the accident, Sacoolas and her family were flown out of the U.K., presumably by some agency of the U.S. government. “… (Sacoolas) was spirited out of Britain on a private flight from a US air base, the Telegraph understands.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/08/harry-dunn-death-private-flight-us-airbase-spirited-wife-american/

War crimes committed in Afghanistan by Australian special forces soldiers, especially details of any knowledge or involvement by U.S. forces

There has apparently been no original coverage in the U.S. news media of Australia’s investigation into war crimes committed by members of the country’s SAS special forces units in Afghanistan, and only very limited republications of Australian news stories (I found one story each published by Yahoo News and MSN). I first read about the story at Antiwar.com, but that particular story was rather vague, so I started searching for more details. Here is a typical story that appeared in the Australian press about a former U.S. Marine claiming that an Australian SAS team executed a prisoner accused of producing drugs for the Taliban, because only six prisoners would fit in the helicopter and they had seven. “… the pilot said, ‘That’s too many people, we can’t carry that many passengers.’ And you just heard this silence and then we heard a pop. And then they said, ‘OK, we have six prisoners’.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-21/soldiers-killed-man-who-could-not-fit-on-aircraft-says-us-marine/12782756 UPDATE: This news blackout has now been broken. “Members of the Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 people during operations in Afghanistan in violation of international law, according to the findings of a long-awaited report.” https://www.npr.org/2020/11/19/936536527/australian-special-forces-unlawfully-killed-39-in-afghanistan-new-report-says

Julian Assange extradition hearings, including details about alleged U.S. spying on Assange inside Ecuadoran embassy in London via security contractors

U.S. media are not covering the Julian Assange extradition trial, although it is being covered by the press in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. “After monitoring four weeks of evidence in the US extradition proceedings against Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates concern regarding the targeting of Assange for his contributions to journalism, and calls again for his release. Expert testimony highlighted the political nature of the case against Assange, the US government’s lack of evidence for alleged harm caused, and urgent humanitarian concerns related to Assange’s physical and mental health. RSF also documented extensive barriers to open justice, which marred proceedings. The extradition decision is expected on 4 January 2021.” https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2010/S00104/julian-assanges-extradition-hearing-marred-by-barriers-to-open-justice.htm “One might think that an intelligence agency under the Trump administration spying on Assange’s medical and legal proceedings and stealing legally privileged material after his expulsion from the embassy, allegedly at the behest of Trump, would be headline news vital for voters before heading to the polls. That it was the Trump Justice Department who indicted Assange after the Obama administration had declined to might also have made a mark on the media. All of these revelations should have been fuel for the anti-Trump media. Instead the extradition proceedings have been met with virtual silence. It seems there are two major areas where the mainstream press doesn’t push back on Trump: war, and Assange.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/31/election-2020-media-silence-on-assange-aids-trump/

Function of CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya before 2012 attack was apparently the transfer of weapons to jihadist groups fighting against the Assad regime in Syria, including surface-to-air missiles

The press was chipping away at this story until about 2016, when it suddenly dropped out of the news:

“As I noted in a recent column, one major weapons shipment from Benghazi to Turkey for eventual transit to Syria occurred just days before jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda murdered four American officials in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. One of the officials killed was J. Christopher Stevens, the American ambassador to Benghazi who reported directly to Clinton — both in that capacity and in his earlier capacity as Obama-administration liaison to Islamist groups the Obama administration was supporting in Libya’s civil war. Siding with Islamists against the regime of Moammar Qaddafi, which was previously touted by the State Department as a key counterterrorism ally, was a policy spearheaded by Secretary Clinton.

The September 2012 weapons shipment was coordinated by Abdelhakim Belhadj, an al-Qaeda–affiliated jihadist with whom Stevens had consulted during the uprising against Qaddafi. Belhadj, one of the Islamists empowered by the Obama-Clinton Libya policy, took control of the Libyan Military Council after Qaddafi was overthrown. The 400 tons of weapons he dispatched from Benghazi arrived in Turkey the week before Stevens was killed. The ambassador’s last meeting in Benghazi, just before the September 11 siege, was with Turkey’s consul general.” https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/10/wikileaks-hillary-clinton-isis-memo-plan-arm-syrian-rebels/

“And on September 11, 2012, the day of the attack, Stevens met with Turkish Consul General Ali Sait Akin. A source told Fox News that the meeting in Benghazi was ‘to negotiate a weapons transfer in an effort to get SA-7 missiles out of the hands of Libya-based extremists’. In any case, Syrian rebels subsequently began shooting down Syrian helicopters and fighter jets with SA-7s akin to those in Gaddafi’s looted stock, according to Reuters.” https://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-benghazi-testimony-cia-2015-10

But there’s one really odd thing about this story. Why would an Al Qaeda-linked group in Benghazi attack an operation that was supplying arms to anti-Assad jihadists in Syria? Maybe they didn’t realize what was going on? Or maybe they were tipped off by Syrian intelligence to a secret U.S. operation going on in their city, but were not told what was actually going on? Or maybe they were upset that rival groups in Syria were getting weapons but they weren’t?

Operation Fast and Furious was actually part of a deal with the Sinaloa drug cartel, to help them kill off other drug gangs

“A high-ranking member of the Sinaloa drug cartel currently in US custody alleges that Operation Fast and Furious was part of an agreement to finance and arm the Sinaloa cartel in exchange for information used to take down rival cartels, according to court documents…. The motion for discovery claims that the agreement between the US government and the Sinoloa cartel began sometime before 2004 and lasted at least until March 2009 as part of America’s ‘Divide and Conquer’ strategy against other cartels, in which the US would use ‘one drug organization to help against others’.” https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-08-10/high-ranking-cartel-member-speaks-operation-fast-and-furious

“‘The Sinaloa Cartel was allegedly permitted to traffic massive amounts of drugs across the U.S. border from 2004 to 2009 — during both Fast and Furious and Bush-era gunrunning operations — as long as the intel kept coming.’ If true–and the well researched El Universal report certainly gives credence to The Blaze’s earlier reporting—it may be that Operation Fast and Furious was not about a strategy to release guns into Mexico so they could be tracked to drug traffickers, but rather (was) all about using the weapons—as part of the deal with the Sinaloa cartel—to kill soldiers of (rival) drug traffickers we wanted off the streets and out of business.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2014/01/14/was-operation-fast-and-furious-really-part-of-a-secret-deal-between-the-dea-and-mexicos-sinaloa-drug-cartel/

Here is CNN’s fact sheet on Fast and Furious, updated in 2020. No mention of any deal with the Sinaloa Cartel. https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/27/world/americas/operation-fast-and-furious-fast-facts/index.html

October 27, 2020

U.S. Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment to Supreme Court, with only one senator breaking party ranks. “Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was the only Republican to vote against Barrett after expressing objections to moving a Supreme Court nomination before an election after Republicans blocked Obama nominee Merrick Garland ahead of the 2016 election.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-amy-coney-barrett-vote Senate Judiciary Committee approved Barrett’s nomination by waiving longstanding quorum rule. “Nine Members of the Committee, including at least two Members of the minority, shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business.” https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/rules

Jared Kushner blames black people for not wanting to succeed badly enough, accuses BLM protesters of ‘virtue signaling’. “They go on Instagram and cry, or they would, you know, put a slogan on their jersey or write something on a basketball court,” Kushner said, dismissing the expressions of outrage and solidarity that many made after video surfaced of Floyd being pinned with a police officer’s knee on his neck. “Quite frankly, that was doing more to polarize the country than it was to bring people forward.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/26/jared-kushner-criticized-saying-black-people-need-want-successful/6043088002/ And the Trump administration’s proposal for moving forward was… bringing in federal agents and the military to disperse protesters? What did you do to resolve the issues of excessive force and militarized policing, which is what the protesters are protesting against? Nothing. Regarding ‘wanting to succeed’, Rep. Don Beyer reportedly tweeted, “Born on third base, thinks he hit a triple.”

Pro- and anti-Trump activists clash at locations around New York City. “Twelve people were arrested in connection with the clashes across three precincts, according to the law enforcement official. The range of charges included assault, disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment and obstructing traffic.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/26/us/trump-caravan-counterprotesters-clashes-trnd/index.html

Superintendent of Virginia Military Institute resigns in response to racism allegations. “The call for an investigation came after reports surfaced that Black cadets continue to experience racism more than 50 years after the institute became the last four-year public college in the state to accept Black students.” https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927877491/virginia-military-institute-superintendent-steps-down-amid-allegations-of-racism

More Americans spreading election disinformation than foreign governments. “Americans are now playing the leading role, posting the bulk of false or misleading comments, memes, photographs and videos that are spread with the ease and speed of online distribution.” https://news.yahoo.com/2020-homegrown-us-disinformation-surpasses-025816169.html

Security guard who fatally shot right-wing Denver protester after being slapped and pepper sprayed is being held in solitary confinement, hasn’t had a shower in the two weeks since his arrest, claims his lawyer. “In a video conference hearing Friday, Dolloff’s attorney, Valerie Cole, argued his bail should be reduced from the current $500,000 for multiple reasons. She said that Dolloff is not a flight risk, (and) has strong ties to the community where he lives about an hour from Denver…” https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/matthew-dolloff-court-bail/73-1a3849c4-6c12-430c-90b6-32498aa3a339 Dolloff’s public defender argues that normally in such cases, defendants are released without bail. “… it’s clear he was and did act in defense of himself and in defense of another.” But prosecution argues against dropping his $500,000 bail. “Mr. Dolloff brought a gun to downtown Denver and killed somebody.” https://kdvr.com/news/local/unlicensed-security-guard-in-court-for-hearing-public-defender-says-his-family-is-receiving-threats/ Still no word on who owned the second gun recovered by police at the crime scene.

California wildfires explode due to high winds and dry weather. “The Weather Service recorded gusts up to 84 mph in Freemont Canyon, about 6 miles away from the blaze. All air support has been grounded due to high winds.” https://ktla.com/news/local-news/wind-driven-brush-fire-sparks-in-santiago-canyon-area-residents-between-tustin-and-foothill-ranch-urged-to-be-vigilant/

Saudi-hosted business summit to focus on ‘creating a more equitable future for women in the business world’, while at least 12 women’s rights activist remain in Saudi prisons. “Saudi authorities arrested at least a dozen female activists in 2018, and rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say some have faced abuses while imprisoned, including electric shocks, flogging and sexual assault.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-g20-event-slammed-over-kingdom-s-treatment-women-n1244624

Excess deaths in Mexico, most likely due to coronavirus, exceed 193,000. “… there were 193,170 ‘excess’ deaths in the year up to Sept. 26, with 139,153 of those judged to be attributable to COVID-19…. The (Health Department) did not explain the other 54,000 ‘excess’ deaths…” https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-pandemics-health-mexico-5324b5f7aa4cc551d05e9c6cf2ed4170

Aboriginal tribes protest destruction of sacred trees for Australian road project. “Authorities said the tree removed on Monday was a fiddleback thought to be about 100 years old, but protesters said it was in fact a yellow box species. They estimated it was 350 years old.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54700074

Fox News tests postal service, finds 2.2% failure rate, two to five days for delivery. “Fox kept track of exactly 500 envelopes that were sent by producers in the New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Dallas metro areas. Out of that 500, 11 failed to reach their destinations. Two were returned to sender, and the other nine yet to arrive.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/usps-put-to-the-test-by-fox-news-ahead-of-2020-election

Rioting in Philadelphia after fatal police shooting. “The looting, vandalism and violence were initially concentrated in West Philadelphia’s commercial corridors, (but unrest was later reported) in other parts of the city, including Center City and Germantown.” https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/crowds-protest-and-riot-in-west-philly-after-deadly-police-shooting/2574729/

U.S. and Russia both carry out airstrikes against insurgents in Idlib, Syria. “The strike was conducted on Oct. 22 as the alleged (al-Qaeda) terrorists were meeting near the city of Idlib, spokeswoman, Maj. Beth Riordan, of Central Command, told the Associated Press.” https://nypost.com/2020/10/27/us-airstrike-in-syria-wipes-out-7-al-qaeda-leaders/ “Russian air strikes in northern Syria have killed more than 50 Turkish-backed militia fighters in the mainly rebel-held province of Idlib, reports say.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54693472

Uber drivers claim racial bias in ‘firings’ based on customer reviews. “(Thomas Liu) noticed riders [canceling] ride requests after he had already accepted the ride and the rider was able to view his picture. He also experienced riders asking where he was from in an unfriendly way.” https://www.npr.org/2020/10/26/927851281/uber-fires-drivers-based-on-racially-biased-star-rating-system-lawsuit-claims Liu says he was let go after his averaged customer ratings fell below 4.6 out of 5.

Many on Wall Street would be happy with a Biden win. “The market very much believes that Biden is going to win and the Senate is going to tip to Democrats,” said the CEO of one of the largest banks on Wall Street, speaking on the condition that he not be identified. “And the assumption is that we are going to have a very significant increase in stimulus very quickly and that’s very positive for markets.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/27/wall-street-biden-blue-wave-432710

Russian jamming device reportedly bringing down drones around Russian base in Armenia. “The Russian press claims that at least nine Bayraktar drones were shot down on or about October 19…. photos show smashed up (Turkish) Bayraktar drones, but no sign they were hit by ground fire. According to the press reports, the Krakushka jamming system caused the crashes.” https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/russia-knocking-turkish-drones-from-armenian-skies/

U.S. and Russia engaged in European missile negotiations. “The US claims Russia’s 9M729 missiles are a violation of the INF, one of the reasons Washington cited to withdraw from the treaty, but Moscow insists the 9M729’s are a lower range than banned under the INF…. Russia has argued that a US missile system deployed in Europe, known as the Mk 41 Aegis Ashore, violates the INF. Moscow says the MK 41 can launch Tomahawk missiles, but the US maintains the MK 41 is meant for defense purposes.” https://news.antiwar.com/2020/10/26/putin-offers-nato-inspections-to-prevent-deployment-of-inf-banned-missiles/

Senate adjourns after Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court confirmation, will reconvene on November 9th. “… Barrett’s rapid confirmation process ‘demonstrates that the Republican Senate can move incredibly fast when they think something is important. They just didn’t think Covid relief was important.'” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/27/should-be-ashamed-after-installing-barrett-mcconnell-adjourns-senate-recess-no-covid

Supreme Court rules that Wisconsin mail-in ballots must be RECEIVED by November 3rd. “Democrats in the state had asked the court to allow the counting of ballots that arrive up to six days after Election Day if they were postmarked by November 3.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/26/politics/wisconsin-mail-in-voting-deadline-supreme-court/index.html

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh echoes Donald Trump’s mail-in ballot conspiracy theory of election turmoil caused by mail-in ballots if no clear winner is declared on election night. “For important reasons, most states, including Wisconsin, require absentee ballots to be received by Election Day, not just mailed by Election Day,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Those states want to avoid the chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thousands of absentee ballots flow in after Election Day and potentially flip the results of an election. And those states also want to be able to definitively announce the results of the election on Election Night, or as soon as possible thereafter.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/27/hes-down-steal-thing-kavanaugh-parrots-trump-mail-ballot-lies-supreme-court-bars If this were really a thing, they’d start counting those ballots as soon as they come in, but most states aren’t doing that. They’re waiting until Election Day.

Facebook threatens researchers, demands they delete their data on the website’s political ad targeting practices. “Frankly it’s shocking that Facebook is trying to suppress research into political disinformation in the lead-up to the election. There’s really no question more urgent right now than the question of how Facebook’s decisions are shaping and perhaps distorting political discourse. It would be terrible for democracy if Facebook is allowed to be the gatekeeper to journalism and research about Facebook.” https://thehill.com/policy/technology/522551-facebook-fights-nyu-political-ad-research-project-argues-it-violates-the

For-profit health care accused of putting prisoners’ lives as risk. “The national average for jails where local public health or law enforcement departments managed healthcare during that period was 12.8 deaths per 100,000 inmates. Detention centers with privatized healthcare experienced between 2.3 to 7.4 additional annual deaths (per 100,000) depending on the company providing care, an increase of between 18% and 58%.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/26/im-gonna-die-here-investigation-shows-how-jails-privatized-healthcare-places-profit

October 26, 2020

Wisconsin public school teacher causes uproar after teaching lesson on Black Lives Matter movement, some of town’s residents want her fired. “Somehow people have associated those words with a political party. I don’t know why. I think it’s a human rights issue.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-one-teacher-s-black-lives-matter-lesson-divided-small-n1244566

White House chief of staff signals that Trump administration is giving up on containing the spread of the coronavirus. “We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/25/politics/mark-meadows-controlling-coronavirus-pandemic-cnntv/index.html

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez not worried about Joe Biden’s support for fracking hurting him with young, progressive voters. “I believe that young people right now have a very disciplined, activist mindset, and they are not here with the intent of voting for their favorite person or voting for, you know, someone that they think is perfect as president…. they want to vote for who they are going to lobby.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/25/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-biden-fracking-cnntv/index.html

Border Patrol agent fatally shoots apparently unarmed Mexican man accused of entering the U.S. illegally. “… the 30-year-old man was shot once in the torso by the agent after he fought the agent, who sustained minor injuries.” https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/south-bay-news/border-patrol-says-mexican-national-shot-to-death-was-trying-to-enter-u-s-illegally

New constitution approved by Chilean voters, replacing the one adopted during the Pinochet dictatorship. “Jubilant pro-reform supporters took to the streets of the capital Santiago and other cities to celebrate on Sunday night after exit polls showed that 78.24% of people had voted to approve a rewrite, while 21.76% rejected the change.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/26/chile-vote-scrap-pinochet-constitution

Man in France charged with terrorism offense for ‘liking’ photo of murdered teacher’s body. “Several knives and other weapons were found at his home, (said) prosecutor Frederic Chevallier.” https://news.yahoo.com/man-charged-liking-photo-murdered-171609984.html

Belarus opposition leaders call general strike. “President Alexander Lukashenko ignored the opposition’s midnight deadline for him to step down. The interior ministry says police arrested 523 people during mass anti-government demonstrations on Sunday, 352 of whom are still in custody.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54684753

Colombian security forces kill leftist insurgent leader. “‘The terrorist Andres Felipe Vanegas Londono, who used the alias Uriel, has been downed,’ (President Ivan) Duque said…. The ELN, founded in 1964 by radical priests, are considered more radical and less centrally controlled than the FARC rebels, who signed a peace deal in 2016 and are now a legal political party.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/26/colombian-rebel-leader-uriel-killed-by-security-forces-president-says

Swedish researchers say Republican Party is transforming into an authoritarian party. “In a significant shift since 2000, the GOP has taken to demonising and encouraging violence against its opponents, adopting attitudes and tactics comparable to ruling nationalist parties in Hungary, India, Poland and Turkey.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/26/republican-party-autocratic-hungary-turkey-study-trump

October 25, 2020

South Korean labor union says 14 delivery workers have died due to overwork during pandemic. “The dead also included one worker who committed suicide after leaving a note about the harsh conditions he had toiled in, the official said…. most contracts signed by the workers are with independent agents who act as middlemen, rather than with the company itself, leaving them outside the protection of labour law.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-jobs-idUSKBN2771RR

Seattle police oversight board finds some officers used excessive force against protesters, releases results from five of 126 investigations. “The Seattle Community Police Commission said in a statement Friday that (Office of Police Accountability’s) findings ‘demonstrate what our community has known for a long time – the Seattle Police Department (SPD) used excessive force against protesters’.” https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/522587-police-accountability-board-concludes-that-seattle-police-officers-used

South Korea to allow conscientious objectors to perform alternative service. “For three years starting on Monday, Mr. Lee and 63 others will work, eat and sleep in prisons, though they will live apart from the inmates and will be allowed several weeks of leave. And unlike (previous) Jehovah’s Witnesses who served prison terms for their beliefs, they will have no criminal record to trail them for the rest of their lives.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/world/asia/south-korea-draft-conscientious-objectors.html

50th country approves nuclear weapons ban treaty. “Late on Saturday night in New York, the 50th country – the central American nation of Honduras – ratified the treaty. It will become international law in 90 days.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/25/now-that-nuclear-weapons-are-the-pacific-demands-truth-on-decades-of-testing The treaty ‘bans the use, threat of use and the testing of nuclear weapons’.

Pro-democracy activists reportedly leaving Hong Kong. “A group of Hong Kong activists who have been granted asylum in the United States, Canada and Germany in recent weeks are the latest catalyst for deteriorating relations between China and the West.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/world/asia/hong-kong-asylum-seekers.html

President Trump accused of breaking ‘drain the swamp’ pledges. “He had promised he would push Congress to pass a five-year lobbying ban (on former executive branch appointees) into law so it could not be lifted by a future president. But he never proposed such legislation. Nor did he ask Congress to impose a similar five-year lobbying ban on its (own) members, as he had promised he would in 2016. In addition, he never tried to seek to ‘close all the loopholes’ used by former government officials who get around registering as lobbyists by calling themselves ‘consultants’ and ‘advisers’. And he never acted on his pledge to stop foreign lobbyists from campaign fundraising — and in fact, has benefited from their financial support.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-drain-the-swamp/2020/10/24/52c7682c-0a5a-11eb-9be6-cf25fb429f1a_story.html

October 24, 2020

President Trump no longer attending coronavirus task force meetings. “Led by Vice President Mike Pence, the coronavirus task force used to meet daily during the first months of the pandemic, but that has now been scaled back to meeting once a week, Fauci said, due to the White House focusing on an ‘economic reopening’.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/23/fauci-trump-hasnt-attended-covid-task-force-meeting-months/6009403002/

Boogaloo member reportedly claimed responsibility for Minneapolis police station fire during George Floyd protests. “… federal agents obtained a video from the evening of May 28 showing an individual walking up to the door of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis and firing 13 rounds from ‘what appears to be an AK-47 style semiautomatic rifle’…. (Ivan) Hunter reportedly sent a message to another individual stating, ‘I set fire to that precinct with the black community’, followed by ‘Minneapolis third precinct’, according to the legal (complaint).” https://thehill.com/homenews/news/522509-feds-say-far-right-group-coordinated-attack-on-minneapolis-police-precinct

Fact checkers catch Donald Trump and Joe Biden lying in final debate. “Trump misrepresented the reality of the pandemic in myriad and familiar ways, insisting against obvious reality that the pandemic is drawing to a close…. (Biden is) wrong about Obamacare…. When Obamacare took effect in 2014, several million people lost individual health insurance plans that no longer met minimum standards established by the law.” https://apnews.com/article/ap-fact-check-final-debate-trump-biden-4d304cf7ce7dee9c228f48bd9b76e8f7

Anti-Trump Republicans release compilation video of the president touting his ‘amazing’ and ‘cheaper and better than Obamacare’ health care plan for the last 3 1/2 years. “The (Lincoln Project) video consists of more than 15 instances, taken from public comments Trump made between January 2017 to October 2020, in which Trump promised his administration would unveil its national health care plan. So far, no such plan has been introduced.” https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-takes-aim-trumps-alleged-failure-provide-health-care-plan-1541833

Two of the seven whistle-blowers who accused Texas attorney general of influence peddling, abuse of office and bribery have been fired. “(Attorney General Ken) Paxton’s most senior aide, Jeff Mateer, resigned from his role after saying he was among those who talked to law enforcement. Paxton has also reportedly placed two other aides on leave.” https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/522460-second-whistleblower-who-accused-texas-ag-of-bribery-fired-from-position

Donald Trump, Jr. tweets about how he worked his way up the career ladder, in contrast to Hunter Biden. “My father gave me an opportunity to work my way up in his company.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-jr-work-nepotism-hunter-biden-trump-organization-b1231970.html

Contracts awarded by Trump administration’s coronavirus effort Operation Warp Speed routed through non-government third-party, blocking public access to details of contracts. “… Advanced Technologies International is not subject to public records laws, which will make it difficult or impossible for the public to review the (Regeneron) contract or its terms. (It) has awarded more than $6 billion in contracts to companies through the administration’s vaccine mobilization program Operation Warp Speed, including Novavax, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson…” https://theintercept.com/2020/10/23/trump-covid-19-pharma-regeneron-coronavirus-treatment/ That’s your money, taxpayers.

Junior officers at Ft. Hood Army base say oversight is lacking. “… the NCOs… described an entrenched culture among the chain of command that is openly hostile toward enlisted soldiers and either punishes or ignores those who report harassment or other grievances to their superiors…. they suspect the high number of suicides is due to bullying and harassment, as well as neglect from commanding officers when a soldier is in crisis.” https://theintercept.com/2020/10/23/fort-hood-army-deaths/

Federal appeals court rules that Detroit’s ban on political bus ads is unconstitutional. “The word [‘political’] has a range of meanings,” (Judge Eric) Murphy said. “It can have an ‘expansive’ reach, covering ‘anything of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state’…. Under this definition, even get-out-the-vote drives or public-service announcements encouraging individuals to report drunk drivers would qualify. Yet SMART allows such public-issue ads.” https://www.courthousenews.com/sixth-circuit-strikes-down-ban-on-political-speech-in-bus-ads/ What they want to ban are controversial political ads.

October 23, 2020

Former U.S. Marine claims Australian SAS team executed prisoner accused of producing drugs for the Taliban because only six prisoners would fit in the helicopter and he was number seven. “… the pilot said, ‘That’s too many people, we can’t carry that many passengers.’ And you just heard this silence and then we heard a pop. And then they said, ‘OK, we have six prisoners’.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-21/soldiers-killed-man-who-could-not-fit-on-aircraft-says-us-marine/12782756 The number of visitors to the Progressive News Service website has dropped to 0 for four days in a row since our reporting on the blackout of the SAS war crimes story in the U.S. media.

Armed men show up outside St. Petersburg, Florida polling site, claiming to represent the Trump campaign. “… the (Pinellas County Sheriff) said the men’s presence there did not violate the law because they did not bring firearms into the building.” https://www.businessinsider.com/armed-men-florida-polling-place-trump-campaign-denied-connected-2020-10

Teen killed, woman wounded during ‘suspicious vehicle’ traffic stop in Waukegan, Illinois. “‘… (the) officer exited his vehicle, and the vehicle that he was investigating began to reverse towards the officer. The officer then pulled out his duty weapon and fired into the vehicle.’ …. No firearms were found in the vehicle, (Waukegan Police Commander Edgar) Navarro said. He did not elaborate on why the vehicle was initially stopped.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/10/22/waukegan-shooting-marcellis-stinnette-shot-police/3730132001/

California Uber drivers sue over pressure from the company to vote ‘Yes’ on ballot issue. “Uber has been asking drivers in its app to support Proposition 22, which would supersede a state law that requires gig companies to make its drivers employees…. The lawsuit also alleges Uber could monitor the survey answers and use them to favor drivers who supported Prop 22.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/22/uber-prop22-suit/

Ft. Bragg’s Twitter account not hacked, as previously claimed. “An administrator for the Fort Bragg account came forward and took responsibility (for the X-rated tweets) amid an investigation into the incident on Thursday, according to the XVIII Airborne.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lewd-tweets-fort-bragg-account-were-administrator-not-hack-army-n1244338

Trump administration accused of trying to remove high-ranking policy positions from federal civil service. “President Trump’s new executive order would overturn a 150-year-old precedent that created an expert non-partisan civil service and return us to the ‘spoils system’ of political governance.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/22/trump-order-strips-worker-protections-431359

Poland’s highest court bans abortions of fetuses with severe birth defects. “A legal challenge against the 1993 law permitting abortion in cases of severe foetal disabilities – which accounts for 98% of terminations carried out in Poland – was launched by MPs from the ruling nationalist Law and Justice party last year.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54642108

U.S. joins 30 other countries in signing anti-abortion declaration. “The Trump administration signed an anti-abortion declaration on Thursday with 30 other countries, including conservative and authoritarian governments in Egypt, Uganda, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Hungary and more.” https://www.axios.com/abortion-rights-declaration-united-nations-8d34aefb-f65e-417b-a6ec-7b22c1801f08.html

Video shows Nigerian police officer shooting protester in the back then dragging his limp body down the street. “The video, verified by Reuters, shows a handful of heavily armed officers surrounding a couple of protesters in Nigeria’s largest city Lagos on Wednesday, kicking at least one of them as he lay on the ground.” https://nypost.com/2020/10/22/nigerian-cop-drags-away-protester-after-shooting-him-video/

Nigerian protest death toll rises. “At least 56 people have died across Nigeria since the #EndSARS protests began on October 8, with 38 killed across the country on Tuesday alone, according to human rights group Amnesty International.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/22/africa/nigeria-protests-56-dead-jail-fire-intl/index.html

Facebook accused of banning Vietnamese dissidents at the request of their government. “Instead of using its leverage as Vietnam’s biggest media platform to hold the line against censorship, Facebook has, in effect, become an accomplice in the government’s intensifying repression of pro-democracy voices, critics say.” https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-22/facebook-censorship-suppress-dissent-vietnam

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman waives rules, approves Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court nomination without a quorum of members. “Under the committee rules you need two members of the minority to conduct business,” (Chairman Lindsey) Graham said. “But they’re intentionally denying us that participation. They’re boycotting the committee. So what I will do as chairman there will be a majority of the committee present. We will waive that rule. We will report Judge Barrett out. She will go to the floor. And hopefully, by Monday or Tuesday, she will be on the court.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/barrett-hearing-democrats-republicans-nomination-judiciary-committee Don’t complain when Joe Biden increases the number of Supreme Court justices – he’ll just be ‘waiving the rules’.

California appeals court rules that Uber and Lyft driver are employees, not independent contractors. “The state has argued that by classifying their drivers as contractors, Uber and Lyft deprive those workers of benefits they are entitled to under a law that took effect January 1…. companies can only treat their workers as independent contractors if those people are free from company control and perform work outside the company’s core business.” https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/23/tech/uber-lyft-california-appeal/index.html

Afghan government airstrike hits mosque, kills religious leader and 11 children, 14 wounded. “The assault in a village in the northeastern province of Takhar on Wednesday came amid clashes between suspected Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces in the area, according to provincial police spokesman Khalil Aseer.” https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/10/22/children-killed-afghan-air-strike/

Former business partner of Hunter Biden claims Joe Biden and his brother Jim were both involved in China deal. “(Tony) Bobulinski also released hundreds of text messages and emails from his time as CEO of the company being formed between the Biden family and China’s largest private energy company, named SinoHawk Holdings.” https://nypost.com/2020/10/22/hunter-ex-partner-tony-bobulinski-calls-joe-biden-a-liar/

Journalist points out huge double standard between Steele dossier coverage and Huntergate. “The only thing that should matter, when it comes to stories like this, is whether or not the material is true and in the public interest. This disturbing new confederation of media outlets and tech firms is rewriting that standard.” https://taibbi.substack.com/p/facebook-and-twitters-intervention-650

Multiple Patriot missile launchers set up at small Texas airport, Army claims it’s a drill. “Air defense batteries are often deployed to airfields overseas. Still, we really can’t remember when such a high-profile deployment has occurred at a small civilian airport in the past.” https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37196/a-patriot-missile-battery-has-suddenly-appeared-at-a-small-regional-airport-in-texas

Human Rights Watch accuses Egypt of carrying out ‘mass executions’. “Of the 49 killed, 15 were convicted of alleged involvement in political violence following the military overthrow in July 2013 of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/22/rights-group-condemns-egypt-killing-of-49-people

Al Jazeera journalist marks 1,400th day in Egyptian custody. “While in solitary confinement, (Mahmoud) Hussein suffered a broken arm and has been refused proper medical treatment.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/22/al-jazeeras-mahmoud-hussein-held-in-egypt-prison-for-1400-days

Documentary investigates American visions of socialism. “The Big Scary ‘S’ Word explains why and how socialism became such a taboo term in the lexicon of U.S. public discourse, through its glimpses of such notorious redbaiters as Joe McCarthy, Ronald Reagan, Mike Pence, and Donald Trump. More importantly, without getting bogged down in doctrinaire nitpicking and infighting, (Yael) Bridge’s film explains the basics of this widely misunderstood philosophy, as well as socialism’s history, primarily in the United States.” https://progressive.org/dispatches/viewers-of-the-world-unite-rampell-201017/

Researchers claim most U.S. coronavirus deaths were preventable. “We estimate that at least 130,000 deaths and perhaps as many as 210,000 could have been avoided with earlier policy interventions and more robust federal coordination and leadership.” https://www.democracynow.org/2020/10/22/headlines/columbia_researchers_say_trumps_failures_led_to_at_least_130_000_coronavirus_deaths And public service announcements telling people what to do and what not to do!

Right-wing extremists responsible for 67% of political attacks and plots in U.S. claims policy group. “Violent right-wing actors were responsible for 41 politically motivated attacks and plots this year (4 of which involved fatalities), while far-left actors were responsible for 12 (1 of which involved a fatality), according to analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), who have assembled a database of domestic terror attacks going back to 1994.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/22/white-supremacists-rightwing-domestic-terror-2020 Far-left attacks included the burning and attempted burning of police and government buildings and police cars, and the shooting of a Patriot Prayer activist in Portland. They did not categorize the Kenosha shootings of three BLM protesters, two of whom died, as being politically motivated! And Boogaloo attacks were not categorized as ‘far right’ but as ‘other’.

Virginia’s supreme court rules that law enforcement collection and storage of license plate images from roadside and police vehicle mounted cameras does not constitute ‘record keeping’, so it’s legal. “Justice Stephen R. McCullough wrote in the 15-page opinion that the system would have to be considered a ‘record-keeping process’ in order to violate state law. He said that because the data being collected doesn’t include additional personal information like phone numbers, addresses and the like, the system doesn’t violate the law.” https://www.courthousenews.com/virginia-high-court-restores-license-plate-data-collection/ And what if the state were using these cameras to collect images of people’s faces in public places?

U.S. spending more than $80 billion a year to incarcerate 2.3 million people. “By the middle of October, close to 150,000 (detainees) and almost 30,000 staff and workers had tested positive. 1,122 detainees and 42 staff had died according to the Behind Bars Covid Data Project of UCLA.” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/22/us-spends-more-than-80-billion-a-year-incarcerating-2-3-million-people/

	January 21, 2023… on Six years after death of unnam…
	December 4, 2022… on Six years after death of unnam…
	May 9, 2022 –… on March 7, 2022
	April 9, 2022… on Six years after death of unnam…
	December 17, 2021… on Six years after death of unnam…