June 30, 2021

Heat wave in British Columbia, Canada sets yet another high temperature record, more than 100 excess deaths reported. “Lytton, B.C., has broken the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada for a third straight day, hitting a scorching 49.6 C (121 F) on Tuesday…. From Friday to Monday, there were 233 deaths reported deaths in the province, up from an average 130 deaths over a four-day period…. Between Friday and Monday morning, ambulances responded to 187 calls related to heat exhaustion and 52 related to heat stroke.”   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-bc-alberta-heat-wave-heat-dome-temperature-records-1.6084203

Heatwave in Pacific Northwest melts power cables, buckles roads. “In downtown Portland, the Portland Streetcar service shut down on Sunday, posting a picture on Twitter of a power cable with a hole burnt into it…. ‘State Route 544 (at) milepost 7 near Everson, Wa is currently closed. The asphalt roadway is buckling and unsafe for travel.'”    https://www.npr.org/2021/06/29/1011269025/photos-the-pacific-northwest-heatwave-is-melting-power-cables-and-buckling-roads   Oregon farm worker collapses and dies after working in 104 degree heat. “The employee who died was working on a crew moving irrigation lines, (Oregon OSHA spokesperson Aaron) Corvin said. Officials have not yet identified the person.”   https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2021/06/29/oregon-farmworker-dies-willamette-valley-record-heat/7800594002/

Supreme Court narrowly sides with tenants, throws out landlord lawsuit asking for end to pandemic eviction ban. “Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would have ended it.”   https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-courts-supreme-courts-health-coronavirus-pandemic-157f6feec3197dd34cba492fd1b92f71

Seven days after Sunrise, Florida condo collapse, 149 people still missing. “Authorities said it’s still a search-and-rescue operation, but no one has been found alive since hours after the collapse on Thursday.”   https://fox8.com/news/death-toll-now-at-12-in-florida-condo-collapse/

Fox News settles sexual harassment and workplace retaliation violations, will pay $1 million and conduct anti-harassment training. “The (New York City Commission on Human Rights) said that women who rejected advances were retaliated against with fewer appearances on the air and bad work assignments and had their text messages spied upon. Fox News ‘ensured that those who have complained have no future’ working at the network, it said in its findings.”   https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-news-fined-1-million_n_60dc2a7be4b0d3e35f9ac4ec

Mexico’s supreme court decriminalizes recreational marijuana after the country’s legislature fails to act. “The decisive 8-3 ruling comes after advocates pushed for decriminalization as a means to reduce drug-fueled cartel violence in the country.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/29/americas/mexico-cannabis-decriminalization-intl/index.html

Tigray insurgents pushing out Ethiopian troops and allied forces. “The Tigrayan forces said on Tuesday the regional capital, Mekelle, was ‘100 percent’ back under their control following the retreat of the Ethiopian government forces the day before, adding that they were conducting ‘mop-up’ operations.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/29/tigray-rebels-vow-to-drive-out-enemies-despite-ceasefire

10,000 foreign IS fighters still being held in Syrian prison camps. “Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday pressed U.S. allies to (take) back citizens arrested overseas for joining the Islamic State group, warning they could not be held indefinitely in Syria…. According to a Human Rights Watch, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are holding over 63,000 women and children of suspected IS fighters from over 60 nations in two camps surrounded by barbed wire.”   https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-presses-allies-to-bring-back-citizens-who-joined-is/article35023938.ece

Germany withdraws the last of its troops from Afghanistan. “Germany’s last troops left Afghanistan on Tuesday after a near 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said…. Germany’s contingent, which focused on northern Afghanistan, was the second biggest in the current Resolute Support mission after the United States’. Its last bases were in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul…. Fifty-nine German troops died in Afghan missions over the years.”   https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/29/last-german-troops-leave-afghanistan-after-nearly-20-years-deployed

Government Accountability Office says six federal agencies targeted George Floyd protesters with facial recognition technology. “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported using the technology. The use of facial recognition came under scrutiny last year over concerns about how state and local law enforcement was using the technology to identify protesters.”   https://thehill.com/policy/technology/560805-watchdog-6-federal-agencies-used-facial-recognition-software-to-id-george

Hubbard County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Office blocks residents’ access to road to thwart pipeline protests. “The first 150 feet of the driveway leading to the Namewag camp are owned by the county. The notice states that the sheriff’s office is blocking the county trail ‘due to no easement for the current landowner’. It adds, ‘Vehicles driving on this county owned trail are in violation of the Hubbard County Land Ordinance and enforcement action will be taken.’ ….. ‘The state of Minnesota has already demonstrated a clear lack of understanding when it comes to the rights of Indigenous peoples,’ (Tara) Houska said, ‘and it appears there’s a loose grasp on the basics of U.S. property law as well.’”   https://theintercept.com/2021/06/28/minnesota-sheriff-pipeline-camp-barricade/

Environmental and climate change groups call on the Biden administration to end fossil fuel subsidies. “… climate impacts are mounting but more than $15 billion in annual wasteful and destructive federal giveaways to the fossil fuel industry remain on the books…. it is past time to remove the burden of dirty energy support from the public and instead turn the efforts of the government to supporting clean energy and the jobs it generates.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/29/500-groups-rally-capitol-hill-demanding-end-outrageous-fossil-fuel-subsidies

Climate activists arrested during White House protest calling for massive investment in green energy. “Dozens of youth activists with the Sunrise Movement were arrested by Secret Service agents on Monday while blockading all 10 entrances of the White House to demand that President Joe Biden and federal lawmakers deliver an infrastructure package that invests in job creation and combats the climate emergency.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/sunrise-activists-arrested-over-no-climate-no-deal-blockade-white-house

Automated vehicle manufacturers required to report accidents to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “The order comes after NHTSA has dispatched special investigation teams to 31 crashes involving partially automated driver assist systems since June of 2016…. Of those crashes, 25 involved Tesla’s Autopilot system in which 10 deaths were reported, according to data released by the agency.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/us-agency-orders-automated-vehicle-makers-to-report-crashes/

 

 

 

June 29, 2021

Surfside, Florida condo resident reportedly saw ‘sinkhole’ before the building collapsed. “A woman missing in the deadly Florida condo building collapse called her husband as the tragedy unfolded — and said she saw a sinkhole where the pool used to be before the line went dead, according to a new report.”   https://www.foxnews.com/us/miami-condo-collapse-woman-told-husband-pool-cave-in

U.S. military base in eastern Syria hit by rockets day after airstrikes on Iran-aligned militias. “A US defense official with direct knowledge of the rocket fire said it is ‘likely’ they were launched by Iranian-backed militias operating in the immediate area, near Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, but the origin of the rockets has not been confirmed and the official could not immediately say how many projectiles were fired.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/28/politics/us-base-syria-iran-militia-rocket/index.html

Supreme Court refuses to hear marijuana case, Justice Thomas issues a dissent. “Thomas wrote that tolerance for state-level pot legalization created a ‘half-in, half-out regime’ and a ‘contradictory and unstable state of affairs’ that ‘strains basic principles of federalism and conceals traps for the unwary’…. ‘Many marijuana-related businesses (which are legal at the state level) operate entirely in cash because federal law prohibits certain financial institutions from knowingly accepting deposits from or providing other bank services to businesses that violate federal law. Cash-based operations are understandably enticing to burglars and robbers,’ Thomas wrote. ‘But, if marijuana-related businesses, in recognition of this, hire armed guards for protection, the owners and the guards might run afoul of a federal law that imposes harsh penalties for using a firearm in furtherance of a ‘drug trafficking crime.’ A marijuana user similarly can find himself a federal felon if he just possesses a firearm. Or petitioners and similar businesses may find themselves on the wrong side of a civil suit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.’”   https://nypost.com/2021/06/28/clarence-thomas-keeping-marijuana-illegal-federally-may-no-longer-be-necessary-or-proper/

Off-duty Pawtucket, Rhode Island police officer follows teen motorist into pizza restaurant parking lot, shoots him. “The (state Attorney General’s) press release stated that (Officer Daniel) Dolan was off duty and traveling home on Route 95 Wednesday evening when he ‘encountered a black Audi sedan occupied by a driver and two passengers’ and ‘attempted to detain the driver of the Audi’. ‘In the ensuing moments, the details of which remain under investigation, Officer Dolan discharged his firearm, striking the driver of the Audi in the arm,’ the release stated. The teen, who has not been identified, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”   https://lawandcrime.com/police/off-duty-rhode-island-cop-under-investigation-for-shooting-teen-driver-leaving-pizzeria-parking-lot/

Portland, Oregon breaks Sunday’s record high temperature on Monday, setting new 115 degree record. “Monday’s record-setting temperatures broke Sunday’s record-setting high of 112 degrees. Sunday’s high had broken the 108 degree-record set Saturday, which broke the previous high of 107, first set in 1965.”   https://www.oregonlive.com/weather/2021/06/portland-records-all-time-high-temperature-of-113-setting-new-record-for-third-day-in-a-row.html

Supreme Court rules in favor of family of man who died in St. Louis police custody, rejecting police claims of ‘qualified immunity’. “Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the decision…. (Nicholas) Gilbert was arrested by police on several grounds including for failing to appear in court for a traffic violation…. Police said Gilbert continued to resist even after he was handcuffed and shackled and at one point six officers were in the cell trying to subdue him, according to lawyers for his family…. An autopsy concluded that Gilbert had methamphetamines in his system and suffered from heart disease. The autopsy’s cause of death listed ‘forcible restraint’ as a factor.”   https://www.aol.com/news/u-supreme-court-tosses-excessive-135404851-152202116.html

On the eve of its 100th anniversary, Chinese Communist Party battles ‘historical nihilism’, which is criticism of the Party based on historical fact. “The party has long sought to control history…. This year Beijing set up a hotline for citizens to report historical nihilism to authorities…. While it describes its first decades as a triumph of Marxist ideas, there is no mention of the theoretical contortions that allowed the party to jettison the collectivism of the Maoist era and launch market reforms that transformed its economy into the world’s second-largest, and also one of its most unequal…. ‘It’s not about the belief in communism anymore, it’s about delivering the goods,’ said (Prof. Glenn) Tiffert. ‘And in order to sustain that, they want to cover up all of the missteps.'”   https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-ruling-party-censors-its-past-centenary-nears-2021-06-28/

Arab Spring arrives in Palestine. “Several hundred people took to the streets of Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem for the fifth consecutive day on Monday to protest against the treatment of Nizar Banat, a social and political activist, who died during an arrest by the authority’s forces in Hebron on 24 June. Crowds waving Palestinian flags, pictures of Banat and calling for an end to Abbas’s 16-year rule, have been met with brutal force from both Palestinian security forces and men in plain clothes loyal to Abbas’s Fatah party. Clubs, metal rods, teargas and the sexual assault of female protesters have been used to break up the demonstrations and stop reporters from documenting the events, according to the Palestinian journalists’ union.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/28/palestinians-protest-for-fifth-day-in-west-bank-after-death-of-activist

Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal by contractors accused of torturing prisoners in Iraq. “The justices declined to hear CACI’s appeal of a lower court’s 2019 decision that favored the three Iraqi men, whose suit against the Virginia-based company was filed in 2008 under a 1789 US law called the Alien Tort Statute that can be used to pursue legal claims over alleged human rights abuses…. Some detainees said they endured physical and sexual abuse, infliction of electric shocks and mock executions…. The lawsuit accused CACI employees who conducted interrogation and other services at Abu Ghraib of directing or encouraging torture, in part to ‘soften up’ detainees for questioning, while managers were accused of covering it up.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/28/us-supreme-court-rejects-contractors-abu-ghraib-torture-appeal

Corporate Democrats fight to defend bloated defense budget. “Leaders of the House’s Blue Dog Coalition say they oppose calls to fund any less than the requested $753 billion national defense budget for fiscal 2022 — which included $715 billion for the Pentagon. The stance adds fuel to an already complicated budget debate, where Democrats are split and key Republicans are pushing for a boost.”   https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2021/06/28/moderate-democrats-rebuke-defense-budget-cuts/

Russian cops raid homes of anti-corruption journalists. “Police detained a senior editor of the Proekt investigative website and questioned two others, including the editor-in-chief, Roman Badanin, shortly before they released a damning report on the interior minister, Vladimir Kolokoltsev. In the report, they claimed his family had amassed a real estate fortune worth nearly £18m. Officially, the reason for the raids was a four-year-old defamation case for an article about a St Petersburg businessman. However, the crackdown on the website comes after several Proekt investigations into Putin and his close circle.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/russian-police-raid-proekt-journalists-probing-government-corruption

New York state legislators sue NYPD over attacks during Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. “Without warning, according to the complaint, officers began to slam their bicycles into protesters, hitting (Assemblywoman Diana) Richardson, (state senator Zellnor) Myrie and others several times in the abdomen, back and legs. Both black lawmakers were then pepper-sprayed directly in the face, and Myrie was allegedly dragged away by police, arrested and handcuffed with zip ties.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/black-lawmakers-beaten-with-police-bicycles-sue-nypd/

 

 

 

June 28, 2021

White supremacy possible motive in Winthrop, Massachusetts double homicide. “Investigators have found the gunman who killed two people Saturday in Winthrop, Massachusetts, had (used) ‘some troubling white supremacist rhetoric’ that targeted Black and Jewish people, and both his victims were Black, officials said Sunday…. The gunman ‘walked by several other people that were not Black and they are alive. They were not harmed.’ ….The man, …identified as 28-year-old Nathan Allen, was quickly killed by police officers.”   https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/winthrop-gunman-who-killed-2-had-made-troubling-white-supremacist-rhetoric/2415891/   “Witness Robert Harrington told NECN that the gunman ‘started jogging (away from the crash), then I heard the ‘boom, boom, boom, boom’.’ He said the gunman wasn’t wearing shoes and seemed disoriented…. ‘He had so many packages come, he always had packages coming,’ (a neighbor) told The Globe.”   https://heavy.com/news/nathan-allen/   He may have been on drugs. The building he crashed into was reportedly a real estate office.

Man who shot Arvada, Colorado police officer may have been a ‘cop watcher’. “Officers haven’t revealed what drove (Ronald) Troyke’s alleged hatred. Sources have said Troyke had been seen at earlier police scenes recording the actions of officers.”   https://gazette.com/news/warning-triggered-hunt-for-arvada-gunman-minutes-before-shooting/article_a46140d0-d693-11eb-a811-c3fe4e74fa39.html

Former maintenance manager of collapsed Florida condo says underground parking garage would flood with seawater during especially high tides. “’I was there from 1995 to about 2000,’ (William) Espinosa explained….’Any time that we had high tides away from the ordinary, any King Tide or anything like that, we would have a lot of saltwater come in through the bottom of the of the foundation,’ he claimed, adding they had to use two large pumps to try and remove the rising water.”   https://miami.cbslocal.com/2021/06/27/condo-collapse-former-maintenance-manager-william-espinosa-was-concerned-about-saltwater-intrusion/   Sinkhole?

Alaska’s anti-war U.S. senator Mike Gravel dead at 91. “In 1971, he led a one-man filibuster to protest the Vietnam-era draft and he read into the Congressional Record 4,100 pages of the 7,000-page leaked document known as the Pentagon Papers, the Defense Department’s history of the country’s early involvement in Vietnam…. He launched his quest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination as a critic of the Iraq war…. Gravel then ran as a Libertarian candidate after he was excluded from later Democratic debates.”   https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/27/mike-gravel-former-us-senator-alaska-dies-496563

U.S. warplanes strike Iranian militia bases in Iraq and Syria. “U.S. officials believe Iran is behind a ramp-up in increasingly sophisticated drone attacks and periodic rocket fire against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq, where the U.S. military has been helping Baghdad combat the remnants of Islamic State…. The Pentagon said the facilities targeted were used by Iran-backed militia including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.”   https://news.yahoo.com/u-carries-air-strikes-against-231301359.html

Sunday’s high temperatures break records again in Pacific northwest. “At Portland International Airport in Oregon, it reached 112 degrees on Sunday. It was the highest temperature ever recorded there since historical records began in 1940, the National Weather Service said…. at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport… on Sunday it reached 104, setting an all-time record high…. (The National Weather Service) forecast office in Spokane, Wash., predicted high temperatures of at least 112 degrees from Sunday through Wednesday.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/us/heat-wave-seattle-portland.html

Town in British Columbia broke Canada’s high temperature record on Sunday. “Canada has set its highest temperature on record after a village in British Columbia reached 46.1C (115F) on Sunday. The temperature in Lytton, in the south of Canada’s western-most province, surpassed the previous national high of 45C (113F), set in Saskatchewan in 1937.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/28/canada-hits-record-temperature-of-461c-amid-heatwave

Hong Kong Apple Daily writer arrested at airport while trying to leave China. “(Fung Wai-kong) is the second editorial writer at Apple Daily to be arrested, and the seventh person to be arrested at the paper in two weeks.”   https://news.yahoo.com/hong-kongs-apple-daily-editorial-181358474.html

Myanmar military regime reportedly targeting lawyers of opposition activists. “‘Arresting lawyers, and interrogating them about their activities and their clients, will ensure that no one wants to provide legal counsel to activists – which is probably the real intent of the junta’s actions here,’ (Phil) Robertson (of Human Rights Watch) said, warning that ‘no real justice’ will be found as long as the judicial system is ‘under the thumb of the military’.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/28/myanmar-lawyers

Burmese-American journalist says he was beaten after his arrest in Myanmar. “‘They did not allow me to sleep for about three or four days. Nonstop interrogation. There was no time to sleep,’ he said. He said the beatings diminished on the fourth day, after they discovered he was a U.S. citizen.”   https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-06-27/freed-us-editor-says-he-was-tortured-in-myanmar

Third day of protest against Palestinian leadership over death of detained critic. “On Saturday, hundreds took to the streets of Ramallah, the seat of the PA in the occupied West Bank, calling for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to quit….. Samir Abu Zarzour, the doctor who carried out his autopsy, said injuries on (Nizar) Banat’s body indicated he had been beaten on the head, chest, neck, legs and hands, with less than an hour elapsing between his arrest and his death.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/6/27/protesters-clash-with-palestinian-security-forces

June 27, 2021

President Trump reportedly wanted to invoke Insurrection Act to allow troops to suppress Black Lives Matter protesters. “Mr. Trump was talked out of the plan by (attorney general, William P. Barr, defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley). But a separate group of White House staff members wanted to leave open the option for Mr. Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to call in the military to patrol the streets of the capital,” the (New York Times) reported.”   https://www.salon.com/2021/06/26/trump-aides-prepared-insurrection-act-order-against-blm-protests-report_partner/

Portland, Oregon breaks its all time record high temperature, hitting 108 degrees on Saturday. “Seattle reached 101F (38.3C) by mid-afternoon Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record…. It is a dangerous forecast for a region accustomed to mild weather, and where many people don’t have air conditioning.”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/27/portland-records-hottest-ever-day-as-heatwave-scorches-pacific-north-west

Palestinian police accused of attacking protesters and journalists in wake of in-custody death of blogger. “The crowd marched through streets waving Palestinian flags and pictures of Banat and calling for an end to (President Mahmoud) Abbas’s 16-year rule…. Human rights groups say Abbas regularly arrests critics.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-authority-deploys-forces-during-protest-against-critics-death-2021-06-26/

Three Doctors Without Borders workers killed in Tigray. “According to news reports, MSF lost contact with a vehicle that had been carrying workers from the Spanish branch of the agency, on Thursday afternoon, and their bodies were discovered on Friday morning, close to the empty vehicle. The victims were identified as Spanish national, Maria Hernandez, and Ethiopian staff members Yohannes Halefom Reda, and Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael.”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094892

73 House Democrats ask Biden administration to declare West Bank Jewish settlements ‘illegal’. “A letter from 73 Democrats in the US House of Representatives, including a number in leadership positions, urges President Joe Biden to make a number of moves to reverse what they call the Trump administration’s “abandonment of longstanding, bipartisan United States policy” on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Among other things, the letter sent Wednesday calls for Biden to firmly consider Israeli settlements illegal and the West Bank occupied, two things the Trump administration stated that it would no longer do.”   https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/73-congressional-democrats-to-biden-call-israeli-settlements-illegal-672006

Turkish police break up gay pride march. “Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that gathered for a Pride parade in central Istanbul on Saturday, detaining some of those seeking to take part in an event banned by local authorities…. Some 20 people, including a photo journalist, were detained, according to media reports.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-police-fire-tear-gas-disperse-pride-march-istanbul-2021-06-26/

Fourth Catholic church burns down in Canadian indigenous communities. “It comes as hundreds of unmarked graves have been discovered at sites of former residential schools in Canada. The government-funded compulsory schools were run by religious groups in the 19th and 20th centuries with the aim of assimilating indigenous youth.”   https://news.yahoo.com/more-churches-burn-down-canada-010939684.html

New Jersey high school principal reportedly cut off valedictorian’s speech after the graduate mentioned his personal struggles as a queer teenager. “‘After I came out as queer freshman year, I felt so alone. I didn’t know who to turn to,’ Bryce Dershem had said at Eastern Regional High School’s ceremony last week right before his audio dropped, according to a video posted to YouTube. ”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3xyz5/video-shows-queer-valedictorians-mic-cut-when-he-talks-about-coming-out

Department of Justice reports spike in threats against election workers. “There’s been an outbreak of threats against election workers as conspiracy theories promulgated by former President Donald Trump have taken root deep in the GOP. As Trump pushed the lie that the election was stolen from him and attacked election officials in both parties with false claims that they either actively helped rig the election against him or charges that they’re blocking investigations, death threats against those officials spiked.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx5zgn/death-threats-election-officials-doj-task-force

Iranian nuclear facility reportedly damaged by drone strike. “An attack on Iran’s centrifuge production facility in Karaj by drones caused major damage, say Middle East sources. While there’s been no official Israeli confirmation of their involvement, reputable news outlets in the US and elsewhere report that Israeli forces are believed to have carried out the attack.”   https://breakingdefense.com/2021/06/iranian-nuke-centrifuge-plant-madly-damaged-by-drones/

U.N. officials warn Israel that expanding West Bank settlements violates international law. “I again underscore, in no uncertain terms, that Israeli settlements constitute a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and international law,” (U.N. Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland) said. “They are a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. The advancement of all settlement activity must cease immediately.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/25/un-urges-israel-to-halt-building-of-settlements-immediately

U.K. Labour Party official reportedly cancelled local party debate on sanctioning Israel. “The motion was meant to be discussed in the Hove and Portslade Constituency Labour Party (CLP), near Brighton in the south of England. The local Labour branch called for Israel to ‘end its violation of the human rights of Palestinians’ and for the UK government to ‘impose legal sanctions on Israel’, specifically an end to arms sales and ‘trade with illegal settlements’…. The blocking of a debate on the motion comes as Labour leader Kier Starmer has come under repeated criticism over his position on Israel and Palestine.”   https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210625-uk-labour-party-officials-block-debate-on-motion-calling-for-sanctions-on-israel/

Lawyers representing protesters who claim NYPD violated their civil rights during George Floyd protests accuse the city of intentionally withholding documents. “Although deadlines in the case are looming, lawyers for the city and the police have responded to only a tiny fraction of the documents requested by protesters in their discovery requests, hampering their ability to learn exactly what the NYPD did and to hold them to account…. The city and police department’s failure to produce discovery materials has been ongoing for months.”   https://theintercept.com/2021/06/26/nypd-abuse-george-floyd-court/

Donald Trump stirs up the crazies in Ohio. “The 2020 presidential election was rigged,” he told the crowd, which at one point broke into a ‘Trump won!’ chant. “We won that election in a landslide.” …. “Right now,” Trump said, “I’m helping a lot of people get into office, and we’re fighting the deep state, and we’re fighting [the] radical left. They’re after me, They’re after Rudy, they’re after you, probably.”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/26/donald-trump-campaign-rally-ohio-republican-new-york-investigation-rudy-giuliani   “Joe Biden is destroying our nation before our very eyes.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/27/trump-returns-to-rally-stage-in-ohio-urges-votes-for-republicans

Corporate Democrats set up PAC to help them win against progressive primary challengers. “Team Blue, according to NBC News, “will help those who might be in safe seats for the party but facing a primary challenger,” such as Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). The PAC is being established by Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who told the outlet, “This effort to protect our members is an extension of my job as caucus chair.” The two other lawmakers behind the PAC are Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Terri Sewell of Alabama. Gottheimer and Sewell, as NBC noted, “represent the more moderate factions of the Democratic caucus, which are more likely to see primaries from the left.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/26/centrist-dems-new-pac-seen-effort-stop-squad-growing

Justice Department sues Georgia over the state’s new election laws. “Our complaint alleges that recent changes to Georgia’s election laws were enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of Black Georgians to vote on account of their race or color, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” Garland said Friday. “Our progress on protecting voting rights, especially for Black Americans and people of color, has never been steady,” he continued. “Moments of voting rights expansion have often been met with counter-measures to curb the franchise.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/25/us-justice-department-sues-georgia-over-states-voter-suppression-law

San Diego sues health insurance companies over their allegedly misleading health care provider directories. “State and federal laws require insurers to post accurate directories of in-network care providers for consumers, many of whom evaluate provider listings when deciding which insurer to enroll with. The insurers named in the complaints — Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of California and HealthNet — have failed to follow the law, the lawsuits said. ‘These false listings create formidable, dangerous, and unlawful barriers to patient care, harming public health and California health insurance markets,’ attorneys for San Diego wrote in the complaints. ‘These inaccurate directories, known as ‘ghost networks,’ falsely describe the breadth of an insurer’s provider network, promising consumers access to health care that in reality is unavailable under the plan.’”   https://www.courthousenews.com/san-diego-sues-kaiser-insurers-for-false-in-network-provider-directories/

Local judge orders Los Angeles Sheriff’s department to speed up their release of officer disciplinary records. “The Los Angeles Times requested all disciplinary letters of all LASD personnel, including 325 deputies, on Jan. 1, 2019 — the day Senate Bill 1421 took effect and expanded the pool of police records deemed not confidential. Those include officer use-of-force incidents, sexual assault, acts of dishonesty and any time an officer fired their gun…. LA Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff…. excoriated the sheriff’s department and LA County for its slow rollout at a hearing Friday, saying at the current rate of response it would take years for the sheriff’s department to fully comply with the Times’ request.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-gives-la-sheriff-90-days-to-turn-over-officer-discipline-records-to-la-times/

FBI informant admits he lied about Julian Assange asking him to hack Iceland government computers. “Sigudur ‘Sigi’ Ingi Thordarson has told an Icelandic publication in an article that appeared on Saturday that he made up the allegation that Assange asked him to hack a government computer. That testimony played a key part in the indictment against Assange for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion…. Thordarson’s testimony is contained in a superseding indictment filed by the U.S. Justice Department, which aimed to bolster the conspiracy to commit computer intrusion charge against Assange, carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The indictment also charges Assange under the Espionage Act for unauthorized possession and dissemination of defense information, which could add an additional 170 years in prison.”   https://consortiumnews.com/2021/06/27/key-witness-in-us-case-against-assange-changes-his-story/

Peruvian presidential candidate claims her loss was due to widespread election fraud, using Donald Trump’s strategy in an attempt to overturn election results. “Even the Organization of American States and Human Rights Watch, two bodies which normally side with right-wing candidates in Latin America, have openly rejected (Keiko) Fujimori´s accusation of fraud, and called for a swift resolution of her weak complaints. For their part, international observers agree that the poll was clean.”   https://thegrayzone.com/2021/06/12/peruvian-keiko-fujimori-burn-country-defeat/

June 26, 2021

Pentagon UFO report: We don’t know what these objects are. “The report does not mention aliens or even vaguely hint at an extraterrestrial explanation for the reported sightings, but makes clear that much of the phenomena may be beyond the existing means the government has to identify such objects.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ufo-report-government-can-t-explain-143-144-mysterious-flying-n1272390   The military needs to put some better cameras on these planes. How are you supposed to identify other aircraft when the images are all blurry? (sarcasm)

Florida condo collapse: 2018 inspection called for ‘timely repairs’ to cracked support columns. “‘Abundant cracking and spalling of varying degrees were observed in the concrete columns, beams and walls’ of the ground floor parking garage, according to a structural field survey report by Morabito Consultants. It appears plans to correct these problems were not solidified until April of this year, despite the original report having been issued in October 2018. ‘Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion,’ the report noted…. The report did include photos of parking garage columns in which the concrete had cracked off and rebar could be seen.”   https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/06/26/miami-condo-collapse-inspection-reports-concrete-deterioration-surfside/5355975001/   Number of people missing rises to 159.

Federal appeals court rules that accessing data from Baltimore’s continuous aerial surveillance of its residents requires a search warrant. “Carpenter solidified the line between short-term tracking of public movements… and prolonged tracking that can reveal intimate details through habits and patterns,” (Chief Judge Roger L.) Gregory wrote. “The latter form of surveillance invades the reasonable expectation of privacy that individuals have in the whole of their movements and therefore requires a warrant.”   https://reason.com/2021/06/25/appeals-court-rules-aerial-police-tracking-of-citizens-violates-fourth-amendment/

More details emerge on triple homicide in Arvada, Colorado. “Johnny Hurley, 40, was shopping in downtown Arvada, a Denver suburb, when he heard Ronald Troyke ambush and murder Officer Gordon Beesley, who was responding to a call Monday afternoon, officials said. Troyke, 59, then returned to his truck to grab an AR-15, and was holding it when Hurley — who was carrying a concealed weapon — confronted him and shot him dead…. But when another (unidentified) officer responded to the scene, he saw Hurley holding the suspect’s rifle — and tragically mistook the good Samaritan for the cop killer, fatally shooting him…”   https://nypost.com/2021/06/26/man-who-shot-colorado-gunman-was-mistaken-by-police-to-be-killer/   Troyke reportedly left a note saying that he was trying to kill as many police officers as possible, but it’s unclear exactly what his motivation was since only excerpts of his note have been released. As in the case of Nashville bomber Anthony Warner, the public doesn’t know his motive since his ‘manifesto’ was not released. “In a statement to The Associated Press, FBI Special Agent Jason Pack said authorities are ‘aware the suspect sent materials which espoused his viewpoints to several acquaintances throughout the country.’ …. Pack did not release additional details about what the packages from Warner contained but he urged anyone who may have received material from Warner to contact the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI.”   https://www.clickorlando.com/news/national/2021/01/03/fbi-nashville-bomber-sent-material-to-acquaintances/   Sounds like they wanted to snap that all up. Looks like somebody sent a copy to a local TV station, but they only shared excerpts. “‘September 2011 was supposed to be the end game for the planet,’ because that is when he believed that aliens and UFO’s began launching attacks on earth. He wrote that the media was covering up those attacks. But Warner’s writings grow even more bizarre when he wrote about reptilians and lizard people that he believed control the earth and had tweaked human DNA. ‘They put a switch into the human brain so they could walk among us and appear human,’ Warner wrote.”   https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/nashville-bombers-bizarre-writings-reveal-belief-in-aliens-and-lizard-people   Unclear what any of this had to do with blowing up the AT&T network building though.

Eleven arrested during second night of unrest in Rock Hill, South Carolina after video of violent arrest of two brothers is posted on social media. “The attorney and family of Ricky and Travis Price said the force used by the arresting officers was excessive…. Thursday night, more than 100 protesters gathered outside the Rock Hill Police Department. Officials said eleven people were arrested over the span of three hours at the protests.”   https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/8-people-arrested-during-2nd-night-protests-rock-hill-over-arrest-2-brothers/X7UHH6XL6NDTPES2BR4R7GMSSM/   Video of the incident is reportedly posted here, but I’m not able to watch it for some reason:   https://www.facebook.com/kaneshia.foster.7/videos/10220157978319814

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. “Chauvin’s ‘abuse of a position of trust or authority’ and his ‘treating George Floyd with particular cruelty’ supplied ‘substantial and compelling’ reasons for imposing a greater sentence, (Judge Peter) Cahill wrote. On the latter factor, Cahill said that ‘the ‘prolonged nature of the asphyxiation makes this offense different in kind than, for example, a near-instantaneous death by gunshot, which is one typical scenario for this type of offense.'”   https://abcnews.go.com/US/chauvins-actions-cruel-abuse-authority-judge/story?id=78498045

 

June 25, 2021

Anti-virus software developer John McAfee tweeted that he would not commit suicide in prison. “… McAfee wanted us all to know years ago that if in the future he seemed to have killed himself, he most certainly did not, posting an image of himself in 2019 with a tattoo reading ‘whack’d’. A couple of weeks into his Spanish incarceration, he tweeted that ‘I am content in here. I have friends. The food is good. All is well. Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine.'”   https://reason.com/2021/06/23/john-mcafee-found-dead-in-a-spanish-prison-cell/

Florida building that partially collapsed was a sea-side, luxury condominium. “The seaside condo development was built in 1981. It had a few two-bedroom units on the market, with asking prices of $600,000 to $700,000.”   https://apnews.com/article/building-collapse-miami-25ee9ff94dd07d2a0ae3da742a6cb8dd   “The president of Paraguay’s sister-in-law and her family are among the 99 people currently unaccounted for in Miami after the 12-story apartment building collapsed overnight…. Also missing is a famed Argentinian plastic surgeon…. the wife of former Erlanger Health System Chief Executive Officer… is also missing…. an orthopedic surgeon at a local hospital hadn’t been heard from since 3 am…. an attorney who had recently moved back from Miami from New York….” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9722297/President-Paraguays-sister-law-51-missing-Miami-condo-collapse.html   “Residents said that a mix of people lived there, including retirees and affluent professionals with young families.”   https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/24/us/miami-building-collapse

Almost all hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus are hitting people who haven’t been vaccinated. “An Associated Press analysis of available government data from May shows that ‘breakthrough’ infections in fully vaccinated people accounted for fewer than 1,200 of more than 853,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations. That’s about 0.1%. And only about 150 of the more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in May were in fully vaccinated people. That translates to about 0.8%, or five deaths per day on average.”   https://news.yahoo.com/nearly-covid-deaths-us-now-154100375.html

House select committee to investigate January 6th Capitol invasion. “(House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi’s decision to move forward with a select committee led by House Democrats comes after her initial effort to create an independent panel modeled after the 9/11 Commission was blocked by Senate Republicans.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/24/politics/pelosi-announces-january-6-investigation/index.html

Palestinian anti-corruption activist dies in custody of Palestinian Authority. “The family of Nizar Banat said 20 armed Palestinian soldiers stormed the family home in Hebron at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, ‘brutally beating him and arresting him’. In a statement, the PA governor of Hebron confirmed Banat had died during an operation to arrest him…. Banat, 45, a carpenter by trade, had been an outspoken opponent of the PA for many years, accusing it repeatedly of corruption.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/24/middleeast/palestinian-activist-death-intl/index.html   “In an unusual spontaneous popular demonstration, hundreds of Palestinians rallied in the early afternoon around the Muqata, Ramallah’s complex of government buildings, holding signs bearing the image of the deceased dissident and chanting shouts such as: ‘Abbas, get out!’, ‘ We ​​are all Banat!’ and ‘The people are not afraid!’ A large deployment of riot control forces, firing tear gas and firing stun grenades, prevented them from approaching the headquarters of the Palestinian Presidency.”   https://then24.com/2021/06/24/the-death-of-a-dissident-in-detention-sparks-popular-protest-against-the-palestinian-president/

Teamsters’ union decides to try organizing Amazon employees. “The Teamsters, which represents more than a million U.S. workers in logistics, trucking, and other related occupations, voted overwhelmingly at a virtual convention on a resolution that makes organizing Amazon the union’s top priority, kicking off a labor campaign that will likely take years, cost millions, and span multiple workplaces.”   https://finance.yahoo.com/news/teamsters-launch-campaign-to-organize-amazon-workers-173741900.html

Billionaire Peter Thiel has reportedly deposited $5 billion in tax sheltered IRA. “Roth IRAs, which were created in 1997, are meant to serve as an incentive for people to save money now and be able to withdraw it tax-free for retirement. People pay taxes on the initial income, but then they do not pay taxes on any capital gains accrued by assets in the Roth account. ProPublica found that Thiel and other wealthy Americans have used this structure to stash assets that are currently worth millions or even billions of dollars in value and could be withdrawn at retirement age tax-free, according to tax documents it reviewed.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/billionaire-investor-peter-thiel-has-5b-his-tax-free-retirement-n1272317

Investment firms reportedly marketing Xinjiang funds as socially responsible investments. “A (South China Morning) Post search of SEC public records also found that some Xinjiang companies are included in US funds specially marketed to ethically conscious investors – known as ESG funds, for ‘environmental, social and corporate governance’. One Vanguard ESG fund includes four Xinjiang companies, one of which has boasted in annual reports of ‘maintaining stability in South Xinjiang’, working to ‘strengthen the ideological re-education of transferred workers’, and providing ‘vocational training’ to nearly 2,000 people in the region, terminology that rights groups say is a red flag for suspected human rights abuses.”   https://archive.vn/qWCkU

Amnesty International accuses Israeli police of violating the rights of Palestinians. “The rights group reported on Thursday that Israeli police failed to protect Palestinians from premeditated attacks by Israeli settlers…. On at least two occasions in Haifa and Nazareth, Amnesty reported there was evidence of police attacking groups of unarmed Palestinian protesters without provocation…. The rights group also documented the torture of detainees who were tied up, beaten and deprived of sleep at a police station in Nazareth and at the Kishon detention centre.”   https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-police-violence-palestinians-amnesty-report

Bipartisan infrastructure proposal reportedly includes public/private funding schemes. “The proposal that has progressives alarmed is relying on ‘public-private partnerships, private activity bonds, direct pay bonds, and asset recycling for infrastructure investment’. Asset recycling involves the sale or lease of public assets to the private sector so the government can put that money toward new investments…. As negotiations over the infrastructure deal dragged on last week, Rianna Eckel, an organizer with Food & Water Watch, cautioned that it could ‘facilitate a Wall Street takeover of public services like water.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/24/progressives-alarmed-privatization-dub-infrastructure-deal-disaster-making

More than 270 arrested in Canada trying to stop logging of old growth forests. “The movement is an attempt to pressure the British Columbia government to halt the cutting of what activists and experts say is the last 3% of ancient trees left standing in the province. The arrests, which involve police removing protesters from the intricate and sometimes precarious contraptions blocking logging roads on southern Vancouver Island, are continuing despite recent promises by the BC government to defer logging for two years in two of the five areas that blockaders are trying to protect: the untouched Fairy Creek watershed and the nearby Central Walbran Valley.”   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/24/british-columbia-logging-ancient-growth-protests

Biden administration backs Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline permit. “The DOJ brief claims that the federal government met its legal obligations for the review and approval process through various actions, which included analyzing alternatives and preparing environmental assessments that considered ‘the impacts from the corps’ authorizations, including to wetlands, the climate, low-income and minority populations, tribal rights to hunt, fish, and gather, and all of the issues to which plaintiffs draw special attention.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/24/horrible-and-unconscionable-betrayal-biden-doj-backs-trump-line-3-approval

Beekeepers lost more than 45% of their colonies in a year. “The non-profit Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) said in its preliminary analysis that beekeepers—ranging from small backyard keepers to commercial operations—lost 45.5% of their colonies between April 2020 and April 2021. The results are based on a survey of over 3,300 U.S. beekeepers managing a combined 192,384 colonies…. ‘Colony losses remain elevated,’ (entomologist Geoffrey Williams) said, ‘and this year’s annual and summer loss rates are among the highest recorded.’ ….’These bee losses highlight the disturbing lack of progress from the EPA in the fight to protect pollinators from toxic pesticides,’ said (Friends of the Earth campaigner Jason) Davidson, urging the EPA not to ‘sit on the sidelines while beekeepers experience horrific losses year after year.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/24/epa-inaction-blamed-us-bees-suffer-second-highest-colony-losses-record

 

 

 

June 24, 2021

Free speech activist wins $400,000 in damages after being repeatedly arrested for holding signs in Kitsap County, Washington park, and for violating his ‘permanent banishment’ from the park. “Following his second release, (Robin) Hordon brought a lawsuit to the district court claiming his constitutional rights were violated by the port that manages the park and the sheriff’s office that jailed him twice, held him on unreasonable bail, and denied him due process by indefinitely banning him from a public park…. ‘If our society cannot uphold political free speech in a public park,’ he said, ‘then our society, our government is in trouble.'”   https://reason.com/2021/06/23/man-arrested-for-public-signs-wins-settlement-from-sheriffs-office-and-spurs-reform/

Tenth Amendment prevents federal government from requiring states to enforce federal laws. “(The anti-commandeering) doctrine is rooted in the basic design of our government, which limits Congress to a short list of specifically enumerated powers and leaves the rest to the states or the people, as the 10th Amendment makes clear. That division of powers gives states wide discretion to experiment with different policies, some of which are bound to offend the New York Times. The paper suggests that defending state autonomy is disreputable, because that argument was ‘deployed in the past in the South to resist antislavery and civil rights laws’. But federalism does not give states a license to violate rights guaranteed by the Constitution or to flout laws authorized by it.”   https://reason.com/2021/06/23/the-feds-cant-compel-states-to-enforce-restrictions-on-guns-or-immigrants/   Article points out that this works both ways – conservative states can refuse to enforce federal gun laws and environmental rules, while liberal states can refuse to enforce immigration and drug laws.

Libertarian Party rift between moderates and hardliners intensifies. “Among the controversial (Libertarian Party of New Hampshire) tweets attributed to (Jeremy) Kauffman was a call to ‘legalize child labor’ because ‘children will learn more on a job site than in public school’, another to keep Gitmo open ‘so that Anthony Fauci and every governor that locked their state down can be sent there, never again to be allowed inside of the United States’, and still another to ‘Repeal the Civil Rights Act’.”   https://reason.com/2021/06/23/inside-the-battle-over-the-soul-of-the-libertarian-party/

American computer anti-virus entrepreneur found dead in Spanish jail cell after losing battle to avoid being extradited to U.S. “(John) McAfee was arrested last October at Barcelona’s international airport and had been in jail since then awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings (on tax charges).”   https://apnews.com/article/john-mcafee-dead-spain-prison-extradition-c39cc0f375a975946fb83b60cc2bf3d3

Gap between life expectancy in U.S. and other developed countries increases as a result of pandemic. “Between 2018 and 2020, the decrease in average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was roughly 1.9 years — 8.5 times the average decrease in 16 comparable countries, which was about 2.5 months. The decrease widened the gap between the U.S. and its peers to nearly 5 years, but the difference is much larger among Black and Hispanic Americans.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/u-s-life-expectancy-decreased-alarming-amount-during-pandemic-n1272206

Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, to face recall election. “The recall petition garnered over 1.7 million signatures, of which only 43 were withdrawn, leaving the effort well above the 1.5 million threshold.”   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gavin-newsom-recall-official-democratic-governor-california

First Capitol rioter sentenced, gets three years – on probation. “The charge of illegally demonstrating in the Capitol carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail. But prosecutors said she was cooperative with investigators, admitted her responsibility, expressed remorse, and has no criminal history.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/indiana-woman-gets-probation-first-capitol-riot-sentencing-n1272156   Sending a clear message that if you storm the U.S. Capitol as part of a riotous mob, in an attempt to reverse the outcome of an election, you will be firmly slapped on the wrist.

Witnesses say bystander fatally shot man who fatally shot Arvada police officer Gordon Beesely, unclear who fatally shot the bystander. “Bill Troyanos was working at the Arvada Army Navy Surplus store on Monday afternoon when (John) Hurley walked into the business. ‘Mr. Hurley shot him. I think I heard 6 shots from his gun, maybe 5,’ Troyanos said. He said the gunman fell against a parked vehicle. Officials have not released information on who fatally shot Hurley. They also haven’t confirmed who shot the gunman (Ronald Troyke).”   https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/witness-says-good-samaritan-shot-the-gunman-in-olde-town-arvada   “The Good Samaritan who died in Monday’s shooting in Olde Town Arvada was shot and killed by a police bullet, Denver7 Chief Investigator Tony Kovaleski has confirmed through three informed, ranking sources — including two law enforcement sources…. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, the Arvada Police Department said it would not confirm that Hurley was shot by an officer. ”   https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/good-samaritan-who-died-in-arvada-shooting-was-shot-by-police-according-to-sources

Pandemic researcher claims earliest samples of virus in National Institutes of Health database have been deleted. “Examination shows some of the early cases in the Chinese city of Wuhan are different, genetically, from the variants that eventually spread to cause the pandemic.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/23/health/coronavirus-sequences-database-scientist/index.html

Florida state trooper repeatedly tasered teenager waiting for his girlfriend in her backyard. “The trooper, George Smyrnios, followed 16-year-old Jack Rodeman into the backyard of the Fort Myers home last week after deeming him suspicious…. After the teenager “failed to comply” with Smyrnios’s orders to turn around and put his hands behind his back, the trooper repeatedly tased him.”   https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/559918-florida-teen-repeatedly-tased-in-girlfriends-backyard-by-trooper-who

Life in a developed market economy: Washington, D.C. pedestrian bridge collapses. “Five people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a pedestrian bridge that was in ‘poor condition’ collapsed onto a busy Washington, D.C., highway, officials said.”   https://abcnews.go.com/US/people-hospitalized-pedestrian-bridge-collapses-dc-highway/story?id=78447587

Life in a developed market economy: 12-story Florida condominium partially collapses. “The cause of the collapse remains unclear, however people in the area told Local 10 News that work was being done on the roof of the building with the use of heavy equipment…. First responders told Local 10 News that the search and rescue operation could take perhaps up to a week to complete, if not more.”   https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/06/24/partial-building-collapse-in-surfside/

Leaked draft of U.N. climate report predicts bleak future, possible human extinction, if countries fail to act. “Nothing in the (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report should be a surprise, as all the information comes from the scientific literature. But put together, the stark message from the IPCC is that increasingly severe heatwaves, fires, floods and droughts are coming our way with dire impacts for many countries. On top of this are some irreversible changes, often called tipping points, such as where high temperatures and droughts mean parts of the Amazon rainforest can’t persist. These tipping points may then link, like toppling dominoes.”   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/climate-change-dangerous-thresholds-un-report

Arctic sea ice melting due to heat wave. “An intense and expansive heat wave has gripped parts of Siberia, northwestern Russia and Scandinavia, inducing a record plunge in sea ice…. In parts of north-central Siberia, temperatures have reached 45°F above average for this time of year, while other parts of Arctic Russia and Scandinavia have baked in record heat as well.”   https://news.yahoo.com/arctic-heat-roasts-finland-russia-130234512.html

Brazilian riot police use tear gas and projectiles to disperse indigenous protesters outside the country’s legislature. “The bill, known as PL 490 and backed by Brazil’s powerful farm caucus in Congress, is aimed at curtailing indigenous rights to land that was still unoccupied as of 1988. It also seeks to open up protected indigenous lands to commercial agriculture and mining. Leaders of Brazil’s roughly 850,000 indigenous people say the bill is unconstitutional and runs roughshod over land rights guaranteed in the country’s 1988 Constitution.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/police-tear-gas-indigenous-protest-land-rights-brazil-2021-06-22/

Protesters arrested near U.S. Capitol. “Progressive clerics Rev. Jesse Jackson and Bishop William Barber II were among more than 20 people arrested during a Poor People’s Campaign demonstration at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, according to police…. The mission of the demonstration was to protest Senators Joe Manchin and Mitch McConnell for their failure to vote for the $15 minimum wage, and also their opposition to the For the People Act.”   https://www.fox29.com/news/rev-jesse-jackson-bishop-william-barber-among-more-than-20-arrested-in-dc-protest

June 23, 2021

Four of the Saudi agents involved in journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder reportedly received State Department approved paramilitary training in the U.S. “Louis Bremer, a senior executive of Cerberus, the parent company of Tier 1 Group, confirmed the company’s role in the paramilitary training in response to questions from lawmakers as part of his nomination for a high-ranking position at the Pentagon during the Trump administration.”   https://www.businessinsider.com/operatives-saudi-journalist-jamal-khashoggi-death-training-in-us-report-2021-6

Democratic Party primary for mayor of New York will be decided using ranked choice voting. “When the votes are first tallied, if no candidate has crossed the 50 percent threshold, a winner is not declared. Instead, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated. Then the votes are tallied again. For each voter who ranked the eliminated candidate as their top choice, their second choice is now counted as their vote. If that’s still not enough for a single candidate to pass 50 percent, the elimination and re-tabulation continues. When one candidate is able to lay claim to at least 50 percent of the votes, that candidate is named the winner.”   https://reason.com/2021/06/22/ranked-choice-voting-gets-biggest-test-yet-in-new-york-city/

Senate Republicans kill election reform bill with filibuster. “The For the People Act needed 60 votes to clear a procedural vote in the Senate Tuesday, but Republicans filibustered and killed the legislation from advancing to debate. No Republicans joined with the 50 Democrats on the motion to proceed…. Even GOP moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she couldn’t support the ‘partisan federal takeover of the election system’. In a floor speech, she said she’d back elements of the bill and will co-sponsor the separate John Lewis Voting Rights Act, but can’t back Democrats’ ‘one-size-fits-all’ reforms.”   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-block-rotten-election-reform-bill-in-senate-as-vp-harris-presides   One of the campaign finance reforms would have raised the threshold on the number and distribution of campaign donations needed to qualify for federal matching funds, putting these funds out of reach for minor party candidates.

Hospital loses 153 employees after they refuse to receive mandatory coronavirus vaccinations. “The 153 (Houston Methodist Hospital) employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period that began June 8 or were terminated Tuesday, according to (hospital spokesperson) Gale Smith…. More than 100 of the hospital’s employees involved in (a) lawsuit claimed the vaccines were ‘experimental and dangerous’, and that it would be ‘wrongful’ to be terminated for refusing to get vaccinated.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/22/us/houston-methodist-employees-covid-vaccine-resign-fired/index.html

BBC finds ‘alarming’ conditions at Texas camp for migrant teens. “The tented camp in the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas, is the temporary home for over 2,000 teenaged children who have crossed the US-Mexico border alone and are now awaiting reunification with family in the US. Findings from the BBC’s investigation include allegations of sexual abuse, Covid and lice outbreaks, a child waiting hours for medical attention, a lack of clean clothes and hungry children being served undercooked meat.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57561760

Connecticut becomes 19th state to legalize recreational use of marijuana. “The law allows individuals age 21 and older to possess or consume up to 1.5 ounces (42.5 grams) of ‘cannabis plant material’ and up to 5 ounces (141.7 grams) in a locked container in a home or in the trunk or locked glove box in the person’s vehicle. Retail sales of recreational cannabis in Connecticut are not expected to begin until the summer of 2022, at the earliest.”   https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1009191053/connecticut-has-become-the-latest-state-to-legalize-marijuana-for-recreational-u   “…(marijuana) remains an illegal drug under federal law.”

Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily closing after another employee is arrested under the city’s new ‘national security law’. “Last week, around 500 police officers raided the newspaper’s offices while some executives and staff were arrested on suspicion of colluding with a foreign country…. The national security law in Hong Kong was implemented by Beijing last year without going through the semi-autonomous region’s legislature.”   https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/23/hong-kong-pro-democracy-newspaper-apple-daily-to-shut-down-operations.html

U.S. Department of Justice reportedly seizes control of more than 30 Iran-aligned websites, included English language news outlet PressTV. “The sites were inaccessible Tuesday afternoon and instead displayed a single page that said each site had ‘been seized by the United States Government’…. The DOJ has yet to comment on the site seizures and it is unclear what “misinformation” was propagated.”   https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-seizes-3-dozen-iranian-websites-for-spreading-misinformation   This sets an interesting precedent! The story does not explain how the U.S. seized control of these websites, or how this is being justified under international law. Does this mean that if another country feels coverage by U.S. news media is ‘disinformation’ that they can seize the offending websites and take them offline?

Tokyo’s governor hospitalized due to ‘severe fatigue’. “(Tokyo Governor Yuriko) Koike, 68, has had an extremely busy schedule, preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, leading anti-COVID-19 efforts in the capital and gearing up for the Tokyo assembly election campaign that will kick off on June 25.”   http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14379112   Sounds like coronavirus.

An estimated 80 people reportedly killed in airstrike on busy market in Tigray city of Togoga. “We don’t know if the jets were coming from Ethiopia or Eritrea. They are still looking for bodies by hand…. On Tuesday afternoon, a convoy of ambulances attempting to reach Togoga, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Mekele, was turned back by soldiers near Tukul, the health workers said.”   https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-kenya-africa-ethiopia-424851651a0e02c21df71c86d9b70ec2

NATO countries hit Belarus with targeted economic sanctions in response to rights violations. “The European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada blacklisted more officials, lawmakers and ministers from the administration of President Alexander Lukashenko, whose air force intercepted the Ryanair plane flying between Athens and Vilnius on May 23 in what the West called state piracy…. In Monday’s mix of travel bans, asset freezes and sanctions on state-owned Belarusian companies, Western governments sought to escalate their pressure on Lukashenko, who is accused of rigging elections last August and cracking down on the opposition to prolong his now 27 years in power.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/west-hits-belarus-with-new-sanctions-over-ryanair-piracy-2021-06-21/

International lawyers propose outlawing ‘ecocide’. “Ecocide means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.”   https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/06/22/top-international-lawyers-to-make-ecocide-a-crime-against-nature

U.S. and U.K. aircraft carry out airstrikes against Islamic State in an unnamed location for an undisclosed purpose. “British and American F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters flew anti-ISIS strike missions from the U.K. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) – a first for the U.K. in a decade, defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Tuesday…. Neither the Marines nor the (Ministry of Defense) specified the location of the missions or the targets that were struck. In a Tuesday statement, the Marines said the blended air wing started combat operations on June 18.”   https://news.usni.org/2021/06/22/u-k-u-s-f-35bs-launch-anti-isis-strikes-from-hms-queen-elizabeth

Elderly Soviet veterans commemorate 80th anniversary of Nazi invasion.   https://news.yahoo.com/putin-marks-80th-anniversary-nazi-133645172.html

Woman in Singapore sentenced to 30 years in prison for starving, abusing and killing domestic servant from Myanmar. “Piang Ngaih Don reportedly weighed only 24kg (53 lbs.) when she died from her injuries in 2016…. It is among a series of high-profile maid abuse cases in the wealthy city-state in recent years…. The judge said the prosecution had painted a ‘shocking’ picture of how the 24-year old woman was tortured, humiliated, starved and ultimately killed.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57563235

French tech executives found guilty of human rights violations for selling spyware to authoritarian regimes. “Philippe Vannier, former chief of Amesys and Nexa Technologies, was charged with complicity in acts of torture by the crimes against humanity and war crimes unit of the Paris Judicial Court, according to a press release from Amnesty International. Olivier Bohbot, head of Nexa Technologies, Renaud Roques, its managing director, and former Nexa president and Amesys commercial director Stéphane Salies were charged with complicity in acts of torture and forced disappearances, according to French media…. This technology allowed (the Libyan government under Muammar Gadaffi and the Egyptian government under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi) to directly intercept demonstrators’ messages and calls, resulting in their arrests, torture, and sometimes, disappearances, according to the (International Federation for Human Rights).”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7e3zv/4-surveillance-company-executives-indicted-for-allegedly-aiding-torture

Egyptian university student sentenced to four years in prison for paper on reproductive rights. “Ahmed Samir, a master’s student at the Central European University in Vienna studying women’s reproductive rights, was arrested in February after returning to Egypt on a family visit. Upon his arrest, he was questioned on his thesis on abortion, women’s rights in Islam and the history of reproductive rights in Egypt.”   https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/egyptian-student-sentenced-four-years-prison

Navy anti-terrorism training material categorizes anarchists and socialists as ‘terrorists’. “A section of the training document subtitled ‘Study Questions’ includes the following: ‘Anarchists, socialists and neo-nazis represent which terrorist ideological category?’ The correct answer is ‘political terrorists’, a military source briefed on the training told me.”   https://theintercept.com/2021/06/22/socialists-counterterrorism-political-terrorists-navy-antifa/

U.S. economy fragile due to income inequality, claims former Labor secretary Robert Reich. “In a very practical sense, then, the US economy depends on the spending of most Americans, who don’t have much to spend. That spells trouble ahead…. Most people’s wages will still be too low, and too much of the economy’s gains will continue to accumulate at the top, for total consumer demand to be adequate.”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/23/american-economy-us-concentration-wealth-blame

Socialist challenger defeats moderate incumbent to win Democratic Party primary for Buffalo, New York mayoral election. “New York’s second-largest city is poised next year to have its first socialist mayor after community activist and healthcare worker India Walton upset Byron Brown, the establishment Democratic leader who has run Buffalo for four terms…. Walton is expected to win the general election in November in the heavily Democratic city, a victory that would make Buffalo the first major American city to have a socialist mayor since 1960, when Milwaukee’s Mayor Frank Zeidler stepped down.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/23/we-are-workers-socialist-india-walton-declares-victory-buffalo-mayoral-race

ACLU expresses concern over dismissal of federal lawsuit brought by violently dispersed Black Lives Matter protesters. “Under today’s decision, Lafayette Square is now a Constitution-free zone when it comes to the actions of federal officials,” (the ACLU’s Scott) Michelman continued. “Not only is this decision a stunning rejection of our constitutional values and protestors’ First Amendment rights, but it effectively places federal officials above the law.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/22/aclu-warns-ruling-trump-appointed-judge-gives-feds-green-light-attack-protesters

Supreme Court rules unanimously that police may need a warrant to enter the homes of fleeing misdemeanor suspects. “… the justices ruled that police cannot enter someone’s home when pursuing them for a minor crime, except in exigent circumstances.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/hot-pursuit-may-still-require-warrant-high-court-rules/

Supreme Court sides with disappointed cheerleader, rules that schools generally can’t punish students for speech that occurs off campus. “Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer said a school district carries a heavy burden to prove it has a right to interfere with speech outside campus.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/cheerleader-suspended-over-expletive-laden-snap-prevails-at-high-court/

Supreme Court strikes down California law that gave labor organizers access to farm workers. “Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the 6-3 majority opinion, split on party lines, where he called it unconstitutional to make farms open up their doors to labor organizers outside of working hours. ‘The access regulation grants labor organizations a right to invade the growers’ property,’ Roberts wrote. ‘It therefore constitutes a per se physical taking.’”   https://www.courthousenews.com/california-farms-win-challenge-of-union-organizing-law/   Note that many farm workers LIVE on growers’ property during the harvest.

Police increasingly forcing tech companies to hand over suspects’ digital data, privacy activist calls it ‘the Golden Age of government surveillance’. “In just the first half of 2020 — the most recent data available — Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft together fielded more than 112,000 data requests from local, state and federal officials. The companies agreed to hand over some data in 85% of those cases. Facebook, including its Instagram service, accounted for the largest number of disclosures…. ‘Everything happens on Facebook,’ (detective Robert) Salter said. ‘The amount of information you can get from people’s conversations online — it’s insane.'”   https://www.courthousenews.com/how-big-tech-created-a-data-treasure-trove-for-police/

 

June 22, 2021

California congresswoman Barbara Lee’s long struggle against unrestricted presidential war powers. “The Oakland Democrat has spent two decades warning of the danger of granting presidents open-ended permission to wage war, including being the only member of Congress to oppose a post-9/11 measure passed in 2001 that has underpinned 20 years of troops in Afghanistan and a global war on terror. That position earned her countless death threats and attacks on her character. Now, she stands a strong chance of taking that authorization’s successor, for the Iraq war, off the books with bipartisan support and a recognition from many that her 2001 vote was more prescient than people acknowledged at the time.”   https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Vote-rescinding-military-powers-marks-long-march-16254946.php

Federal appeals court stays lower court ruling overturning California rifle ban. “On June 4, Judge Roger T. Benitez of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California said in a decision that the state law defining assault weapons and restricting their use was unconstitutional…. But the judge granted a 30-day stay of the ruling at the request of California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, a move that allowed Mr. Bonta to appeal it. In a decision on Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit further extended Judge Benitez’s stay, pending resolution of another case challenging the ban.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/us/assault-weapons-ban-california.html

Federal judge dismisses most of rights groups’ lawsuit claiming protesters’ and journalists’ rights were violated during Trump administration’s clearing of Lafayette Park. “(U.S. District Judge Dabney) Friedrich dismissed the claims against (former U.S. attorney general William) Barr and other federal officials, including the acting U.S. Park Police chief, Gregory Monahan, finding there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove there was any agreement or plan to violate the rights of the protesters. The judge also said the law gives them immunity in civil litigation…. the judge did allow the claims against the Metropolitan Police Department and the Arlington Police Department… to proceed…. ‘We will always stand up for the rights of those peacefully demonstrating for racial justice, and this ruling sends the wrong message for police accountability efforts at a time when it is needed the most,’ (Arthur) Ago (of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) said.”   https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mn-state-wire-religion-government-and-politics-a12b2c531c485bf8719f3440fe44d5cc

Rodney King replay: Black motorist sues Los Angeles County deputies over traffic stop beating. “‘(Christopher Bailey) sustained 64 to 86 total body and face hits. He was pummeled in the face approximately 35 to 44 times,’ attorney Toni Jaramilla said during a news conference. Bailey lost teeth, suffered broken bones in his face and can’t see out of his left eye, Jaramilla said. ‘Mr. Bailey recalls that he heard deputies say, ‘Pull his pants down,’ and he could feel tugging in his pants, and he was Tasered in the lower abdomen near his groin area,’ Jaramilla said.”   https://ktla.com/news/local-news/man-sues-7-l-a-county-sheriffs-deputies-alleging-he-lost-sight-in-one-eye-after-vicious-inglewood-beating/

Governor of California pledges to pay off state’s landlords for unpaid rent during pandemic. “The state’s $5.2 billion in funds from Congressionally-approved aid packages is enough to pay off overdue rent, according to Newsom’s senior counselor on housing and homelessness, Jason Elliott, the Associated Press reported…. Left unsettled is whether California will continue to ban evictions for unpaid rent beyond June 30, a pandemic-related order that was meant to be temporary but is proving difficult to undo.”   https://www.newsweek.com/california-pay-off-all-past-due-rent-accrued-during-covid-giving-renters-clean-slate-1602556   I’m having trouble deciding if this is a tenant bailout or a landlord bailout.

Local residents and Israeli settlers clash again in contested East Jerusalem neighborhood. “Palestinians and Jewish settlers hurled stones, chairs, and fireworks at each other overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood where settler groups are trying to evict several Palestinian families, officials said Tuesday…. Israeli police and border officials said they arrested four suspects in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. It was unclear who started the brawl.”   https://www.foxnews.com/world/palestinians-settlers-clash-in-tense-jerusalem-neighborhood

Opposition militia and Myanmar military clash in the country’s second largest city. “Myanmar security forces backed by armoured vehicles clashed on Tuesday with a newly formed militia group in the second-biggest city of Mandalay resulting in at least two casualties, according to members of the group and media reports…. The army-owned Myawaddy Television (MWD), in a report on its Telegram message channel, said security forces had raided a house and ‘armed terrorists’ had fought back with small weapons and bombs.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-army-clashes-with-anti-junta-militia-mandalay-city-2021-06-22/   As opposed to ‘unarmed terrorists’, also known as ‘protestors’. (sarcasm)

Afghan minorities reportedly forming ‘self-protection groups’. “Mahdi Raskih, another Hazara member of Parliament, said he had counted 35 major attacks against Hazaras in recent years — a campaign of genocide, he said. He said he had lost patience with government promises of protection for Hazara schools, mosques and social centers. ‘If they can’t provide security, be honest and admit it,’ Mr. Raskih said. ‘People believe the government feels no responsibility for them, so our people must pick up guns and fight.’”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/world/asia/vulnerable-afghans-forming-militias.html

Social Democratic prime minister of Sweden proposes lifting rent controls instead of building public housing, is voted out of power. “(Stefan Lofven’s) government, a Social Democratic-Green coalition, is a minority government that has relied on votes from the small Left Party to pass laws….The Left Party said it lost confidence in Lofven over a proposal to abolish rent controls on newly built properties…. People wanting to rent a home can wait years for a contract…”   https://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1008695847/swedens-prime-minister-has-lost-a-confidence-vote-in-parliament

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warns of ‘wide-reaching and severe cascade of human rights setbacks’. “(Michelle Bachelet) declared herself ‘alarmed’ by the sharp rise in violence and civilian harm in Afghanistan, as ‘deeply concerned’ by recent non-democratic and unconstitutional changes in government in Chad and Mali; and as ‘deeply disturbed’ by events unfolding in Ethiopia…. Bachelet also stressed that she is in talks with China to conduct a visit, which she hopes would include ‘meaningful access’ to the Xinjiang region from where ‘serious human rights violations continue to emerge’.”   https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/22/world-in-severe-cascade-of-human-rights-setbacks-un-human-rights-chief-warns

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers report on children harmed in armed conflicts. “The report verified that violations had been committed against 19,379 children in 21 conflicts. The most violations in 2020 were committed in Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. It verified that 8,521 children were used as soldiers last year, while another 2,674 children were killed and 5,748 injured in various conflicts.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/more-than-8500-children-used-soldiers-2020-un-2021-06-21/

Cambodian environmental activists charged after documenting sewage being dumped into river. “The activists are Sun Ratha, 26, Ly Chandaravuth, 22, and Yim Leanghy, 32, all members of activist group Mother Nature. They were detained on 16 June while documenting waste discharge into the Tonle Sap river near the royal palace, according to the Cambodian Center for Human Rights…. Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy, with almost all power in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen who has run the country for decades.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57563233

Amazon whistle-blower claims company’s warehouse in Dunfermline, Scotland destroys millions of unsold or returned items per year. “An ex-employee, who asked for anonymity, told us: ‘From a Friday to a Friday our target was to generally destroy 130,000 items a week. I used to gasp. There’s no rhyme or reason to what gets destroyed: Dyson fans, Hoovers, the occasional MacBook and iPad; the other day, 20,000 Covid (face) masks still in their wrappers.’ ….Greenpeace’s Sam Chetan Welsh told us: ‘It’s an unimaginable amount of unnecessary waste, and just shocking to see a multi-billion pound company getting rid of stock in this way…. straight off the production line and into the bin. As long as Amazon’s business model relies on this kind of disposal culture, things are only going to get worse.”   https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-21/amazon-destroying-millions-of-items-of-unsold-stock-in-one-of-its-uk-warehouses-every-year-itv-news-investigation-finds

Google and the state of Massachusetts reportedly installed a covid-19 tracking app on more than 1 million resident’s phones without telling them. “If all of these users accidentally opted-in to COVID tracking and forgot, we’d expect a statement from Google to outright deny an automatic app rollout. Google’s statement does not deny the silent install, though, and instead only says COVID tracking is not enabled unless users turn it on.”   https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/even-creepier-covid-tracking-google-silently-pushed-app-to-users-phones/

More members of U.S. armed forces have died of suicide than in combat since 9/11, says study. “…Brown’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs estimates that 30,177 active-duty personnel and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken their own lives over the last nearly 20 years. That is far greater than the 7,057 service members who died in war operations since 9/11, the institute said in the report, High Suicide Rates Among United States Service Members and Veterans of the Post-9/11 Wars.”   https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/21/9-11-suicide-has-claimed-four-times-more-military-lives-combat.html

Progressive Democrats say, ‘Tax the rich!’ “While the centrists behind the bipartisan proposal have avoided tax increases for the wealthy and GOP lawmakers won’t support undoing the tax cuts for high-income individuals and corporations they forced through under then-President Donald Trump in 2017, progressives are making clear that raising taxes on the rich is a crucial moral and policy priority.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/21/progressives-say-do-what-people-want-and-tax-rich-pay-infrastructure

Sunrise climate activists walk 400 miles, get arrested on Ted Cruz’s lawn. “‘We protested outside of Ted Cruz’s house to clearly lay out the choice Biden was making. We need Biden to work for us, not Cruz, the insurrectionist climate denier,’ Roshni Khosla, one of the Gulf South marchers, told Common Dreams. Biden has many progressive lawmakers and activists concerned he may endorse a bipartisan infrastructure package that has been watered down from the White House’s initial two-part proposal—which Sunrise and various experts already dubbed inadequate.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/21/sunrise-ends-400-mile-climate-march-arrests-ted-cruzs-house

 

 

 

 

June 21, 2021

Southwest heat wave not a normal weather event. “…this record-setting heat wave’s remarkable power, size and unusually early appearance is giving meteorologists and climate experts yet more cause for concern about the routinization of extreme weather in an era of climate change. These sprawling, persistent high-pressure zones popularly called “heat domes” are relatively common in later summer months. This current system is different. ‘It’s not only unusual for June, but it is pretty extreme even in absolute terms,’ says Daniel Swain, climate scientist at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. ‘It would be a pretty extreme event for August,’ Swain says, when these typically occur.”   https://www.npr.org/2021/06/19/1008248475/the-record-temperatures-enveloping-the-west-is-not-your-average-heat-wave

Eight of the children killed in 18 vehicle, chain reaction crash on Alabama highway were from Sheriffs Youth Ranch. “The children and staff at Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch are grieving one day after eight juveniles, ages 4-17, affiliated with the nonprofit, lost their lives in a crash on Interstate 65…. ‘We lost eight children in that van yesterday,’ Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches CEO Michael Smith said as tears welled in his eyes. ‘And I’ll tell you what I do know,’ he said. ‘Those children are in a much better place. They’re with God, cause they all love God.’ The ranch is a safe haven for needy, neglected or abused children.”   https://www.wsfa.com/2021/06/21/tallapoosa-county-girls-ranch-grieves-loss-8-children-i-65-wreck/   Seat belts?

Former governor of Florida wants state investigation into January 6th riot at U.S. Capitol. “‘I’m calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to protect our democracy by ordering a non-partisan investigation of Florida’s outsized role in the Capitol Insurrection,’ (Charlie) Crist tweeted…. Crist’s comments come after reports that of the 484 people that have so far been arrested in connection to the insurrection, 47 hail from Florida. That’s the most of any state, tied with Texas.”   https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-gov-under-pressure-investigate-states-role-jan-6-riot-2021-6

Educators under siege over classes about racism. “Elementary school teachers, administrators and college professors are facing fines, physical threats, and fear of firing because of an organized push from the right to remove classroom discussions of systemic racism…. So far, 21 states have introduced proposals to limit lessons about racism and history…. Educators and writers of color say banning critical race theory is really an attempt to sugarcoat U.S. history.”   https://www.axios.com/teachers-harassment-fines-critical-race-theory-f0e6e7b2-d7cd-44f3-a30a-14f3acce5175.html   “By the eve of the Civil War in mid-1861, with the addition of Oregon (1859) and Kansas (1861), the number of free states had grown to 19 while the number of slave states remained at 15.”   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_states_and_free_states   So despite the fact that many of the Founders were slave owners, more than 1/2 the states had rejected slavery before the Civil War, thanks to abolitionists.

Republicans less likely to receive coronavirus vaccinations. “…pandemic researchers are warning that a picture of ‘two Americas’ is emerging – the vaccinated and unvaccinated – that in many ways might reflect red state and blue state political divides. Only 52% of Republicans said they were partially or fully vaccinated, and 29% said they have no intention of getting a vaccine, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll. 77% of Democrats said they were already vaccinated, with just 5% responding that were resisting the vaccine.”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/20/us-covid-delta-variant-spreads-vaccination-rates-drop   How long will it take for the Republican Party to realize that dead Republicans don’t vote?

Australian government keeping secrets from the public, say critics, as illustrated by the secret prosecutions of intelligence officers ‘J’ and ‘K’. “The Australian government has refused to comment on allegations that K led an Australian Secret Intelligence Service operation that bugged government offices in the East Timorese capital in 2004, during negotiations on the sharing of oil and gas revenue from the seabed that separates the two countries. J has been described by the media as possibly the only person in Australian history to be tried, sentenced and imprisoned in secret. But no one seems to know for sure. As with K, it is illegal to reveal J’s identity…. Police have also threatened to charge journalists who exposed war crime allegations against Australian special forces in Afghanistan, or bureaucrats’ plan to allow an intelligence agency to spy on Australian citizens.”   https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-australia-15029370cec301172244fe168b4b9dd6

American Airlines cancels hundreds of flights due to labor shortage. “The company scrapped 123 flights on Saturday and 178 flights on Sunday, with 97 more canceled for Monday. All airlines are dealing with staffing issues connected to the coronavirus pandemic; in March 2020, when air travel all but stopped, thousands of employees were laid off or accepted buyouts, and now that people are flying again, there aren’t enough workers.”   https://news.yahoo.com/facing-staffing-issues-american-airlines-042508605.html

Women in Turkey rally to demand that the country stays in domestic violence treaty. “Hundreds of women (rallied) in Istanbul on Saturday, urging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to withdraw from an anti-violence treaty ahead of a formal exit on July 1. Erdogan sparked outrage in March by pulling out of the world’s first binding treaty to prevent and combat violence against women, known as the Istanbul Convention.”   https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/turkish-women-rally-defend-rights

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians in 400 cities march, call for the country’s president to step down. “With about 100,000 new daily infections and around 2,000 people dying each day from Covid-19, Brazil is currently suffering the world’s second-deadliest outbreak after India. The Ministry of Health reported 2,301 new deaths on Saturday. (Jair) Bolsonaro—a former army captain who has waxed nostalgic for the country’s former U.S.-backed military dictatorship—has been beset by political, public health, and environmental crises amid an emerging progressive consensus for his impeachment.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/20/bolsonaro-out-massive-protests-brazils-covid-19-death-toll-tops-500000