February 28, 2023

Hundreds march in Brussels for peace in Ukraine. “Hundreds of demonstrators staged a ‘Europe for peace and solidarity’ rally in Brussels demanding an end to the war in Ukraine, on Sunday. Footage features protesters marching, chanting, waving flags reading ‘Peace’ and holding placards, some of which read ‘Negotiate peace’, ‘Money for social, not NATO wars’, ‘In solidarity with all peace activists in Ukraine and Russia’, and ‘No glory in war’.”   https://www.ruptly.tv/es/videos/20230227-008-belgium-nato-never-brings-peace-hundreds-in-brussels-demand-end-to-war-in-ukraine

Police video shows woman discharged from hospital being taken to jail, then suffering stroke in police car. “Knoxville Police have released their body camera video of the harrowing incident which happened at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, in Tennessee, on February 6. Lisa Edwards, 60, had been refusing to leave the hospital and was arrested on trespassing charges when she died in the back of the police cruiser – minutes after telling cops ‘you’re going to kill me’…. She sought… treatment on February 4, where she was observed overnight and discharged but refused to leave the hospital meaning police were called. Security at the hospital issued her a trespass warning, before officers decided to arrest her for criminal trespassing.”   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11790681/DIsabled-woman-dies-stroke-cop-car-arrested-refusing-leave-hospital.html   Wanna bet she didn’t have health insurance?

Knoxville police officers who manhandled woman before stroke will not be charged. “No criminal charges will be filed in the death of a woman while in custody of the Knoxville Police Department, according to the Knox County District Attorney’s Office. Lisa Edwards, 60, died of a stroke Feb. 6, according to the District Attorney General’s office. She died of natural causes and law enforcement interaction did not cause or contribute to her death, the office said in a press release. Edwards became unresponsive Feb, 5, while in police custody after allegedly refusing to leave a Knoxville hospital after being treated. She died the next day at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.”   https://www.wate.com/news/knox-county-news/no-criminal-charges-after-woman-dies-while-in-knoxville-police-custody/

U.S. Marshals Service hacked. “The Marshals Service, which handles federal prisoners across the US and pursues fugitives, discovered the hack and theft of data from its network on February 17. The service ‘disconnected the affected system, and the Department of Justice initiated a forensic investigation,’ [spokesperson Drew] Wade said in the statement. The Justice Department subsequently determined it ‘constitutes a major incident’, according to the statement.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/27/politics/us-marshals-service-ransomeware-attack/index.html   They’ve also been involved in monitoring and policing protests. “How did it become part of the mission of U.S. Marshals Service to engage in aerial surveillance during a protest movement?” said Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the ACLU. “It’s hard to know with all the secrecy, but it looks like once again, powerful high-tech tools sold to the public for use against the worst criminals are now being deployed against peaceful protesters and activists.”   https://theintercept.com/2021/04/22/drones-black-lives-matter-protests-marshals/   “The federal employee who critically wounded a 26-year-old demonstrator on Saturday is assigned to a specialized tactical unit of the U.S. Marshals Service, members of Oregon’s congressional delegation revealed in a letter Tuesday to top federal law enforcement officials…. The video shows no sign of aggressive provocation on the part of the protester, who appeared to be standing alone. Another video shows LaBella bleeding on the sidewalk and apparently unconscious after being struck in the face [with a projectile].”   https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/oregons-congressional-delegation-portland-demonstrator-wounded-by-us-marshals-service-tactical-unit-member.html

Dept. of Homeland Security settles racial profiling lawsuit over workplace round-up. “In April 2018, armed agents with the Homeland Security Department and the Internal Revenue Service burst into the Southeastern Provision meatpacking plant in Bean Station, a rural town in northeastern Tennessee, and rounded up all but one Latino worker [who had hidden in a freezer], including at least one U.S. legal resident and one American citizen…. A video, reviewed by The [New York] Times, showed agents separating Latino workers and frisking them. ‘White workers were allowed to walk free,’ Ms. Lapointe said.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/us/meat-plant-raid-immigrants-tennessee.html

Air Force removes six nuclear weapons officers from duty, including two commanders. “Six leaders, including two commanders and four of their subordinates, have been fired from Minot Air Force base without explanation. Col. Gregory Mayer, who ran the 5th Mission Support Group; Maj. Jonathan Welch, the 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander; and four unidentified subordinates were fired due to a ‘loss of confidence’ in their ability to lead, Air Force Global Strike Command said in a release.”   https://kfgo.com/2023/02/27/two-commanders-among-those-relieved-of-duty-at-minot-air-force-base/

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center settles federal billing fraud lawsuit for $8.5 million. “The complaint was based on a two-year investigation into allegations that they knowingly submitted hundreds of false claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government health programs over the past six years. The complaint also alleged that [Dr. James] Luketich, who regularly performs as many as three complex surgical procedures at the same time, failed to participate in all the ‘key and critical’ portions of his surgeries, and forced patients to endure hours of medically unnecessary anesthesia as he moved between operating rooms and to other patients.”   https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/upmc-agrees-pay-85-million-settle-whistleblower-lawsuit-filed-by-former-surgeon/LS6GVSPHOFFNXLEZ5JWHFELQQQ/   No one was charged and no one went to prison apparently.

Tennessee’s governor says he will sign bill outlawing drag shows, dismisses his own cross-dressing high school yearbook photo. “Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Monday he intends to sign an anti-drag show bill into law when it reaches his desk, the first time he has publicly taken a position on the legislation…. Opponents have argued that laws are already in place to prevent public obscenity and that the bill’s broad language will have a chilling effect on artistic performance and depictions of gender nonconformity…. The governor also addressed a picture from a 1977 Williamson County high school year book posted on Reddit. The photo shows what appears to be Lee dressed as a woman, alongside girls dressed in suits and ties. When asked if he remembered it, he said it would be ‘ridiculous’ to conflate what was happening in the photo with the performances the bill would ban.”   https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/27/tennessee-drag-bill-lee-to-sign-law-reacts-yearbook-photo/69951107007/   The alleged picture of Lee dressed as a woman, with women dressed as men, can be viewed here:   https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/11c96or/as_tennessee_moves_forward_to_ban_drag_enjoy_a/

Age for ‘full’ Social Security benefits is going up, but life expectancy of Americans is going down. “In 1983, Ronald Reagan signed into law a cut to Social Security benefits. Under the law, the Social Security full retirement age gradually increased from from 65 in 2000 to 67 at the end of 2022…. The presumption was that the increase in life expectancy since Social Security’s implementation would continue as the retirement age rose. But, in reality, something peculiar happened. Over the same period during which the 1983 law forced the retirement age up from 65 to 67, life expectancy in the US actually declined. In 2000, US life expectancy was 76.8 years. According to data released last December, life expectancy in 2021 was 76.4 years. This was the second consecutive year of significant life expectancy decline.”   https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2023/02/27/social-security-full-retirement-age-increased-by-2-years-while-life-expectancy-decreased-0-4-years/

Man accused of rioting in the Capitol in a panda costume arrested. “Video from Jan. 6 shows that a man wearing a panda head entered the Capitol through an emergency fire escape seconds after it was broken open by members of the mob and quickly made his way toward police officers who were trying to keep the rioters back. Online sleuths who have helped identify hundreds of Capitol rioters dubbed the person ‘Sedition Panda’ and had surfaced photos of him…. The FBI identified [Jesse James] Rumson as the man in the panda head because he wore it on and off during the storming of the Capitol and he was caught on video and in photos with his face in full view, an FBI special agent said in an affidavit supporting his arrest.”   https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-arrests-man-dubbed-sedition-191323411.html   How come everyone’s seen the ‘QAnon Shaman’ but not ‘Sedition Panda’? And Google can’t find any ‘Sedition Panda’ memes either. How could this not be a thing?

Turkey kills three Yazidi fighters with drone strike. “‘A drone from the Turkish army targeted a vehicle’ in the [northern Iraq] region, killing an officer and two combatants from the Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a statement from the Kurdistan region’s anti-terrorist squad said. The three fighters were heading towards Sinjar, a stronghold of the Yazidis, at the time of the attack. Local media reported the death of ‘Pir Chako’, a commander of the 80th Brigade of the Popular Mobilisation Forces militia umbrella group.”   https://www.newarab.com/news/turkish-drone-attack-kills-three-yazidi-fighters-iraq

50th anniversary of Wounded Knee standoff. “The occupation began on the night of Feb. 27, 1973, when a group of warriors led by Oklahoma AIM leader Carter Camp, who was Ponca, moved into the small town of Wounded Knee. The group took over the trading post and established a base of operations along with AIM leaders Russell Means, of the Oglala Sioux Tribe; Dennis Banks, who was Ojibwe; and Clyde Bellecourt, of the White Earth Nation. Within days, hundreds of activists had joined them for what became a 71-day standoff with the U.S. government and other law enforcement…. The siege finally ended on May 8 with an agreement to disarm and to further discuss the treaty obligations. By then, at least three [activists] had been killed and more than a dozen wounded, according to reports.”   https://apnews.com/article/protests-and-demonstrations-united-states-government-south-dakota-religion-b3b62b1e89e713160ee0051c8b760459

Insurance companies making huge profits on Medicare Advantage plans. “According to the report from Wendell Potter, a former insurance executive who now advocates for systemic healthcare reform, government programs are now the source of roughly 90% of the health plan revenues of Humana, Centene, and Molina. Over the past decade, Potter found, the seven top for-profit insurance companies in the U.S.—the three mentioned above plus UnitedHealth, Cigna, CVS/Aetna, and Elevance—have seen their combined revenues from taxpayer-backed programs soar by 500%, reaching $577 billion in 2022 compared to $116.3 billion in 2012…. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 28 million people were enrolled in a privately run Medicare Advantage plan last year—nearly half of the Medicare-eligible population.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/report-shows-big-insurance-profiting-massively-from-growing-privatization-of-medicare

Panel of federal judges rules that man can sue Stamford, Connecticut police who arrested him for holding a ‘Cops Ahead’ sign near phoning-while-driving trap. “‘[Michael] Friend was violating no law by standing on the sidewalk and displaying his sign, and [Sgt. Richard] Garparino had no lawful reason to order him to desist from that conduct,’ the unsigned 29-page opinion states…. [A] citizen does not need to show that a police practice is unlawful — or that it deviates from some notion of propriety — in order to object to it,’ the judges wrote.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/man-whose-cops-ahead-warning-sign-got-him-arrested-can-sue-police/

Federal court grants qualified immunity to FBI agents sued for putting Muslims on no-fly list after they refused to become informants. “The agents’ ‘misuse’ of the list is protected by qualified immunity because their behavior did not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/fbi-agents-immune-from-suit-over-retaliatory-use-of-no-fly-list/

Self-help author first Democrat to declare 2024 presidential candidacy. “I feel my forty years being up close and personal with the trauma of so many thousands of individuals gives me a unique perspective on what is needed to help repair America,” [Marianne] Williamson wrote. “We need a politics that treats not just symptoms, but cause. That does not base itself on the crass imperatives of endless corporate profit, but on the eternal imperatives of our principles and values.”   https://www.courthousenews.com/williamson-becomes-democratic-primarys-1st-biden-challenger/

February 27, 2023

After doing some research, I found advice saying that changing my site’s theme might solve the link insertion problem. It didn’t. When I try to set hyperlinks to open in a new window, the pop-up is still flashing and can’t be operated. It looks like the links are being automatically inserted after I publish the page, but they aren’t opening in a new window anymore. Oh well, you’ll just have to ‘go back’ after reading the linked stories to return to the PNS site. At least the excerpts from the articles cited here are easier to read now.

Thousands march in London for peace deal in Ukraine conflict. “Peace activists marched through London on Saturday to demand immediate peace talks a year into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Stop the War and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament national demonstration mobilised about 4,000 demonstrators who marched from the BBC headquarters at Portland Place to a rally in Trafalgar Square declaring: ‘No to the Russian invasion, No to Nato and No to nuclear war.'”  https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/4000-march-london-peace-talks-end-ukraine-war

Coronavirus theory once banned from social media as ‘disinformation’, now considered possible according to government report. “A new classified report by the U.S. Energy Department has concluded with ‘low confidence’ that it is plausible the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a laboratory leak, two sources familiar with the U.S. government’s pandemic origins investigation tell CBS News…. An expert group from the World Health Organization said last year that ‘key pieces of data’ to explain how the pandemic began were still missing. The agency recently shuttered a new phase of its scientific investigation over a lack of cooperation from the Chinese government.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/energy-department-covid-19-report-origins-lab-leak-debate/   and   https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/may/27/facebook-lifts-ban-on-posts-claiming-covid-19-was-man-made

Senior Ukrainian military commander relieved of duty. “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree Sunday removing the commander of the military’s Joint Forces Operation (JFO), which is involved in the ongoing counteroffensive in the eastern Donbas region of the country. Zelensky announced Eduard Moskalyov’s dismissal in a one-line decree without any explanation, according to Reuters. Moskalyov had been appointed to the position last March.”   https://thehill.com/policy/international/3875064-zelensky-sacks-commander-of-ukraines-joint-forces/

Rolling Stone obtains Sidney Poitier’s FBI file. “In 1960, a document declassified on January 18, 2023, following Rolling Stone’s request, showcases the FBI’s use of three confidential informants…. The document notes that ‘Jackie Robinson, former major league baseball player and Sidney Poitier, actor, are prominent American Negroes, who are outspoken advocates of racial equality.’ …. Black performers were under various forms of surveillance in the era of the early civil rights movement. There was no one ‘blacklist’, but rather various memos and communications that were meant to cast suspicion on Black celebrities who engaged in politics…. ‘Nothing in [Poitier’s] files suggest a hint of illegality, violence, or sedition, and the FBI had no business tracking Poitier’s First Amendment-protected activities with these groups, much less maintaining this material in its files. No American should ever have had to worry that a powerful government agency would monitor their non-violent political activism, or that it could secretly disrupt their livelihoods without due process.'”   https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/sidney-poitier-fbi-files-persecution-foia-civil-rights-movement-barack-obama-1234685050/

West Bank Israeli settlers accused of carrying out ‘pogrom’ against Palestinian residents. “Israeli settlers tore through the occupied West Bank on Sunday, violently attacking Palestinians and setting fire to their cars, houses, and businesses in what one rights group [B’Tselem] called a “pogrom” sanctioned by the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The settlers, who killed at least one Palestinian and injured hundreds more, launched their assault after a suspected Palestinian gunman fatally shot two Israeli settlers while they were driving in the West Bank.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/israeli-settler-pogrom-palestinians

Right-wing criticism of socialism as being inherently oppressive overlooks capitalist oppression. “There is a long-standing right-wing caricature of what life might look like in a socialist society…. daily life is highly regimented; the state is centralized and all-pervasive; dissent and freedom of speech are severely curtailed; surveillance is [pervasive] and constant; absolute loyalty is expected of citizens, who are disciplined if they break from the party line; and elections, if held at all, are a sham. The great irony of this dystopian sketch, given who tends to invoke it, is that its closest analogue today is actually found in the modern, multinational corporation…. For the vast majority in most societies, the choice between having a job and not having one isn’t really a choice at all…. Faced with the choice to starve and be homeless or spend the lion’s share of our adult lives earning a wage, most of us will opt for the latter even if the conditions it imposes are absolutely horrendous.”   https://jacobin.com/2023/02/capitalist-road-to-serfdom-surveillance-wage-labor

Was Hunter S. Thompson murdered? “At the time of his death, Thompson was allegedly working on a story about the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Hunter told his friend, Paul William Roberts, a columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail, that ‘he had stumbled across what he felt was hard evidence showing the towers had been brought down not by the airplanes that flew into them but by explosive charges set off in their foundations.’ According to Roberts, Hunter had telephoned him on February 19^th, the night before his death, and sounded scared. He thought someone was out to stop him from publishing what he had learned about the World Trade Center and explosives.”   https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/02/25/did-legendary-gonzo-journalist-hunter-thompson-frighten-those-in-the-deep-state-so-much-he-had-to-be-taken-out/

Former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania lands high-paying job with private equity firm. “‘Over the course of his Senate career, [Sen. Pat] Toomey was a top recipient of campaign contributions from the nation’s biggest banks and asset management companies,’ said Vishal Narayanaswamy of the Revolving Door Project, which scrutinizes personnel ties between business and government. ‘He routinely peddled their dishonest talking points and championed their deregulatory legislative priorities in committee hearings and on the Senate floor. Now, one of America’s largest private equity firms… has rewarded him for 12 years of loyal service to the industry.’ In recent years, Toomey played a pivotal role in preserving the so-called ‘carried interest loophole’, which allows ultra-wealthy private equity managers to pay the lower, capital gains rate of 20 percent on large portions of their income, as opposed to the regular top income tax rate of 37 percent.”   https://www.levernews.com/private-equitys-senator-gets-big-payout/

February 26, 2023

Due to some kind of WordPress malfunction or hack, I was not able to provide hyperlinks to all of today’s articles. When I tried to add a link, the pop-up box for linking flickered and I was unable to operate it. Sometimes after repeated attempts I managed to get a link, but sometimes not. Sorry for the inconvenience. You can copy and paste the URLs (website addresses) into your browser. PNS

D.C. anti-brutality marchers sue city over use of excessive force when breaking up 2020 protests. “A civil justice organization accused D.C. police of violating demonstrators’ rights to free speech and assembly during the 2020 racial justice protests by using excessive force with stinger grenades, foam or rubber bullets, and flash-bang devices against those marching in the streets…. These tactics, the suit alleged, were used by police to retaliate against demonstrators protesting racism and police violence…. The plaintiffs — Elizabeth Ferris of Connecticut, Katherine Crowder of Virginia, and Hazie Crespo of the District — did not hear warnings, requests to disperse or orders of any kind, according to the filing. The use of sting-ball grenades was inherently indiscriminate, the suit says, because the weapons exploded with hard rubber shrapnel firing in every direction. Two of the plaintiffs were injured from munitions that fired shrapnel into their legs, according to the suit…. Crespo was at Black Lives Matter Plaza on Aug. 29, 2020, when police threw less-lethal weapons at the crowd, injuring her. She had third-degree burns on her leg, and her calf was “squirting blood” from open wounds. She could not walk and was carried by other protesters to a van. Despite her urgent need for medical care, the suit alleged, D.C. police demanded that the van be turned off, and Crespo had to wait 60 to 90 minutes before an ambulance arrived.”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/22/george-floyd-protests-lawsuit-dc-police-use-of-force/

Unaccompanied child immigrants working full-time jobs. “The factory was full of underage workers like Carolina, who had crossed the southern border by themselves and were now spending late hours bent over hazardous machinery, in violation of child labor laws. At nearby plants, other children were tending giant ovens to make Chewy and Nature Valley granola bars and packing bags of Lucky Charms and Cheetos — all of them working for the processing giant Hearthside Food Solutions, which would ship these products around the country…. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century. Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/25/us/unaccompanied-migrant-child-workers-exploitation.html

President Biden dismisses Chinese ceasefire and peace negotiation proposal for Ukraine. “‘I’ve seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia, if the Chinese plan were followed. The idea that China is going to be negotiating the outcome of a war that’s a totally unjust war for Ukraine is just not rational,’ [Biden said]. China’s plan urges both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation and warns against the use of nuclear weapons.”   https://www.tbsnews.net/worldbiz/politics/not-rational-china-negotiate-outcome-ukraine-war-biden-590326   Biden apparently rejected the peace plan negotiated by Israel’s former prime minister last spring too. “Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been the prime mediator in talks between Ukraine and Russia, and significant progress on a tentative peace plan has been made, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The proposed 15-point peace plan includes a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops if Kyiv declares neutrality and limits its military, the Financial Times reported, citing three people party to the negotiations. ”   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-03-17/ty-article/bennett-key-mediator-in-ukraine-russia-talks-report-says/00000180-5bc4-db1e-a1d4-dfe5fa430000   Which means Biden must want the fighting to continue for some reason…

President Biden accidentally reveals goal of Ukraine conflict. “The president of the United States has confirmed what Consortium News and others have been reporting since the beginnings of Russsiagate in 2016, that the ultimate U.S. aim is to overthrow the government of Vladimir Putin. ‘For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,’ Biden said on Saturday at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The White House and the State Dept. have been scrambling to explain away Biden’s remark…. ‘The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,’ a White House official said. ‘He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.'”   https://consortiumnews.com/2023/02/24/more-evidence-emerges-that-us-wanted-russia-to-invade/

Residents and workers in East Palestine, OH report health issues. “A nearby manufacturing plant shared with NBC News that five of their ten employees were unable to come to work. General manager Howard Yang said that his workers were ‘dropping like flies’ following the train derailment. ‘People ended up with rashes, nausea, vomiting, bloody nose, eye issues. A lot of coughing, wheezing,’ he said. ‘We sent a lot of workers to the hospital to get checked out and, sure enough, in most cases, it was a diagnosis of chemical bronchitis. They were put on five different kinds of pills, including steroids. Some guys have to use inhalers. It’s pretty bad.'”   https://www.foxnews.com/us/erin-brockovich-urges-east-palestine-residents-document-health-conditions-some-diagnosed-bronchitis

More than 10,000 turn out for Berlin peace demonstration. “Thousands of people protested in Berlin on Saturday to condemn Germany’s supply of arms to Ukraine and call for peace talks to end the war…. Police said that about 13,000 people took part in the rally at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, while organizers claimed that 50,000 people participated.”   https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/thousands-join-berlin-rally-calling-ukraine-peace-talks-97466212

U.S. committed $113 billion to Ukraine in 2022. “[Federal records show] about $68 billion in aid is going to security [military] assistance, $38 billion in aid is going to economic and humanitarian assistance, and another $7 billion is going to other types of support…. [Steve] Ellis [of Taxpayers for Common Sense] said tracking this money is key, and that’s why he’s glad to see Congress also set aside money for oversight.”   https://news.yahoo.com/much-aid-u-provided-ukraine-000318032.html

Dept. of Justice accuses Google of destroying evidence in anti-trust case. “The DoJ, along with 11 states, sued Google back in October, 2020, alleging at the time that the internet titan has unlawfully monopolized the search market through a series of exclusionary agreements with other companies that have ‘foreclosed competition for internet search’…. ‘Despite Google’s representations that it had implemented a legal hold and suspended auto-deletion of relevant information, Google knowingly destroyed documents relevant to this litigation and has done so for years,’ the government claims…”   https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/24/feds_google_antitrust_communication/

Polish refinery claims Russia has cut off oil supply. “The supply halt via the [Druzhba] pipeline – exempted from EU sanctions imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine – came a day after Poland delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine…. The company said it could fully supply its refineries via sea and that the halt in pipeline supplies would not affect deliveries of petrol and diesel to its clients.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/25/russia-halts-pipeline-oil-supplies-to-poland-refiner-pkn-orlen

Researchers say Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases will likely trigger a recession. “The researchers reviewed 16 episodes since 1950 when a central bank like the Fed raised the cost of borrowing to fight inflation, in the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. In each case, a recession resulted. ‘There is no post-1950 precedent for a sizable … disinflation that does not entail substantial economic sacrifice or recession,’ the paper concluded.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/recession-inflation-federal-reserve-interest-rate-hike-2023/

Pentagon reportedly re-investigating 1960s UFO incidents that interfered with military. “The [former Air Force] officers reportedly recently told the government’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) that they had bizarre encounters with the objects near U.S. military bases. The Daily Mail says it’s seen an email showing that AARO staff contacted former Air Force ICBM launch officer Robert Salas to get information about the encounter with an orange flying disc that switched off 10 warheads at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, in 1967. Another former officer, Dr. Robert Jacobs, supposedly told AARO that he made a film for the Air Force in 1964 that captured images of a UFO shooting a test missile out of the sky.”   https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a43033115/pentagon-investigating-ufos-nuclear-warheads/

Torture expert testifies on ‘rectal feeding’ of Guantanamo detainee. “Dr. Sondra S. Crosby, a court-approved expert on torture and other trauma, testified in a long-running defense effort by lawyers for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of orchestrating the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole…. She held up a tube that is designed to be put in a patient’s windpipe and said that — according to the agency’s once-secret records —C.I.A. prison staff inserted one just like it into Mr. Nashiri’s anus in May 2004. Agency personnel then used a syringe to inject a protein enriched nutritional shake into his body…. In December 2014, the Obama administration released a 500-page summary of a classified Senate study of the C.I.A.’s so-called black site program. It revealed the agency’s practice of using ‘rectal rehydration’ and ‘rectal feeding’ to punish prisoners…. Dr. Crosby… [dismissed] the procedure as bogus. The liquid nutritional supplement ‘would have acted just like an enema, and it would [have] been expelled.'”   https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/us/politics/cia-torture-guantanamo-nashiri-doctor.html

Norfolk Southern train derails in North Carolina. “The train derailment took place Saturday morning in Lexington, North Carolina, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said in a statement…. ”Our crew is safe and additional personnel are on their way to begin cleanup,’ they added. ‘We appreciate the public’s patience and care near this area during the cleanup work.'”   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11793967/ANOTHER-Norfolk-Southern-freight-train-derails-causing-delays-North-Carolina.html

Journalist explains why Fox News hosts pretended to believe Joe Biden may have stolen the 2020 election. “Imagine you’ve created an extremely profitable business by getting 5-year-olds to tune in every night to hear about how much Santa Claus loves them, and also that the world is full of terrible people trying to assassinate Santa Claus. You wouldn’t switch things up all of a sudden and tell your 5-year-olds that there is no Santa Claus. They’d immediately switch channels to Santamax…. in the end, the problem with Fox News is the problem of all for-profit news organizations. Fox may present it in an especially distilled, enraging, shameless form. But neither advertisers nor, unfortunately, most people want to hear things that conflict with their treasured illusions about the world…. telling the truth is generally not just unprofitable, it’s also actively anti-profit.”   https://theintercept.com/2023/02/26/fox-news-tucker-carlson-dominion/

Life in a developed market economy: 188 U.S. chemical spills in 2022. “In the first seven weeks of 2023 alone, there were more than 30 incidents recorded by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, roughly one every day and a half. Last year the coalition recorded 188, up from 177 in 2021. The group has tallied more than 470 incidents since it started counting in April 2020.”   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/25/revealed-us-chemical-accidents-one-every-two-days-average

Bernie Sanders urges President Biden to go on the offensive on Social Security. “In [a] Jan. 25 meeting, Sanders pushed the president to fully fund Social Security for more than seven decades by expanding payroll taxes on affluent Americans, rather than just on workers’ first $160,000 in earnings, as is the case under current law. Sanders also asked the president to back his proposal — highly unlikely to pass Congress — to not only defend existing benefits but also increase them. He wants to provide another $2,400 per year for every Social Security beneficiary…. ‘It is not enough to point out the reactionary, anti-worker vision of the Republican Party. We have to present a positive, pro-worker alternative,’ Sanders said.”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2023/02/23/biden-white-house-social-security/

German and French leaders reportedly advised Ukrainian president to seek peace deal with Russia. “French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Zelensky at an Élysée Palace dinner earlier this month that he must consider peace talks with Moscow, the [Wall Street] Journal reported. According to its source, the newspaper quoted Macron as telling Zelensky that ‘even mortal enemies like France and Germany had to make peace after World War II.'”   https://consortiumnews.com/2023/02/25/western-leaders-privately-say-ukraine-cant-win-the-war/

February 24, 2023

China calls for ceasefire in Ukraine and a negotiated settlement of the conflict. “In a newly released position paper Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry called for a resumption of peace talks, an end to unilateral sanctions, and stressed its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons – a stance Chinese leader Xi Jinping communicated to Western leaders last year…. The policy document reiterates many of China’s standard talking points, which include urging both sides to resume peace talks. ‘Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis’, it said, adding that China will play a ‘constructive role’, without offering details.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/23/china/china-position-political-settlement-ukraine-intl-hnk/index.html   I never thought I’d find myself agreeing with China.

U.N. General Assembly votes in favor of unilateral Russian surrender. “The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Thursday, the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the war and demanding that Russia leave Ukrainian territory. The nonbinding resolution advocates for peace, reaffirms support to Ukraine’s sovereignty and highlights the need for accountability for war crimes…. A large majority — 141 countries — voted in favor of the resolution, while 32 countries, including Asian heavyweights China and India, abstained from voting. Seven countries, including Russia, voted against the resolution.”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/24/un-ukraine-resolution-vote-countries/

U.S. planning to send up to 200 soldiers to Taiwan. “The U.S. is preparing to send 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan for training amid rising tensions with China, a U.S. official familiar with the planning confirmed to Fox News on Thursday. This number will expand a much smaller training program, which has included the National Guard, Special Ops, and U.S. Marines in the past…. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, cited U.S. officials as saying only around 30 American troops were stationed in Taiwan about a year ago…. ‘We don’t think at the levels that we’re engaged in and are likely to remain engaged in the near future that we are anywhere close to a tipping point for China, but that’s a question that is constantly being evaluated and looked at specifically with every decision involving support to Taiwan.'”   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-sending-more-troops-taiwan-china-tensions-grow   This is going to end badly. I said that about Ukraine too, and unfortunately I was right.

U.S. announces another $2 billion in ‘security aid’ for Ukraine. “The United States will provide Ukraine an additional $2 billion in security assistance, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday. ‘We’re going to continue to look at what is necessary, and make sure that we provide what is necessary that Ukraine has what it needs to succeed on the battlefield,’ Sullivan said at a CNN town hall event, where he announced the additional aid.”   https://news.yahoo.com/u-announces-2-billion-security-033418711.html   It’s not only ended badly, it’s also been extremely expensive. Sort of like Iraq and Afghanistan and Vietnam.

Washington D.C. hit by February heat wave. “High temperatures broke the 80-degree mark in parts of the D.C. region on Thursday, shattering records that in some cases were set over a century ago. Reagan Airport reported a record high of 81 degrees at 3 p.m. Thursday, breaking the old record of 78 set in 1874 — back when the Washington Monument was still being built, Thomas Edison was alive and the QWERTY keyboard had just been patented.”   https://wtop.com/weather-news/2023/02/80-degrees-in-february-dc-region-expects-record-breaking-heat/

California’s attorney general launches investigation of Riverside county jails. “Attorney General Rob Bonta said he was taking a look at how the county’s jails are being run after the reports of the deaths — 18 in all in 2022 — led to complaints from families that they were being left in the dark about how their loved ones died…. ‘Amid concerning levels of in-custody deaths, troubling allegations of excessive force, and other misconduct, many families of Riverside County and others are hurting and looking for answers… we’re launching this investigation today.’ …. The sheriff said previously that at least five of the deaths were the result of inmates overdosing after ingesting fentanyl…. Among the other deaths were instances of medical emergencies, suicide and at least two killings by other inmates.”   https://www.sbsun.com/2023/02/23/state-launches-investigation-into-death-rate-in-riverside-county-jails/

Pakistani men returned home after being held by U.S. for more than 20 years in ‘war on terror’ custody. “Two Pakistani brothers were released from the Guantánamo Bay military prison Thursday after two decades in custody with no charges, the Department of Defense announced. Abdul Rabbani and Mohammed Rabbani, who were sent back to their home country, were the latest detainees to be released from the prison as the U.S. moves toward emptying and shutting it down. The brothers were transferred to U.S. custody after Pakistani officials arrested them in their home city of Karachi in 2002. After about a year and a half in CIA custody, they were moved to the detention center in 2004. They were accused of helping al-Qaida members with housing and other lower-level logistical support… The two men claimed they were tortured while in CIA custody…”   https://www.foxnews.com/world/pakistani-brothers-released-guantanamo-bay-20-years-custody-without-charges

Federal and local police seize huge amount of cartel smuggled drugs in Tempe, Arizona. “An estimated 4.5 million fentanyl pills were seized in addition to 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and various large amounts of heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl powder. Investigators also seized about 50 firearms.”   https://www.azfamily.com/2023/02/23/live-tempe-police-dea-discuss-major-drug-bust-45-million-fentanyl-pills-seized/

No charges for Gulfport, Mississippi police officer who fatally shot unarmed, 15 year-old reckless driving suspect. “Body-camera and dashcam footage of the incident, which HuffPost obtained through a public records request, shows Officer Kenneth Nassar firing at least eight shots at 15-year-old Jaheim McMillan outside of a Family Dollar store in broad daylight…. Nassar’s body-camera footage shows the officer firing his gun while also shouting at McMillan to drop his weapon. The encounter, during which Nassar fires eight shots, lasts about five seconds…. More officers arrive at the scene, and Nassar tells one he had seen a gun in McMillan’s hand, but that McMillan didn’t appear to have a gun on him when Nassar handcuffed him and rolled over his body. Officers later discovered a gun in the parking lot.”   https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jaheim-mcmillan-shot-footage_n_63f7c11fe4b0a209e82c97b4

Memphis EMTs who failed to provide immediate care to Tyre Nichols have their licenses suspended. “The [Tennessee Emergency Medical Services Division] board met on February 3 to rule on their license suspensions. The summary suspensions will remain in effect while the board decides on a longer-term basis what to do about the two men’s licensure status…. [JaMichael] Sandridge and [Robert] Long did not conduct a primary examination of Nichols for the first 19 minutes they were on scene, including ‘obtaining vital signs and conducting a full head-to-toe examination’, according to documents from the February 3 meeting…. ‘These actions were negligent,’ [board member Dennis] Rowe said. ‘There was every reason to believe those actions may have contributed to the demise of that patient.'”   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/tyre-nichols-death-memphis-fire-department/index.html

Arms business is booming. “The U.S. arms industry is enjoying a windfall. U.S. military equipment sales to foreign countries shot up 49% to $205.6 billion in the last fiscal year, the State Department said in January. America’s largest defense contractors, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, received record orders. Lockheed’s net sales for the fourth quarter hit $19 billion, roughly 3% above its internal planning and up from $17.7 billion in 2021…. But the companies say they are hampered by supply chain issues and labor shortages, and that they would be seeing far higher sales numbers if it weren’t for those.”   https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/24/idex-weapons-fair-spotlights-bonanza-years-ahead-for-weapons-companies.html   “Come you masters of war, you that build all the guns, you that build the death planes, you that build the big bombs…. You fasten the triggers, for the others to fire, then you sit back and watch, as the death count gets higher. You hide in your mansions, as young people’s blood, flows out of their bodies, and into the mud….” Bob Dylan

An estimated 8 million refugees have fled Ukraine conflict. “More than 8 million refugees are believed to have fled Ukraine since the start of the war, one year ago Friday, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Poland has taken in the most refugees, totaling approximately 1.5 million…. On Monday, President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine to ‘reaffirm’ U.S. support for the country as it enters the second year of its war against Russia.”   https://people.com/politics/8-million-refugees-fled-ukraine-since-russian-invasion/

February 23, 2023

National Labor Relations Board bans some post-severance non-disclosure agreements. “Employers can no longer include a broadly written confidentiality clause that requires you to keep mum about the terms of your severance agreement. And they can no longer include a broadly written non-disparagement clause that prohibits you from discussing the terms and conditions of your employment with third parties…. With the exception of railroads and airlines, US business employers are subject to the NLRB’s authority.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/22/success/severance-agreements-rule-change-from-nlrb

Norfolk Southern union wins paid sick leave. “The deal is with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Division, the union representing 3,000 track workers at Norfolk Southern, and the third largest union at the railroad behind the unions representing conductors and engineers…. Norfolk Southern’s concession comes two weeks after another railroad, CSX, reached a deal with two of its unions to provide four sick days a year. The Norfolk Southern deal provides up to seven sick days per employee.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/22/business/norfolk-southern-sick-days-deal/index.html

High-profile Republican says Social Security and Medicare may need to be cut. “Amid a high-stakes standoff over the debt limit, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said his party wants to see budget cuts but has ruled out pushing for cuts to Social Security and Medicare. [Mike] Pence said Wednesday such cuts may need to be considered at some point because of looming fiscal problems. ‘While I respect the speaker’s commitment to take Social Security and Medicare off the table for the debt ceiling negotiations, we’ve got to put them on the table in the long term,’ Pence said on CNBC.”   https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/22/mike-pence-social-security-medicare-debt-ceiling/11322677002/

Turkish government reportedly fining broadcasters who criticize earthquake response. “Halk TV, Tele 1 and FOX were all handed fines, calculated based on their revenues for the month beforehand, for reporting shortcomings in the government’s earthquake response. The three channels are known for editorial lines critical of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Halk TV is strongly aligned with the CHP party, Turkey’s main opposition…. ‘We live in a time when reporting is considered a crime.'”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/23/turkey-fines-broadcasters-for-coverage-critical-of-earthquake-response

Woman who joined Islamic State at 15 loses bid to regain UK citizenship. “In 2015, Begum — who is now 23 years old — traveled to Syria when she was 15, along with two other girls from London, to marry IS fighters…. However, when IS was defeated in 2019, and thousands of its fighters and families were captured, the challenge of what to do with them emerged. Many, like Begum, remain in camps in northern Syria…. Begum had given birth to three children, all of whom died.”   https://www.dw.com/en/british-born-former-is-bride-loses-citizenship-appeal/a-64786234

11 killed during Israeli raid on West Bank town of Nablus. “Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians, including a child and three elderly people, and wounded more than 100 others on Wednesday during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus…. The raid, which lasted for four hours, focused on a building in the city that reportedly housed Palestinian resistance fighters. Israeli forces besieged the house and fired missiles at the building, while Israeli snipers were seen stationed in the surrounding area. A military helicopter was also spotted flying over the city.”   https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-nablus-raid-kill-wreak-havoc

February 22, 2023

Supreme Court declines to hear NSA mass surveillance case. “Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Wikimedia Foundation sued in 2015 challenging the legality of the NSA’s Upstream surveillance of foreign targets through the ‘suspicionless’ collection and searching of internet traffic on data transmission lines flowing into and out of the United States…. Wikimedia compared the interception by the NSA of its communications to the ‘seizing and searching the patron records of the largest library in the world’.”   https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-snubs-wikipedia-bid-challenge-nsa-surveillance-2023-02-21/

Union Pacific trains go off the tracks in California and Nebraska. “About 31 cars carrying coal derailed in Gothenburg, Nebraska, the railroad said in a statement to CBS News. No one was injured, cleanup has begun, and the three tracks near the derailment, which occurred around 1:45 a.m., were reopened at around 8 a.m. While early reports stated hazardous materials were spilled, Union Pacific said ‘no hazmat was involved’. The cause of the incident is being investigated. Another Union Pacific train derailed in Riverbank, California, on Monday, according to CBS Sacramento. The derailment, involving four cars, happened around 3:45 a.m., Union Pacific officials said. There were no injuries and no hazmat involved. The incident is being investigated.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/train-derailment-gothenburg-nebraska-coal-31-cars-emergency-response-wake-of-east-palestine-ohio-incident/

Video shows Pueblo county, CO sheriff’s deputies grabbing unarmed man suspected of having gotten into the wrong car, and fatally shooting him three times during struggle. “Richard Ward, 32, was shot three times in the chest during an encounter with deputies on Feb. 22, 2022. The Tenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office cleared both deputies involved in the call in October, arguing the deputy who fired was justified in his use of force…. Ward was sitting in the car with his mother and her boyfriend waiting for his younger brother to get out of Liberty Point International School in Pueblo West…. Body camera from a second deputy, Cassandra Gonzalez, who arrived after [Deputy] McWhorter, shows Ward slipping something in his mouth. Killmer said Ward had an anxiety disorder and had been prescribed medication for it. The deputy demanded to know what Ward put in his mouth. Ward answered it was just a pill. McWhorter pulled Ward out of the SUV and onto the ground, and the two struggled for several seconds. McWhorter pulled out his service weapon and fired three shots at Ward.”   https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/colorado-news/body-camera-police-shooting-during-pickup-at-middle-school/73-08b6a10a-043b-4b9d-8de6-8eb8a3c6580e

Family of Malcolm X suing NYPD, FBI and CIA over his assassination. “Asked if he believes government agencies conspired to assassinate Malcolm, [family attorney Ben] Crump said, ‘That is what we are alleging, yes. They infiltrated many civil rights organizations.'”   https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-york-city-us-federal-bureau-of-investigation-assassinations-cia-0f1ea4ebf9b39d9d32a9006f51404c67

Latter Day Saints (aka Mormon) church settles with Securities and Exchange Commission. “The LDS and its investment firm, Ensign Peak Advisers, used ‘shell’ companies to hide a $32 billion stock portfolio, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. Ensign Peak will pay a $4m penalty and the Church will pay $1m. Neither has admitted any wrongdoing…. The financial markets watchdog said the Church and Ensign Peak had used shell companies to conceal growing investments in shares, which had reached more than $30bn in 2018, over fears that it could lead to negative publicity.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64727764   Not to mention the effect it might have on soliciting donations.

Former head of Mexico’s equivalent of the FBI found guilty of conspiring to distribute 58 tons of cocaine. “Former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna led Mexican law enforcement, including the now-defunct Federal Police, from 2006 to 2012, and had previously been in charge of the country’s also-defunct criminal investigation agency…. García Luna was also accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for protection from the Federal Police, as well as for leaking government information to the narcos. García Luna’s conviction is a boon for current Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has often blamed his predecessors for the country’s ills, and has shown particular resentment against former President Felipe Calderón, García Luna’s former boss.”   https://thehill.com/latino/3868545-former-mexican-top-cop-found-guilty-of-distributing-58-tons-of-cocaine/

Nikki Haley suggests that Bernie Sanders may not be mentally competent to be president. “Sanders, 81, had told Stephen Colbert of CBS’s Late Show Monday that Haley’s plan for mandatory tests of the mental acuity of politicians over the age of 75 was ‘nothing more than old-fashioned ageism’ and ‘not acceptable’. Haley, answering a final question from an audience member here at a campaign event, said: ‘Bernie Sanders lost his mind because I asked for that. He is exactly the reason we need it.'”   https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3868703-nikki-haley-bernie-sanders-is-exactly-the-reason-mental-competency-tests-are-needed/   Seems pretty sharp to me.

Methane released after Nord Stream bombing ‘worst on record’. “In their letter to the [U.N. Security Council], Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that acts of sabotage against the pipelines were ‘unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern’. Concerns about the indirect effects on greenhouse gas emissions are ‘substantial and worrisome’, the letter said…. The attack is estimated to have released 778 million cubic metres of methane – the biggest burst of the potent greenhouse gas on record, raising new fears of the effect on the climate emergency.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/21/russia-calls-un-meeting-on-nord-stream-pipeline-sabotage

International Energy Agency says fossil fuel companies could easily cut their methane emissions. “The energy sector is the second-largest source of human-caused methane, behind only agriculture, and was responsible for 40% of human-created methane emissions in 2022, the IEA says. But much of the methane emitted by the energy industry could be stopped with existing technologies, ‘highlighting a lack of industry action on an issue that is often very cheap to address’, the report said. The global oil and gas industry would have to invest only 3% of the income it earned in 2022, $100 billion, to reduce its methane emissions by 75%, the report said. For the oil and gas industry, fixing methane emissions mostly comes down to finding and repairing leaks. The coal industry could capture methane from mines and then use it.”   https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/energy-industry-slammed-by-iea-for-not-doing-enough-to-curb-methane.html

Rail union wins sick leave for employees. “The Union Pacific Corporation has reached an agreement with two of its unions that represent 2,100 hundred rail workers to provide them with multiple days of paid sick leave, a key goal in recent rail labor talks. In a statement on Monday, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC) shared that the agreement, which takes effect on April 1, will provide up to four days of paid sick leave for Union Pacific employees in the union, also allowing them to convert their personal leave days for sick leave.”   https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/railroads/3867216-2100-rail-workers-to-get-paid-leave-in-new-deal-with-union-pacific/

‘Buy dear, sell cheap’: New York City unloads $225 million in pandemic supplies for $500,000. “Over the last few weeks, 18-wheelers pulled up again and again to the City of New York’s huge supply warehouse in Queens to pick up dozens of unopened cartons containing what, during the depths of the pandemic, City Hall proclaimed would be lifesaving miracle devices known as ‘bridge vents’…. Taxpayers paid $12 million for the devices…. A junk dealer from Long Island picked up the entire $12 million, 500,000-pound kit and kaboodle — for only $24,600. It took the dealer 28 truckloads to cart the stuff away, auction records state.”   https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/2/21/23607913/covid-bridge-vent-ppe-auction

UFO documentary examines U.S. government’s disclosure/cover-up. “[In 2020]… the New York Times published a story basically saying aliens are real…. And it’s a huge part of an upcoming documentary from director Ron James called Accidental Truth: The UFO Revelations, which uses that information from the New York Times as a sort of springboard to investigate just what it all means…. It features interviews with Dr. Michio Kaku, Dr. Gary Nolan, Ralph Blumenthal, Nick Pope, Col. John Alexander, Lue Elizondo, Christopher Mellon, Richard Dolan, Mike Bara, Katie Cook, Dave McDonald, Ron James, Melinda Leslie, Danny Sheehan, Stephen Bassett, Jimmy Church, and Seth Shostak.”   https://news.yahoo.com/matthew-modine-narrates-ufo-documentary-170000239.html   Story includes movie trailer.

Philadelphia FBI agent who fatally shot threatening dog is reportedly ‘Special Agent in Charge’ of local office. “The sources identified the shooter as Jacqueline Maguire, who has served as the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office since 2021. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the probe…. outraged animal rights activists to organize a protest outside the FBI’s Philadelphia headquarters on Arch Street Tuesday morning. Demonstrators held signs calling on the FBI to ‘take her badge’, lambasted Maguire for bringing ‘a gun to a dogfight’, and called for accountability…. [Security camera] footage shows Maguire sitting on a bench with her own small dog in her lap as a woman walking two other dogs passed by. One of the dogs — the pit bull — suddenly dragged her owner toward Maguire, snatched the small dog off the agent’s lap, and began aggressively shaking it, the source said.”   https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/dog-shot-philadelphia-fbi-agent-15th-and-spruce-touraine-20230220.html

Miami police officers cited for using excessive force after violent arrest of uncooperative bystander. “The argument gets heated and [Sgt. Gary] Sampson is seen grabbing [George] Augustus’ neck, pushing him against a fence, as other officers rush in to handcuff him and tell him to stop resisting…. Augustus was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in handcuffs and shackles, that he complained were too tight, and refused to walk…. One of the officers – identified as Bens Mocombe – is seen on the video dragging Augustus by his right arm through the hospital hallway, his head banging the floor.”   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11779095/Moment-Miami-officers-grab-suspect-neck-drag-ground-handcuffed.html

Supreme Court declines to hear case involving Arkansas newspaper publisher who lost state business after refusing to certify it was not boycotting Israel. “The Arkansas Times sued in 2018 after it was informed that in order to run advertisements for the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College, an institution with which it had advertising contracts for years, it would have to sign the certification. The paper had not participated in a boycott against Israel but refused to sign because it said the measure required taking a political position in return for advertising…. In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the ACLU argued that the state’s actions were prohibited under an important 1982 Supreme Court free speech ruling called NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. In that decision, the court decided that nonviolent boycott activity is constitutionally protected in a case involving a lawsuit by white-owned businesses in Mississippi to recover losses stemming from a 1966 racial-justice boycott.”   https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjtmitgcj

Environmental activists urge Biden administration to block construction of four new Texas oil terminals. “The Biden administration’s plan to potentially allow four new oil terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast would unleash a ‘carbon bomb’ potentially equivalent to three years of all U.S. emissions and belie President Joe Biden’s stated intent to ‘act boldly on climate’, according to an analysis published on Tuesday…. Sea Port Oil Terminal (STOP), the largest of the projects, would produce an estimated seven billion metric tons of annual greenhouse emissions, followed by Bluewater Texas (6.7 billion metric tons), Blue Marlin (6.6 billion), and Texas GulfLink (3.8 billion)…. SPOT was approved by the Biden administration last November over the strong objections of climate, environmental, and other campaigners.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/sea-port-oil-terminal

February 21, 2023

U.S. informed Russia in advance of Biden’s ‘courageous’ visit to Kyiv. “‘We did notify the Russians that President Biden would be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes,’ Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the president, told reporters on Monday morning in a press briefing…. ‘Unlike previous visits … like Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. obviously does not have a military presence on the ground in Ukraine which made a visit from a sitting president all the more challenging. But this was a risk that Joe Biden wanted to take,’ White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said.”   https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-alerted-russia-bidens-surprise-trip-ukraine-hours/story?id=97331313

Cop shoots dog story: FBI agent walking her dog fatally shoots another dog that allegedly attacked her dog. “Philadelphia police say she was walking her dog in the [Rittenhouse Square] area when she told them another dog started attacking her dog. That’s when police say she shot and killed the dog at 7:45 p.m. Monday.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/fbi-special-agent-shoots-dog-rittenhouse-square-philadelphia/

CNN accuses Iranian government of torturing arrested protesters at ‘black sites’. “The methods of torture [Kayvan Samadi] details tally with dozens of testimonies collected by CNN since the uprising began. CNN has now established that much of this abuse was carried out not just in Iran’s official network of repression – prisons and police stations – but also in an extensive network of illegal clandestine jails, or black sites, like the one Samadi was taken to. The methods of repression and torture carried out in this shadowy network appear to be even more horrific than the regular harsh treatment that arrested protesters can expect in legal detention sites…. Over the course of four months, CNN spoke to 12 survivors of torture; six local lawyers, most of whom were in Iran during the uprising; and seven Iranian and international rights groups. They paint a picture of a regime meting out torture on an industrial scale, to crush an uprising that has posed the biggest domestic threat to the clerical elite in decades.”   https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/02/middleeast/iran-torture-jails-black-sites-mahsa-amini-protests-cmd-intl/

Israel’s government presses ahead with proposed judicial reforms despite massive demonstrations against it. “Demonstrators from across Israel descended on Jerusalem on Monday to rally near the Knesset for a second straight week ahead of the first reading of the legislation to change the way judges are picked. Many critics say it will upend the country’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/mass-protests-as-israel-moves-ahead-with-judicial-reform-plan

India hit by February heat wave. “The India Meteorological Department issued the first heat wave alert of the year on Sunday, warning that parts of India’s western region would reach 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37C). Meanwhile, other parts of India are recording temperatures that are usually seen in mid-March and at least 40 degrees above normal…. The temperature increases in wheat-producing states are particularly concerning, given that last year’s heat brought wheat production down by roughly 10 percent, or almost 11 million metric tons.”   https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/20/india-heat-wave-climate-change/

Twitter has reportedly racked up $14 million in unpaid bills. “At least nine lawsuits claiming more than $14 million, plus interest, over unpaid bills have been filed against Twitter, The Wall Street Journal reported. Twitter has faced numerous lawsuits from vendors, landlords, and consultants since Elon Musk bought the platform in October.”   https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-unpaid-bills-worth-14-million-2023-2

February 20, 2023

Bernie Sanders more popular than Biden or Trump in 2024 presidential poll. “Forty-six percent of respondents said they had at least a somewhat favorable view toward Sanders, while 41 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion. President Biden had the second-highest favorability rating at 43 percent, although his unfavorability rating was notably higher than Sanders’s, with 52 percent of those surveyed saying they had an unfavorable opinion of the president. Former President Trump clocked in with the same ratings as Biden.”   https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3617170-sanders-has-highest-favorability-among-possible-2024-contenders-poll/

U.S. worried about more arms and ammo flowing into Ukraine conflict. “… Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News on Saturday that China is actively considering providing lethal support, including weapons and ammunition to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine. ‘We’ve been concerned from day one about that possibility,’ Blinken said…. ‘… we’ve made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship.'”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/antony-blinken-china-russia-lethal-support-ukraine-face-the-nation/   “Along with the more than 60 Bradleys, President Biden announced an additional $2.85 billion in security assistance, comprising of more fighting vehicles, ammunition, missiles and Stryker armored personnel carriers. This brings the total U.S. contribution to the effort to $27.1 billion since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.”   https://www.army.mil/article/264102/coleman_aps_2_worksite_serves_as_staging_area_for_u_s_bradleys_set_to_support_ukraine   But it’s apparently ok when the U.S. does it.

Teacher fired after exposing empty library shelves during Florida public school book purge. “Brian Covey, a substitute teacher at Mandarin Middle School, posted a video on Jan. 27 showing rows of empty bookshelves in the school’s library. The jarring video quickly went viral and now has over 13 million views, it made national headlines and was even fodder on a late night talk show…. ‘In discussion between the district and ESS regarding this individual’s misrepresentation of the books available to students in the school’s library and the disruption this misrepresentation has caused, it was determined that he had violated social media and cell phone policies of his employer. Therefore, ESS determined these policy violations made it necessary to part ways with this individual.’ …. As Duval County school leaders urged its educators to comply with the new law, this resulted in teachers removing and covering books in classrooms to make sure all books and literature are approved by the state.”   https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/education/substitute-duval-teacher-brian-covey-behind-viral-video-showing-empty-bookshelves-in-middle-school-library-fired/77-d7027a8e-7eaa-4218-bde6-3f7c989d078f   Story includes Covey’s video of empty library shelves.

Some missing Chinese protesters have turned up in police custody. “As China declares victory over the pandemic, the landmark protests in November which spelled the end for zero-Covid rules have begun fading from memory. But as the country moved on, many of those who took part in the demonstrations went missing, taken by authorities in a quietly deepening crackdown on dissenters…. scores of those protesters are in police custody, say Chinese activists, with one group estimating there have been more than 100 arrests…. Many of them are women, and according to reports, police have questioned them about whether they were feminists or involved in ‘feminist activities’.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64592333

Thousands rally in Moldova’s capital to demand energy assistance. “Demonstrators gathered in the Moldova capital of Chisinau on Sunday, February 19, to demand support from the government to defray utility costs over the winter months. The protest’s organizer, the Movement for the People, urged residents to participate and said the rally would be peaceful.”   https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/video/protesters-rally-moldovas-capital-demand-161416182.html

Thousands missing in New Zealand in aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. “At least 11 people have died and thousands are missing in New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle hit the North Island last week. The cyclone hit the northern part of the island on February 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread devastation. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called Gabrielle New Zealand’s biggest natural disaster this century…. more than 6,400 people are missing.”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/19/new-zealands-cyclone-death-toll-at-11-thousands-still-missing

Hundreds march in D.C. against funding war in Ukraine. “The anti-war protesters gathered to demand that the U.S. stop sending weapons to Ukraine, disband NATO, and join China and Russia in creating a multi-polar world, among other demands. The rally was addressed by speakers that included former State Department [officials], politicians, journalists, and activists…. ‘We basically shifted from Afghanistan to Ukraine and it needs to be stopped. Too many people are dying,’ Tara Reade, a former Senate aide, author, actress, and producer of The Kim Iversen Show told the rally.”   https://countercurrents.org/2023/02/march-against-the-war-machine-hundreds-join-anti-war-rally-in-washington-dc/   “Several hundred protesters gathered in Washington on Sunday to oppose continued U.S. support for Ukraine as it fights off Russian aggression. The event, which was billed as the March Against the War Machine rally, was put on by a constellation of libertarian and far-left groups. Speakers accused President Biden and Congress of bringing the U.S. to the brink of nuclear war…. Several attendees blamed the poor showing on ‘the corporate media’, which they claimed ignored the rally was taking place.”   https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/feb/19/far-left-libertarian-activists-protest-us-support-/   I suspect the real reason for the low turnout was that the event’s list of demands did not include an immediate ceasefire, but instead seemed to be aimed at undercutting Ukraine. That’s a legitimate (pro-Russia) political position, but that’s not how peace movements work, which is ‘immediate ceasefire, negotiated resolution’.

U.S. negotiates delay of U.N. action on expansion of Israeli settlements in West Bank. “Multiple diplomats familiar with the situation said Sunday that the U.S. had successfully managed to forestall a contentious U.N. Security Council resolution pushed by the Palestinians and their supporters that would have condemned Israel for settlement expansion and demanded a halt to future activity. To avoid a vote and a likely U.S. veto of the draft resolution, which would be legally binding, the diplomats said the administration managed to convince both Israel and the Palestinians to agree in principle to a six-month freeze in any unilateral action they might take. On the Israeli side, that would mean a commitment to not expanding settlements until at least August, according to the diplomats. On the Palestinian side, the diplomats said it would mean a commitment until August not to pursue action against Israel at the U.N. and other international bodies such as the World Court, the International Criminal Court and the U.N. Human Rights Council.”   https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-averts-diplomatic-crisis-israeli-settlements-97324823

Biden administration waives ‘made in America’ rules for EV charger network. “The decision will allow the network to be made with chargers not made in the U.S., even though President Biden boasted as recently as his State of the Union address that he was pushing for new standards that would require ‘all construction materials’ for infrastructure projects to be produced in the U.S. ‘Made in America,’ Biden said in his State of the Union speech on Feb. 7. ‘I mean it.’ …. [The Federal Highway Administration] said that a ‘public interest’ waiver is necessary in this case, because failing to grant one would slow down the process of installing EV chargers across the country – indicating that the government is valuing speed over the use of domestic materials.”   https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-admin-bragged-building-made-america-ev-charging-network-waived-buy-america-rules

Tesla union claims Twitter ‘shadow-banned’ their account. “Tesla workers at the company’s Buffalo Gigafactory have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accusing Twitter of ‘shadowbanning’ their newly made union account, according to Vice News…. We’ve confirmed that when you do a search for ‘united_tesla’ or ‘TeslaWorkersUnited’, the results don’t include any tweets posted by the account itself. Usually, searching for a user would surface their tweets, but when you use those search terms, you’ll only see results tagging the group or mentioning their name.”   https://www.engadget.com/tesla-workers-accuse-twitter-hiding-union-account-search-results-160832328.html

Illinois Supreme Court rules that White Castle burger chain violated employees’ rights by scanning their fingerprints. “In what we imagine was a gut-wrenching decision for White Castle’s legal team, the court ruled in a 4-3 decision that White Castle could be held accountable for every instance in which it scanned the fingerprints of its 9,500 employees without their consent. Illinois has required companies to obtain permission before collecting or transmitting an individual’s biometric data since 2008. The fine for failing to do so was between $1,000 and $5,000 per infraction, depending on the circumstances…. The company estimates it could pay as much as $17 billion… as a result of the decision.”   https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/18/white_castle_fingerprints_fine/   What does ‘consent’ look like? “I don’t want my fingerprints scanned.” “OK, thanks for interviewing, goodbye!” “OK, I’ll sign the form.”

Headline writers have field day with proposed NASA Uranus mission. “NASA Scientist Calls for Exploration of Uranus”   https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-scientist-exploration-uranus   “Planetary scientist lays out arguments for sending a dedicated probe to Uranus”   https://phys.org/news/2023-02-planetary-scientist-lays-arguments-dedicated.html   “Uranus up close”   https://www.space.com/nasa-uranus-orbiter-and-probe-mission-objectives   “NASA wants to explore Uranus”   https://www.salon.com/2023/02/16/uranus-neptune-mission-nasa/   How about, “NASA scientists hoping to get a better look at Uranus”, or “NASA probe may be headed for Uranus”?

Dept. of Defense refuses to comment on ‘Mosul Orb’ unidentified flying object. “The four-second clip of the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon, a government-coined phrase that means UFO, was recorded by a reconnaissance plane moving over Mosul, Iraq, in April 2016…. [Jeremy] Corbell shared the image with Fox News Digital and said this was the first time the American public had seen a designated UFO in an active conflict zone, which presents a potential problem for combatants, because they don’t know whose asset it is.’ …. Department of Defense spokesperson Susan Gough declined to answer several of Fox News Digital’s questions when reached by phone on Wednesday. ‘We have nothing further to say,’ Gough repeated when asked about the ‘Mosul Orb’…. the four-second clip… was part of a larger, internal classified briefing from DoD to destigmatize military reporting of UFOs.”   https://www.foxnews.com/us/mosul-orb-us-silent-ufo-filmed-military-iraq

Video shows fatal 2022 police shooting of fleeing 13 year-old car theft suspect in San Antonio. “Andre ‘AJ’ Hernandez was driving a stolen Toyota Corolla and threw the car in reverse, hitting the cops after they approached on June 3, 2022. Newly released clips from the fateful night now show the teen being shot. He was shot by officer Stephen Ramos, who was responding with a partner to reports of gunfire involving the red vehicle. He fired once, wounding Hernandez in the abdomen. This shot turned out to be fatal.”   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11770791/Shocking-moment-San-Antonio-cops-shoot-dead-13-year-old-boy-hijacked-car.html

Bernie Sanders proposes publicly-funded media. “What I say in the book [It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism] is that look, I’ve done 1,000 interviews, like I’m doing with you right now,” Sanders told [Face the Nation host Host Margaret] Brennan. “And nobody has ever come up to me, not one reporter—not you, not anybody else—and said, ‘Bernie, why are we spending twice as much on healthcare as any other country and yet we have 85 million uninsured or underinsured?’ How many programs at CBS, NBC, ABC had on why we have a dysfunctional healthcare system? Does that have anything to do with who owns the major networks? ‘Bernie, what are you going to do about income and wealth inequality?’ … ‘Why are billionaires paying an effective tax rate lower than working class people?’ No one asked me those questions.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-face-the-nation   Maybe he’s talking to the wrong news outlets?

February 18, 2023

Company fined for employing underage workers to clean meatpacking plants. “A major US food sanitation company illegally employed at least 102 children between the ages of 13 and 17 in jobs that had them using caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws. Packers Sanitation Services paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for employing minors in hazardous occupations and having them working overnight shifts at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states…. Packers paid a total of $741,762 in penalties at two JBS Foods in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, for its employment of 49 minors. Separately, Packers was also fined for employing 26 minors at a Cargill Inc. processor in Dodge City, Kansas, as well as at plants in Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas.”   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/17/business/packers-sanitation-child-labor/index.html

Alternative news media leaves legacy media in the dust on coverage of East Palestine, Ohio train explosion.

• “Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment”, The Lever, Feb 8, 2023   https://www.levernews.com/rail-companies-blocked-safety-rules-before-ohio-derailment/
• “Before Ohio derailment, Norfolk Southern lobbied against safety rules”, The Washington Post, February 18, 2023   https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/02/18/norfolk-southern-derailment-ohio-train-safety/
  

Republican plan to let Social Security and Medicare programs lapse is withdrawn. “[Sen. Rick] Scott amended his Rescue America plan on Friday to exclude Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans’ benefits, and other essential services from his proposal to sunset federal programs every five years and force Congress to pass legislation to reauthorize them…. Scott’s original plan never directly called for an end to Social Security and Medicare, but it did [not] specifically exempt those programs until the changes he made on Friday, reflected on a website dedicated to his Rescue America proposal. President Biden appeared to call out Scott’s plan during his State of the Union address earlier this month, outraging Republicans who either believed Biden was misrepresenting the proposal or unfairly accusing Republicans of supporting Scott’s plan.”   https://nypost.com/2023/02/18/rick-scott-updates-sunset-plan-to-exclude-social-security-and-medicare/   Although they now deny it, Republicans have been trying to either privatize or cut Social Security and Medicare for decades. “Marco Rubio said he was open to raising the retirement age in 2010 in his first Senate campaign. There’s a video circulating the web of a 2010 Lee saying he wanted to “phase out” Social Security. And George W. Bush had a self-inflicted entitlement blunder too: Early in his second term, he pushed heavily for, among other reforms, partially privatizing Social Security—only to realize that the strategy had failed after his approval rating took a pounding…. During the House Republican majority’s debt ceiling fight in 2013, a group of 51 GOP lawmakers demanded that Speaker John Boehner include Social Security cuts in negotiations with Barack Obama, calling it the ‘best opportunity to begin solving our nation’s significant budget imbalances’.”   https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/republicans-social-security-medicare-cuts   Or abolish it completely. “‘It will be my objective to phase out Social Security — to pull it up by the roots and get rid of it,’ [Rep. Mike] Lee could be heard saying in a clip taken during his first campaign in 2010, adding that political advisors have told him it was a ‘dangerous’ thing to [advocate]…. The Republican Study Committee, made up of House conservatives, issued a detailed plan in 2022, called the ‘Blueprint to Save America’ that would raise the retirement age to receive benefits under Social Security and Medicare. It also involved decreasing Social Security benefits over time… as well as increasing Medicare premiums for some.”   https://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-social-security-medicare-biden-liar-2023-2

Death toll in Turkish/Syrian earthquake exceeds 45,000. “Over 45,000 people have been killed in the magnitude 7.8 quake and over 40 aftershocks that flattened thousands of buildings, trapping an unknown number of people in freezing weather. While many international rescue teams have left the vast quake zone, survivors were still emerging from under a multitude of flattened homes, defying all the odds.”   https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/turkey-syria-earthquake-toll-survivors-building-collapse-rescue-efforts-shoddy-construction-top-points-2336314-2023-02-18

War is what happens when you cross a country’s ‘red line’. “What alarmed Russia so profoundly that it reacted militarily was the explicit effort to pry Ukraine out of Moscow’s orbit and bring it into NATO. Russian concerns were longstanding and well understood in Washington…. For three generations, American ambassadors to Moscow delivered clear and consistent warnings against expanding NATO into Russia’s traditional sphere of influence…. Nevertheless, convinced that a greatly weakened Russia could not oppose expanding Western influence, NATO’s political leaders continued to promote Ukrainian entry into the alliance. Under strong American pressure, NATO’s secretary general announced in 2008 that Ukraine would eventually join the alliance. In 2014 NATO actively supported the Maidan Uprising which overthrew Ukraine’s pro-Russian, elected president Viktor Yanukovych and replaced him with a pro-European, pro-NATO government. Right up until the outbreak of the current war on Feb. 24, 2022, the Western powers consistently rejected Russian calls for a neutral Ukraine. Instead, the alliance repeatedly reconfirmed Ukraine’s right to join NATO and committed itself to ever deeper security assistance, defense planning and intelligence sharing with Kiev.”   https://www.newsweek.com/never-forget-real-reason-russia-went-war-opinion-1781535   The authors are former U.S. diplomats.

Climate researchers warn of possible ‘doom loop’ of escalating consequences due to inaction. “In a report published Wednesday by Chatham House and the Institute for Public Policy Research, two London-based think tanks, researchers warned that the climate crisis was already imposing incredible costs on nations as they deal with everything from increasingly destructive storms and wildfires to more frequent famines and human migrations. As those costs snowball, they said, it could force governments to dial back or even abandon their efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, leading to larger economic burdens in the future…. ‘The consequences of the crisis and the failure to address it draw focus and resources [away] from tackling its causes [to repairing the latest damage], leading to higher temperatures and ecological loss, which then create [even] more severe consequences, diverting even more attention and resources, and so on.'”   https://insideclimatenews.org/todaysclimate/whats-a-climate-doom-loop-these-researchers-fear-were-heading-into-one/

February 17, 2023

Shelby county jail inmate died after altercation with guards. “Gershun Freeman, 33, died at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis on October 5, 2022. The autopsy report, conducted by the county medical examiner and released Thursday, says Freeman “had a cardiac arrest” after the altercation, which ended in officers restraining him. ‘CPR was initiated’, but [was] unsuccessful. Freeman was pronounced dead at the scene…. ‘When he got to the upper floor, he was sort of surrounded and then sort of set upon by at least three or four deputies, who had him face down on the ground, they were on top of him. And they stayed on top of him for several minutes at least.'”   https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zagb/memphis-gershun-freeman-homicide

Russian journalist sentenced to six years in prison over claim Russia bombed Mariupol theater. “Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been jailed for six years for posting on social media about a deadly attack by Russian warplanes on a theatre in Ukraine. The court in Barnaul in Siberia found her guilty of spreading ‘fake news’, under laws introduced aimed at stifling dissent about the invasion of Ukraine…. Hundreds of civilians died when the Mariupol theatre was bombed last March. Ponomarenko was detained last April, weeks after the bombing, for posting that Russian warplanes had carried out the attack even though the Russian defence ministry had denied it.”   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64647267

House Financial Services Committee hires former bank lobbyists as staffers. “Over the last few weeks, [committee chairman Rep. Patrick] McHenry’s hires to run the committee are mostly former lobbyists who served the very banks, lenders, and brokerages seeking to combat Biden regulations. Staffers often play a pivotal role in determining the strategy and policy behind any change in the law…. the burrowing of corporate lobbyists deep inside powerful roles in the congressional and federal bureaucracy… presents the potential for entrenched corruption. The advantages for burrowing are so high that many corporations with a stake in government policy write the incentives into employment contracts.”   https://theintercept.com/2023/02/15/congress-bank-lobbying/

Jeremy Corbyn barred from running as a Labour candidate. “Former U.K. Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn—a member of Parliament who represents the Greater London constituency Islington North—called out [party] Leader Keir Starmer this week for barring him from running with the party in the nation’s next general election…. ‘Any attempt to block my candidacy is a denial of due process, and should be opposed by anybody who believes in the value of democracy.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/jeremy-corbyn-starmer-labour-election   Corbyn is part of the left wing of the Labour Party, and if he’s driven out others will likely follow, and Labour will never win another election. But left populism is apparently such a threat to the status quo that they’d rather burn down their own party than risk its resurgence.

Another Norfolk Southern train derails, this time in Michigan. “As the small town of East Palestine, Ohio reels from a chemical-spewing train crash, another train operated by the same company—Norfolk Southern—derailed outside of Detroit, Michigan on Thursday, the latest in a string of recent wrecks that rail workers have said are a horrible and predictable consequence of the industry’s profit-seeking policy decisions…. ‘Safety inspection times and personnel have been slashed, hindering efforts to ensure trains are safe before they leave yards or terminals. Crews are dissuaded from reporting safety issues. Workers that persist in raising red flags are often ignored,’ Motherboard‘s Aaron Gordon wrote Wednesday. ‘Norfolk Southern’s lax safety practices have been applied to its entire network, reflecting a trend happening across the freight rail industry.'”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/another-norfolk-southern-train-michigan

U.S. Senators want Kroger to explain errors in employee paychecks. “‘… reports indicate that ‘systemic and widespread errors’ by Kroger resulted in thousands of your employees experiencing delays and missing wages in their paychecks in late 2022.’ …. In January, hundreds of Kroger employees, most of them members of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union, filed a class-action lawsuit alleging widespread wage theft…. According to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, more than $3 billion in stolen wages were recovered for U.S. workers between 2017 and 2020—a fraction of the $50 billion EPI says is stolen by employers each year. By contrast, the FBI said the total value of all 267,988 reported U.S. robberies in 2019 was around $482 million.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/kroger-wage-theft

Sentencing Project says capping prison sentences at 20 years would ease mass incarceration. “‘In no small part due to long sentences, the United States has one of the world’s highest incarceration rates, with nearly two million people in prisons and jails…. To end mass incarceration, the United States must dramatically shorten sentences. Capping sentences for the most serious offenses at 20 years and shifting sentences for all other offenses proportionately downward, including by decriminalizing some acts, is a vital decarceration strategy…’ …. While no country has yet implemented a 20-year incarceration limit, Russia caps women’s imprisonment at 20 years. In Norway, prison terms are limited to 21 years, with the possibility of extensions if the inmate is deemed to pose a continued danger to society…. Cape Verde, Paraguay, and Portugal limit imprisonment to 25 years.”   https://www.commondreams.org/news/sentencing-reform   I’d even go for 10 years, if prisoners could actually get the help they need to turn their lives around.

Alabama whistle-blower claims she was fired for leaking video of prisoner abuse. “… according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday morning… a Walker County correctional officer decided to share internal surveillance video of Anthony ‘Tony’ Mitchell with someone outside of her agency. For that, the lawsuit claims, she was terminated from her position…. On February 10, Karen Kelly, a correctional officer who had recorded portions of internal surveillance video, was served with a letter of termination by her employer…. The 20-page lawsuit alleges… that Walker County Sheriff’s officials called her into an office as part of an investigation into a leaked video…. Kelly’s federal lawsuit names the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Nick Smith, Public Information Officer TJ Armstrong and Investigator Carl Carpenter as defendants, alleging that her termination was an act of retaliation.”   https://www.wkrg.com/alabama-news/alabama-sheriff-fired-officer-who-blew-whistle-on-treatment-of-mentally-ill-man-lawsuit-alleges/   I don’t think firing the ‘good apples’ is a winning strategy.

Who said it: Don Lemon or Donald Trump? “I think it is the wrong road to go down. [Nikki Haley] says people, you know, politicians or something, are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/don-lemon-apology-women-prime-age-nikki-haley-cnn/   Video here:   https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1626260460264620032

Louisiana State Police release video of police shooting of unarmed man fleeing a ‘disturbing the peace’ complaint, officer charged with negligent homicide. “Body cam footage from both officers was received and reviewed by LSP. Eyewitness interviews were also conducted and the crime scene was processed for evidence by LSP. The [affidavit] document states [Officer Alexander] Tyler committed the offense of negligent homicide based on the following:

• There were no known reports made to the responding officers that [Alonzo] Bagley was in possession of a dangerous weapon.
• There were no weapons observed by the officers at the time of the incident.
• No arguable facts were provided to the affiant that would justify the need for deadly force to apprehend Bagley, to protect himself or others in self-defense, or to prevent Bagley’s escape.”   https://www.ksla.com/2023/02/16/warrant-issued-officer-involved-shooting-death-alonzo-bagley/

General Secretary of Amnesty International Agnes Callamard says major powers have been flouting international law for decades. “For decades now major powers have flouted international law with impunity and shielded their allies from accountability. The result is conflicts and crises rife with human rights violations in every corner of the world: from Ukraine to Ethiopia, Myanmar to Yemen, Mali to Venezuela, Syria to DRC, Iraq to Palestine and Iran, people are suffering because the international community is failing victims…. Increasingly international law is defied without consequence.”   https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/02/amnesty-internationals-secretary-general-agnes-callamard-attending-the-munich-security-conference/

Investor advocacy group releases list of ‘most overpaid’ CEOs. “The As You Sow ranking is based on three factors: calculating CEO pay against shareholder returns for the year, the percentage of shareholders voting against CEO pay packages, and the ratio of the CEO’s pay compared to median worker compensation at the company. Here are the top 10 CEOs on As You Sow’s list [and their annual pay]:

1. David Zaslav—Warner Bros. Discovery, $246 million
2. Fabrizio Freda—Estée Lauder, $66 million
3. Jay Snowden—Penn National Gaming, $65.9 million
4. Patrick Gelsinger—Intel, $178.6 million
5. Glenn Fogel—Booking Holdings, $54 million
6. William McDermott—ServiceNow’s, $165.8 million
7. Robert Goldstein—Las Vegas Sands, $31.2 million
8. James Dimon—JPMorgan Chase & Co., $84.4 million
9. Andy Jassy—Amazon, $212.7 million
10. Tim Cook—Apple, $98.7 million   https://time.com/6256076/most-overpaid-ceos-2022/

Crawford county, Arkansas sheriff’s deputy, accused of using excessive force during arrest, allegedly erased data before handing over cell phone to investigators. “In seeking a warrant to obtain and search [former deputy Levi] White’s personal cell phone and any other phones he may have, [FBI special agent Jacob] Stokes said investigators have since determined that White’s personal cell also contains relevant information, ‘including text messages that indicate White and other officers recognized that White used excessive force’. ‘Specifically, within two hours of the [Randal Worcester] incident, Officer Riddle sent White a text message’ that described the incident as an ‘ass whipping’, the affidavit says, noting the FBI obtained this information from Riddle’s phone.”   https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/02/16/fbi-says-one-of-two-deputies-charged-in-beating-suspect-destroyed-evidence