July 31, 2021

Assistance available for renters facing eviction after eviction ban ends this Saturday. “Congress has allocated more than $45 billion in rental assistance to address the crisis, and only a sliver of the money has been spent so far. If you’re approved for the relief, you could get up to 18 months of rent covered. If you haven’t applied yet, you should act quickly. Doing so could help you stay in your home longer.”   https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/everything-you-need-to-know-about-applying-for-rental-assistance-.html   “In January, Texas received about $2 billion in emergency rental assistance money from the federal government, part of the first phase of funds from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program. From those funds, about $1.3 billion was set aside for the state-run Texas Rent Relief Program, which started accepting applications in February, and the rest was given to cities and counties. Currently, about 40 Texas cities and counties administer some form of emergency rental assistance program…”   https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2021/07/30/as-federal-eviction-moratorium-expires-tenants-and-rent-advocates-scramble-to-obtain-state-and-local-rental-relief-funds/

Federal judge refuses to throw out lawsuit against Bexar county, Texas deputies who carried out drug raid at the home of an innocent woman. “In November of 2018, Lucil Basco of Bexar County, Texas, awoke to a thunderous boom, followed by a parade of eight cops barging through her front door. She was handcuffed, and, with her screaming child, removed from the premises…. Though it appears they did not do the requisite research to confirm she was involved in the drug trade, they did conduct plenty of surveillance: ‘Officers conducted a traffic stop of Mrs. Basco shortly before the raid during which they searched her vehicle and learned that she is a nurse…’   https://reason.com/2021/07/30/qualified-immunity-police-drug-raid-texas-lucil-basco/

Trial of former Iranian prison official in Sweden could implicate Iran’s new president. “… Bijan Bazargan, was among an estimated 5,000 prisoners belonging to armed opposition and leftist groups in Iran, who Amnesty International and other rights groups say were executed in the summer of 1988…. (Iran’s president-elect, Ebrahim) Raisi, 60, was a member of the four-person committee that interrogated prisoners and issued execution orders. Mr. Raisi has said he was acting under the direction of the founding father of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had ordered a committee be formed to facilitate the executions.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/world/middleeast/iran-sweden-trial-raisi.html   Interesting timing!

Australia deploys troops in Sydney to enforce coronavirus lockdown. “Soldiers will join police in virus hotspots to ensure people are following the rules, which include a 10km (6.2 miles) travel limit. State Police Minister David Elliott said it would help because a small minority of (Sydney residents) thought ‘the rules didn’t apply to them’. Information provided by health officials indicates the virus is mainly spreading through permitted movement. The Australian Lawyers Alliance, a civil rights group, called the deployment a ‘concerning use’ of the army in a liberal democracy.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-58021718   What could go wrong? Remember how TSA ‘screeners’ morphed into order-barking bullies? When you give people absolute, unchecked power, many of them will abuse it.

Myanmar’s military dictatorship accused of crimes against humanity. “New York-based Human Rights Watch said the armed forces’ violent suppression of protests against the coup and arrests of opponents included torture, murder and other acts that violate international humanitarian conventions.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/31/myanmar-junta-accused-of-crimes-against-humanity-six-months-on-from-coup

German police investigating ‘hit list’ targeting exiled opponents of Turkey’s president. “According to Turkish journalists living in Germany as well as law enforcement sources in two European countries, prosecutors started the investigation into a list of 55 dissidents – activists and journalists – who have fled Turkey for Germany during a decade of purges and arbitrary arrests of reporters and civil society members by the government of President Recep Erdogan.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/k78k39/german-prosecutors-investigate-organised-criminals-after-hit-list-of-turkish-dissidents-discovered

Government watchdog says Dept. of Defense is doing a poor job of tracking private security contractors. “A Government Accountability Office report released Friday calls on the Pentagon to create an internal definition for security contractors, make them trackable in databases and assign an oversight position for private security contractors…. contractor oversight is shared between DoD and the companies themselves, with no single entity taking accountability overall. Then, there is no code in personnel databases for security contractors, so it’s impossible to know how many there are and what jobs they’re doing.”   https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/07/30/dod-really-has-no-idea-who-its-hired-to-do-private-security-report-finds/

270 Palestinian protesters reportedly treated after clashes with Israeli security forces. “The Red Crescent said most of those injured on Friday across the occupied West Bank needed treatment for tear gas inhalation, while seven Palestinians were injured by live fire and about 50 by rubber-coated bullets.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/30/israeli-forces-wound-more-than-250-palestinian-protesters

President Trump reportedly pressured Dept. of Justice officials to announce that 2020 presidential election was fraudulent. “The exchange unfolded during a phone call on December 27 in which Mr. Trump pressed the acting attorney general at the time, Jeffrey A. Rosen, and his deputy, Richard P. Donoghue, on voter fraud claims that the department had disproved. Mr. Donoghue warned that the department had no power to change the outcome of the election. Mr. Trump replied that he did not expect that, according to notes Mr. Donoghue took memorializing the conversation. ‘Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me’ and congressional Republican allies. That’s how Donoghue, who took notes during the call, summarized Trump’s response.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/30/just-say-election-was-corrupt-trump-told-doj-december

Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar to introduce minimum guaranteed income bill. “The national guaranteed income program would start in 2028, sending $1,200 per month to adults making up to $75,000 per year, or heads of household making up to $112,500 per year, as well as providing $600 monthly per child. The payments would phase out for higher incomes.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/30/new-guaranteed-income-bill-omar-proposes-sending-most-people-us-1200-month   Do people making more than $50,000 a year really need help? I guess it depends where you live, but the median personal income in the U.S. is about $36,000 a year.

Federal judge orders FDA to release complete egg producer practices information, because the redacted information does not include ‘trade secrets’. “In 2011, the Animal Legal Defense Fund requested inspection reports covering egg safety and production in Texas from the Food and Drug Administration. The government agency produced the reports but redacted information such as total hen population per facility and number of birds per cage.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-rules-fda-cant-withhold-information-about-egg-production-facilities/

 

 

 

 

July 30, 2021

55% of Republicans polled agree that ‘the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast we may have to use force to save it.’ “… nearly half of Republican voters (47%) say that ‘a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands’, per a new nationwide survey by George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. Only about 29% of Americans agreed with this statement on some level, the poll found, including just 9% of Democrats. And 49% said they disagree or strongly disagree.”   https://www.businessinsider.com/47-percent-gop-voters-patriots-take-law-own-hands-poll-2021-7   Yikes! Sounds like another coup attempt is likely.

Progressive Democrats get pressure from the left on Medicare for All. “The demonstration, billed as a gathering in favor of Medicare for All, took place outside (Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s) office in Bronx, New York, on Monday…. ‘If there’s a pathway you’ve got that we’re not aware of, please share it. Because we’re losing hope here that you represent us.’ …. ‘To Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Squad, Pramila Jayapal, House progressives, Bernie Sanders, and every member of Congress. Far too many who ran on Medicare for All are not FIGHTING for it as if our lives depend on it,’ (a) post from the Movement for a People’s Party added.”   https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/hollywood-actress-susan-sarandon-protest-aoc-office   “More than 100 people marched from Maggie Daley Park to the Federal Plaza to draw attention to their fight for Medicare for All…. ‘You show them your ID, you get your vaccine, you’re done. That’s the universal health care they always say can’t work here, but it did work here,’ Cook County Green Party member Troy Hernandez said.”   https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/over-100-people-march-in-support-of-medicare-for-all-downtown/

Yet another black member of Congress arrested for protesting in a ‘no protest’ zone. “Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was arrested in Washington on Thursday during a march supporting the expansion of voting rights. A photo posted by Jackson Lee on Twitter shows the congresswoman with her wrists tied together with zip ties as she’s being escorted by an officer.”   https://abc13.com/sheila-jackson-lee-voting-rights-washington-arrest-twitter-photo/10917591/

Bernie Sanders-inspired Our Revolution movement says it will now be backing Joe Biden’s agenda. “Rather than insisting on ‘Medicare for All’ – Sanders’ trademark universal, government-funded health care plan – or the climate-change-fighting Green New Deal, Our Revolution is focusing on the more modest alternatives endorsed by President Joe Biden. Those include expanding eligibility for the existing Medicare program and curtailing federal subsidies for fossil fuel companies…. The senator didn’t comment for this story.”   https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/29/pro-sanders-group-rebranding-into-pragmatic-progressives/5425714001/   I think they need a new name. How about Our Capitulation? Our Co-optation? Our Surrender? Our Sell-out?

Hong Kong police investigate crowd at shopping mall that booed China’s national anthem. “Hundreds gathered at a shopping mall on Monday to watch a broadcast (of the Olympics) and cheer on Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung, who won gold in the men’s individual foil. When the Chinese national anthem was played, some in the crowd began jeering…. It is illegal to insult the anthem under a recently passed law…. Police sources told local media that they are collecting and examining footage from the mall’s security cameras.”   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-58022068

Life in a developed market economy: Dog food recalled due to possible contamination by mold byproduct. “… the affected products may have levels of aflatoxin ‘above the acceptable limit’. The products were sold at stores nationwide under the company’s brands of Triumph, Evolve, Wild Harvest, Nurture Farms, Pure Being and Elm.”   https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2021/07/29/dog-food-recall-sunshine-mills-evolve-aflatoxin-mold-elevated-levels/5419522001/   Love those brand names.

Life in a developed market economy: 295,236 pounds of beef recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. “The products subject to recall bear establishment number ‘EST. 960A’ inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were distributed to further processors in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska.”   https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/greater-omaha-packing-recalls-raw-beef-products-due-possible-e.-coli-o157h7

FDA to allow pharmacists to substitute generic ‘biosimilar’ insulin for name brands. “Wednesday’s move by the Food and Drug Administration will allow pharmacists to automatically substitute the cheaper version, just as they do with generic pills for other kinds of drugs…. It could save diabetics and health plans millions of dollars annually and encourage other drug makers to create more biosimilar medicines.”   https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-fda-automatic-swap-brand-name-insulin.html

Fort Wayne, Indiana decides not to give Amazon an additional $7.3 million tax break. “Fort Wayne City Council will not grant a a $7.3 million tax break to Amazon for the machinery that will go into its fulfillment center along U.S. 30 and Flaugh Road…. (The) city council already awarded Amazon a $16 million tax abatement this spring for the facility’s construction.”   https://wpta21.com/2021/07/27/city-council-rejects-7-3m-tax-abatement-for-amazon-facility/

Names of some Truckee jet crash victims reportedly revealed by people who knew them. “… colleagues and friends say they have heard from relatives that the victims included Kevin Kvarnlov, Ryan Thomas and Christine Thomas, all of whom had connections to Hideaway Golf Club, a private golf club and residential community in La Quinta where homes sell for between $2 million and $6 million. A fourth man with ties to the (Coachella) valley, Bret Ebaugh, a pilot, is also believed to also have died in the crash. Kvarnlov worked for Hideaway Properties as a real estate and membership associate since 2019.”   https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2021/07/29/4-6-victims-plane-crash-near-truckee-had-ties-coachella-valley/5410827001/

Retired Air Force officer imagines a U.S. military actually focused on defense. “… the arsenal of democracy of World War II fame had, by the 1960s, become the very complex of imperialism, militarism, and industrialism that Eisenhower warned Americans about first in his 1953 “Cross of Iron” speech and then in his more famous farewell address of 1961. Despite the efforts of a few brave Americans, that arsenal of democracy was largely allowed to morph into an arsenal of empire, a radical change that came shrouded in the myth of ‘national security’. The complex would then only serve to facilitate the war crimes of Vietnam and of subsequent disasters like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, among so many others.”   https://original.antiwar.com/William_Astore/2021/07/29/pivoting-the-military-to-america/

Bayer to end lawn and garden sales of Roundup herbicide. “The key ingredient found in Roundup, the world’s most widely used herbicide, is glyphosate. Described by the World Health Organization as ‘probably carcinogenic’, glyphosate poses threats to human health and to pollinators such as bumblebees and monarch butterflies…. Given that Bayer’s decision to stop selling glyphosate-based herbicides by 2023 only applies to consumers in the U.S. lawn and garden market, (Kendra) Klein emphasized that ‘the battle against this toxic chemical is far from over. Massive amounts of glyphosate will continue to be sprayed in parks, schools, and on food crops…'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/29/historic-victory-bayer-end-us-residential-sales-glyphosate-based-herbicides

More than 100 major corporations paid single-digit or no federal income tax, or received tax refunds, during the period from 2018 to 2020. “Among the 39 corporations that avoided paying federal income taxes over three years, T-Mobile reported the largest profits. It reported $11.5 billion in profits over this time but had a federal income tax liability of negative $80 million, meaning the company received $80 million in tax refunds…. Among the 73 corporations that paid less than half of the statutory rate are household names such as Amazon, Bank of America, Deere, Domino’s Pizza, Etsy, General Motors, Honeywell, Molson Coors, Motorola, Netflix, Nike, Verizon, Walt Disney, Whirlpool, and Xerox—which all paid effective federal income tax rates in the single digits.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/29/73-major-corporations-paid-just-53-federal-tax-rate-between-2018-and-2020-report

Pharmaceutical companies accused of price gouging governments on covid vaccines. “The vaccines, which were created with the help of billions of dollars in public funding, could be produced as cheaply as $1.20 per dose. However, COVAX—the global initiative co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the World Health Organization (WHO); and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)—has been paying an average of nearly 500% more. Furthermore, the publication notes that Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have so far sold 90% of their vaccines to wealthy nations, which are paying up to 24 times more than production costs.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/29/big-pharma-monopolies-make-cost-global-vaccination-against-covid-19-5-times-costlier

July 29, 2021

Aurora, Colorado police release video of pistol whipping of unarmed trespassing suspect, officer chokes man, presses gun to his neck. “The officer… hit (Kyle) Vinson with his pistol at least seven times. One cut on Vinson’s head required six stitches. He later held him by the neck for almost 40 seconds…. Officer (John) Haubert is facing multiple felony charges, including second-degree assault and attempted first-degree assault. Another officer on the scene, Francine Martinez, faces misdemeanor charges for failing to intervene or report the use of force.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aurora-colorado-police-violent-arrest-video/

Native American man on life support after altercation with Inyo county, California deputies. “George Barlow, 32, was at an empty gas station on the Bishop Paiute Reservation when one of the Inyo County deputies first approached. The sheriff’s own narrative of the incident reveals Barlow wasn’t even their suspect…. In the first body-cam released by cops, a deputy can be seen approaching the gas station pumps and yelling ‘Yo’ to Barlow, who responds with ‘Hi’ before jogging closer. ‘Don’t run at me, bro,’ the cop warns, as Barlow runs toward him. ‘Back up, you’re gonna get tased.’ ‘What do you want?’ Barlow asks as he runs toward the deputy and raises his arms in the air. ‘What are you fucking with me for?’ From there, the cop deploys the taser and things immediately escalate.”   https://www.thedailybeast.com/outrage-grows-after-deputies-beat-native-american-man-kill-his-dog   “A dog, a pit bull breed, was shot dead by one of the two arresting Inyo County Sheriff deputies while they were attempting to take 32-year-old George Barlow III into custody. There seems to be some confusion as to the dogs ownership. Regardless of who owned the dog, deputies say Barlow charged them along with the pit bull with him after he was seen standing in the otherwise empty parking lot of the gas station…. George Barlow III on life-support. (Photo courtesy of Barlow Family).”   https://sierrawave.net/incident-at-chevron-station-in-bishop-involving-inyo-county-sheriff-deputies-sparks-community-outrage/

Whistleblowers says conditions at camp for detained migrant children were grim. “The two said that federal employees also ultimately reached into their own pockets to try and cover a lack of supplies for children after facility managers rejected pleas to buy supplies from a nearby Walmart and Costco. ‘Notwithstanding the dismissive attitudes of federal management and private contractors, a great many federal detailees, out of their own pockets, collectively spent thousands of dollars on supplies for the children,’ the complaint states, adding that ‘other detailees contributed far more, some individually into the thousands.’”   https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/565217-us-repeatedly-used-contractors-with-no-childcare-experience-to-run

Biden administration has yet to nominate someone to lead the Federal Communications Commission, leading net neutrality activists to believe they may be ‘running out the clock’ on behalf of the telecom industry. “During his 2020 election campaign, President Biden repeatedly stated that he would reverse a majority of FCC Chair Ajit Pai’s significant broadband and net neutrality decisions during the previous term…. ‘Until President Biden appoints—and the Senate confirms—a third commissioner, the agency will be deadlocked at 2-2. Absent a majority, there will be no substantial policy decisions on matters such as cybersecurity, net neutrality, broadband program reform, and privacy.'”   https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2021/07/23/on-the-case-of-president-bidens-missing-fcc-chair-nominee/

Trump-anointed candidate loses Texas special election for U.S. House seat. “Susan Wright’s defeat Tuesday in a Republican runoff with Navy veteran Jake Ellzey dealt a blow to Trump’s aura of invincibility as a Republican kingmaker. It’s critical to his 2022 midterm endorsements and continued hold on the GOP.”   https://news.yahoo.com/trump-allies-blame-conservative-leader-182801994.html   The incumbent reportedly died of covid-19.

Editorial writer suggests that if Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is going to vote like a Republican, maybe she should just become a Republican. “Now she’s even torching the Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill which wouldn’t require the blessing of any Republican…. It’s a lethal blow to President Joe Biden’s package that includes – among things – money to expand Medicare, to pay for universal pre-kindergarten, caregiving for the disabled and elderly.”   https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2021/07/28/sinema-just-torched-reconciliation-plan-she-really-democrat/5409137001/   It also includes serious money for climate action programs. “… Senate Democrats this week announced a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that would contain several major climate proposals, including a clean electricity standard, a crackdown on fossil fuel subsidies and a new civilian climate corps (E&E Daily, July 15). Sanders called it the ‘most significant effort the country has ever seen’ on climate.”   https://www.eenews.net/articles/bernie-sanders-steers-climate-agenda-from-budget-perch/

Alabama congressman who addressed audience at Trump rally before the Capitol riot reveals he was wearing body armor. “On the day of the certification, Jan. 6, (Rep. Mo Brooks)… gave a fiery speech at President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse where he told the assembled crowd that ‘today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!’ ….’I was warned on Monday that there might be risks associated with the next few days… And when I gave my speech at the Ellipse, I was wearing body armor.”   https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/mo-brooks-body-armor-jan-6-rally.html   Trump rally targeted by antifa assassins, dressed as Trump supporters so they could move undetected within the crowd, but they decided to riot instead? (sarcasm)

Death toll rises from three to six unnamed persons in mysterious Truckee, California private jet crash. “The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday a fourth person may have been killed in the airplane crash near Lake Tahoe on Monday, one more death than authorities previously reported.”   https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Officials-probe-whether-fourth-person-was-aboard-16344470.php   “The death toll in a plane crash that occurred near a golf course in Truckee, Calif., on Monday, has increased to six, officials said Wednesday…. The Bombardier CL 600 jet crashed while the pilot was attempting to land at Truckee-Tahoe Airport at 1:18 p.m., the FAA said in an email statement Monday…. Officials didn’t share the plane’s origin, but on the report, the FAA listed the tail number, which can be used to look up the plane’s activity log. The plane was traveling from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, according to Flight Aware.”   https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Truckee-plane-crash-fatalities-airport-16347214.php   “’We have not released any names yet. Due to the extent of the crash and the resulting fire, we will have to use DNA evidence to confirm the identities. This typically takes a few months. We will send out a release once the information is available,’ the coroner’s office told ABC10.”   https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/death-toll-rises-to-6-in-truckee-jet-crash/103-ac312761-490a-4554-8084-e8016fc02d79   No flight log? You don’t have to submit anything to the FAA? The company has no idea who was on their plane or who was flying it? No one screens or keeps track of the passengers? There are no records at all? If someone used a business jet to commit a crime or terror attack, would the FBI would be like, ‘We have no idea who carried out this attack because business jets are not required to submit flight plans or passengers logs. Anyone can evade the extensive TSA security precautions by simply booking a private jet. On the no-fly list? No problem!’ Seems highly unlikely.

Texas governor Greg Abbott suddenly VERY concerned about the spread of coronavirus, after banning cities and schools from imposing mask rules. “Governor Greg Abbott today issued an Executive Order restricting ground transportation of migrants who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19 into Texas communities,” the governor’s office said in a release. “The Executive Order also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion of such violation and reroute such vehicles back to its point of origin or a port of entry.”   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-gov-abbott-bans-transportation-migrants-coronavirus-infected   Iowa’s Republican governor blames illegal migrants for increase in coronavirus cases. “While public health experts have been citing the virus’ delta variant and lagging U.S. vaccination efforts for the latest coronavirus surge, (Gov. Kim) Reynolds said partial responsibility rests with newcomers coming across the southern border.”   https://news.yahoo.com/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-blames-150800150.html

Los Angeles city ordinance would make homelessness a crime. “The measure, which would replace a similar version known as Municipal Code 41.18, was co-authored by city council members Paul Krekorian and Mark Ridley-Thomas. It would prohibit ‘sitting, lying, or sleeping or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property in the public right-of-way.’ There are approximately 40,000 unhoused Angelenos who would be impacted by the ordinance…”   https://www.businessinsider.com/los-angeles-city-council-votes-in-favor-of-antihomelessness-ordinance-2021-7   “Among other limits, the ordinance that passed 13-2 would ban sitting, lying, sleeping or storing personal property… near driveways, fire hydrants, schools, day care centers, libraries, homeless shelters and parks.”   https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lifestyle-business-government-and-politics-4f1ef8aef6c1784e3b1a6193b6ed5016

Missourians reportedly wearing disguises to hide their identities when getting vaccinated. “… the driving force behind the reluctance may be concern for social standing. Patients aren’t only changing their appearance; they’re also begging their health care providers to be discreet…. They’re ‘very concerned about how the people that they love within their family and within their friendship circles and their work circles are going to react if they find out that they got the vaccine.'”   https://www.newsweek.com/people-are-reportedly-getting-vaccinated-disguise-avoid-judgment-1614057

Black police officers testify that they were targeted with racial abuse during Capital riot. “One woman in a pink ‘MAGA’ shirt yelled, ‘You hear that, guys, this n——— voted for Joe Biden!’” said (Officer Harry) Dunn, who has served more than a dozen years on the Capitol Police force. ‘Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in, screaming ‘Boo! F——— n—— !’ he testified. He said no one had ever called him the N-word while he was in uniform.”   https://apnews.com/51e7098111e221b88e3b64d476f241c8   The rioter had told Dunn ‘nobody voted for Biden’, and Dunn replied that, actually, he had voted for him.

Another Chinese billionaire is going to prison, for 18 years. “(Sun Dawu’s) legal team declined to comment on the case, saying it was too politically sensitive. One lawyer spoke of the fear of losing the license to practice law if interviewed by NPR. Sun’s case stemmed from a minor property dispute with a neighboring state farm that turned violent last summer. Dawu Group employees tried to petition local regulators for help in resolving the dispute.”   https://www.npr.org/2021/07/28/1021651586/chinese-billionaire-sun-dawu-is-sentenced-to-18-years-for-provoking-trouble

Foreign journalists covering flooding in China say they have been harassed by the public. “Since Sunday, the China-based staff for the BBC, The Los Angeles Times and others have received death threats and intimidating messages and calls, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China…. Journalists reporting on a submerged tunnel for the news agency Agence France-Presse were forced by hostile residents to delete footage and surrounded by several dozen men, according to the correspondents’ group.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/business/china-floods-foreign-media.html

Five Germans missing after chemical plant explosion are assumed to be dead. “Officials said Wednesday they have little hope of finding five missing workers alive, a day after an explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in western Germany that killed at least two people and injured 31 others…. The environmental authority for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Leverkusen is located, said Wednesday that the explosion’s smoke contained dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyl and furan compounds. However, it could not yet say how strong the concentration of these chemicals were…”   https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-explosions-d7f7ef8f113a12af8ba38fd1b5ec9add

Syrian doctor accused of torturing protesters. “The doctor, Alaa Mousa, identified as Alaa M in the indictment, is the third Syrian living in Germany to be charged with committing state-sponsored atrocities during uprisings against President Bashar al-Assad…. According to the indictment, the doctor committed numerous acts of torture in two military-run hospitals in Damascus and Homs against people who had been injured in anti-Assad demonstrations. At least two of the victims died, the indictment said.”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/syria-doctor-germany-crimes-humanity/2021/07/28/da9ff600-efa7-11eb-81b2-9b7061a582d8_story.html

After a Granite City, Illinois teenager mouthed off to a police officer, a police dog was ‘accidentally’ released, which reportedly mauled his leg for 8 minutes. “When officers asked (Devondre) Williams for his name, date of birth, and a statement regarding the alleged fight, the teen told officers, ‘You don’t need my fucking information for nothing,’ according to the department’s incident report…. ‘During the struggle (witnesses deny there was a struggle) the button controlling the door popper for my K-9 vehicle was activated,’ the report says. ‘The button is on the front of my ballistic vest carrier and it is believed that when Williams pushed away from the vehicle and my body, it activated the door popper by inadvertently pressing the button, allowing my K-9 Waldo to exit the vehicle.'”    https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8n4d/cops-taser-police-dog-k9-stop-biting-teen

Joe Manchin reportedly makes more money from his shares in a company that supplies coal to a power plant than he does as a U.S. senator. “According to his most recent financial disclosure, Manchin gained $492,000 last year due to his non-public shares in a coal company called Enersystems, which records show is a contractor for a power plant in the state’s north that burns waste coal. Meanwhile, Manchin’s 2020 income for being a senator was $174,000.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3x8bw/joe-manchin-senator-millions-coal-grant-town-west-virginia

Joe Manchin accused of being a no-show as West Virginia pharmaceutical employees seek to stop plant closure. “More than 1,400 workers in West Virginia are set to lose their jobs this week when the Viatris pharmaceuticals plant in Morgantown shuts down and moves operations overseas to India and Australia…. Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, got a $31 million payout as a result of the corporate consolidation before the new company set about cutting costs, including the closure of the Morgantown plant.”   https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/28/joe_manchin_west_virginia_heather_bresch

When McDonald’s declined to allow its restaurants in Israeli-occupied West Bank, the far right was upset but no one else seemed to care. “Similar to Ben & Jerry’s, McDonald’s backs a position against sales beyond the Green Line, not differentiating between Israeli settlements and other West Bank areas under limited Palestinian control. But unlike the ice cream supplier, McDonald’s avoided issuing a press-stopping statement to announce the policy.”   https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-mcdonalds-took-the-same-stance-as-ben-jerrys-but-avoided-public-backlash/

Government leak investigations soared during Trump administration. “The Trump administration referred far more media leaks for criminal investigation each year than any of the previous 15 years, with the CIA accounting for the vast majority of such leaks, according to a trove of records released by the Department of Justice to the independent watchdog group Project On Government Oversight, or POGO, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.”   https://theintercept.com/2021/07/29/media-leak-whistleblower-trump-cia/

Radicals accused of causing train derailments in solidarity with indigenous groups fighting oil pipelines. “The FBI is investigating at least 41 incidents of railway sabotage in Washington state since 19 January 2020. In the most serious incident, on 22 December, a train derailed and caught fire in Custer, Washington, spilling 29,000 gallons of crude oil and prompting the evacuation of 120 people nearby…. (Prof. Steven) Beda said Earth First, and the people installing shunts, appear to share the belief that change cannot happen through the courts or political systems, so they make the leap into sabotaging economies and industries, at any cost…. ‘To see that supporters of Wet’suwet’en sovereignty are facing up to 20 years in prison tells me that the state is very fearful of Indigenous resistance and those who support Indigenous resistance.'”   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/29/activists-sabotaging-railways-indigenous-people

French president Emmanuel Macron sues over anti-vax billboards depicting him as Adolph Hitler. “‘In Macron-land, showing the Prophet’s rear is satire, (but) making fun of Macron as a dictator is blasphemy,’ referring to the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s controversial caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/emmanuel-macron-takes-legal-action-over-hitler-poster-comparison

U.S. House progressives vow to torpedo stand-alone bipartisan infrastructure bill. “House progressives made clear Wednesday night that they are willing to vote down a newly etched bipartisan infrastructure deal unless a sweeping budget reconciliation package advances simultaneously, a threat that came after Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced her opposition to a $3.5 trillion climate and social spending proposal.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/29/progressives-threaten-tank-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal-if-their-demands-arent-met

Formerly homeless congresswoman introduces package of measures to end homelessness. “‘It is past time for the federal government to establish an Unhoused Bill of Rights and make the desperately needed investments to guarantee housing, healthcare, and a robust social safety net for our unhoused neighbors,’ (Rep. Cori Bush said in a statement). ‘We can end this crisis by 2025 if we, as lawmakers and as a country, finally dedicate ourselves to prioritizing those in our communities who have the least….’ The resolution is co-sponsored by 17 progressive House Democrats…”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/28/formerly-homeless-rep-cori-bush-introduces-unhoused-bill-rights

Fight for $15 movement has resulted in pay hikes for 25 million workers, says labor group. “The National Employment Law Project (NELP) released a report showing that since the movement began in November 2012 with a walkout by New York City fast food workers, its work has led to $150 billion in raises for 25 million workers…. About 12 million of the workers who have earned raises due to the movement’s activism are people of color; $76 billion has gone to workers of color and $70 billion has gone to women.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/28/grassroots-fight-15-movement-has-won-150-billion-raises-millions-workers-study-shows

Federal appeals court throws out pork industry lawsuit challenging California’s farm animal confinement rules. “The law, also known as the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, forbids the sale of meat from hogs born of sows not housed in conformity with its ‘stand-up-turn-around requirements’. Pigs must be able to lie down, stand up, turn around and fully extend their limbs without touching the sides of their stalls or another animal…. ‘Under our precedent, state laws that regulate only conduct in the state, including the sale of products in the state, do not have impermissible extraterritorial effects.'”   https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circuit-kills-pork-industry-challenge-to-california-confinement-rules/

Gawker coming back under new ownership. “Bustle Digital Group said it had hired Gawker’s former writers and editors to relaunch the site, which went into bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $140 million to former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over publication of a sex tape…. (Peter) Thiel, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and supporter of Donald Trump, acknowledged funding (the) legal battle against the gossip website that ‘outed’ him as gay.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/celebrity-gossip-site-relaunches-after-sex-tape-forced-shutdown/

 

 

 

 

July 28, 2021

Capitol police officers testify before Congress about January 6th riot. “Michael Fanone, a Washington police officer who was beaten unconscious and subjected to repeated shocks with his own Taser by the mob, suffering a heart attack and a brain injury, said he heard rioters calling for him to be killed with his own gun…. ‘To my perpetual confusion, I saw the thin-blue-line flag — the symbol of support for law enforcement — more than once being carried by the terrorists as they ignored our commands and continued to assault us,’ Officer (Daniel) Hodges said.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/us/jan-6-inquiry.html   I think calling them ‘rioters’ or ‘insurgents’ or ‘insurrectionists’ or ‘seditionists’ or ‘fascists’ might be more accurate than ‘terrorists’. Correction: Officers Fanone and Hodges are Washington, D.C. police officers, not Capitol police officers.

Pro-Trump journalists suggest beaten Officer Michael Fanone was mistaken for an antifa supporter, or that he may be a ‘crisis actor’. “I had my badge on until somebody ripped it off my chest. I don’t believe I was mistaken for a member of antifa.”   https://www.thedailybeast.com/dc-cop-michael-fanone-refutes-greg-kellys-bizarre-claim-he-was-mistaken-for-antifa-at-capitol-riot

U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar calls arrested Capitol rioters ‘political prisoners’. “I, too, am happy to join my Republican colleagues and demand the answers to the very troubling reports that the Biden administration and Justice Department are mistreating nonviolent prisoners in connection with Jan. 6,” Gosar said. He claimed that there are ‘disturbing reports’ of some prisoners being abused and held in solitary confinement for as many 23 hours a day. “These are not unruly or dangerous, violent criminals, these are political prisoners who are now being persecuted during the pain of unjust suffering.”   https://thehill.com/homenews/house/565069-protesters-shut-down-greene-gaetz-event   If they had been arrested for attending Trump’s speech they would be political prisoners, but that’s not what happened.

Florida revokes concealed carry permits of residents charged in Capitol riot. “Since charges began being filed, we are using our lawful authority to immediately suspend the licenses of 22 individuals involved in the storming of the U.S. Capitol. This is an ongoing effort, and as charges and sentences continue in the wake of this despicable attack, we will further suspend and revoke any additional licenses granted to insurrectionists.”   https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-officials-suspend-concealed-carry-licenses-of-those-involved-in-jan-6-insurrection/37147017

Democratic Party mega-donor Ed Buck found guilty of drug charges in connection with deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean. “Buck, who has reportedly given more than $500,000 to mostly Democratic politicians and causes since 2000, declined to testify in his own defense. Over the course of eight days, federal prosecutors put on more than 20 witnesses, including four men who told of smoking methamphetamine that Buck provided and then being pressured to allow the defendant to shoot them up with the drug.”   https://www.foxla.com/news/ed-buck-verdict-reached

Two Aurora, Colorado police officers arrested in connection with pistol-whipping of trespassing suspect. “(Officer John) Haubert allegedly grabbed the back of the man’s neck, pressed his gun against the man’s head, then struck the man’s head with his pistol at least seven times while ordering him to lie on his stomach, the documents say…. Officer Francine Martinez faces charges over allegedly not intervening to try to stop Haubert’s purported use of force, the documents say.”   https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1021384186/aurora-colorado-police-arrested-violent-arrest   The other two trespassing suspects ran and apparently escaped.

Life in a developed market economy: Two dead, 14 injured after leak at La Porte, Texas chemical plant. “According to (LyondellBasell), an ‘acetic acid leak’ occurred in the facility located at 1515 Miller Cut-Off Road…. The Atascocita Fire Department said it sent out its first responders. They also told ABC13 that 14 people were sent to Memorial Hermann Clear Lake.”   https://abc13.com/two-dead-after-chemical-leak-at-lyondellbasell-houston-plant-la-porte-incident-refinery/10913127/

Video shows Atlanta police officer kicking handcuffed woman in the face. “(The video) shows a woman facedown on the ground with her hands restrained behind her back…. In a statement, the Atlanta Police Department said one officer in the video, a sergeant, was placed on unpaid suspension pending an investigation and another officer was placed on administrative assignment. Neither officer was named.”   https://www.insider.com/video-atlanta-cop-kicks-woman-in-head-suspended-by-department-2021-7   “Sgt. Marc Theodule is the officer who can be seen kicking the woman in the face, an Atlanta police spokesperson confirmed. Officer Bridget Citizen stood to the side and did not appear to intervene.”   https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-2-apd-officers-suspended-over-video-of-woman-being-kicked-in-the-head/ZIZ76XLYL5ARPHIF26MJBKT4DQ/

Daniel Hale sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison for leaking information on drone assassination program to journalists. “The court did reject the prosecution’s extreme demands, but Hale‘s prison sentence is nonetheless another tragic example of how the government misuses the Espionage Act to punish alleged journalistic sources as spies, a practice that damages human rights, press freedom and democracy.“   https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/27/air-force-leaker-drone-secrets-45-months-prison-500814

Sweden charges Iranian exile with war crimes in connection with executions of leftist prisoners. “A 60-year-old Iranian citizen has been charged in Sweden with suspected war crimes committed in Iran in 1988 when around 5,000 political prisoners were executed on government orders, Stockholm prosecutors said on Tuesday…. The 1988 purge targeted members of the Iranian People’s Mujahideen, which was fighting in parts of Iran, as well as other political dissidents, such as left-wing groups.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iranian-charged-with-war-crimes-by-swedish-court-1988-prison-killing-2021-07-27/

Climate researchers warn we may already be at or near ‘tipping points’. “The researchers said there was ‘mounting evidence that we are nearing or have already crossed’ a number of climate tipping points. These include melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, which may now be irreversible on a centuries-long time scale, regardless of how or if the human race slashes its emissions. They said increasing ocean deoxygenation and warming waters were threatening warm-water coral reefs, upon which half a billion people rely for food, income and storm protection.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/28/thousands-of-scientists-declare-worldwide-climate-emergency

July 27, 2021

Public defender groups claim New York state gun laws primarily used to target minority gun owners. “Each year,” the groups state in their brief, “we represent hundreds of indigent people whom New York criminally charges for exercising their right to keep and bear arms. For our clients, New York’s licensing requirement renders the Second Amendment a legal fiction. Worse, virtually all our clients whom New York prosecutes for exercising their Second Amendment rights are Black and Hispanic.” And that, the brief argues, “is no accident. New York enacted its firearm licensing requirements to criminalize gun ownership by racial and ethnic minorities. That remains the effect of its enforcement by police and prosecutors today.”   https://reason.com/2021/07/26/gun-control-scheme-harms-black-and-hispanic-new-yorkers-public-defenders-tell-supreme-court/

Federal judge rules that FBI can force a January 6th defendant to unlock his laptop using his face. “Prosecutors said forensic evidence suggested that the laptop contained gigabytes of footage from (Guy) Reffitt’s helmet-worn camera that he allegedly used to record some of the (Capitol) riot. Prosecutors asked the court if it could compel Reffitt to sit in front of the computer to unlock it…. The government took advantage of a loophole in the Fifth Amendment, which grants anyone in the U.S. the right to remain silent, including the right to not turn over information that could implicate them in a crime, such as a password. But some courts have ruled that those protections don’t extend to a person’s physical attributes that can be used in place of a password, such as a face scan or fingerprint…. Courts across the U.S. are still divided on the reading of the Fifth Amendment and whether it applies to the compelled use of a person’s biometrics.”   https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/26/court-orders-us-capitol-rioter-to-unlock-his-laptop-with-his-face/

U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by the end of the year. “The security relationship will fully transition to a training, advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role, and… there will be no U.S. forces with a combat role in Iraq by December 31, 2021.”   https://www.voanews.com/usa/biden-announces-end-us-combat-mission-iraq

White House will reportedly request $1 billion in emergency funds to relocate Afghans who worked with U.S. forces, and their families. “State Department spokesman Ned Price said the initial tranche is estimated to comprise 2,500 people — 700 applicants and their immediate family members. The initial group that is being relocated is a small portion of the overall number of roughly 20,000 Afghans who are in the Special Immigrant Visa pipeline.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/26/politics/afghanistan-visas-white-house-funding/index.html

Jail employees who pepper sprayed and tasered man who refused to leave his cell for court hearing on misdemeanor charge will not be prosecuted. “Gary Raney, an expert with Criminal Justice Consulting, said nothing the two deputies did violate agency policies or training practices yet the video he saw was shocking…. He said there should have been more time between the deployment of the taser and the pepper spray. ‘A taser was deployed against Jamal Sutherland ten times during the extraction process.’ …. He died a few hours later…”   https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/charleston-county-news/solicitor-wilson-to-discuss-jamal-sutherland-death-investigation/

Shiawassee county, Michigan officials will return coronavirus hazard bonuses. “According to the Associated Press, the board of commissioners gave $557,000 in hazard pay to 250 county employees, including $65,000 that went to the seven county commissioners, all of whom are Republicans.”   https://www.npr.org/2021/07/26/1020848296/michigan-lawmakers-used-coronavirus-relief-funds-65-000-bonuses

Hong Kong court finds pro-democracy protester guilty of terrorism under ‘national security law’. “Tong Ying-kit was charged with inciting secession and terrorism for driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers last year while carrying a flag bearing the banned protest slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times’…. His behavior was an act of violence aimed at coercing the central and Hong Kong governments and intimidating the public and carrying the flag constituted an act of incitement to secession, (Justice Esther Toh) said.”   https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-laws-de500d4fce1ad5d160f7619e7a95e29e

Life in a developed market economy: Chemical storage tanks explode in German industrial park. “The city of Leverkusen said in a statement that the explosion at the Chempark site, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) north of Cologne on the Rhine river, occurred in storage tanks for solvents. It said four people were severely injured and 12 less seriously. Five people are missing.”   https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/explosion-chemical-complex-german-city-leverkusen-79082165

President of Tunisia dissolves parliament, seizes power. “Parts of Parliament said they would meet virtually even as soldiers cordoned off the Parliament building. But the danger remained that (President Kais) Saied would back up his power grab with greater force, whether by further deploying the military or arresting top officials.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/world/middleeast/tunisia-government-dismissed-protests.html

Human Rights Watch accuses Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes during Gaza fighting. “The international human rights organization issued its conclusions after investigating three Israeli airstrikes that it said killed 62 Palestinian civilians. It said ‘there were no evident military targets in the vicinity’ of the attacks. The report also accused Palestinian militants of apparent war crimes by launching over 4,000 unguided rockets and mortars at Israeli population centers. Such attacks, it said, violate ‘the prohibition against deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians.’”   https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-crime-war-crimes-human-rights-watch-4dbb4e7b915346ce6aca778f12a4359b

An estimated 1,000 Hungarians march in Budapest to protest government’s use of phone spyware. “A report by a group of 17 international media organisations and Amnesty International this month said the Pegasus spyware, made and licensed by Israeli company NSO, was used in hacking and attempts to hack smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists and government officials in several countries. Direkt36, the Hungarian partner in the group of media outlets, said those targeted for surveillance (in Hungary) included journalists, businessmen, lawyers and people critical of the Hungarian government.”   https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarians-protest-against-alleged-illegal-surveillance-with-pegasus-spyware-2021-07-26/

Russia takes down opposition group’s websites, claims they were spreading extremist propaganda. “(Alexei) Navalny’s website and those of his top strategist, Leonid Volkov, and his longtime ally Lyubov Sobol were unavailable on Monday. The sites of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and a network of about 40 regional offices could not be accessed nor could the site of the Alliance of Doctors union, which Navalny backs, and an online page calling for his freedom.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/26/russia-blocks-access-to-websites-of-alexei-navalny-and-close-allies

Groups accuse FBI and CIA of abusing NSA data to conduct ‘backdoor’ data searches. “… in this wide-sweeping dragnet approach to intelligence collection, companies allow access to and the government collects a large amount of ‘incidental’ communications—that is millions of untargeted communications of U.S. persons that are swept up with the intended data. The FBI has the ability to then bypass the Fourth Amendment requirement of a warrant and sift through these ‘incidental’ communications of Americans—effectively using Section 702 as a ‘backdoor’ around the Constitution.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/26/27-groups-urge-congress-close-fbi-backdoor-search-loophole

Doctors Without Borders urges rich countries to waive vaccine patents. “At a moment when we are in race against time to save lives and control the spread of unchecked transmission and development of new dangerous variants, pharmaceutical corporations’ business-as-usual approach is intolerable,” (Dr. Tom) Ellman said Monday. “With potentially promising treatments in the pipeline, opposing countries must stop filibustering the waiver proposal and support it to cover not just vaccines, but also treatments, diagnostics, and other health technologies.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/26/race-against-time-doctors-without-borders-implores-rich-nations-stop-stalling-patent

Federal judge rules in favor of Arkansas police in lawsuit over death of Rayshawn Warren. “Defendants, the city of Blytheville, the city’s chief of police and a police officer, claim Warren died from a cardiac arrest, while Warren’s mother says… the conduct of law enforcement officers caused her son to suffer an ultimately deadly crushed trachea.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/deadly-arrest/   “On Sept. 29, 2018, Rayshawn Warren was walking up to a home at the corner of West Main Street and 7th Street when an officer allegedly yelled at him and said, ‘come to me’…. The officer caught Warren and used an ‘arm bar restraint’, which attorneys say resulted in the crushing of Warren’s trachea.”   https://www.fox13memphis.com/rss-snd/arkansas-community-hold-protest-after-man-left-vegetative-state-following-police-encounter/ATMXJEABFJH55GADA45DUVD6UE/

July 25, 2021

Paris protest against proposed vaccine passport plan turns ‘rowdy’. “Some 160,000 people, including far-right activists and members of France’s yellow vest movement, protested Saturday across the country against a bill requiring everyone to have a special virus pass to enter restaurants and mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all health care workers…. Police fired water cannons and tear gas on rowdy protesters in Paris, although most gatherings were orderly.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-protest-covid-virus-pass-vaccine/   Amazing that people are so resistant to getting vaccinated against coronavirus, after having survived being vaccinated for small pox, measles, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, polio, influenza and the mumps!

Australia relying on lockdowns after slow roll-out of vaccination program, 57 arrested at Sydney protest. “Thousands gathered in Sydney, with smaller protests held in Melbourne and Brisbane. People chanted ‘freedom’ as they marched through the center of Sydney. Officers said they had made 57 arrests. Australian governments have re-imposed lockdowns across the country amid a surge in new infections…. Vaccination rates remain the lowest among developed nations, with fewer than 14% of people jabbed.”   https://news.yahoo.com/australia-covid-arrests-anti-lockdown-064129036.html   It’s still not clear to me why conservative governments are botching this. Is it about ideology or money?

Italy to implement coronavirus pass.  “The ‘green pass’, which will reflect whether a person has received at least one vaccine dose, recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months or tested negative within the past 48 hours, comes into force on 6 August. The pass will be needed for indoor dining, gyms and theaters, as well as to attend big events such as conferences and sports games.”   https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/italy-vaccine-passport-covid-delta-restaurants-b1889194.html

Supporters boost turnout at Budapest pride parade. “Thousands of Hungarians participated in a Pride parade Saturday in protest of the government’s new anti-LGBT legislation…. on Saturday around 30,000 people, including members of the Hungarian Parliament, paraded through Budapest to celebrate the country’s LGBT community and challenge the new laws, which have been condemned by the European Commission.”   https://thehill.com/homenews/news/564703-thousands-take-to-the-streets-in-budapest-for-lgbt-pride-following-anti-gay

At least 136 dead in landslides and flooding due to torrential rains in India. “Seasonal monsoon rains hit the region every year between June and September, but climate scientists warn that rising temperatures as a result of climate change could be exacerbating their impact. A warmer atmosphere can retain more moisture, leading to heavier rainfall during storms and, by extension, an increased risk of landslides and flooding.”   https://gizmodo.com/more-than-130-people-dead-in-india-after-monsoon-rains-1847356670

G20 governments can’t agree on phasing out coal power. “The U.S., Great Britain and other countries are seeking commitments to end new coal power plant construction and phase out its use in order to limit the severity of human-caused global warming…. Countries including China, India and Russia objected to phaseout language being including in the meeting communique…. ‘There are countries that are still bringing coal online that could be building out greater renewable and alternative, sustainable energy possibilities,’ (U.S. climate envoy John Kerry) said.”   https://www.axios.com/g20-coal-use-un-climate-summit-4434de64-1fa5-49b2-ae87-44e11adf0f9f.html

Monitoring group says four G20 countries plan to continue relying mainly on fossil fuels. “The EU and UK have outlined emission pledges that could bring the world close to (Paris climate agreement) aspirations. However, those of China, Russia, Brazil and Australia – which remain reliant on continued fossil-fuel burning – would trigger temperature rises of 5C if followed by the rest of the world.”   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/plans-of-four-g20-states-are-threat-to-global-climate-pledge-warn-scientists

Norwegians mark tenth anniversary of far-right terror attack on the country’s social democratic Labour Party. “On July 22, 2011, right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a car bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people in the government quarter. He then took a ferry to Utoya island, where he shot dead 69 mostly teenaged members of the Labour Party’s youth wing (AUF), who were there for an annual summer camp…. ‘Ten years on, we must speak the truth. Far-right extremism is still alive.'”   https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/22/norway-marks-a-decade-since-bomb-and-gun-massacre-killed-77-people   “The mainstream media’s sudden shift from the discourse of terrorism to talk of ‘tragedy’ and ‘catastrophe’ once it became known that the perpetrator was a white, Norwegian right-wing extremist, rather than a radicalised Muslim, was telling…”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/22/norway-utoya-attack-10-years-ago-reckoning-far-right

Topeka Frito-Lay employees to return to work after winning pay increase, six-day workweeks and end to back-to-back 12 hour shifts. “Members of Local 218 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union voted Friday to approve an offer that gives all union members a 4% pay raise over two years and guarantees workers at least one day off each week…. Under the approved offer, Frito-Lay has agreed to work with Local 218 leaders to establish a ‘labor-management committee’ comprised of three union-appointed members and three company-appointed members. That committee would make recommendations on issues of staffing and overtime.”   https://www.cjonline.com/story/business/2021/07/24/frito-lay-topeka-union-members-vote-approve-contract-end-strike/8064005002/   Sounds like a living wage for a 5 day, 40 hour work week has become a utopian dream again.

Drone war whistle-blower Daniel Hale describes his motivation to the court. “I came to believe that the policy of drone assassination was being used to mislead the public that it kept us safe, and when I finally left the military, still processing what I had been a part of, I began to speak out, believing my participation in the drone program to have been deeply wrong…. Left to decide whether to act, I could only do that which I ought to before God and my own conscience. The answer came to me, that to stop the cycle of violence, I ought to sacrifice my own life and not that of another person. So I contacted an investigative reporter, with whom I had had an established prior relationship, and told him that I had something the American people needed to know.”   https://theintercept.com/2021/07/24/daniel-hale-assassination-program-drone-leak/   “The U.K.-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, or TBIJ, estimates the total number of deaths from drones and other covert killing operations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia to run between 8,858 and 16,901 since strikes began to be carried out in 2004. Of those killed, as many as 2,200 are believed to have been civilians, including several hundred children and multiple U.S. citizens, including a 16-year-old boy.” (same source)

18 states have passed laws this year restricting voting. “(A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice) found that the 30 laws… passed since 1 January ‘make mail voting and early voting more difficult, impose harsher voter ID requirements, and make faulty voter [roll] purges more likely, among other things’…. however… no states produced evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 elections, despite continued claims by Donald Trump, backed by numerous Republican leaders, that he was not beaten by Joe Biden in the race to the White House.”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/23/us-voting-rights-restrictions

Far left figures in Cuba criticize government’s response to protests. “‘We uncritically follow our leaders instead of rectifying their path. We agree to be disciplined, when what we have to do is think and act with our own heads.’ …. Within Cuba, the regime has long demanded such support, calling detractors gusanos, or worms. Yet the sight of thousands of Cubans taking to the streets to complain about a lack of food, medicines and electricity seems to have caused cracks to appear…. ‘A failure to pressure the government from the left means that the right will take the initiative’, meaning ‘more market, more private property, less education and public health.’”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/25/cuban-leftists-begin-to-turn-their-fire-on-the-harmful-practices-of-the-state

UK man being held in Somalia claims he is being tortured by the government and interrogated by Americans. “Over the next five weeks, the document alleges, ‘(David) Taylor’ (not his real name) was interrogated daily by ‘Roxanne’ with questions about himself and other British citizens. In between, he alleges, he was tortured by the Somali authorities. ‘On one occasion, he had a gun pointed to his head and was told that if he did not cooperate with the Americans, he would be killed straight away,’ claims the document.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/25/foreign-office-is-complicit-in-british-mans-somalia-torture

60 year-old Tennessee man dies of heart attack after being ‘SWATed’ by men who wanted his Twitter handle. “According to court documents, the caller gave (Mark) Herring’s address and said ‘he had shot a female in the back of a head and she was dead, and that he would use pipe bombs placed at the front and back doors if police responded.'”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/25/tennessee-swatting-mark-herring-twitter-heart-attack

Coalition of 100 groups that support Medicare for All holds rallies in 50 cities. “How can we have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness when we live in constant fear of illness, bankruptcy, or homelessness because of the outrageous for-profit healthcare system?”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/24/medicare-all-advocates-take-streets-over-50-us-cities

Richest man in the world sells high-end fashion goods to the wealthy. “At one point last month, the largest private fortune in the world — all $186.3 billion of it — belonged to a billionaire who makes his money selling luxuries to rich people…. The 14 months that witnessed (Bernard) Arnault’s rise to billionaire glory also witnessed Covid’s deadly march across our planet. Over the course of those 14 months, average working people worldwide lost wages, jobs, and lives at rates no one alive today had ever before seen. Over that same span of time, the world’s wealthy found themselves with the wherewithal to buy enough luxury to make the world’s leading purveyor of nonessential amenities the richest man on the face of the Earth.”   https://consortiumnews.com/2021/07/22/living-ever-larger-in-the-lap-of-luxury/

July 24, 2021

Michigan prisons accused of pulling inmates’ teeth instead of providing dental care. “In court filings and interviews, dozens of prisoners complained that their decaying teeth were left to rot and ache. Some said they’d been pressured into having otherwise fixable teeth pulled, by practitioners who asked them to pick between living in pain and losing a tooth…. If a cavity hurt too much, the dentist would tell prisoners they could wait at least two years for a filling — or just agree to an extraction right away.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-prisoners-say-long-wait-see-dentist-inhumane-n1274609

NSA says it did not target Tucker Carlson, but his name was mentioned in exchanges that were collected. “What the NSA did find was that Carlson had been mentioned by third parties in their communications, and that his name was revealed through ‘unmasking’, whereby qualified government officials may request the divulgence of the identities of U.S. citizens who are mentioned in intelligence reports. The sources would not disclose the third parties in whose communications Carlson’s name was mentioned.”   https://www.mediaite.com/news/nsa-review-found-no-evidence-tucker-carlson-was-targeted-concluded-his-name-was-unmasked-in-others-communications-report/

Democrat-controlled Senate Armed Services committee adds $35 billion to Biden defense budget. “The Senate panel is increasing the Pentagon’s budget to $740 billion, compared to the Biden administration’s request of $715 billion, bringing total military spending for 2022 to nearly $778 billion…. The additional money funds a variety of accounts, mostly ones that increase the capacity of the military by spending billions of dollars to procure more aircraft like the F-35 and build and restore ships for the Navy.”   https://federalnewsnetwork.com/congress/2021/07/senate-ndaa-adds-35b-to-dod-takes-all-nonmilitary-crimes-out-of-chain-of-command/   In other words, more money being transferred from taxpayers to the military-industrial complex for ‘money pit’ weapons systems.

Video shows Idaho Springs, Colorado police officers tasing unarmed, 75 year-old man in his own home after neighbor’s noise and assault complaint. “… former Idaho Springs Police Officer Nicholas Hanning shoots (Michael) Clark with a stun gun, causing him to fall backward and hit his head. Hanning and his partner, Ellie Summers, then drag an unconscious Clark by his legs and arms outside of his apartment while they handcuff him…. Since then, Clark has remained hospitalized following a stroke, a burst appendix and now potential heart surgery.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-colorado-officer-shooting-75-year-old-man-stun-n1274877

Federal pandemic eviction ban ending July 31st. “… advocates say the emergency measure’s end threatens 6 million renters who are at risk of losing their homes at a moment new infections are rising and a federal program to help them has been slow to provide rent relief.”   https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-era-eviction-ban-foreclosure-moratorium-expiration-biden-renewal-2021-7

Death toll during South Africa’s Zuma riots hits 337. “(Jacob) Zuma, 79, was sentenced late last month for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018. Sporadic pro-Zuma protests broke out when Zuma handed himself over and escalated into riots involving looting and arson that President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as an ‘insurrection’.”   https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2021/0722/1236674-south-africa-unrest/

140 Palestinians injured during protest against settler outpost, some shot. “More than 140 Palestinians were hurt Friday in clashes with Israeli troops in the flashpoint West Bank village of Beita, medics said, during protests against (the) illegal Israeli settlement outpost (of Evyatar), including nine people injured by live fire.”   https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-140-palestinians-2-soldiers-injured-in-west-bank-clashes/

Sierra Leone becomes the 23rd African nation to abolish the death penalty. “Of those countries that retain the death penalty on their statute books, 17 are abolitionist in practice, according to Amnesty International…. “(In 2020,) executions were carried out in Botswana, Somalia and South Sudan.”   https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/24/sierra-leone-abolishes-death-penalty

Where did the ‘universal decryption key’ to reverse ransomware attacks come from? “When asked by Gizmodo where the key came from, a Kaseya spokesperson reiterated that it had come from ‘a trusted third party’. When asked whether the company paid for the key, the spokesperson said that the company could not ‘comment to your question around payment’…. Some experts have wondered whether the Russian government ‘might have seized the key from the criminals and handed it over through intermediaries,’ The Guardian writes.”   https://gizmodo.com/kaseya-ransomware-saga-mysteriously-comes-to-an-end-bu-1847351098   Or maybe a U.S. government agency hacked the hackers and stole it? Or maybe the NSA cracked the code? You’d think they’d take credit if that were the case though.

Company that makes $56,000 a year Alzheimer’s drug provides screening questions to help people self-assess if they may have the condition. “Do you ever forget things, like a doctor’s appointment or a lunch date? Do you sometimes struggle to think of the right word for something common? Do you ever feel more anxious or irritable than you typically do? Do you ever feel overwhelmed when trying to make a decision? …. (Do) you ever lose your train of thought or ever get lost on your way to or around a familiar place(?) The questions not only bring up common issues that perfectly healthy people might face from time to time, but the answers any quiz-taker provides are also completely irrelevant. No matter how you answer—even if you say you never experience any of those issues—the quiz will always prompt you to talk with your doctor about cognitive screening.”   https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/ever-forget-stuff-you-may-have-alzheimers-says-maker-of-56k-alzheimers-drug/

Journalist discovers that rideshare companies are taking a bigger share of the fare than they are telling their drivers. “We booked 20 rides in San Francisco with drivers who shared their pay for our trips…. The unscientific sampling showed that, of 10 rides, drivers with Uber received an average of 56 percent of what I paid; of 10 (rides) with Lyft, drivers received an average of 47 percent of what I paid…. Only in one fare was its share at or below (the supposed standard rate of) 25 percent, and it was exactly that.”  https://missionlocal.org/2021/07/as-rideshare-prices-skyrocket-uber-and-lyft-take-a-bigger-bite-of-the-pie/

Personal data of 57,920 Floridians possibly stolen in hack of the state’s unemployment website. “The Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday that hackers targeted the site, known as CONNECT, between April 27 and July 16 of this year…. they might have obtained those people’s Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers, claim information and other personal details, such as addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. They might also have stolen users’ PIN numbers they use to access their accounts…”   https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/07/23/floridas-unemployment-site-hacked-exposing-personal-data-on-58000-claimants/

Life in a developed market economy: Company recalls processed carrots due to possible salmonella contamination. “Grimmway Farms is voluntarily recalling bagged carrots sold at grocery stores across the country…. The recall includes carrots sold under the brand names Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, O Organics and Grimmway Farms’ own brand.”   https://6abc.com/carrot-recall-baby-carrots-bunny-luv-o-organics/10903819/

U.S. now spending more on its military than the next 11 countries combined. “Although the United States spends more on defense than any other country, the Congressional Budget Office projects that defense spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will decline over the next 10 years — from 3.3 percent of GDP in 2021 to 2.7 percent in 2031. That is considerably lower than the 50-year average spending on defense of 4.4 percent of GDP.”   https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2021/07/the-united-states-spends-more-on-defense-than-the-next-11-countries-combined

Amnesty International accuses Iran of shooting water shortage protesters. “At least eight protesters and bystanders, including a teenage boy, were killed when authorities used live ammunition to quell the protests, Amnesty International said on Friday. ‘Iran’s security forces have deployed unlawful force, including by firing live ammunition and birdshot, to crush mostly peaceful protests,’ the rights group said in a statement.”   https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-unlawful-force-used-against-anti-government-protesters-says-amnesty

Human rights groups tell Joe Biden that it’s time for the U.S. to cut off Egypt. “Since seizing power, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is reported to have jailed more than 60,000 dissidents, according to human rights organisations. In 2014, Congress began imposing human rights conditions on parts of the $1.3bn in military aid, but former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both issued national security waivers to bypass the restrictions.”    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-rights-groups-call-biden-condemn-abuses-halt-military-aid

Almost 600 arrests of protesters opposing Line 3 pipeline. “Nearly 600 water protectors have been arrested during ongoing protests in Minnesota against the construction of the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline at the Shell River, which the partially completed pipeline is set to cross in five places.”   https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/23/protests_line_3_pipeline_minnesota

Large group of women arrested for protesting outside U.S. Supreme Court. “On Monday, more than a hundred women from around the United States were arrested outside the Supreme Court as they marked the 173rd anniversary of the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls with a protest calling for voting rights and economic justice. Among them, Reverend Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign.”   https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/23/infrastructure_voting_rights_protest

Minnesota court orders Hubbard County sheriff to lift blockade on pipeline protest camp’s access road. “Last month, (Sheriff Cory) Aukes unlawfully blockaded a 90-year-old driveway that serves as the only means of entry and exit to the Giniw Collective’s camp, which is a convergence point for Indigenous-led protests against the expansion of the Line 3 pipeline. Police officers also cited and arrested individuals who attempted to use the driveway to travel to and from the camp.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/23/huge-legal-win-court-stops-police-blockading-line-3-protester-camp

Group of Democratic Party lawmakers urge Biden administration to move U.S. away from a nuclear weapons-based military posture. “‘We hope that the (Nuclear Posture Review) operationalizes your previously stated view that the United States will not need to fire the first shot in a nuclear conflict,’ the lawmakers wrote, ‘and that it configures its nuclear forces away from that warfighting posture accordingly.’ Biden should also direct the Pentagon ‘to include in its proposed target list a breakdown of the damage expectancy, civilian casualties, and climatic and humanitarian consequences stemming from nuclear weapons use,’ given that even geographically limited nuclear conflict ‘would be felt by all the planet’s inhabitants.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/22/dems-urge-biden-seize-watershed-moment-and-cut-nuclear-stockpile

July 23, 2021

25% of domestic terrorism cases pursued by the FBI have reportedly targeted antifa activists and George Floyd rioters. “… (FBI director Christopher) Wray has… testified that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country have ‘quite a number’ of probes into anarchist extremism, many involving people ‘tied either by their own admission or otherwise to the Antifa movement’….. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter to the attorney general that the FBI opened 500 domestic terror investigations during ‘the 2020 riots (comprising 25% of the FBI’s current domestic terrorism investigations).'”   https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/22/biden-domestic-terrorism-strategy-has-activists-in-the-crosshairs-500478

Another black member of U.S. Congress arrested for protesting in a ‘no protest’ zone. “(Rep. Hank Johnson) is one of 10 people whom the Capitol Police arrested for ‘unlawfully demonstrating’ outside the Hart Senate Office Building and charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding…. (Color of Change spokesperson Rashad) Robinson said in a statement Thursday that ‘it was worth the risk to use our power to demand voting rights protections for Black people, and all communities, in our country.'”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/22/politics/hank-johnson-georgia-democrat-arrested-voting-rights-protest/index.html

Tennessee State Building Commission votes to remove bust of the first KKK leader from the state’s Capitol building. “… (Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest) sold slaves in Memphis, was in command (during) the Fort Pillow Massacre and was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan…. ‘The left-wing activists who are pushing an anti-American, anti-history agenda here in Tennessee and across the nation will not stop with Nathan Bedford Forrest. The woke mob means ultimately to uproot and discard not just Southern symbols, but American heroes and history as well,’ (Lt. Gov. Randy) McNally said in (a) statement.”   https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/07/22/years-in-the-making-forrest-busting-out-of-state-capitol/

Missouri’s supreme court rules that the state’s government must honor the will of the voters on Medicaid expansion – new participants can be added to the program without immediately allocating additional state funding. “Missouri voters successfully pushed through a state constitutional amendment on the ballot last August to adopt Medicaid expansion, but the Republican-dominated legislature refused to implement it…. The amendment, which passed with 53% of the vote, makes adults between the ages of 19 and 65 eligible for Medicaid if they make 133% of the federal poverty level (or less) — … about $35,200 for a family of four. It also prohibits the state from enacting work requirements for Medicaid recipients.”   https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019401988/voters-prevail-in-missouri-275-000-to-gain-access-to-health-care

Major firms knocked off-line due to problem at Akamai Technologies. “… websites for Southwest Airlines, popular banks including Fidelity and US Bank, both Fedex and UPS, and the Playstation Network (as well as videogame provider Steam) all experienced issues…. a software update… reportedly ‘triggered a bug in the DNS system’.”   https://onezero.medium.com/akamai-went-down-and-it-broke-the-internet-82ba298f2f8a   “Websites of Delta Air Lines, Costco Wholesale Corp, American Express and Home Depot were initially down, displaying domain name system (DNS) service errors. Oracle Corp and Amazon.com’s AWS said the global issue related to Akamai’s network impacted access to many internet resources, including their own cloud services.”   https://www.reuters.com/technology/websites-airlines-banks-tech-companies-down-widespread-outage-2021-07-22/

FTC ‘right to repair’ push would affect more than just cell phones. “Wednesday’s vote (to condemn repair restrictions imposed by manufacturers) doesn’t just place more pressure on the tech industry. Makers of everything from tractors to hospital equipment have been accused of similar tactics.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/22/tech/ftc-right-to-repair/index.html

Multiple news outlets report cause of NFL coach Greg Knapp’s death as a ‘bicycle accident’ or ‘bicycle crash’, when he was actually hit by a car while riding his bike. “The 58-year-old Knapp, an avid bicyclist who makes his off-season home in Danville (California), was riding on Saturday when a motorist swerved into the bike lane and hit the veteran coach in nearby San Ramon, agent Jeff Sperbeck said.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/jets-assistant-coach-greg-knapp-critical-condition-following-bicycle-crash-n1274475

U.S. Marshals’ police dog mauled bystander, claims lawsuit. “Evy Orellana, who was 20 at the time, was left with 45 stitches in her left thigh, and believes the stress from the attack later caused her to miscarry…. She has nightmares, has developed a fear of big dogs, and gets anxiety attacks when she hears loud noises.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8xe3/us-marshals-police-dog-attack-pregnant-woman-maryland

Facebook decides to allow posts calling for the death of Iranian leader, but only for two weeks. “We recognize that in the current context of protests against water shortages, ‘Khamenei’ is being used largely as a stand-in for the Iranian regime in these statements, rather than as a direct threat or call for violence against him as an individual,” a company representative told activists in an email, which Motherboard viewed. “Accordingly, we have made a limited, time-bound newsworthiness exception to allow this content. For the next two weeks (subject to further review based on the situation on the ground), we will allow use of ‘death to Khamenei’ in the context of political protests in Iran.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7exzm/facebook-says-death-to-khamenei-posts-are-ok-for-the-next-two-weeks

Toronto cops go wild, beating homeless people and tearing down their tents. “Officers were filmed shoving, pepper spraying, and hitting people as they dismantled a park encampment of fewer than 20 residents…. One photo shows an officer using the “knee-on-neck” hold to a person on the ground…. In a news release, Toronto police said they arrested 26 people.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3xgza/toronto-cops-say-they-did-tremendous-job-after-beating-people-destroying-homeless-camp 

Profile of Daniel Hale, drone war whistle-blower. “When he arrived in Afghanistan in 2012, it became Daniel Hale’s job to stare at a screen and direct a drone from wherever it was to the location of a cell-phone number in which the military had interest…. Sometimes the machine for which he worked was called ‘one warhead one forehead’, because each mission targeted only one man. But the men were very often surrounded by other men as the missile found them. This is what ate at him. He knew nothing about these people; none of them would have been the target of the attack. But they would die too.”   https://archive.is/L18DO

 

 

 

 

 

July 22, 2021

FBI agent who was the public face of Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot prosecution is charged in connection with severe domestic violence incident. “Special Agent Richard Trask, 39, of Kalamazoo, was charged Monday with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder following the alleged incident Sunday. An affidavit filed by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office in Kalamazoo County District Court said Trask’s wife had bloody lacerations to the right side of her head and ‘blood all over chest, clothing, arms and hand’, as well as ‘severe’ bruising to her neck and throat.”   https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/07/21/records-fbi-agent-assaulted-wife-swingers-party-gretchen-whitmer-terror-plot/8041014002/

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy pulls all five of his appointees to panel investigating January 6th Capitol riot after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejects two. “… Pelosi’s move to reject Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana gives House Republicans an avenue to attack the select committee as a partisan endeavor. McCarthy slammed the move shortly after it was announced Wednesday…. House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and another select committee member, said Banks and Jordan ‘were clearly selected just to be disruptive, and that’s not acceptable.'”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/21/politics/nancy-pelosi-rejects-republicans-from-committee/

Someone signed the name of a homicide prosecutor who was out on maternity leave on court documents submitted by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office. “Kim Arshi began her maternity leave May 10. But her electronic signature appears on more than 20 cases in court documents listing her as the lead prosecutor – even though she was not in the office and did not sign them herself, according to a source familiar with the cases.”   https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-louis-lead-homicide-prosecutor-quits-signature-cases-maternity-leave/63-d2e8ec1c-852b-4bbc-be4d-d0228ecde16f

Fulton county, Pennsylvania voting machines decertified after audit requested by Republican legislators. “In a letter to the Fulton County Board of Elections on Tuesday, acting Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Veronica Degraffenreid said the machines used during the November 2020 election were compromised as a result of the audit conducted by software company Wake TSI…. She said neither the county, state officials, nor Dominion Voting Systems could ‘verify that the impacted components of Fulton County’s leased voting system are safe to use in future elections.'”   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pennsylvania-county-s-voting-machines-decertified-after-audit/ar-AAMplh9?li=BB141NW3

‘Anonymized’ Grindr app data reportedly used to out gay priest. “A Catholic news outlet called The Pillar somehow obtained ‘app data signals from the location-based hookup app Grindr’. It used this to track a phone belonging to or used by Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, who was an executive officer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops…. (the publication) simply says it was ‘commercially available app signal data’ obtained from ‘data vendors’.”   https://www.vox.com/recode/22587248/grindr-app-location-data-outed-priest-jeffrey-burrill-pillar-data-harvesting

Man jailed for plotting to massacre sorority members is rearrested by FBI on related charges. “(Tres) Genco was convicted in Highland County Court in October 2020 for making terroristic threats. He was sentenced to 17 months in jail, but credited 224 days, according to online records. In January 2021, it appears he was given the ‘OK’ for transitional control, out of jail. Highland County investigators said they called the FBI about the case, leading to these new charges. Genco is (now) charged with attempting to commit a hate crime and illegally possessing a machine gun.”   https://www.wlwt.com/article/feds-highland-county-man-plotted-mass-shooting-of-women-at-university/37093680

Massive explosions in China after aluminum plant is flooded after heavy rain. “Authorities said the plant in the town of Gaocheng was shut down and its staff evacuated at around 4 a.m. after the nearby Ying River burst its banks and the surrounding walls collapsed. The explosion happened around 6 a.m. when floodwaters reached the high-temperature solution inside the plant’s alloy tank, the statement noted.”   https://www.newsweek.com/plant-explode-dramatic-videos-flooding-china-aluminum-1611292

Five union members arrested in Hong Kong for publishing politicized children’s books. “In recent months the union published three illustrated ebooks that try to explain Hong Kong’s democracy movement to children. Democracy supporters are portrayed as sheep living in a village surrounded by wolves.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/22/five-arrested-in-hong-kong-for-sedition-over-childrens-book-about-sheep

Bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators seeks to restrict presidential war powers. “The National Security Powers Act is the result of a somewhat unlikely political alliance between Sens. Mike Lee (R–Utah), Chris Murphy (D–Conn.), and Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.). Rep. James McGovern (D–Mass.) will introduce a companion bill in the House…. It would require an affirmative vote in Congress to approve sales of American fighter jets, tanks, and other weapons of war totaling over $14 million—a key change from the current system that requires a veto-proof majority in Congress to block such deals. It would also require that Congress vote within 20 days, rather than 60, to approve any military action taken under the War Powers Resolution (WPR), and the bill would automatically cut off funding for engagements that do not win congressional approval…. Finally, the bill requires that Congress approve emergency declarations—and specific powers tied to them—within 30 days.”   https://reason.com/2021/07/21/senators-aim-to-curtail-presidential-power-over-war-arms-sales-emergency-declarations/

Women’s soccer teams take a knee at the Olympics. “British women’s soccer players took a knee on the first day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, in a protest against discrimination and racism that was quickly reciprocated by their opponents from Chile…. Soccer players from the U.S. and Swedish women’s squads also took a knee before their match…. New Zealand’s women’s soccer team, also took a knee on Wednesday. Their opponents from Australia remained standing, with their arms intertwined.”   https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/21/1018811516/players-take-a-knee-at-tokyo-olympics-as-the-first-competitions-kick-off

Writer warns that market-oriented, billionaire space businesses could lead to a world like the one shown in the 2008 Pixar movie Wall-E. “… a global mega-corporation has destroyed Earth, transforming the planet into a wasteland strewn with trash where nothing can grow. All life on the planet—save for one cockroach—has either perished or escaped to spend eternity on a spaceship called the Axiom, where humans are waited on by robot servants, spend all day watching screens, and smile dully as their muscles atrophy….Though it was released more than a decade ago, the movie feels eerily prescient of this moment when capitalist titans like Bezos are focused on turning space into either a pleasure zone or an industrial nightmare.”   https://gizmodo.com/wall-e-tried-to-warn-us-1847335905

Life in a developed market economy: 10 employees injured in liquid nitrogen explosion. “The explosion in Paducah (Kentucky) occurred at Dippin’ Dots’ contract manufacturing facility and not where the ice cream is made, the company said…. police spokeswoman Robin Newberry told NBC affiliate WPSD the explosion happened as a truck was unloading liquid nitrogen.”   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/10-injured-after-explosion-dippin-dots-facility-kentucky-n1274689   This is reportedly the second explosion at the company in two years. “In the November 2019 explosion also at the Paducah facility, four employees were injured in an explosion. The exact details remain unclear, but at the time, Paducah city spokeswoman Pam Spencer said the plant had a nitrogen leak.”   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/10-injured-in-second-dippin-dots-factory-explosion-in-two-years/ar-AAMpOni

Uber and Lyft drivers strike for better deal. “App-based drivers across the country are on strike Wednesday, demanding better work conditions, improved pay and legal protections, according to lobbying group Rideshare Drivers United…. The driver-led group said many of their issues are a direct result of Proposition 22 — the California ballot measure passed in 2020 that classifies app-based drivers as independent contractors rather than employees eligible for benefits and job protections.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-lyft-strike-2021-better-pay/

Life in a developed market economy: Baked goods company recalls muffins and mini-muffins sold under multiple brand names due to possible listeria contamination. “Listeria can cause common food poisoning symptoms, like diarrhea and fever, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But it can also cause severe illness, known as invasive listeriosis, when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body…. Walmart brands affected by the recall include Freshness Guaranteed, Marketside and Great Value.”   https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2021/07/21/muffin-recall-walmart-great-value-7-eleven-listeria-contamination/8043761002/   Other brands being recalled include Uncle Wally’s, The Worthy Crumb, Stop-n-Shop and 7-Eleven.

CNN’s Don Lemon calls Joe Biden ‘the big guy’ during Town Hall event. “‘You’ve been the big guy for six months now in the White House. Can you take us behind the scenes, something that was extraordinary or unusual that happened that stands out to you?’ Lemon asked…. ‘The big guy’ was notably used as a reference to Biden in a leaked email thread allegedly involving Joe’s son Hunter Biden making a deal with a Chinese energy firm…. A section of the email contained a (proprietary) split reading ’10 held by H for the big guy?’ which was later confirmed to reference Joe Biden.”   https://www.foxnews.com/media/don-lemon-calls-biden-the-big-guy-during-cnn-town-hall

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog calls Ben & Jerry’s plan to stop selling its ice cream in the country’s occupied territories ‘terrorism’. “The boycott against Israel is a new type of terrorism — economic terrorism. Terrorism that seeks to harm Israeli citizens and the Israeli economy. We must oppose this boycott and terrorism of any kind.”   https://www.timesofisrael.com/citing-ben-jerrys-snub-herzog-says-israel-boycotts-a-new-kind-of-terrorism/   Is the U.S. refusal to allow the sales of its goods and services to Cuba terrorism? Are trade sanctions on Iran and North Korea terrorism? Or is trade a legitimate policy tool?

Number of deaths in anti-government rioting in South Africa hits 276. “The unrest started as protests over former president Jacob Zuma’s jailing two weeks ago (on contempt of court charges) in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. But it quickly escalated into arson and looting, and spread to Gauteng province where the biggest city Johannesburg is located.”   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/death-toll-in-south-africa-riots-rises-to-276-minister-says/ar-AAMpdSL   While the U.S. has a Trump problem, South Africa has a Zuma problem, but Zuma is more popular, and also, apparently, more corrupt.

Life expectancy for U.S. residents falls by a year, on average, even more for minority groups. “Data through June 2020 shows life expectancy at birth for the total U.S. population fell from 2019 by a year to 77.8 years… Life expectancy for Black populations declined the most from 2019 – by 2.7 years, to 72 years – its lowest level since 2001. Latinos experienced the second-biggest decline, falling 1.9 years since 2019 to a life expectancy of 79.9 years…”   https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/02/18/covid-us-life-expectancy-record-low-blacks-latinos-most-affected/6778474002/

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 21, 2021

DEA agent charged in connection with Capitol riot. “An off-duty special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency carried his government-issued firearm while attending the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday…. Mark Ibrahim, of Orange County, California, was arrested Tuesday and charged with four crimes that include making a false statement and carrying a firearm on restricted grounds.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-ibrahim-dea-agent-arrested-capitol-riot-gun-badge/

Republican U.S. senators claim Biden nominee to lead Bureau of Land Management is a former ‘eco-terrorist’. “(Tracy) Stone-Manning typed an anonymous letter to the U.S. Forest Service in 1989 saying that someone had driven hundreds of metal spikes into trees in an Idaho forest that was slated to be cut down for timber…. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Stone-Manning lied to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee about her past association with an ‘ecoterrorist cell’ that drove 500 pounds of spikes into the Clearwater National Forest.”   https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/7/19/22583677/why-mike-lee-says-biden-nominee-unfit-lead-bureau-land-management-tree-spiking   “‘Certainly she was philosophically aligned with what our goals were, which was to protect the last wilderness areas in the Northern Rockies.’ Stone-Manning described in testimony that she had no formal or financial role in Earth First but participated in meetings and activities.”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/07/04/student-tracy-stone-manning-sent-letter-behalf-eco-saboteurs-its-now-complicating-her-chance-lead-bureau-land-management/

Social media business imposes temporary ban on Republican congresswoman for spreading coronavirus misinformation. “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted social media companies over her temporary suspension from Twitter on Tuesday, calling it ‘a Communist-style attack on free speech’. Twitter imposed the 12-hour timeout on Monday, saying some of her tweets violated its policy against spreading misinformation that could cause harm during the coronavirus pandemic.”   https://apnews.com/article/marjorie-taylor-greene-twitter-timeout-15c6de4859e3ea582b3c6e6cb80861b6   Technically, that would be a ‘capitalist attack on free speech’ since you’re dealing with a private company. If a baker can’t be forced to bake a gay wedding cake, then Twitter can’t be forced to spread pandemic disinformation.

Man cleared of murder charges after 20 years in prison. “In a statement released after the decision, District Attorney Keith Higgins said that while the case was prosecuted to the best of his administration’s ability at the time, DNA evidence linked to the case suggest (Dennis) Perry was wrongfully convicted. ‘The new evidence indicates that someone else murdered Harold and Thelma Swain,’ Higgins said. ‘Mr. Perry is now, and has been since July 2020, a free man.'”   https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-georgia-man-exonerated-20-years-behind-bars-20210720-idybcqd7obf4bnvsjuvjbmheuq-story.html   Whoops, sorry about that! We proved in court beyond a reasonable doubt that you were guilty, but you weren’t.

Record flooding hits Henan, China. “At one point, the city (of Zhengzhou) saw nearly eight inches of rain in one hour. In one day, the region recorded roughly the average annual rainfall…. More than 140,000 people had to be evacuated, the reports said.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/asia/china-flooding-zhengzhou-subway.html

Russian mercenaries accused of committing war crimes in Syria. “One day a guy from our town sent me a video clip, he said: ‘Watch the video, it could be your brother.’ Of course, I recognized my brother — from his clothes, his voice, his appearance,” Abdullah said, his voice pained. “He was being tortured by soldiers, they were not Syrian, we did not understand what they were saying.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/21/middleeast/syria-torture-russian-mercenaries-cmd-intl/index.html

Ben & Jerry’s says it will no longer do business in occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem after current contract expires in 2022, Israeli politicians go crazy. “(Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Gilad) Erdan said Israel views the company’s decision as ‘the de-facto adoption of anti-Semitic practices and advancement of the de-legitimization of the Jewish state and the dehumanization of the Jewish people.’ …. ‘Instead of demonizing and attacking companies and individuals for making principled decisions,’ (pro-Israel lobbyist Jeremy Ben-Ami) said, ‘these leaders would make a greater contribution to the fight against antisemitism by helping to bring the unjust and harmful occupation to a peaceful end.’”   https://news.yahoo.com/israeli-pm-vows-aggressive-action-090612550.html

Six Indian-Malaysians have reportedly died in police custody in three months. “There is zero transparency and a dangerous disconnect between the police and the law in Malaysia.”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8e95/malaysia-police-brutality

Department of Justice seeks to withhold federal grand jury records for 50 years, on top of current restriction requiring a court’s approval to release them. “… what is said in grand juries is often never released to the public, but a judge may sometimes rule that other interests call for the records to be released, such as in the Watergate case that lead to former President Nixon resigning as president. Grand jury records were also released from the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia. The DOJ had fought to keep these records from being released.”   https://thehill.com/policy/563932-doj-pushing-for-rule-change-adding-50-years-to-release-of-grand-jury-records

FBI informants allegedly took leading roles in plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor. “A longtime government informant from Wisconsin, for example, helped organize a series of meetings around the country where many of the alleged plotters first met one another and the earliest notions of a plan took root, some of those people say. The Wisconsin informant even paid for some hotel rooms and food as an incentive to get people to come. The Iraq War vet (working as an undercover informant), for his part, became so deeply enmeshed in a Michigan militant group that he rose to become its second-in-command, encouraging members to collaborate with other potential suspects and paying for their transportation to meetings. He prodded the alleged mastermind of the kidnapping plot to advance his plan, then baited the trap that led to the arrest…. To date, one defendant has formally accused the government of entrapment, arguing that the FBI assembled the key plotters, encouraged the group’s anti-government feelings, and even gave its members military-style training.”   https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/michigan-kidnapping-gretchen-whitmer-fbi-informant

Bernie Sanders makes the case for his transformative budget proposal. “This proposal, if passed, will be the most consequential piece of legislation for working people, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor since FDR and the New Deal of the 1930s. It will also put the US in a global leadership position as we combat climate change. Further, and importantly, this legislation will create millions of good-paying jobs as we address the long-neglected needs of working families and the planet.”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/21/budget-biggest-win-for-working-class-bernie-sanders

Campaign launched to pressure Wall Street and the White House to cut off funding for environmentally destructive projects. “The Deadline Glasgow—Defund Climate Chaos campaign is spearheaded by the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, which targets asset managers, banks, and insurers for their roles in climate destruction…. They also highlight that ‘major new fossil fuel projects, such as Line 3, the TransMountain pipeline, the Formosa plastics plant, and major deforestation projects, could not get off the ground without the support of the financial sector and the U.S. government.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/20/deadline-glasgow-climate-summit-looms-campaign-targets-complicity-banks-and-biden

Americans owe an estimated $140 billion in overdue medical debt, say researchers. “The researchers estimate that in June 2020, roughly one in five people in the U.S. had medical debt in collections—meaning their debt had been sold to a third-party tasked with retrieving the money…. ‘It’s a profiteering healthcare system working just the way the corporate price gougers want it to—and the collateral damage of those whose lives are harmed by unpayable, outrageously inflated debt is irrelevant to them.’   https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/20/profiteering-healthcare-system-blamed-us-medical-debt-surges-140-billion   So the $140 billion figure DOES NOT apparently include medical bills that people are actively paying off. “… in 2017, 19% of U.S. households carried medical debt, defined as medical costs people were unable to pay up front or when they received care. Among households with medical debt, the median amount owed was $2,000, meaning half had more and half had less.”   https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/who-had-medical-debt-in-united-states.html