Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

26
Two dead, one injured in attack on Portland train. “Witnesses said Christian stabbed three people who tried to calm him down after he was directing hate speech at two women on the train who are believed to be Muslim.” http://www.kgw.com/news/crime/max-stabb ... /443585889

Philippine president Duterte reportedly “jokes” to troops that under martial law rape will be tolerated. “If you rape three people, I will admit that I did it.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/26/asia/ ... te-speech/

British Airways denies that its computer problems are due to a cyber attack. “Despite initial reports from passengers that the disruptions had been caused by a cyber attack, BA has said that a “power supply issue” was most likely behind the global IT failure.” https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3663439/b ... -airports/

Government releases information about April fire at Los Alamos plutonium weapons lab. “A fire broke mid-April at the lab’s PF-4 plutonium building where the plutonium cores of nuclear weapons are produced.” http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-us-nu ... ire-2017-5

Police releasing few details in fatal San Rafael, New Mexico shooting involving multiple SWAT teams and unidentified dead suspect. “Christiansen didn’t say which agency the officer or officers were with who fired at the suspect or what prompted police to shoot.” https://www.abqjournal.com/1009666/stat ... icers.html

Energy Transfer Partners allegedly hired counter-terrorism company to help it deal with pipeline protesters. “Internal TigerSwan communications describe the (protest) movement as “an ideologically driven insurgency with a strong religious component” and compare the anti-pipeline water protectors to jihadist fighters.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... e-uprising

Geraldo Rivera tells “Fox and Friends” that Montana politician’s assault on reporter “was gigantically overblown”. “The incident itself I think was gigantically overblown.” https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017 ... own/216681 Wife of Republican congressman calls it “a little bit of Montana justice”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... sm-montana

Police in Tennessee fatally shoot motorist attempting to flee traffic stop. “The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and has not yet been positively identified.” http://www.startribune.com/officials-te ... 424791773/

Florida police officer reportedly fired after injuring 13 year-old at youth shelter. “The teen suffered facial injuries and had to be taken to a hospital for treatment.” https://patch.com/florida/clearwater/cl ... ing-arrest

Woman sues St. Louis police over violent arrest after Black Lives Matter protest. “On December 1, 2016, Circuit Judge Nicole Colbert-Botchway acquitted Hendrix of resisting arrest, concluding that the “evidence presented in this case does not establish that Ms. Hendrix was ever given an opportunity to comply before she was tased repeatedly and then handcuffed”.” http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_n ... 7cf1c.html

Thousands of Haitian garment workers go on strike. “Garment workers live in debt, hunger and on the brink of homelessness, despite working 12-16 hour days.” https://itsgoingdown.org/striking-haiti ... olidarity/

Turkey demands investigation into “mistreatment” of President Erdogan’s body guards by D.C. police when they were eventually stopped from beating up protesters. “On Monday, the Turkish government summoned the U.S. ambassador to Ankara to demand a full investigation into, and an apology for, the “aggressive and unprofessional actions” that American law enforcement officers committed—against Erdogan’s bodyguards.” http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/ ... protesters

Trump White House official and son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly failed to report meetings with sanctioned Russian bank official and Russian ambassador on security clearance application. “Investigators are now trying to sort out a series of questions about Kushner’s role, among them why he failed to disclose meetings with Russians on an application for a security clearance…” http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/p ... 73294.html

Federal appeals court rules against Trump administration on Muslim travel ban. “In a 10-to-3 decision, the Richmond-based court said the president’s power to deny entry into the United States is not absolute and sided with challengers, finding that the travel ban “in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination”.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pu ... story.html

Legislators upset about violence against protesters – when it’s committed by foreigner agents. “We just wish our members of Congress held our own police to these same standards.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/prote ... mbassador/

House bill would restore some internet privacy protections and expand them to cover social media and other internet firms. “Blackburn’s bill would level the playing field by putting all internet firms under FTC jurisdiction but at a higher level of opt-in consumer protection.” http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/law ... pealing-it

U.S. ambassador to Israel reportedly does face palm when Trump tells Israelis in Jerusalem that he just returned from a visit to the Middle East. “… Dermer instinctively reacted to the flub by putting his palm to his forehead.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/th ... story.html

Owner of real estate agency sentenced to life in prison for kidnappings, sexual assaults, deaths of seven. “Kohlhepp… confessed to killing four people at Superbike Motorsports in Spartanburg County after becoming enraged by an employee who mocked his experience as a biker.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40054629

Houston teacher accused of giving students “Most likely to become a terrorist”, “Most likely to be homeless in Guatemala” and “Most likely to blend in with white people” awards. http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/26/us/te ... lash-trnd/

Fox News crew witnessed Gianforte attack on journalist, refused to give the reporter their names. “He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05 ... orter.html

Congressional Budget Office report says Trumpcare will not protect people with pre-existing conditions from large premium increases. “…people who are less healthy (including those with preexisting or newly acquired medical conditions) would ultimately be unable to purchase comprehensive nongroup health insurance at premiums comparable to those under current law, if they could purchase it at all.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpos ... story.html

Kushner allegedly approached Russian ambassador about setting up a secret “back channel”. “Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, spoke last December with Russia’s ambassador to the United States about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow to discuss strategy in Syria and other policy issues, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/p ... .html?_r=0

Facebook CEO tells Harvard grads that “universal basic income” would give more people a chance to be creative. “We should explore ideas like universal basic income to make sure that everyone has a cushion to try new ideas.” http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/26/news/ec ... ic-income/

Average CEO got an 8.5% pay raise in 2016. “Over the past five years, median CEO pay in the survey has jumped by 19.6 percent… nearly double the 10.9 percent rise in the typical weekly paycheck for full-time employees across the country.” http://www.star-telegram.com/news/busin ... 84074.html

Iraqi special forces unit accused of torture and extrajudicial killings. “We don’t take prisoners.” http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/deepdive/ ... s-47429895

Kushner allegedly asked Russian ambassador if he could use their embassy for secure channel with Russia. “What information would the Trump team want to make sure is hidden from U.S. intelligence?” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... mp/528402/

Judge finds DAPL protester not guilty of drone attack. “The defendant did not fly the drone at the plane. He did not fly the drone in a reckless manner over either the people or at the plane.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... s-his-case

Corbyn says “war on terror” not working. “Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism here at home.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... war-terror

Man leading Trump program to privatize public infrastructure, Gary Cohn, is a former Goldman Sachs president. “Left unsaid in the White House promotional materials was any mention that the Trump aide who is overseeing the initiative comes from a Wall Street firm that says it is seeking to buy up the very same kind of assets the Trump administration plans to sell off.” http://www.ibtimes.com /political-capital/trump-administration-conflicts-interest-how-gary-cohn-could-sell-us-infrastructure

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reprimands U.S. intelligence agencies for abusing their powers to monitor U.S. citizens. “U.S. intelligence agencies conducted illegal surveillance on American citizens over a five-year period, a practice that earned them a sharp rebuke from a secret court that called the matter a “very serious” constitutional issue.” http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 47909.html

Group claims more than 100 civilians killed in U.S. coalition air strikes in al-Mayadin, Syria. “The Observatory said more than 40 children were among those killed in the strikes, which leveled al-Mayadin’s municipality building.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-midea ... SKBN18M0GX

U.S. allies, more susceptible to public pressure, refuse to admit civilian airstrike casualties. “Though these dozen partner nations – which include Britain, France, Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands – have launched more than 4,000 airstrikes between them, they have so far claimed a perfect record in avoiding civilian casualties.” https://airwars.org/news/80-coalition-ally-deaths/

“Wounded Warrior Project” charity spent only 68 cents of every dollar donated on veterans programs says Grassley report. “It also found the charity… misled donors about more than $65 million placed in a long-term trust that had not yet been spent on veterans (and) spent “excessive amounts” of money on travel, as well as fundraising and staff events.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wounded-war ... te-report/

If you want the latest stories (without having to wait for me to re-post them here), you can visit the Progressive News Service website directly at https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

27
More Americans killed by white racists in a week than by refugees in 36 years. “Ever since the Refugee Act of 1980, no refugees who have fled war-torn areas to seek asylum in the U.S. have ever killed any Americans.” http://resistancereport.com/news/white- ... this-week/

Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen reportedly subpoenaed by Congress after declining to appear voluntarily. “As part of our ongoing investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 campaign, today we approved subpoenas for several individuals for testimony, personal documents and business records.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/3 ... hen-238998

Clinton says her use of a private email server not the reason she lost election, blames the press for covering the story “like it was Pearl Harbor”. “This was the biggest nothing burger — ever.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/31/polit ... code-loss/ Apparently the voters disagreed with her assessment. She also suspects Americans helped “1,000” Russian agents with their fake news campaign. “I am leaning Trump. It is pretty hard not to.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -news.html

White House press secretary says Trump’s “covfefe” not a typo. ““The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant,” Spicer told reporters.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... fefe-tweet In that case, my guess is that “fefe” is a euphemism for “feces”, so “covfefe” is “very bad news coverage”.

In another classy move, Philippine president Duterte lashes out at Chelsea Clinton over criticism of his speech to soldiers suggesting that he will take responsibility for any rapes committed by the military while putting down Muslim uprising. “When your father, the president of the United States, was screwing Lewinsky and the girls there in the White House, how did you feel?” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 65891.html

Texas woman allegedly bruised and jailed after argument with police chief over him letting his 14 year-old daughter drive on public roads. “The winner of Miss Black Texas US Ambassador 2016 says she was harassed and berated by a North Texas police chief who she said called her a “black b—-,” and then was unlawfully detained and arrested.” http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Miss-B ... 16483.html

Ohio takes legal action against drug companies over opioid epidemic. “We believe that the evidence will show that these pharmaceutical companies purposely misled doctors about the dangers connected with pain meds that they produced, and that they did so for the purpose of increasing sales.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... d-epidemic

Bounty hunters and fugitive dead after gun battle at car dealership. “Rick Ford, the owner of the dealership, told FOX 4 the bounty hunters came into the showroom and identified themselves as federal agents.” http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/31/bo ... texas.html

Almost half of Trump’s Twitter followers may be fake accounts. “The President currently has 31million followers, making him one of the most followed people on Twitter, but many of those accounts have no profile picture or personal information, and were created recently.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... obots.html

NYPD officer charged with second-degree murder in shooting of mentally ill, 66 year-old woman in her home after she approached him with a baseball bat. “All he had to do was close the damn door and walk out.” http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyp ... -1.3209720

Homelessness up 23% in one year in Los Angeles metro area. “In its latest report, the (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority) said there were 57,794 people homeless in the county during its survey in January, compared to 46,874 in 2016.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40115541

JetBlue to use facial recognition technology for boarding passengers. “Starting in June, passengers on the airline’s Boston-Aruba route will be photographed at the gate prior to boarding and checked against the images on their passport or visa photos on file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/jetblue-testin ... d=47743685

Japanese investment bank Nomura Securities also bought Venezuelan government bonds. “Nomura’s trading arm paid about $30 million for the ($100 million in) debt, a steep discount to where the troubled country’s bonds trade in the market…” http://in.reuters.com/article/us-venezu ... NKBN18S3JY

Secret Service reportedly investigating fired comedian’s “severed Trump head” photo. “The Secret Service will likely attempt to interview both Griffin and (photographer) Shields, with the agency never assuming at first that incendiary photos or writings are just in jest or merely intended as artistic expression, TMZ said.” http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/31/k ... -his-head/

Attorneys for those arrested without warning on Brooklyn Bridge during 2011 protest hope Supreme Court will agree to hear their case. “The court, de Blasio and the NYPD are telling people that if you want to engage in peaceful First Amendment assembly, if you see a demonstration, if you join an activity that’s visibly escorted by police — even if you think you’re obeying the law — you can suddenly find yourself in jail with no notice, no warning, no opportunity to disperse.” https://www.usnews.com/news/national-ne ... ut-warning

Trump administration reportedly working on deal to return Russian “compounds” in Maryland and New York. “Before making a final decision on allowing the Russians to reoccupy the compounds, the administration is examining possible restrictions on Russian activities there, including removing the diplomatic immunity the properties previously enjoyed.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/na ... story.html

California “Medicare for All” program would cost 18% less than covering everyone under current for-profit system according to study. “What this new study proves is that we can finally achieve the dream of guaranteeing health care for all Californians, without the punishment of crippling out of pocket costs, at far less than what was predicted by those who make enormous profits off the pain and suffering of everyday Californians.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ting-costs

State Department official makes 18 second pause before answering question about Saudi Arabia’s commitment to democracy. “(long pause)… I think what we would say is that, uh, at this meeting, we were able to, err, make significant progress with Saudi and GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners in, uh, both making a strong statement against extremism and also, um, and also putting err…err, putting in place certain measures through this GCC mechanism where we can combat extremism.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -democracy

If journalists want answers to questions about Russiagate investigation, White House press secretary says they will have to ask Trump’s lawyer. “We are focused on the president’s agenda and going forward all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel Marc Kasowitz.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -questions

Driver allegedly yelled racial slurs before hitting native Americans in Gray’s Harbor, Washington. “You guys don’t belong here.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... mp-america

Credit ratings of major banks downgraded after losing “to big to fail” guarantees. “The banks downgraded by the agency are Bank of America Corp., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, State Street Corp., the Goldman Sachs Group and Wells Fargo & Co.” http://www.ibtimes.com/sp-cuts-credit-r ... ts-2209206

Developer discovers Chrome bug that allows surveillance of users. “A recently discovered vulnerability in the popular Google Chrome browser could allow a hacker to record audio or video from a device’s microphone or webcam without any indication to the user.” http://www.ibtimes.com/google-chrome-bu ... eo-2546145

Russian banker who allegedly met with Kushner dodges journalists. “Did you talk about sanctions?” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/no-comm ... -reporter/

Black Lives Matter wins 2017 Sydney Peace Foundation peace prize. “…what we have seen time and time again, when (police) become the first responders, they don’t de-escalate. They actually escalate … When they become the first responders, our family members end up dying.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... eace-prize

Marines arrested for trespassing during pro-Confederate rally to hang white nationalist banner. “The pair unfurled a banner that quoted George Orwell’s “1984” — “He who controls the past controls the future” — and the letters, “YWNRU,” which stands for “you will not replace us,” a slogan linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/marines ... ate-rally/

Many civilians reportedly killed and injured in Mosul Old City airstrikes. “Dozens of houses in the Az Zanjili district were reportedly completed flattened by the air raids – which lasted several hours, an army officer said, adding that it is estimated at least 200 people were killed in the attack.” https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/ ... raqs-mosul



Trump’s lawyer declines invitation to appear before congressional “Russiagate” panel. “I declined the invitation to participate, as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered,” Cohen told CNN Tuesday, adding that he considered it a “total fishing expedition.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/30/polit ... -congress/

America’s longest and most expensive wars. “In addition to nearly 7,000 troops killed, the 16-year conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost an estimated US$6 trillion due to its prolonged length, rapidly increasing veterans health care and disability costs and interest on war borrowing.” https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017 ... war-unpaid

Judge unhappy about deportation of Hawaiian businessman who has been in the U.S. for almost 30 years. “The government’s decision to remove Magana Ortiz shows that even the ‘good hombres’ are not safe.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-app ... story.html

U.S. delivers arms to Kurdish leftists. “The (weapons) include AK-47s and small-calibre machine guns, according to AFP news agency.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40100917

China Labor Watch says its investigator has been detained by authorities. “An advocacy group says a man investigating working conditions at a Chinese company that produces Ivanka Trump-brand shoes has been arrested and two other men are missing.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... story.html

Supreme Court strikes down “provocation” ruling of lower court in warrantless search for fugitive that lead to shooting of uninvolved homeless couple. “Under that rule, police can be sued for violating a victim’s constitutional rights against unreasonable searches if they provoked a confrontation that resulted in violence.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-p ... story.html

Guardian reporter donates his broken glasses to journalism museum. “(Republican House candidate) Gianforte allegedly “body slammed” Jacobs at the candidate’s campaign headquarters in Bozeman after receiving a question about the GOP’s ObamaCare replacement plan.” http://thehill.com/homenews/news/335687 ... ult-report

Muslim group wins lawsuit against New Jersey town accused of blocking mosque. “The (group) filed for site approval in 2012, which initiated 39 public hearings that spanned more than three years (before having their application denied in 2015).” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... on-lawsuit

Athens, Georgia bars accused of making up dress codes and private party reservations to exclude black customers. “The dress code is meant to keep out gang members regardless of race, (one bar owner) said.” http://flagpole.com/news/in-the-loop/fi ... athens-bar

Man places peeing dog statue next to Wall Street’s “Fearless Girl”. “Gardega created a statue of a small dog, titled “Pissing Pug,” and his sloppily crafted pooch takes direct aim at “Fearless Girl” — or, at least, at her left leg.” https://nypost.com/2017/05/29/pissed-of ... less-girl/ Classy!

Goldman Sachs buys up Venezuelan state oil company bonds, upsetting the country’s mostly pro-capitalist opposition. “Goldman Sachs paid $865 million for $2.8 billion in bonds issued by PDVSA, the country’s state-owned oil company, working out to 31 cents on the dollar.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/30/goldmans ... ector.html

United Airlines fined by government over maintenance lapse. “United flew the aircraft on 23 domestic and international passenger flights before the inspection was ultimately performed, according to the FAA.” http://kfor.com/2017/05/30/united-alleg ... -23-times/

Parties in British Columbia, Canada vow to block oil pipeline. “The Greens and left-leaning New Democrats…. said they would use “every tool available” to stop the expansion of a pipeline designed to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to the west coast.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kind ... SKBN18Q1JT

Supreme Court puts limits on where lawsuits can be filed against corporations. “The Supreme Court ruling looks to limit the ability of plaintiffs to “shop” for courts in states that have friendlier employee laws.” https://www.thestreet.com/story/1415447 ... filed.html

Are the world’s democracies being turned into “security states” by a gang of young delinquents? “… with every new attack, some of our essential freedoms are being chipped away in the name of security, and that trend will almost certainly continue.” http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-com ... d-freedoms

Aerospace tycoon says he is certain there is an alien presence on earth. “There has been and is an existing presence, an ET presence.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bigelow-aer ... -in-space/

Portland stabbing suspect reportedly yells in court, “Death to the enemies of America. Leave this country if you hate our freedom. You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/portland-tr ... -outburst/

Bernie Sanders tells graduates he never thought the U.S. would become an oligarchy. “Described to him as “small developing countries” in which the “economic and political life of the nation were controlled by a handful of very wealthy people,” Sanders admitted it “never occurred to me as a kid in Brooklyn that the United States of America, our great nation, could move in that direction”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... mmencement

Unknown attacker opens fire on Kentucky newspaper office, bomb threat hits printing company. “The spate of threats to news industries in Kentucky adds to a growing litany of attacks and physical assaults on journalists across the US.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... anti-media

Death toll in Venezuelan protests reportedly hits 69. “Sixty-nine people have been killed in Venezuela since April 1 as result of numerous, violent protests held against the nation’s leader Nicolas Maduro, head of the Venezuelan non-governmental organization, Foro Penal (Penal Forum), Alfredo Romero, said Tuesday.” https://sputniknews.com/latam/201705311 ... l-seventy/

Texas lawmakers get physical, trade threats after one allegedly brags about calling ICE on protesters opposed to bill against “sanctuary cities”. “GOP state Rep. Matt Rinaldi says he called Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the protesters, several of whom carried signs proclaiming “I am illegal and here to stay”.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... protesters

German government unhappy with “short-sighted” Trump administration policies that have “weakened the west”. “Anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts is putting peace in Europe at risk.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... g-the-west

Portland’s mayor asks National Park Service to cancel “free speech rally”, ACLU says that would be illegal. “The government cannot revoke or deny a permit based on the viewpoint of the demonstrators. Period.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/29/us/po ... strations/

Dashcam video shows Georgia police officer hit speeds of 107 mph during chase, fired 21 shots at fleeing teens, hitting all three of them and killing one. The officer was cleared of any charges but resigned according to video. http://www.wltz.com/2017/05/22/exclusiv ... -21-shots/

Many veteran suicides due to “moral injuries”. “The whole concept is that we all have a moral system that if we are forced to violate it, that has huge consequences.” http://www.krtv.com/story/35466715/eric ... reat-falls

John F. Kennedy, if still alive, would have turned 100 on Memorial Day. “He ran for president as a cold warrior and ramped up U.S. military presence in Vietnam. But in the last year of his life, he called for an end to the Cold War.” http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/john-f-k ... ed-legacy/

Populist leader Nasser Zafzafi arrested in Morocco. “Anthropologist Miriyam Aouragh has described the Al Hoceima uprising as the “unfinished business” of Moroccan “Arab Spring” activists, and some on social media have been calling the latest wave of widespread demonstrations the “new February 20,” referring to the movement of 2011.” https://africatimes.com/2017/05/29/moro ... er-cities/

Car theft suspect fatally shot by Vacaville, California police after chase. “Officers fired four shots through the windshield of the car, killing the suspect. Authorities won’t say exactly why officers fired at the vehicle.” http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/05/ ... vacaville/

Warren, Ohio man sues police for breaking his arm, denying him medical treatment. “White says that although he complained several times about his injury, neither Martin, nor police officer Jason McCollum, nor anyone at the Trumbull County Jail believed him or offered him medical treatment.” http://www.wfmj.com/story/35540920/warr ... nst-police

Jaguar Land Rover has record sales year in China and U.S. “Jaguar Land Rover has delivered a record year of sales bolstered by demand for luxury cars in China and North America.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... r-in-sales

Bush accused of waging war for political gain. “Every country has a militaristic right-wing, and nothing helps that right-wing triumph over their domestic enemies more than a state of war.” https://theintercept.com/2017/05/29/we- ... about-war/

Trump accuses press of making up leak stories. “It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... the-enemy/

Head of Homeland Security says he has no problem with political campaigns trying to set up secret communications with Russian officials. “Any channel of communication back or otherwise is a good thing,” Kelly told “Fox News Sunday.” “It doesn’t bother me.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05 ... -back.html

At least 92 dead in Marawi, Philippines fighting. “That figure includes 16 civilians, 61 militants, 11 soldiers, and four police officers.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... -of-marawi

Cook County Sheriff says half of the people in jail don’t belong there, while gangs have the cash to bail out their members. “But you have some individual who’s in here who’s never been a danger to anybody, he can’t come up with a hundred dollars. He’s sitting…the guy with the gun, he’s out the door.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cook-county ... 0-minutes/

British Airways computer system apparently still unable to function after “power outage”, flight shutdown likely to enter third day. “On Saturday night, travellers spent the night sleeping on terminal floors at Heathrow on yoga mats provided by BA.” http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40081112 Welcome to the modern world. You have fully functioning aircraft, crews ready for duty and passengers lined up for flights, but nothing is moving because the computers are down.

4,149 people died of drug overdoses in Ohio last year, up 36% from 2015. “The increase is being attributed to heroin and the powerful synthetic opioids fentanyl and carfentanil.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation ... story.html

Cuban exile claims he saw his CIA handler meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald 11 weeks before the JFK assassination. “After JFK was killed in Dallas on November 22, 1963, Oswald was arrested, and his face was broadcast on TV. “I recognized him immediately,” Veciana writes.” http://www.newsweek.com/cia-jfk-john-f- ... igs-616670

Defense secretary announces tactical shift “to annihilation tactics” in fight against IS. “Our intention is that the foreign fighters do not survive the fight to return home to North Africa, to Europe, to America, to Asia, to Africa.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... nihilation

NGO claims civilian death toll in Iraq and Syria is eight times higher than public U.S. estimates. “(Airwars,) a non-profit group, estimates that at least 3,100 civilians have died in U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, the start of the war against IS.” http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/27 ... -Syria-NGO
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

28
Vladimir Putin says blaming Russia for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is like blaming everything on the Jews. “It reminds me of anti-Semitism, when everything is Jews’ fault.” https://www.rt.com/news/390681-putin-qu ... ess-kelly/ He also downplayed Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. “Don’t worry, be happy!”

White House lawyer accused of telling federal agencies not to comply with Democratic legislators’ requests for oversight information. “The declaration amounts to a new level of partisanship in Washington…” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/0 ... use-239034

Federal judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against New York City for using sound cannon on protesters. “Judge Sweet explained that that “as a projector of powerfully amplified sound[, the LRAD] is no different than other tools in law enforcement’s arsenal that have the potential to be used either safely or harmfully.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/maybe ... rotesters/

Myanmar military says accounts of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya minority were “false and fabricated”, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. “The attacks against the Rohingya population in the area… seem to have been widespread as well as systematic, indicating the very likely commission of crimes against humanity,” according to the OHCHR, a United Nations human rights organization. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40011437

Citigroup to pay $97 million settlement in Mexican money laundering probe, but no criminal charges against its executives. “Citigroup was granted a non-prosecution agreement as part of its settlement.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/busi ... .html?_r=0

Man who attacked Manila casino was reportedly a gambling addict. “The lone suspect behind a deadly attack on a casino and shopping complex in the Philippine capital that left dozens dead was a heavily indebted Filipino who was hooked on gambling, police said Sunday.” http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-mani ... story.html

Unknown number of people killed after security personnel open fire on protesters in Kabul, Afghanistan. “The protesters had been marching toward the presidential palace, demanding the ouster of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... k-in-kabul At least 19 more people killed at a funeral for one of the slain protesters. “A series of blasts in Kabul, Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people at a funeral for one of the victims of clashes between police and protesters a day before.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/africa/933 ... an-capital

Conservative Party’s lead falls to 1% in latest British poll. “Survation said the Conservatives were on 40 percent and Labour on 39 percent, indicating May’s lead has collapsed by 11 percentage points over two weeks and that her majority was now in doubt.” http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-e ... NKBN18U0GB

Germany upset after Trump reportedly called them “evil, very evil” at meeting with EU officials. “Germany’s Der Spiegel said anonymous attendees quoted Mr Trump as saying: “The Germans are evil, very evil. Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US. We’ll stop that.” https://uk.news.yahoo.com/donald-trump- ... 55297.html Oh well, at least we still have Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Israel as allies.

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg says country will observe Paris climate deal anyway. “The United States, through strong action from local leaders, businesses and investors, remains committed to fulfilling the Paris agreement.” http://thehill.com/homenews/news/336143 ... imate-debt

Tax-savvy rich are avoiding taxable transactions in hopes of better deal after Trump tax cuts. “Wealthy Americans and business owners are putting off paying taxes in the hopes that Republicans will deliver big cuts, leaving the government increasingly short on cash and accelerating its crash into the debt ceiling.” http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/04/tr ... lay-taxes/

U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley reveals that Trump believes climate change is real after all. “The president believes the climate is changing,” Haley said. “And he does know that pollutants are a part of that equation.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 102460834/

Federal agencies reportedly returning their copies of Senate’s report on CIA torture program to Congress to take advantage of secrecy loop-hole. “Laws requiring government records to eventually be made public don’t apply to congressional documents.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rt-forever

Exxon Mobil accused of keeping two sets of climate risk books. “Internal documents produced by Exxon reveal that from at least 2010 through approximately June 2014, Exxon told its investors it used one set of (greenhouse gas) proxy-cost figures, when in fact the company’s internal policies set forth a second set of lower proxy costs (and therefore a less risk-sensitive version) for use in its internal business planning.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... mate-risks

Private security contractor Erik Prince reportedly advocating colonization of Afghanistan, with a U.S. version of Britain’s East India Company to direct the Afghan economy. “The country, he wrote, should be run by “an American viceroy who would lead all U.S. government and coalition efforts—including command, budget, policy, promotion, and contracting—and report directly to the president.”” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... fghanistan

Photo essay: White nationalists gather in Kentucky. https://www.theguardian.com/world/galle ... rker-party

Authorities accused of disinformation campaign related to injured Standing Rock protester. “U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Intelligence Specialist Terry Van Horn sent an email to members of various federal agencies noting the FBI’s claim that “a source from the camp reported people were making IED’s from small Coleman type propane canisters.” Van Horn added that Wilansky “was witnessed throwing an IED while on the bridge, it detonated early and caused the below injuries (see graphic photos).” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/03/sta ... l-complex/

Pro-corporate lobbying group ALEC has reportedly had 200 of its proposed laws passed since 2010. “The same companies that write the laws give money to those candidate’s campaigns, spend their own money on Internet, radio, TV ads and also spend money hiring people to (write up it) and be experts on TV or on the news to promote their policies. So, it’s a very well-funded, very smart 50 state agenda to change the (rules) of the economy.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/06/02/50-st ... s-economy/

Some Trump inauguration protesters facing up to 80 years in prison. “With new felony charges including urging to riot, conspiracy to riot and destruction of property, many of the defendants are facing up to 80 years in prison. Many other defendants, among them journalists, are facing more than 70 years.” http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/featur ... 56218.html

Government report on funding of Islamic extremists in UK may not be made public. “The inquiry into revenue streams for extremist groups operating in the UK was commissioned by the former prime minister and is thought to focus on Saudi Arabia, which has repeatedly been highlighted by European leaders as a funding source for Islamist jihadis.” https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... udi-arabia

Former NSA employee disputes former NSA director’s claims that government did not engage in mass, warrantless surveillance in Salt Lake City during 2002 Olympic games. “As a result of personal knowledge I gained as a long-time contractor and then senior executive (1989-2008) of the NSA, I know the statements made by (former NSA director Michael) Hayden in that declaration are false or, if not literally false, substantially misleading.” http://www.sltrib.com/home/5351395-155/ ... fined.uxfs

Chilean judge finds 106 of Pinochet’s former secret police agents guilty in connection with disappearances of leftists. “Judge Hernan Cristoso convicted 106 ex-agents who worked for Pinochet’s DINA intelligence service for the kidnapping and killing of 16 people during “Operation Colombo” in the early years of the 1973-1990 dictatorship.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile ... SKBN18T2B1

Democratic candidate drops out of U.S. House race in Iowa, cites death threats. “While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/fearing ... teve-king/

Climate change only brought up in two mainstream media interviews with Trump during the election campaign, did not come up at all during presidential debates. “FAIR could not find a single question about climate change in any interview or press conference with Trump since he took office on January 20, 2017.” http://fair.org/home/in-a-dozen-intervi ... te-change/

Trump makes U.S. a “climate villain” after announcing plan to withdraw from treaty signed by every country in the world except two (and one of those thought the treaty was not nearly tough enough). “The irony is that in the first few years of the Obama administration, we had to spend a lot of time with the Chinese convincing them our climate change agenda wasn’t a Trojan Horse to limit their economic growth.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/31/polit ... gua-syria/

British politician Nigel Farage reportedly under investigation in Russiagate probe. “Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the former UKIP leader had raised the interest of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to both the Trump campaign and Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder whom Farage visited in March.” https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... and-russia

Houston school cop who allegedly convinced a 14 year-old junior high school student to give him oral sex is sentenced to probation, will not have to register as sex offender. “Facing a possible punishment of 20 years in prison, he agreed to spend five years on deferred adjudication, a form of probation that means he will not have a conviction on his record if he successfully completes the probation. He also will not have to register as sex offender.” http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 170371.php When I searched for news media stories about this case on Google yesterday, there were none. Now, this one from May 25th suddenly appeared after the story began circulating widely on blogs. This is still not a national news story apparently…

Prior to his being fired, Senators reportedly asked former FBI director Comey to investigate Attorney General Sessions for perjury. “Leahy and Franken both grilled Sessions during his nomination hearing about any contacts he had with Russian officials about the 2016 campaign. At the time, Sessions said he had none.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/01/polit ... or-letter/

Former diplomat claims Trump administration tried to lift Russia sanctions. “(Daniel Fried) said State Department colleagues approached him, “concerned that the Trump administration… was going to unilaterally rescind the sanctions on Russia, which had been placed there because of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine…. (and) that there would be no action required from Russia.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-h ... ia-n767406

“Retroactive” ethics waiver likely a violation of ethics rules. “The waiver in question was undated and does not name Bannon specifically, but it would allow him to freely communicate with editors at the (Breitbart News) far-right news outlet, where he was once its executive chair.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... ver-report

Russian bank and White House reportedly have different accounts of purpose of Kushner meeting. “The bank maintained this week that the session… was conducted with Kushner in his role as the head of his family’s real estate business. The White House says the meeting was unrelated to business and was one of many diplomatic encounters…” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Walmart announces program to have employees deliver customer orders “on their way home from work” but provides few details. “The practice seems ripe for abuse if the company does not compensate workers for the full cost of their journey, the expenses related to gas, car depreciation, and potential problems like accidents, tickets or parking expenses.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/bus ... from-work/

Labour Party surges in polls ahead of British election. “Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s prospects are rising ahead of upcoming elections in the United Kingdom, as his insurgent campaign rides a wave of progressive populism similar to the one created by Senator Bernie Sanders in the United States last year.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rs-wave-uk

Republican Senators who urged Trump to pull out of Paris climate agreement have received hundreds of thousands in donations from fossil fuel industry. “The big-money supporters got a return on their investment last week, when 22 Republican senators whose campaigns have collected more than $10m in oil, gas and coal money since 2012 sent a letter to the president urging him to withdraw from the Paris deal.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -donations

Undercover conservative activists record Democratic Party operative bragging about questionable political tactics. “In the first video, (Scott Foval) boasts of “conflict engagement in the lines of Trump rallies,” takes credit for the violence that canceled a Trump rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago, admits he has paid “mentally ill” people to start trouble and says there’s a “Pony Express” that keeps Democratic operatives in touch, regardless of whether they work for super PACs or the campaigns (, which are) not permitted to coordinate with super PACs.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... efe-sting/

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia warns customers that it won’t pay for unnecessary emergency room visits. “What Blue Cross is asking patients do is determine without a clinical background whether their certain situation is truly an emergency, which is a lot to ask of a patient when they’re obviously presenting themselves to the emergency room because they do have concerns.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/01/blu ... ency-room/

Bad corporate debt may trigger the next financial crisis. “…the amount of corporate debt currently that exists in the world right now, of which a lot has gone through in some capacity to U.S. banks with derivatives and lots of bells and whistles attached to them, is greater than the amount of mortgages that were in the system before the crisis, and far greater than the amount of subprime mortgages that were in the system before the crisis, and they’re beginning to default just like subprime loans are beginning to default.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ial-crisis

Huge donations allegedly flowing to California politicians from groups opposed to single-payer health care plan. “During his election campaigns, (Governor Jerry) Brown has received more than a quarter-million dollars from the groups opposing the bill.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... r-proposal

Ethnic cleansing in America: the 1921 Tulsa pogrom. “Incredibly, most Americans have never heard of the shameful events of June 1, 1921, when whites firebombed the neighborhood from the air and an estimated 300 African-Americans were murdered.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/06/01/class ... -city-air/

90 dead, 400 wounded in Kabul, Afghanistan truck bombing. “The Japanese embassy confirmed two nationals had been wounded, as was one Pakistani embassy employee, and heavy damage was sustained by the nearby British, Turkish and Chinese embassies as well as the AFP news agency’s offices.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 64396.html The German embassy was also apparently heavily damaged.

China forbids Muslim Uighurs to observe Ramadan. “China has banned civil servants, students and teachers in its mainly Muslim Xinjiang region from fasting during Ramadan and ordered restaurants to stay open.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/c ... 16245.html To avoid radicalization?
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

29
Comey confirms Russian election hacking. “They did it with purpose, they did it with sophistication, they did it with overwhelming technical efforts, and it was an active measures campaign driven from the top of that government.” http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2017/06 ... -testimony

Comey testifies that Trump pressured him to drop Flynn investigation. “Former FBI Director James Comey said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-t ... SKBN18Y0BJ

Jersey City police allegedly fire shots at fleeing suspect, kick burning crash victim in the head. “A video released on Wednesday that appears to show a police officer in New Jersey kicking a man shortly after he emerged, in flames, from a car accident… (in) what may have been a case of mistaken identity.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/nyre ... .html?_r=0

Guantanamo prisoner sues torture psychologists for info on CIA black site in Poland. “Mitchell and Jessen ran a Spokane-based company that received $81 million from the CIA to develop methods to extract information that included waterboarding and sleep deprivation.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... story.html

British Conservative Party likely to lose control of parliament. “With most results declared, May’s party won the most seats — but not enough to govern without the support of minority parties.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/08/europ ... index.html

House Republicans pass bill to repeal post-financial crisis reforms, limit consumer financial safeguards. “The bill even specifically exempts payday and car title lenders — notorious for springing devastating debt traps for their already vulnerable customers — from any regulation.” http://www.npr.org/2017/06/08/532036374 ... egulations

Militia member helped Portland police during “Free Speech” protest arrest. “A right-wing protester who was filmed helping law enforcement in Portland arrest an anti-fascist activist has been identified as a member of a “patriot movement” militia-style group.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ice-arrest

U.N. protests spike in civilian casualties in Mosul fighting. “… the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged the coalition “to ensure that their operations comply fully with international humanitarian law and that all possible measures are taken to avoid the loss of civilian lives”.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/e ... 43566.html

Trump was apparently unaware that 11,000 U.S. troops are based in Qatar. “Donald Trump “may not have known” that Qatar is home to the biggest U.S. military base in the Middle East when he praised Gulf nations for severing diplomatic relations with the nation, MSNBC reports.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/trump-m ... er-report/

Mainstream media accused of anti-Corbyn bias in run-up to UK election. “…the Times quoted eight people: four professors, three voters, and a politician. Not a single person said anything positive about Corbyn.” http://fair.org/home/jeremy-corbyn-medi ... -election/

Leaked NSA documents may vindicate Green Party/Jill Stein on vote recounts. “Until the Intercept published its report (on leaked NSA documents which described Russian election hacking), the Green’s concerns, their court filings by nationally known computer security experts and the issue writ large, had been dismissed by the mainstream media.” https://www.alternet.org/election-2016/ ... -gop-voter

Kansas legislature finally puts an end to governor’s long-running, supply-side tax cut experiment. “I think last night the vast majority of legislators said ‘enough was enough; we have to move away from this failed tax experiment and on to sound fiscal policies’.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-kan ... story.html

20 employees fired, 38 others reprimanded or counseled, after Uber sexual harassment investigation. “Bloomberg reported that law firm Perkins Coie reviewed 215 sexual discrimination charges at the company, and “took no action in 100 instances as it continues to investigate 57 others…” https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/new ... 102554340/

Experts say Senator Wyden’s question to Director of National Intelligence at hearing may have a hidden meaning: “Can the government use FISA Act Section 702 to collect communications it knows are entirely domestic?”. “Wyden, of course, understands full well that the statute prohibits the collection of communications ‘known at the time of acquisition’ to be wholly domestic, which makes the question a bit unusual, especially given that he didn’t subsequently follow it up.” https://www.usnews.com/news/national-ne ... -sen-wyden

Georgia Republican says she opposes “living wage” laws. “I do not support a livable wage.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... vable-wage

Montana Congressman Gianforte apologizes for attack on journalist. “My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... settlement

Halliburton’s unpaid, full-time “internships” cause controversy in UK. “For one of the richest companies in the world to be taking on full-time employees without pay says everything you need to know about what is wrong with the attitude of some big businesses to being ethical employer.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... experience

Bill Cosby accuser reportedly admits she called him “dozens of times” after alleged sexual assault. “The woman accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault acknowledged on Wednesday that she called the comedian dozens of times in the months after the incident, including multiple calls on Valentine’s Day, but batted away suggestions of romance.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/cosby-a ... tines-day/

Colorado public housing agency reportedly invited police and drug-sniffing dogs to come along for apartment inspections. “Two months ago, there were some rumors and some concerns about drug activity on the property and one way we found to address it was to invite a partnership with the Longmont Police Department – to invite the canines over on their training day.” http://www.9news.com/mb/news/local/next ... /446388186

Trump’s pick for FBI director may have misled Senate Judiciary Committee during May 2004 questioning, in which he testified that he learned of detainee abuse “principally” through the news media . “A Feb. 20, 2004 memo, “Possible Violations of Federal Law,” notified Wray of the suspected homicide of (“iceman” Manadel al-Jamadi) and an ongoing CIA Inspector General’s investigation of his death after his capture by a Navy Seal team in Iraq three months earlier.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 89184.html

Orrington, Maine man fatally shot by police after he allegedly made threatening phone call to police department, leading to standoff at his home. http://www.wcsh6.com/news/suspect-dead- ... /446319270

Lawsuit alleges that “suspicious” man fatally shot by Philadelphia police officers was just looking for a parking spot. “Ferretti was unarmed, and was not wanted by police.” http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/0 ... -shooting/

Boston transit police settle civil rights lawsuit of woman who claimed she was pepper-sprayed, beaten and arrested after she complained about an officer shoving a woman. “I saw something, I said something, and I was beaten and arrested for it.” http://www.metro.us/news/local-news/bos ... ty-lawsuit

Miami police propose putting city under aerial surveillance. “Miami-Dade police may deploy sophisticated aerial surveillance capable of photographing everyone outside for 32 square miles in an effort to track vehicles and individuals involved in crimes.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c ... 01379.html

Trump Organization accused of skimming charity donations. “According to the Forbes report, $100,000 of the donations was funneled through the Eric Trump Foundation back into Trump’s golf courses for expenses incurred during the tournaments, despite donors being told that all their money would be used for charity.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... -for-trump

UK prime minister May says if anti-terror response violates human rights laws, “we will change the law so we can do it”. http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2017-40181444

U.S. ambassador to U.N. accuses the organization’s Human Rights Council of “chronic anti-Israel bias”. “It’s hard to accept that this council has never considered a resolution on Venezuela, and yet it adopted five biased resolutions in March against a single country, Israel.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... ts-council

Number of Sears/Kmart stores to close in latest wave reportedly rises to over 250. “The closures will bring Sears’ store count to about 1,200, down from 2,073 five years ago.” http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-is ... ist-2017-6

White House spokesman says Trump tweets are official government statements. “The president is president of the United States,” Spicer said, “so they are considered official statements by the president of the United States.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-h ... ys-n768931 That makes this tweet especially ominous: “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2017”

Snowden slams use of Espionage Act against Russian election hacking leaker. “This often-condemned law,” he explained, “provides no space to distinguish the extraordinary disclosure of inappropriately classified information in the public interest—whistleblowing—from the malicious disclosure of secrets to foreign governments by those motivated by a specific intent to harm to their countrymen.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ity-winner

Michael Moore launches “Trumpileaks” website for whistle-blowers. Moore is targeting “patriotic Americans in government, law enforcement, or the private sector with knowledge of crimes, breaches of public trust and misconduct committed by Donald J. Trump and his associates”. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rumpileaks

Companies targeting educated, young liberals with politically correct ads. “If the Democratic party has changed, now circling around the professional classes and the very rich, the rise of Democratic consumer dollars is part of this shift, and these ads appear to be catering to it.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -fake-woke

Senator Warner: “The extent of the (Russian) attacks (on U.S. elections) is much broader than has been reported so far.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/06/mar ... ed-so-far/

Human rights group asks German government to pursue torture charges against CIA deputy director. “A non-profit human rights group announced Wednesday it handed information to German authorities Tuesday documenting CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel’s role in torturing detainees in 2002 at a covert facility in Thailand and asked the German Federal Public Prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant in her name.” http://www.ibtimes.com/cia-deputy-direc ... rs-2548833

Trump nominee for FBI director is reportedly Chris Christie’s personal lawyer. “Prior to being nominated as FBI director, Wray served as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s personal attorney during his “Bridgegate” controversy in which Christie’s aides shut down lanes on the George Washington Bridge to retaliate against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing their boss during his 2013 reelection bid.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/trump-p ... -director/

Professional violinist claims her hand was injured in tug-of-war with United Airlines employee over valuable violin. http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/musicia ... e-dispute/

Video shows multiple white phosphorus artillery shells exploding downwards at roof top level during daytime attack on Mosul. “The Iraqi Army confirmed that the firing was their doing, insisting that they were delivering a “smokescreen” to help civilians flee from ISIS.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/06/06/vide ... nto-mosul/

Kurdish leftists reach gates of IS capital Raqqa. “Last week, they reached the northern and eastern gates of the city after intense clashes under the cover of U.S.-led airstrikes.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-stat ... tal-raqqa/

Lawsuit alleges FBI, NSA and CIA engaged in mass, warrantless domestic surveillance program. “Montgomery alleges that more than 20 million American identities were illegally unmasked – credit reports, emails, phone conversations and Internet traffic, were some of the items the NSA and CIA collected.” http://circa.com/politics/accountabilit ... -americans

Federal grand jury indicts journalist for rioting during Trump’s inauguration. “…the indictment named (Cantú) as being present while the damage happened.” http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/artic ... erage.html

Drug overdoses are now reportedly the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. “The United States is in the midst of the worst drug addiction epidemic in its history.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/7/w ... ory_opioid

Amnesty International official and 22 other human rights lawyers arrested in Turkey. “The fact that Turkey’s post-coup purge has now dragged the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey into its web is further proof of just how far it has gone and just how arbitrary it has become.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/7/h ... ts_lawyers

Leaked NSA documents show Russians hacked election software company and local election officials, likely orchestrated anti-Clinton propaganda campaign. “Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/top ... -election/

Contractor charged with leaking NSA documents revealing Russian hacking. “CNN is told by sources that the document Winner allegedly leaked is the same one used as the basis for the article published Monday by The Intercept, detailing a classified National Security Agency memo.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/05/polit ... osecution/

American wounded in police barrage that ended London stabbing spree, witnesses claim he was hit with a bullet. “Police have not revealed any details about the individual who was accidentally hit in the hail of 50 bullets that ended Saturday night’s van-and-knife rampage.” http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/london ... ys-n768186

Trump proposes privatizing air traffic control. “Not only is the president’s proposal a huge power grab for the commercial airlines, but the notion that the airlines can run anything better, let alone air traffic control, is laughable.” http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-p ... story.html

Congressman reportedly calls for execution of everyone suspected of being an Islamic extremist. “Hunt them, identify them, and kill them. Kill them all.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act ... cal-islam/

Las Vegas police officer reportedly arrested in taser, beating and choke hold death of casino patron. “…Coroner John Fudenberg said Brown died of lack of oxygen, or “asphyxia due to police restraint”. Lopera also zapped Brown with a stun gun seven times and punched him in the head and neck several times after the chase through employee-only hallways into a rear driveway to a parking area of The Venetian resort, police have said.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/las- ... th-n768586

Flint, Michigan city redevelopment official reportedly resigns after water activist releases recording of racial slur. “Flint has the same problems as Detroit — f**ing ni***** don’t pay their bills, believe me, I deal with them.” http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.s ... _prob.html

Seattle passes soda tax. “The ordinance calls for a tax of 1.75 cents per ounce to be paid by distributors of beverages such as Pepsi and Coke, sports drinks, energy drinks and other sweetened drinks.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html

Self-destructive Trump tweets renew worries about his mental health. “Trump’s comments—regarding the attacks themselves, London’s mayor, and the travel ban—have been panned across the political spectrum as inaccurate and reprehensible.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... itter-rant

Economist accuses upper-middle class of gaming the system. “Kids from more affluent backgrounds are entering the contest massively well prepared, while kids from less affluent backgrounds are not. The well-prepared kids win, and everybody pretends to themselves it’s a meritocracy.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... lass-study

Fresno State University dean resigns over alleged political interference in Said Professorship search. “The administration carried out the vicious and discriminatory attacks launched by Israel advocacy groups against the search committee and the four finalists who were of Middle Eastern and Palestinian ethnicity.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/fre ... ael-group/

Harvard allegedly cancels admissions of students who shared “dark memes” in Facebook chat. “Harvard College rescinded the admittances of at least 10 potential members of the class of 2021 allegedly for taking part in a Facebook group chat in which they shared memes that made fun of sexual assault, child assault, specific races and the Holocaust…” http://www.ibtimes.com/harvard-memes-st ... ce-2547962

Family of autistic man sues North Miami over his arrest and interrogation after police shooting. “(The lawsuit) claims that police falsely imprisoned Rios, battered and assaulted him while limiting his movement.” http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Fami ... 11211.html

Chaska, Minnesota settles lawsuit over police shooting in which officers reportedly fired 25 shots at two hit-and-run suspects armed with 3 inch folding pocketknife, killing both of them. “Originally released video of the incident — redacted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension because they believed it would be “offensive to common sensibilities,” a provision to withhold data under state law — shows the chase, but cuts to black when police start firing.” http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/01/fa ... ettlement/ and http://www.twincities.com/2015/02/04/fa ... hase-sues/

“Fox and Friends” commentators suggest internment camps for UK Muslims on watch list. “We do need internment camps.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox ... bff0f475f8

82 year-old woman loses it after TSA screener takes her hand soap, goes to jail. “After the incident, airport police handcuffed Bryan and took her to jail, where she stayed about two hours after being booked on a misdemeanor battery charge.” https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2 ... led-arrest TSA is reportedly refusing to release video of the incident.

Financing for Honduran dam withdrawn after murder of environmental activist. “Three financial institutions had pledged loans worth $44m for the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque river, which is considered sacred by the Lenca people and which (Berta) Caceres campaigned against before her death.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... ta-caceres

Texas has highest mortality rate for mothers during childbirth in the developed world, but has done little to address the issue. “The number of maternal deaths for every 100,000 births was between 17.7 and 18.6 from 2000-2010, 33 in 2011, and 35.8 in 2014, the study found.” http://www.ibtimes.com/us-maternal-mort ... hs-2547812

More evidence of mass executions by Iraqi forces says Human Rights Watch. “The bodies of bound and blindfolded men are being found one after the other in and around Mosul and in the Tigris River, raising serious concerns about extrajudicial killings by government forces.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/05/ira ... ound-mosul

Government forces accused of using white phosphorus munitions in Mosul, media threaten with legal action over release of images. “The pictures show artillery-delivered WP (white phosphorus) being air-burst.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/i ... 43400.html

Trump quick to denounce Muslim extremists, slow to denounce white extremists. “When a known white supremacist killed two men and injured another in a train in Portland, Oregon last month it took Trump three days to condemn the attack.” http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/ ... uslim.html

U.S. military officers warned against climate treaty withdrawal. “Climate change poses strategically significant risks to U.S. national security, directly impacting our critical infrastructure and increasing the likelihood of humanitarian disasters, state failure and conflict.” http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 08824.html

For more frequent updates, visit the Progressive News Service website at https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

30
Las Vegas police officer reportedly arrested in taser, beating and choke hold death of casino patron. “…Coroner John Fudenberg said Brown died of lack of oxygen, or “asphyxia due to police restraint”. Lopera also zapped Brown with a stun gun seven times and punched him in the head and neck several times after the chase through employee-only hallways into a rear driveway to a parking area of The Venetian resort, police have said.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/las- ... th-n768586
Lopera’s arrest marks the first time in nearly three decades a Metropolitan Police Department officer has faced charges in connection with a police shooting or in-custody death. The sheriff said both charges carry sentences of one to four years in prison.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/hom ... ged-video/


The LVMPD has a history as tracked by the Review-Journal, glad to see it is changing.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

31
highdesert wrote:
Las Vegas police officer reportedly arrested in taser, beating and choke hold death of casino patron. “…Coroner John Fudenberg said Brown died of lack of oxygen, or “asphyxia due to police restraint”. Lopera also zapped Brown with a stun gun seven times and punched him in the head and neck several times after the chase through employee-only hallways into a rear driveway to a parking area of The Venetian resort, police have said.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/las- ... th-n768586
Lopera’s arrest marks the first time in nearly three decades a Metropolitan Police Department officer has faced charges in connection with a police shooting or in-custody death. The sheriff said both charges carry sentences of one to four years in prison.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/hom ... ged-video/


The LVMPD has a history as tracked by the Review-Journal, glad to see it is changing.
"Facing charges".... I've learned not to take charges or guilty verdicts against police officers seriously, because that rarely translates into time in prison. It's like that James Bond 00 thing.
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

32
Man who shot ultra-conservative legislator was Bernie Sanders volunteer, Sanders says violence is un-American. “Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/1 ... red-239539

Top U.N. human rights official denounces “staggering loss of civilian life” during U.S. coalition attack on Raqqa. “…the imperative to fight terrorism must not… be undertaken at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where ISIL (ISIS) is present.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-airstrik ... -pinherio/

States like Kansas refusing to release police body camera video to the public. “North Carolina, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Kansas, among others, have now instituted counter-transparency body camera laws.” https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/12/1576 ... ate-secret

President Trump is reportedly under investigation by Russia probe Special Counsel for obstruction of justice. “The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/na ... story.html

London Grenfell Tower resident association says they have complained for years about fire hazards. “Regular readers of this blog will know that we have posted numerous warnings in recent years about the very poor fire safety standards at Grenfell Tower… ALL OUR WARNINGS FELL ON DEAF EARS and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time.” https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/gr ... 89276.html

DC police seeking dozens of Turkish security agents and Erdogan supporters over attack on protesters. “The U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly to the matter and demanded anonymity, said DC police had identified 34 of 42 people who were involved in the fight, and are seeking their arrests.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Video shows Sylville Smith had thrown away his gun before officer fired fatal shot. “A black man killed by Milwaukee police after fleeing a traffic stop was unarmed and defenseless when an officer shot him “point blank,” a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday, while defense attorneys said the officer believed the man still had a gun.” http://www.bdtonline.com/news/milwaukee ... bdd23.html

New Hampshire car theft suspect fatally shot after chase by state troopers, but police not releasing details of “encounter”. “Portsmouth police officials would not comment Wednesday about their previous interactions with Jones, or the incident which led to his death…” http://www.unionleader.com/crime/man-ki ... s-20170614

Georgia man who went into 12 day coma after being tackled by police officer files excessive force lawsuit. “He put his hands in the air, but McClure tackled him to the road.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/loca ... -c/433396/

Jail video, taser log reportedly missing in West Virginia excessive force incident. “Clarksburg Police Taser logs showed no firing of a stun gun, but forensics evidence — marking on the side of the woman’s torso that a retired state trooper from Pennsylvania said was consistent with a stun gun — was cited by Gentilozzi as key in getting the excessive-force verdict.” https://www.theet.com/news/free/attorne ... 9f9bd.html

Pennsylvania man settles police beating lawsuit for $25,000. “O’Neill cleared one officer of wrongdoing but ruled that a jury had to decide what roles the seven remaining officers had in Torres’ arrest, whether four of them used excessive force and whether any is to blame for failing to intervene to stop the alleged assault.” http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allento ... story.html

Video reportedly surfaces of United ticket agent knocking 71 year-old man to the ground. “The encounter began when Tigner received a boarding pass that was illegible.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Pro-business groups reportedly pushing for Constitutional convention. “ALEC has drafted model Article V legislation… (calling) for a convention to “impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... nk-2552039

U.S. citizen from Salt Lake City reportedly denied entry back into U.S. after visit to Kenya. “Abdi was barred from boarding a flight from Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where he was returning to the United States with his wife and five children.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/utah-mu ... n-citizen/

Egypt reportedly blocking internet news sites. “In Egypt, the government has blocked access to at least 48 news sites amid an increasing crackdown against journalists and human rights activists.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/14/ ... ngton_post



Attorney General Sessions lobbies members of Congress to revoke federal recognition of state medical marijuana laws. “The protections, known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, prohibit the Justice Department from using federal funds to prevent certain states “from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana”.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... providers/

Sessions denies he had contacts with Russian officials about 2016 election. “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he never spoke with Russian officials concerning “any type of interference” with the 2016 presidential campaign and called any suggestion he colluded with Russia during the election an “appalling and detestable lie”.” https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/arti ... a-meetings

Nevada legislature passes “Medicaid for All” bill. “It would allow any state resident who lacks health insurance coverage to buy into the state Medicaid program, which would sell under the name the Nevada Care Plan.” https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... id-for-all

Chicago city council passes ordinance forbidding creation of Muslim registry. “We know all too well from history that registries of different types have been used to single out people for internment, torture and even death.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/immi ... story.html

Journalists upset by ban on interviews of senators in hallways. “… Mike Mastrian, the director of the Senate Radio and Television Gallery… told reporters that in order to get approval for a hallway interview with a senator, a reporter must now call the committee’s chief counsel and obtain prior permission from the senator being interviewed.” http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/ ... ras-239495

Fort Worth police officer allegedly failed to check on condition of reported assault victim, put arrested bystander in stress position during questioning. “Fitzgerald said he had great concern after seeing Martin raise one of Craig’s daughter’s handcuffed arms above her head from behind when she wouldn’t answer a question during the incident.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html

Trump ethics waiver allows Steve Bannon to continue working with Breitbart News, influence coverage of Trump administration, say critics. “According to the complaint, these communications focused on Breitbart’s coverage of the president and his team, and led to exclusive access for Breitbart to White House officials.” http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/3 ... e-while-w/

Uber board member reportedly remarked at “toxic culture” report meeting that if there are more women on the company’s board, “it’s much more likely to be more talking”. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/tech ... .html?_r=0

Treasury secretary accused of walking back pledge to avoid overall tax cut for the wealthy. “Mnuchin said Monday during the hearing that while the administration hoped to avoid a tax cut for the wealthy, doing so would not be the paramount rule of tax reform efforts.” http://thehill.com/policy/finance/33763 ... ks-to-rich

Female senator cut off again by male colleagues. “Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was cut off by two of her male colleagues while questioning Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday, just one week after they interrupted her during a different hearing.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kam ... 18548591d9

Report: U.S. has only revealed 20% of its drone strikes. “The authors of the new report say that the government’s failure to provide information or legal rationales for its strikes is making it impossible to understand the full scope of the government’s targeted killing program, as well as its impact on civilians.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... tudy-finds

Federal appeals court abolishes limits on intrastate phone charges for inmates after feds drop their case. “(FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, instructed the commission’s lawyers to drop the defense of the policy.” http://www.ibtimes.com/fcc-prison-call- ... ps-2551790

ICE reportedly arresting Iraqi Christians for deportation. “My dad is Christian and Donald Trump is sending him back to a place that is not safe whatsoever.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/12/polit ... index.html

Sen. Rand Paul introduces bill to ban indefinite detention without trial. “The proposed bill… seeks to ensure that the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a speedy trial in all prosecutions is upheld.” http://rare.us/rare-politics/rare-liber ... detention/

More than 750 Mosul refugees reportedly suffering from food poisoning at camp. “The food was beans, rice, chicken, and a yogurt drink brought from a restaurant in Erbil.” http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/120620174

1,800 American Jewish leaders call for an end to occupation of Palestine. “A letter calling on Israel to end the military occupation of the West Bank and lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state was delivered on behalf 1,800 American rabbis and cantors to the Israeli embassy in Washington DC.” http://forward.com/fast-forward/374361/ ... ian-state/

U.N. special rapporteur says Japanese government needs to keep its hands off the media. “Critics have cited the domestic media’s delay in reporting that the March 2011 accident at Fukushima had caused a nuclear meltdown – a decision believed to reflect official attempts to play down the severity of the disaster.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... rapporteur

U.S. coalition reportedly killed more Syrian civilians in May than IS or Asad regime. “(Syrian Network for Human Rights) data says that U.S.-led coalition forces reportedly killed at least 273 civilians last month—which is slightly more than the number of civilians reportedly killed by ISIS.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/13/ ... sad_in_may



Leak: Monitored Russian communications suggest Sessions had additional contact with Russian ambassador. “Former FBI Director James Comey told senators in a closed hearing Thursday afternoon that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have had a third interaction with Russia’s ambassador to the US, according to people familiar with the briefing.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/08/polit ... index.html

Hundreds arrested at anti-corruption protest in Moscow. “… I want our taxes to be converted into roads, schools and hospitals, not into yachts, palaces and vineyards.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40245152

U.S. Director of National Intelligence now says there is no way to count how many Americans had their communications swept up in Section 702 spying program. “…it remains infeasible to generate an exact, accurate, meaningful, and responsive methodology that can count how often a U.S. person’s communications may be collected.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN19031B

NYPD uses CIA exemption to withhold information from the public. “… the NYPD invoked the so-called Glomar response in refusing to confirm or deny the existence of (the police surveillance) documents… arguing that to do so could hurt investigations and risk lives.” http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyp ... -1.3231132

Federal court of appeals unanimously refuses to unblock Trump travel ban. “We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/06 ... l-ban.html

Trump’s cabinet officials take turns verbally prostrating themselves before the Leader. “We thank you for the opportunity and the blessing to serve your agenda.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/us/p ... ivity.html

U.S. refuses to sign G7 climate pledge. “The U.S. abstained from sections of a Group of Seven (G7) communiqué that dealt with climate change action, the Paris climate agreement and international development funds focused on mitigating the impacts of climate change, according to a joint statement following a meeting of G7 environment ministers.” http://thehill.com/policy/energy-enviro ... nge-pledge

North Carolina inmates claim they were sadistically abused while working on road crew. “The lawsuit claims that officers Anthony Jackson and David Jones pitted inmates against each other, forcing them to exact abusive and vulgar punishments.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 05164.html

Kansas man released from prison after 17 years after activists prove it was a case of mistaken identity. “Jones had an alibi and no physical evidence, DNA or fingerprints ever linked him to the crime — only two eyewitness identifications.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/man-imprisoned ... d=47981705

Student who died after fatal hazing at Pennsylvania State University reportedly fell multiple times. “When fraternity members found him, unconscious, cold to the touch, and with blood on his face the next morning, it was more than 40 minutes before they called 911.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/gra ... a6b12d21e5

Montana congressman sentenced to community service, anger management classes and $385 fine for assault on reporter. “Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him,” Acuna wrote on the Fox News website. She said she and her team “watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gre ... a35ca1aa14

Treasury Department report suggests putting financial watchdog on leash. “In a report released late Monday, the Treasury Department said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should be substantially stripped of its powers, accusing the agency of regulatory overreach and saying the president should be able to remove its director.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/busi ... ction.html

Sports media accused of spreading disinformation on Colin Kaepernick’s unsuccessful job search. “I’ll say this with certainty—Colin Kaepernick can still start in the NFL, and the fact that he isn’t on a team for football reasons alone strains credulity.” https://www.thenation.com/article/nfls- ... aepernick/

Maryland and District of Columbia sue Trump over payments from foreign governments. “The Saudis are already spending hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Trump Hotel.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d-c ... it-n771011

Republicans are keeping latest Trumpcare proposal a secret. “We have no idea what’s being proposed,” McCaskill said. “There’s a group of guys in a back room somewhere that are making decisions.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -us-public

Those who predicted Jeremy Corbyn would “destroy” Labour Party proven wrong by election results. “Corbyn’s Labour won’t just lose. It’ll be slaughtered.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/09/jer ... lly-wrong/

Bernie Sanders apparently unaware of the existence of the Green Party, explains why he advocates working within Democratic Party. “All that I’m saying is, if you look at history it is not so easy to form a third party, to run candidates in 50 states in this country, to get the kind of media attention that you need. It ain’t easy and the time is late.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... mp-2551139

Cities reportedly having difficulty recruiting police officers, are lowering their requirements. “New Orleans, with more than 400 openings, no longer automatically disqualifies those who have injected heroin or smoked crack.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/us/p ... .html?_r=0

Philippine president claims he did not request U.S. help fighting Marawi insurgents. “Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement US forces were participating directly in combat operations, which is prohibited by Philippines law.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 84736.html

Yemen ravaged by cholera epidemic after Saudi bombing destroys infrastructure. “The World Health Organization says the number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has now reached 101,820 and continues to rise, accounting for 859 deaths.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/12/ ... ops_859_in

Trump claims he did not ask Comey for loyalty, did not ask Comey to drop Flynn investigation. “U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday denied he tried to interfere with an FBI investigation, effectively accusing James Comey, the FBI’s former director, of lying under oath to Congress.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1901FJ

U.S. Special Forces in Philippines to assist in battle for Marawi. “Philippine army spokesman Brig Gen Restituto Padilla Jr has vowed that the national flag will be flying once again over all of Marawi by Monday – the Philippine national day.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40231605

UK Labour Party under left-leaning Corbyn wins 32 seats, Conservatives lose 13. “Corbyn often was compared to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), though his views are decidedly more left-wing than Sanders.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

“Anti-Sharia” group holds rallies around the country. “Demonstrations against Islamic law led to arrests, tense confrontations and physical fights in some U.S. cities Saturday amid several rallies sponsored by ACT for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as an anti-Muslim hate group.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ant ... de-n767386

Clintons reportedly used unpaid prison labor while living in the Arkansas governor’s mansion. “The Clintons were perfectly content to be waited on by black people who received no compensation and (who) would have been pursued and dragged back in chains if they had tried to leave.” https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/06/ ... had-slaves

Chelsea Manning says she leaked information on wars and U.S. diplomacy because she felt “a responsibility to the public”. “We all have a responsibility.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... he-public/

Exxon Mobil accuses New York prosecutor of orchestrating a “political witch hunt” with climate change investigation. “ExxonMobil’s use of different metrics, in different circumstances, to accomplish different goals evinces prudent financial stewardship, applying appropriate assumptions in appropriate cases.” http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/09/news/co ... y-general/

Judge denied bail for employee who leaked NSA document on Russian election hacking. “A federal judge on Thursday denied bail to Reality Leigh Winner, the 25-year-old Georgia woman accused of leaking classified information to the media, after prosecutors argued she remains a flight risk, a threat to the public and could possibly leak more government documents.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... ilty-plea/

Man arrested for possession of bomb-making materials and accused of threats to blow up buildings and kill people, released on bail. “Federal Judge Thomas McCoun granted bond for 21-year-old Brandon Russell on Friday, stating there was no clear and convincing evidence “the defendant represents a threat to any person or community”.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/no-thre ... materials/ Police claim the man had a framed picture of Timothy McVeigh on his dresser.

People’s Summit opens in Chicago. “The three-day People’s Summit, headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), kicked off Friday, bringing together those committed to an agenda “that can enhance and expand issue campaigns and hold all elected officials accountable to popular demands for justice, equality, and freedom”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ve-chicago

Sanders calls for changes in Democratic Party. “The Democratic Party must understand what side it is on. And that cannot be the side of Wall Street, or the fossil fuel industry, or the drug companies.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... s-strategy

Australian filmmaker facing espionage charges in Cambodia. “He has been an outspoken critic of the Cambodian government, describing it as a “dictatorship” on his Facebook page.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... n-cambodia What a great cover for a spy – foreign anti-government filmmaker!

Pakistani man sentenced to death for “blasphemous” remarks on Facebook. “Raza had a Facebook argument about Islam with someone who turned out to be a counter-terrorism department official, defense lawyer Rana Fida Hussain said.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... n-facebook

16% fewer foreign tourists visiting U.S. after travel ban attempts says Foursquare. “The study was focused… on stops made at venues such as convention centers, restaurants, museums, stores, etc. by tourists who are visiting from abroad, instead of looking at hotel and airport data.” http://www.ibtimes.com/how-has-trump-af ... ys-2549020

Seven protesters shot on Israeli-Gaza border, one dies. “The Israeli military said Palestinians rolled burning tires and hurled rocks at soldiers stationed on the border.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/palestinians ... 43994.html

Metadata makes it difficult to move, communicate or leak anonymously. “The pattern of (micro)dots (which appeared on leaked NSA documents), when looked up through a guide posted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, reveal the exact date, time, and printer of the document.” https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-06-09/ ... ays-you-re

NPR story on UK election results fails to mention Labour Party’s leader, but does mention “divisions” in the party. “There were 771 words in NPR.org‘s lead day-after story (6/9/17) on the results of the British elections. None of them were “Jeremy” or “Corbyn”.” http://fair.org/home/the-day-after-corb ... uckethead/

Georgia cops reportedly patted down 900 high school students in warrantless, school-wide search. “The students say that on April 14, sheriff’s deputies searched hundreds of students for drugs, with some officers groping students’ breasts and genitalia.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/9/h ... rug_search

Haitians protest at Hillary Clinton commencement speech. “Outside Clinton’s speech, members of the Haitian human rights group Komokoda held a protest, saying the Clinton Foundation stole money intended for Haiti’s reconstruction after the 2010 earthquake.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/9/h ... nt_address

Witnesses say they heard five shots during shooting of motorist by police in Brentwood, California, police have released few details. “Both suspects were taken to a hospital and both were still alive Saturday morning, according to Herbert. No police officers were injured.” http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Su ... 64173.html

Family of Ashtabula, Ohio man shot by police while holding intruder at gunpoint claim public is being misinformed. “They didn’t order him to drop the gun. Brendan was shot immediately upon the police entrance into the home, and there was no scuffle going on at the time the police entered that house.” http://www.bet.com/news/national/2017/0 ... ition.html

Philadelphia area man reportedly shot in the back while running from police officer. “(Commissioner) Ross warns the video could be taken out of context, and (may) not show if the male was threatening to fire while he was running away.” http://6abc.com/news/family-members-id- ... -/2073797/

Chicago man claims in lawsuit that he was tasered by police while comforting his dying brother. http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/suit-c ... lay-dying/

Family of man killed by Minneapolis police officers during struggle files lawsuit. “The five-page lawsuit says the officers violated Clark’s right “to be free from excessive force and unreasonable seizure” when they took him to the ground and then shot him.” http://www.startribune.com/family-of-ja ... 427516873/

Jury awards $323,000 to Connecticut man who was tased and punched in the eye during his arrest. “We asked the jury to send a message to the city of Bridgeport, and they did.” http://www.ctpost.com/policereports/art ... 203366.php
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

33
Mexico allegedly using anti-crime hacking software to monitor political activists. “The targets include lawyers looking into the mass disappearance of 43 students, a highly respected academic who helped write anti-corruption legislation, two of Mexico’s most influential journalists and an American representing victims of sexual abuse by the police.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/worl ... crime.html

Obama administration accused of requesting authorization to use Section 702 surveillance to target U.S. citizens. “So in 2010, the government asked to use 702 to spy on Americans, Bates called them on it, and they backed down. Sort of. On May 2, the government confessed for the first time that it had been collecting US person data all along.” https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/06/19/i ... s-persons/

Chicago mom spent 14 months in jail because she couldn’t raise bail. “Just a few days of pretrial detention often severely alter people’s lives. These few days can mean the difference between working or being fired, paying rent or being evicted.” http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/4 ... my-way-out

Interview with Unicorn Riot journalist who covered Standing Rock protests. “The local media was just going to the press conferences and listening. And we were just living in the camp and watching what was happening….” http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19345:I ... nding-Rock

Fairfax, Virginia police claim man who allegedly attacked group of Muslim teens in traditional attire with his vehicle and baseball bat, killing one, was motivated by road rage, not Islamaphobia. “We are NOT investigating this murder as a hate crime.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-road-r ... ng-mosque/ That was quick!

Record temperatures hit Arizona. “Phoenix posted a high of 118 degrees on Monday, tying the record for the date set last year.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... story.html

Phoenix flights canceled due to extreme heat. “According to a statement from American Airlines, the American Eagle regional flights use the Bombardier CRJ aircraft, which has a maximum operating temperature of 118 degrees. Tuesday’s forecast for Phoenix included a high of 120 degrees…” https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/n ... 410766001/

Former House Oversight Committee chair says Trump administration withholding information from Congress. “The reality is, sadly, I don’t see much difference between the Trump administration and the Obama administration.” http://thehill.com/homenews/house/33840 ... han-obamas

Dismissed Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn reportedly represented Israeli spyware company whose products were used for surveillance of political activists. “Hiring Flynn would provide NSO Group with a well-connected figure in Washington, to help get its foot in the door of the notoriously insular world of secret intelligence budgeting.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mic ... b7d273c398

Lockheed Martin reportedly promises to move F-16 production from Fort Worth to India if it gets government contract. “… Lockheed’s agreement to move F-16 production to India could increase its odds of winning that deal.” http://www.investors.com/news/lockheed- ... -to-india/

Number of millionaires in China has reportedly increased 9 fold in ten years. “Chinese with at least 10 million yuan (1.2 million pounds) of investable assets hit 1.6 million in 2016, up from 180,000 in 2006, according to the 2017 China Private Wealth Report by Bain Consulting and China Merchants Bank.” https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/06 ... althy.html The magic of “free trade” agreements with higher wage countries!

White House press secretary holds news conference, allegedly bans video or audio recording. “I don’t know what world we’re living in right now.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... alls-press

Supreme Court rules that Bush administration officials cannot be held liable for post 9/11 roundups. “”This decision regrettably provides constitutional immunity for some of the most high-level officials responsible for gross abuses in the aftermath of September 11,” stated Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... s-over-911

Senate’s Trumpcare proposal asks for even deeper cuts to Medicaid program. “…Senate Republicans are reportedly considering even deeper cuts to Medicaid than those proposed by the House version of Trumpcare, which amounted to around $800 billion over ten years.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... icaid-cuts

Miami police ticket Uber driver for not speaking English. “The English fluency fine was issued as part of a May 2016 Miami-Dade County memorandum rule that requires transportation network drivers be “able to communicate in the English language”.” http://www.ibtimes.com/miami-police-giv ... sh-2554474

Voter data left unprotected on cloud with internet link by Republican consulting firms. “…unsecured databases containing the sensitive personal details of over 198 million American voters (were) left exposed…” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/19/rep ... can-voter/

Nuclear weapons protesters arrested at U.N. “More than a dozen activists were arrested for disorderly conduct after they blocked the entrances to the United States mission to the United Nations on Monday to protest Washington’s decision to boycott negotiations on a nuclear weapons ban treaty.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nucle ... SKBN19A2KB

Syrian military aircraft shot down by U.S. jet over Syria. “The Pentagon said the U.S.-led coalition took the unprecedented move after a Syrian Su-22 attack aircraft bombed its allies who were fighting Islamic State militants south of the city of Tabqah, roughly 25 miles west of Raqqah.” http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast ... story.html

David Clarke withdraws from Homeland Security assistant secretary appointment process. “Sheriff Clarke, who once claimed that the Islamic State and Black Lives Matter activists were forming an alliance to destroy America, notified John F. Kelly, the homeland security secretary, of his decision on Friday, according to an adviser.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/us/p ... y-job.html

People working full time at minimum wage can’t afford to rent a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States. “In states such as Alaska, Washington, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Illinois and most of the Northeast, workers would have to make over $20 an hour.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/12/nobody-m ... tment.html

NRA reportedly silent after not guilty verdict in Philando Castile shooting. “Police recordings and court records confirmed initial reports that Castile had tried to defuse the situation, assuring the officer that he wasn’t reaching for his weapon.” http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/18/wh ... is-silent/

Department of Justice officials reportedly instructed employees to avoid seeking consent decrees in civil rights cases. “…attorneys should default to using settlements without court oversight unless there is an unavoidable reason for a consent decree.” http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... overnment/

North Korea claims items were taken from its diplomats at JFK airport by Homeland Security officers. “U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said Sunday its officers did seize multiple media items and packages from three North Koreans who, according to the U.S. State Department, were not accredited members of North Korea’s Mission to the U.N. and had no diplomatic immunity.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nort ... k-48121566

17 year-old, Washington, D.C. area Muslim girl reportedly beaten to death by motorist. “The girl’s mother said detectives told her that Nabra was struck with a metal bat.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fa ... story.html

Department of Energy report to argue that renewable energy is putting power consumers at risk. “The study appears intended to blame wind and solar power for the financial difficulties facing coal and nuclear generators and suggest that renewable energy resources threaten the reliability of the grid…” https://thinkprogress.org/senators-atta ... 09434fa84a

1/3 of president’s HIV/AIDS advisory council resign in protest. “We have dedicated our lives to combating this disease and no longer feel we can do so effectively within the confines of an advisory body to a president who simply does not care.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3256636

L.A. police cadets allegedly stole two patrol cars, evaded officers and crashed. “Beck said the cadets may have been impersonating officers while driving the stolen cruisers, and he asked anyone living in Central and South Los Angeles or Inglewood who might have information to contact police.” http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html

Governor Brian Sandoval vetoes Nevada “Medicaid for All” single-payer health plan. “There were worries among providers… about the Nevada Care Plan reimbursing them at lower rates than the private insurance plans pay. There were also concerns — also mentioned by the governor — of the plan disrupting the current marketplace..” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nev ... story.html

Sanders says GOP health insurance plan will throw “23 million people off of health insurance”. “Sanders called the current bill the “worst piece of legislation” against working class people that he can remember in his political life in the Congress, and that the reason Republicans don’t want to bring debate out into the public is because it was a “disastrous bill”.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sand ... care-bill/

Even when the game is rigged, sometimes the underdog wins. “A Spanish bullfighter died after he tripped in the ring and was gored by the bull in south-western France, according to media reports.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... -bullfight

History Channel documentary “America’s War on Drugs” exposes government cooperation with drug cartels. “It’s like Donald Trump declaring a War on Real Estate Developers that fills prisons with people who occasionally rent out their spare bedroom on AirBnb.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/18/the ... -on-drugs/

Egyptian death row prisoners say they were beaten and tortured into making confessions. “…the men say they were beaten, shocked with electricity and hung in painful positions and then provided with written testimonies they were forced to read.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/16/ ... er_torture

Trump’s Cuba policy not as radical as he suggested. “… Americans will be unable to spend money in state-run hotels or restaurants tied to the military….Unlike under Obama, individuals will no longer be able to travel under the “people-to-people” category.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 37129.html

Grenfell Tower fire victims storm city offices, rumors circulate of death toll cover-up. “The latest official figures confirmed that at least 30 people have died in the fire at the west London tower block… However rumours have been circulating that the official death toll is much higher amid accusations of a cover-up by the authorities.” https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/an ... pty-luxury

Trump administration approves huge arms sales to country accused of funding terrorism. “While President Trump berates Qatar for sponsoring terrorism at the highest levels, he is simultaneously authorizing the country to purchase over $21 billion of U.S. weapons.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-sells ... terrorism/

State Department releases more records on U.S. sponsored 1953 coup against the democratically elected government of Iran. “This volume includes National Security Council and Presidential materials that document the U.S. decision to proceed with the operation against (Prime Minister) Mosadeq, and the operational files within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that document the implementation of the operation, code named TPAJAX.” https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2017/06/i ... s-release/

Supreme Court dodged decision on use of deadly force by police. “Police officers should not be allowed to create dangerous situations that leave them with no choice but to use deadly force.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017 ... h-impunity

Federal Bureau of Prisons accused of using “communications management units” to silence critics. ““They’re really there as a punishment to keep (prisoners) quiet and that’s extremely concerning,” says Amy Fettig, deputy director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how ... 5670e56e0a

Officer in Philando Castile motorist shooting cleared of all charges. “Outside court, Valerie Castile said she was disappointed in the state of Minnesota, “Because nowhere in the world do you die from being honest and telling the truth.”” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/16/us/ph ... index.html

A tale of two Americans who fell into comas abroad. One has been covered extensively by the mainstream news media recently. “In a news conference Thursday, doctors called (Otto Warmbier’s) condition “unresponsive wakefulness,” and revealed he had suffered significant brain damage during his imprisonment (in North Korea).” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/16/us/ot ... index.html But in February 2015, an American went into a coma after being arrested by six Tokyo police officers and died about a month later in a Tokyo hospital. The story was not even covered by the English language news media, except for one local entertainment tabloid and a few Japan-related websites (and Progressive News Service). The Wall Street Journal ran the story, but only in its Japanese language edition! More than two years later, we still do not know that man’s name, and I am still waiting for a response from the State Department to my April 2015 Freedom of Information Act request for details about the incident.

Trump family event planner reportedly appointed to run regional Housing and Urban Development office. “Patton was appointed Wednesday to head up the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Region II, which includes New York and New Jersey, where she’ll oversee distribution of billions of taxpayer dollars.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3251314

Border Patrol arrests illegal migrants seeking medical assistance while crossing desert. “Volunteers with the group No More Deaths, which gives water and first-aid care to migrants, said the men were from Mexico and were receiving emergency medical care at the camp…” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/us/b ... .html?_r=0

Sarah Palin threatens to sue New York Times over story linking her “Democrats in the crosshairs” map to Gabrielle Giffords shooting. “Palin decided to get in on the criticism as well, claiming on Twitter that she was talking with her lawyers about suing the Times.” http://www.salon.com/2017/06/16/sarah-p ... -shooting/ You be the judge – you can see Palin’s ad here: “Palin’s Facebook page now carries a map featuring 20 gun sights, one for each of the Democrats targeted this year by her political action committee SarahPAC.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/2 ... 11433.html

Oregon adds third, unspecified gender on its driver licenses. “Beginning July 1, Oregonians will be able to choose “X” for sex instead of “F” or “M” on their licenses and identification cards.” http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/inde ... te_to.html

University of Michigan to give full scholarships to admitted in-state students who have a family income of less than $65,000. “About half the families in the state will qualify for this incentive, U-M officials said.” http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/m ... 400761001/

Thousands more U.S. troops likely going to Afghanistan. “While the number is currently expected to be between 3,000 and 5,000 troops, the number is still being worked on, reports CBS News’ national security correspondent David Martin.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-to ... ghanistan/

Study finds that 1/3 of American families spend more than 30% of their income on housing, while more than 1/6 spent half of their income, or more, on housing. “Much of the apartment construction in recent years has been made up of luxury developments catering to affluent renters rather than to households of modest means.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... story.html

Environmental group say FDA testing found lead in 20% of baby food it sampled and in 68% of grape juice sampled (89% of grape juice for babies!). “EDF analyzed 11 years of data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and found that food, and baby food in particular, is a meaningful – and surprising – source of lead.” https://www.edf.org/health/lead-food-hi ... lth-threat

Trump has $315 million in liabilities according to financial disclosure. “Among those liabilities is $80,000,000 – $175,000,000 in mortgages and loans from Deutsche Bank.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-relea ... isclosure/

Pro-Trump protesters attempt to disrupt free speech they don’t like. “Two protesters disrupted the New York City Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar with one being arrested on Friday night, police and the Public Theater said.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pro-trump-p ... -arrested/

Federal judge order Army Corps of Engineers to review Dakota Access pipeline impact. “…U.S. District Judge James Boasberg declared that the Corps “did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial.”” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... pl-permits

Tech executive claims Uber official told him in job interview that company was not worried about its poor relationship with its drivers because, “we’re just going to replace them all with robots”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... s-kalanick

Several of the bureaucrats in charge of Trumpcare transition allegedly lobbied for insurance companies. “Several senior Health and Human Services Administration appointees previously worked for insurers seeking to influence the consumer regulations mandated by the ACA, according to new political appointee financial disclosures obtained by The Intercept.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/15/hhs ... ca-repeal/

25 year old British hacker stole Department of Defense data. “Caffery made off with the usernames, ranks, phone number and email addresses of more than 800 DOD employees… (and) data related to more than 30,000 satellite phones.” http://www.ibtimes.com/department-defen ... ry-2553230

CIA has been hacking wireless networks “for years” according to Wikileaks documents. “The trove of documents released by the anti-(secrecy organization) on Thursday details the CIA’s CherryBlossom project, in which the intelligence agency has compromised Wi-Fi routers in private homes, public spaces, businesses and enterprise environments in order to gather information about specific targets.” http://www.ibtimes.com/government-spyin ... rs-2552853

Air Force creates senior position to oversee space warfare. “We must organize and train forces to be able to prevail in any future conflict which could extend into space.” https://www.dodbuzz.com/2017/06/16/prep ... ship-team/

For more frequent updates, visit https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

34
Obama administration hid details of Russian election hacking. “Only in the administration’s final weeks in office did it tell the public, in a declassified report, what officials had learned from Brennan in August — that Putin was working to elect Trump.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... n-hacking/

Venezuelan soldier kills protester with rubber bullet, raising protest death toll to at least 76. “Speaking outside the clinic, opposition lawmaker Jose Manuel Olivares said Vallenilla had been killed by the national guard firing rubber bullets at point blank range and criticized the shooting as repression.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venez ... 9D2XF?il=0

Turmoil at Berkeley city meeting after elected officials refuse to withdraw city’s officers from Urban Shield police training event. “Some said that Urban Shield requires all training scenarios to have a “nexus to terrorism,” arguing that the focus on terrorism orients police against Muslims and people of color, and provides military-style training that is out of touch with the needs of the community.” http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/21/ ... an-shield/

Arab monarchies demand that Al Jazeera broadcasting be shut down. “Al Jazeera, one of the Arab world’s most widely watched satellite news channels, denounced the demand for its closing as an attack on journalism.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/worl ... zeera.html

Mistrial declared in shooting of unarmed motorist, Samuel Dubose, by University of Cincinnati police officer. “(Officer) Tensing reached into the car with his left arm, yelled “Stop!” twice and with his right hand fired his gun once, into Mr. DuBose’s head.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/us/r ... nnati.html

Trump accused of repeatedly spreading “alternative facts” at Iowa political rally. “Trump said he is pushing repeal of the federal estate tax so “farms can be passed on” to farmers’ children and grandchildren. Actually, the tax falls on fewer than one-half of 1% of farm estates.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 103131784/

Trumpcare bill bans subsidized insurers from covering abortions while also making maternity coverage optional. “Both the House and Senate bills allow states to waive Obamacare’s requirements that insurers cover items like maternity care, which was frequently left out of private plans before Obamacare went into effect.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congres ... sh-n776141 These guys do realize that women have the vote now, don’t they?

Kansas secretary of state Kobach fined for misrepresenting documents to court. “In a 24-page ruling made public Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge James O’Hara wrote that Kobach did not accurately represent the contents of the documents when he argued against producing them.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/washing ... story.html

California legislators won’t have a chance to vote on a single-payer state health insurance scheme any time soon. “(Assembly Speaker Anthony) Rendon announced late Friday afternoon that the bill, Senate Bill 562 by state Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), would not advance to a policy hearing in his house, making it all but certain the measure will not be acted upon this year.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol- ... story.html

Rainbow Gathering to be held in early July at Malheur National Forest. “The gathering site will be located at the Flagtail Meadow off of Forest Service Road 24 near the towns of John Day and Seneca, Oregon.” http://www.ktvz.com/news/police-rainbow ... /543919027 These are primarily hippies, not LGBT folks.

Indiana Carrier plant jobs “saved” by Trump appear to be either going to Mexico or robots. “More than 600 employees at a Carrier plant in Indianapolis are bracing for layoffs beginning next month, despite being told by President Trump that nearly all the jobs at the plant had been saved.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/22/trumps-c ... -hype.html

Google says it will stop scanning the content of your emails. “…instead of scanning a user’s email, the ads will now be targeted with other personal information Google already pulls from sources such as search and YouTube.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -gmail-ads And the NSA?

Doctor in Oklahoma charged with second-degree murder after five patients overdose. “A probable cause affidavit alleges that Nichols prescribed more than 1,800 opioid pills to the patients who died, even though they didn’t have a medical need for them.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html

Taliban leader say U.S. occupation is the main obstacle to peace. “The more they insist on maintaining the presence of their forces here or want a surge of their forces, the more regional sensitivity against them will intensify.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ce-taliban

Transparency groups sue Trump administration over deleted records. “From early on in this Administration, White House staff have used and, on information and belief, continue to use certain email messaging applications that destroy the contents of messages as soon as they are read, without regard to whether the messages are presidential records.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... al-records

U.S. ranks 17th in promotion of the general welfare of its citizens. “The U.S. was put in the “second tier” of the report’s overall ranking, Green explained to Bloomberg, for its failure “to address basic human needs, equip citizens to improve their quality of life, protect the environment, and provide opportunity for everyone to make personal choices and reach their full potential”. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... l-progress

Video shows Minnesota police officer’s brutal attack on motorist during traffic stop. “A Minnesota arrest in which a driver was dragged from his vehicle and repeatedly punched and kneed by a police officer was a “disturbing and completely unnecessary” example of an excessive use of force, the state ACLU has said.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... rrest-aclu

Teen fatally shot by L.A. deputies after neighbor complained about loud music. “Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies said they accidentally shot and killed a teenager while firing bullets at a dog during a response to a noise complaint, marking the latest killing by US police to spark national outrage.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... let-dog-la

Clinton fundraisers accused of lobbying on behalf of telecoms, private prisons and insurance companies. “Richard Sullivan served as a major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s campaign last year…. Sullivan is also (a) registered lobbyist for the public relations and lobby firm Capitol Counsel, where he works on behalf of private prison giant Geo Group…” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/23/dem ... rudential/

Human Rights group claims at least 472 civilians (137 of which were children) have been killed in U.S. strikes in Syria in the last month. “The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday the period between May 23 and June 23 saw the highest civilian death toll in coalition raids for a single month since they began on September 23, 2014.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/l ... 02940.html

CIA fired contractors who hacked vending machines. “Multiple CIA contractors have been sacked after stealing more than $3,000 worth of snacks from vending machines…” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 04276.html So let me see if I understand how this works. You can torture prisoners (war crime), collect data while torturing prisoners to determine which methods of torture are the most effective (war crime), abduct people from foreign countries (violation of international law), repeatedly attempt to assassinate foreign leaders (major violation of international law), destroy evidence (violation of U.S. law), tap the phones of leaders of allied governments (not a good way to build relationships) and overthrow foreign governments (major violation of international law) and your ok, but if you steal snacks from the vending machine you get walked out of the building?

Military contractors will help decide how to streamline procurement process. “The presence of employees of military contractors with a significant financial interest in the outcome of defense acquisition policy raises concern that they could shape policy to benefit their employers’ bottom lines.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... -decisions

South Carolina Boeing plant laying off workers after Trump visit. “During his visit to the company, Donald Trump said, “We’re here today to celebrate American engineering and American manufacturing. We’re also here today to celebrate jobs. Jobs!” http://www.ibtimes.com/biggest-layoffs- ... th-2556521

IS and U.S./Iraqi forces blame each other for destruction of historic mosque in Mosul. “The minaret that leaned like Italy’s Tower of Pisa stood for more than 840 years.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iconic-al-n ... destroyed/

Supreme Court Ziglar v. Abbasi decision sharply limits citizens’ ability to sue government for violating their rights. “… a grand total of four justices issued a significant ruling that more or less gutted a person’s ability, citizen or not, to sue federal officials who engage in egregious violations of constitutional rights.” http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/20 ... emedy.html

Bill passed by House would give nuclear power plant operators $16 million in tax breaks. “The bill, bipartisan legislation from Reps. Tom Rice (R-S.C.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and others, would increase the number of utilities that can qualify for the tax credit and remove construction deadlines for facilities that use it.” http://thehill.com/policy/energy-enviro ... y-tax-bill

Russian election hacking more widespread than initially reported. “Hackers attacked voting systems in 39 states, accessed campaign finance databases in one state and tried to delete or alter voter data in Illinois.” https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/13/rep ... us-states/

Democrat in Georgia race did not live in that election district. “(Ossoff) acknowledged that he and his girlfriend (now fiancee) live near Emory University where she’s in medical school. That’s next door to the 6th District, but not in it.” http://www.politifact.com/georgia/state ... -6th-cong/

Fired Milwaukee police officer found not guilty in Sylville Smith shooting. “Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm told jurors Heaggan-Brown didn’t need to use deadly force against Smith, who had thrown away the gun he was carrying.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sylville-sm ... ot-guilty/

Student yanked from stage during speech criticizing ineffectiveness of student government. “…the title of Class President could more accurately be Class Party Planner, and Student Council’s main obligation is to paint signs every week. Despite some of the outstanding people in this school, a lack of real student government and the authoritative attitude that a few teachers, administrators, and board members have, prevents students from truly developing as leaders.” http://college.usatoday.com/2017/06/21/ ... the-stage/

FBI claims angry Democrat had no apparent political motive in Scalise shooting, likely chose his victims at random, despite photos of baseball diamond where shooting took place. “The FBI does not believe that these photographs represented surveillance of intended targets.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation ... story.html

Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign affairs correspondent fired after hack reveals links to arms dealer with CIA ties. “Two other Denx partners — ex-CIA employees Gary Bernsten and Scott Modell — told the AP that Solomon was involved in discussing proposed deals with Azima at the same time he continued to cultivate the businessman as a source for his stories for the Journal.” http://www.npr.org/2017/06/21/533881518 ... cal-lapses

Alt-right gets safe space after article professor shared on social media about shooting of Republicans provokes threats. “Trinity College in Hartford was closed on Wednesday because of threats to campus that appear to have stemmed from an article posted on a professor’s personal social media pages, according to a statement put out by the college.” http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/natio ... 41143.html

Some Brits compare Conservative response to Grenfell fire with Bush’s hurricane Katrina fail. “The local council made no provisions for many of us. Last night I stayed in a hotel, but I have spent several nights sleeping on grassy areas.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/wor ... 103068926/

Four newly appointed French cabinet officials resign in connection with corruption probe. “French President Emmanuel Macron appointed a group of relative unknowns to ministerial roles on Wednesday as part of a Cabinet reshuffle after several ministers resigned for their involvement in alleged misuse of European parliamentary funds.” http://www.dw.com/en/macron-taps-newcom ... a-39342162

Writer says F-35 fighter “to big to fail”, “one of the greatest boondoggles in recent military purchasing history”. “Over the decades-long effort to meet a real military need for better aircraft, the F-35 program is the result of the merging or combination of several other separate and diverse projects into a set of requirements for an airplane that is trying to be everything to everybody.” https://theconversation.com/what-went-w ... hter-60905

U.S. inspector general blames extra $26 million for inappropriate “woodland camouflage” pattern on Afghans, will cost U.S. taxpayers $68 to $72 million over the next 10 years. “The decision to use the non-government-owned forest camouflage pattern came after U.S. officials in 2007 found designs on the internet from a company called HyperStealth and showed them to Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/penta ... ms-n775081 So who were these Bush administration officials? And what was their relationship with HyperStealth?

1975 Watergate memo alleges Nixon aides plotted to use CIA’s Cuban operatives for violent attacks on Vietnam War protesters. “The plan to counter an anti-war protest with violence was part of a wider operation to discredit Ellsberg, the former military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1969.” https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/waterga ... -ellsberg/

Senate Republicans drafting Trumpcare bill “have received approximately double the amount of campaign contributions from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries” as their colleagues. “According to Maplight, a watchdog that tracks campaign spending, those chosen by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to draft the Senate’s version of Trumpcare legislation have collected, on average, $214,000 from companies that will be directly affected by major changes to the nation’s healthcare system.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -trumpcare

Big banks allegedly heavily invested in “extreme fossil fuels”. “So finds the latest Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card—produced by Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Sierra Club, and Oil Change International—which defines the “extreme” sources as tar sands, Arctic oil, ultra-deepwater oil, coal mining, coal power, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ssil-fuels

ACLU sues D.C. police over abuses at Trump inauguration protests. “The suit claims D.C. police unlawfully arrested peaceful demonstrators and indiscriminately deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades against journalists, legal observers, and crowds of protesters. …police held detainees for hours without food, water, or access to toilets; handcuffed detainees so tightly as to cause injury or loss of feeling; and subjected some detainees to manual rectal probing.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ration-day

Trump doesn’t think poor people should be in charge of things. “These are people that are great, brilliant business minds, and that’s what we need, that’s what we have to have so the world doesn’t take advantages of us. …And I love all people, rich or poor, but in those particular positions I just don’t want a poor person.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-d ... 20394.html

Indiana’s secretary of state says she learned about hacking of state election systems from media reports. “It is unclear why our intelligence agencies would withhold timely and specific threat information from election officials.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/21/con ... hs-states/

Democratic Party spent big in Georgia election, lost anyway. “Ossoff explicitly campaigned against single-payer healthcare and tax increases for the rich, and was rewarded by Democratic donors with $24 million in donations and another $8 million in outside spending.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... st-2555176

New details about “harsh interrogation” program emerge during trial. “In his deposition, Dr. Mitchell revealed that he, along with others, urged the C.I.A. to destroy videotapes the agency had made of some interrogations.” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... rture.html



Police dashcam video of Philando Castile shooting released. “Newly released dashcam footage shows what happened in the moments before Officer Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last summer.” http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/das ... er-police/

Democrats lose fourth special election, this time in Georgia. “We need a genuinely new message, a serious jobs plan that reaches all Americans, and a bigger tent, not (a) smaller one.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/21/polit ... index.html

Ford reportedly shifting Focus production from Mexico to… China. “Ford painted the production shift from Mexico to China, slated in mid-2019, as a purely financial move that will save the company $500 million in reduced tooling costs.” http://www.autoblog.com/2017/06/20/ford ... s-in-2019/

Extent of 2016 election hacking still unclear. “…officials are quick to assure the voting public that their systems are secure, but they lack the resources and technical know-how to defend against cyber intrusions, or even to perform forensic examinations to ensure nothing happened.” http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 39299.html

Pleasant Grove, Texas man fatally shot by police officer after he comes to the door holding a pistol. “Investigators say that left the officer no choice but to open fire, striking the 28-year-old white male.” http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas ... 20973.html

Tennis star James Blake reaches settlement with New York City after excessive force used in mistaken identity arrest. “The officers failed to report the mistaken arrest, as they were required to do, raising the possibility that it would never have come to light had Mr. Blake not spoken out.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/nyre ... wsuit.html

Rick Perry, Trump’s Secretary of Energy, tells journalist rising CO2 level not primary cause of global warming. “No, most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/19/energy-s ... hange.html

Deceptive TV ads used in Georgia election. “Now the unhinged left is endorsing and applauding shooting Republicans… the same unhinged leftists cheering last week’s shooting are all backing Jon Ossoff. And if he wins, they win.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/costly-nega ... -election/

100,000 civilians reportedly trapped in Mosul war zone. “In nine months of fighting a total of 850,000 people have fled their homes and thousands of civilians have been killed by US-led coalition bombing, as well as at the hands of ISIS.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 97846.html

Little coverage of plight of civilians in Raqqa and Mosul. “Arab lives matter. So why are we not seeing more of the impact of fighting on Raqqa and Mosul?” https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/colu ... -1.3122180
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

35
Canadian police arrest 10 indigenous activists erecting teepee near PM Trudeau’s office for Canada Day observance. “Candace Day Neveau, from a group called the Bawating Water Protectors that arrived in Ottawa from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on Wednesday, said those arrested were ordered to stay away from Parliament Hill for six months.” https://www.sootoday.com/national-news/ ... day-656982

Almost everyone in the world has seen substantial gains in income in the last 20 years thanks to globalization, except for the working and middle classes of developed countries, points out economist. “Globalization is one factor but there is also technological change, though in my opinion that is not completely unrelated to globalization, because though there is technological change in iPhones, for example, they are being produced physically, thanks to globalization, in Burma or Vietnam. It would be different if they were being produced in the U.S. or Sweden.” http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sens ... ics-means/

Some of the lowest paid workers in Los Angeles get a pay raise. “When the minimum wage in Los Angeles climbed from $10.50 to $12 an hour for large businesses on July 1, it marked the fourth such increase in three years…” http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-m ... story.html

States divided on how to respond to White House request for voter data. “More than two dozen states have refused to fully comply with a sweeping and unprecedented White House request to turn over voter registration data, including sensitive information like partial Social Security numbers, party affiliation and military status.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... ually-say/

Nevadans line up after state legalizes recreational marijuana. “Nevada has become the fifth state in the U.S. with stores selling marijuana for recreational use.” http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/0 ... lining-up/

London marchers say “no” to government cut-backs. “Tens of thousands marched through central London on Saturday to protest privatization and austerity that has led to cuts in spending for education and public services.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... vatization

Minneapolis raises minimum wage to $15 an hour, to be phased in by 2024. “Today’s vote, while historic, is just another step in our unending journey to build a better city.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... nimum-wage

U.S. residents spend far more for healthcare, but don’t have the best results. “Total health spending last year, including private out-of-pocket and government spending, was $8,985 per person in the US… The life expectancy of the average American is 78.8 years, putting the US a fraction ahead of the Czech Republic, where out of pocket spending was just $236 last year.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/dat ... -one-chart

Democratic Party super delegate Dick Gephardt says no chance of single-payer health system instead of Trumpcare. “There is no way you could pass single payer in any intermediate future.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/01/dic ... lobbyists/

Cops reportedly intercepted more than 3 million phone calls during one Pennsylvania drug investigation. “The phone tapping was authorized by a single wiretap order. The order was signed to help the authorities track 26 individuals suspected of illegal drug trafficking and narcotics-related activities in Pennsylvania.” http://www.ibtimes.com/can-government-t ... on-2560243

U.S. general admits there is rarely any on site investigation of civilians deaths due to airstrikes. “The U.S. government’s failure to speak to people on the ground demolishes Bontrager’s claim that his investigation (into the al-Jinah strike) left “no stone unturned”. Human Rights Watch, in contrast, interviewed 14 people by phone who had first-hand knowledge of the attack, including four who were in the mosque at the time of the attack; eight local residents, first responders, and local journalists who arrived at the site shortly after the attack; and two medical personnel who treated people injured in the attack.” https://www.justsecurity.org/42675/pent ... s-victims/

Judges dismiss lawsuit against Barack Obama over unintended drone strike deaths, but one issues opinion calling congressional oversight “a joke, and a bad one at that”. “Judge Brown appears profoundly uncomfortable with her court giving our president carte blanche to kill innocents abroad.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/c ... 44615.html

Girls’ robotics team from Afghanistan denied visas for U.S. competition. “Six teenage girls from Afghanistan planned to come to the U.S. to compete in the First Global Challenge robotics competition this month, but those plans were canceled after they were denied visas to enter the country.” https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/30/1590 ... ed-us-visa Taliban wins!

U.S. may move some defense production to Ukraine. “Speaking late on Thursday, Gurak said he had had negotiations with U.S. companies about setting up manufacturing facilities in Ukraine.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukrai ... SKBN19L1SY

ING says it won’t finance Canadian tar sands projects. “… Dutch banking giant ING said Wednesday it would not finance major pipeline projects in Canada over concerns about the impact of tar sands extraction on First Nations communities and the climate.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/30/ ... _sands_oil

Journalist says big players in the health insurance debate are Koch-funded groups, medical device manufacturers, health insurance companies and lobbyists. “(Health insurance companies have) told their shareholders, if these taxes are repealed they can return more money to shareholders, that they think their stock price will improve.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/ ... ng_on_koch

Thousands marching 280 miles against ruling party in Turkey. “There is oppression against the opposition, and lawmakers are being arrested. This justice march is against this civil coup.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... e-marchers

Police in U.S. on track to fatally shoot more than 1,000 people for third year in a row. “Police nationwide shot and killed 492 people in the first six months of this year, a number nearly identical to the count for the same period in each of the prior two years.” http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/01/fa ... ings-2017/

Green Party’s Jill Stein says Russia investigation needs to focus on U.S. election infrastructure. “I myself launched an inquiry into interference in the elections and into hacking in the elections in the form of a recount, which is still seeking, actually, through the court of law and through followup litigation, to get our hands on the machines and the software.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/jill-st ... nt-effort/

Trump travel costing taxpayers millions. “If Trump had stayed in Washington D.C. (this) weekend, he would have saved taxpayers over $800,000 in flights and likely more in security costs by staying at the White House.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/trump-j ... a-concert/

Senators call for investigation into allegations of U.S. collaboration with U.A.E. in torture of detainees in Yemen. “Even the suggestion that the United States tolerates torture by our foreign partners compromises our national security mission by undermining the moral principle that distinguishes us from our enemies— our belief that all people possess basic human rights.” https://www.ap.org/ap-in-the-news/2017/ ... rted-by-ap

NYPD accused of harassing citizens groups monitoring police. “Yesterday, the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) released a report on hundreds of complaints and incidents of NYPD officers interfering in civilians’ Constitutional rights to film public police activity during the first 3 years of the de Blasio administration.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/repor ... ng-police/

Vista, California backs off on restrictions imposed on protesters outside Congressman’s office. “Hundreds of constituents who’ve gathered to protest at Republican Congressman Darrell Issa’s Vista, California, office for months on “Resist Trump Tuesdays” were handed a victory by the city this week when their special-events permit was extended for three months and restrictions were removed, despite the congressman’s objections.” http://www.courthousenews.com/city-vist ... stituents/ Excuse me sir, do you have a permit to exercise that free speech? Yes, it’s true that the Constitution clearly says you have that right, but the courts have INTERPRETED that to mean that the government can make you apply for a permit and set numerous restrictions detailing exactly when, where and how you may exercise your constitutional rights. No, I’m not making that up.

Almost 1 in 5 community college students in Los Angeles are reportedly homeless. “The California State University system last year released a preliminary study saying that 1 in every 10 of its 460,000 students was homeless, and 1 in 5 had spotty access to food.” http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html

Talk show hosts claim they were threatened with hit pieces in tabloid unless they took back their criticism of the president. “On Friday, Scarborough claimed White House aides tried to blackmail him by threatening that the National Enquirer would publish unflattering articles about him and Brzezinski unless they apologized to the president for criticizing him in recent months on “Morning Joe”.” https://www.gossipcop.com/mika-brzezins ... e-stories/

Man who killed Baton Rouge police officers apparently wanted to avenge Alton Sterling. “He wrote (in his “suicide” note) that people who knew him would be surprised he was “suspected of committing such horrendous acts of violence” but that he believed he had to inflict harm “upon bad cops as well as good cops in hopes that the good cops (which are the majority) will be able to stand together and enact justice and punishment against bad cops”. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gavin-long- ... rs-report/

White man fatally shoots black teen in apparent road rage incident. “”The man in the red pickup truck shot her directly in the head,” Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said Thursday.” http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/loc ... 00963.html

Trump travel ban: mothers-in-law will be let in, but grandmas will be kept out. “The justices told the Trump administration that there were two kinds of “bona fide relationships” that it must consider. The first was what the court called “close familial relationships,” which is said were “required”…. But the administration excluded grandparents and grandchildren, uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews, as well as unmarried partners, even when they are engaged.” https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles ... y-dynamics

Chinese official says treaty guaranteeing rights of Hong Kong citizens after its return to China is obsolete. “‘The Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any practical significance,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06 ... y-britain/

Female tech entrepreneurs claim they were sexually harassed by potential investors. “More than two dozen women in the technology start-up industry spoke to The Times in recent days about being sexually harassed. Ten of them named the investors involved, often providing corroborating messages and emails…” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/tech ... sment.html

20 states say they will not comply or only partially comply with White House request for voter registration info. “”California’s participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud,” Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-resp ... ll-states/



Conservatives cite study showing that people with Medicaid insurance have poorer health care outcomes than people without any insurance, science pushes back. “Medicaid recipients are the poorest, least educated and sickest of all patients. Those patients have the highest incidence of AIDS, depression, liver disease, neurologic disorders, psychoses and metastatic cancer, according to the study.” http://www.politifact.com/florida/state ... nsured-he/ And, conversely, many Americans who are uninsured are relatively young and/or healthy.

Former government ethics officials says Trump 2020 campaign fundraiser held at Trump International Hotel is a violation of ethics laws. “Norm Eisen, former Obama ethics czar and chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), charged in a series of tweets Wednesday night that the $35,000-per-ticket event—from which the press was barred—violated the domestic emoluments clause, which prohibits the president from receiving any compensation beyond the set yearly salary.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rump-hotel

Protesters opposing Trumpcare bill arrested around the country. “Demonstrators, including some with serious illnesses who would lose coverage for their medical care needs should the bill pass, staged sit-ins at the Senate offices of Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida, and others. Many chanted, “Kill the bill, don’t kill me”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -trumpcare

U.N. human rights officials warns Trump and May against using harsh rhetoric. “Following attacks in Manchester and London, May told reporters, “If human rights laws get in the way of doing these things, we will change those laws to make sure we can do them.” The High Commissioner called May’s remarks “a gift from a major Western leader to every authoritarian figure around the world who shamelessly violates human rights under the pretext of fighting terrorism”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... e-rhetoric

Silicon Valley takes action against low-income Californians living in RVs parked on city streets. “Amid complaints from residents, Palo Alto has announced it will enforce a rule that bans vehicles from parking in the same spot for longer than 72 hours.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... a-homeless

Progressive campaign for a national health insurance plan needs better branding, says writer. “About half (53%) of Democrats say they have a very positive reaction to ‘Medicare-for-all’ compared with 21 percent who say the same for ‘single payer health insurance system,’” according to the Kaiser poll. But to be clear: “Medicare-for-all” and “single payer” refer to… the same exact thing.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/mem ... ealthcare/

After Supreme Court ruling, modified travel ban goes into effect. “Under the temporary rules, citizens of Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen who already have visas will be allowed into the United States. But people from those countries who want new visas will now have to prove a close family relationship or an existing relationship with an entity like a school or business in the U.S.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Republican activist allegedly told Russian hackers to deliver Clinton server emails to Wikileaks. “(Peter) Smith told the (Wall Street Journal) that he was unsure of the authenticity of emails hackers eventually did send to him and he told them to pass them to WikiLeaks.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

White House panel chair Kris Kobach requests voter registration data from all 50 states. “The information requested includes the names, addresses, birth dates, political party (if recorded), last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number and which elections the voter has participated in since 2006, for every registered voter in the country.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... oter-rolls

Philadelphia district attorney pleads guilty, allegedly helped businessmen with their cases in return for bribes. “The 50-year-old Williams was accused of illegally accepting gifts from two businessmen in exchange for legal favors.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/seth-willia ... y-to-jail/

House Appropriations Committee passes motion to cancel post-9/11 “War on Terror” military authorizations. “(Barbara) Lee’s amendment would repeal the 2001 authorization within 240 days of the enactment of appropriations for fiscal year 2018 — forcing Congress to take up a new one.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/2 ... ate-240095

State of New York oks unregulated ride hailing apps, cab drivers gripped by sense of foreboding. “Independent cab owner Harunur Bhuiyan had been lined up and waiting three hours for fares across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown on Thursday when he saw a Lyft driver zoom up, pick up a passenger and drive away.” http://buffalonews.com/2017/06/29/uber/

Study finds that pesticides harm bees. “In particular, (neonicotinoid) pesticides reduce honeybees’ ability to survive their winter hibernation, say researchers.” https://www.nature.com/news/largest-eve ... es-1.22229

Citizen Review Board votes to reopen Keith Scott shooting investigation. “A review board Tuesday found “substantial evidence of error” in a North Carolina police department’s decision that the fatal shooting of a black man by an officer last year was justified, and scheduled another hearing on the matter in August.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow ... story.html

Protestors demand third trial for police officer who shot unarmed motorist. “(Tensing) was a University of Cincinnati police officer when he shot DuBose during a 2015 traffic stop.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/prot ... g-48328052

No dash or body camera video in shooting death of Washington motorist Giovonn Joseph-McDade who was fleeing from police. “Des Moines police, who are conducting the investigation into the police shooting, say that a Kent officer opened fire after the driver allegedly drove toward the officer as he began to approach the car.” https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/0 ... eph-mcdade

Indianapolis police shoot unarmed motorist Aaron Bailey after he crashes during pursuit. “They say officers chased the vehicle and, after it crashed into a fence, shot the man.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 59274.html

Phoenix reportedly pays $1.5 million settlement after police officer shoots man delivering fast food in the back. “(Rumain) Brisbon had “exercised his constitutional right to keep walking without engaging in conversation with defendant Rine,” the lawsuit noted.” http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/pho ... ce-9455485

Houston settles lawsuit over shooting of unarmed suspect, reportedly pays only $260,000 to family. “Rosemon shot Releford because, according to the officer, Releford had a hand behind his back and Rosemon feared he had a gun. Rosemon shot him a second time about one minute later, because he saw him try to get up.” http://www.houstonpress.com/news/city-w ... an-9563361

NSA “EternalBlue” cyberweapon reportedly used again in latest ransomware attack. “What makes the rapid escalation of Petya both surprising and alarming is its similarity to the recent worldwide WannaCry ransomware crisis, primarily in its use of NSA exploit EternalBlue to spread through networks.” https://www.wired.com/story/petya-ranso ... rnal-blue/

South Korean government alleged plotted to remove Kim Jong Un from power. “Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with (Geun-hye) Park’s North Korea policy, that Park had signed off on a plot to remove the North’s leader in 2015 and the plan was orchestrated by the South’s spy agency.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north ... SKBN19J1KN

NATO agrees to send more of its troops to Afghanistan. “NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday 15 nations will contribute to the increase, though he did not say how many additional troops NATO members would send.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/ ... fghanistan Remind me, which member of NATO is under attack by the Taliban?

Trump nominee to be top lawyer at Dept. of Transportation is same lawyer who drafted legal defense of Bush administration’s detainee abuse policy. “In 2005, Bradbury authored memos justifying the Bush administration’s use of torture in interrogations.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/ ... on_hearing

Historian claims radical right’s endgame is to protect the gains of the very wealthy. “Democracy must be, in effect, shackled, to prevent the majority will from being expressed, because it would take too much from people of great wealth, and that would be a problem for them.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/ ... e_reflects

Senior technician at nuclear power plant reportedly falsified safety records. “A senior radiation protection technician at the closed Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant deliberately falsified safety records and failed to check workers for radiation exposure for eight months last year, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” http://wtop.com/government/2017/06/nuke ... nt-yankee/



Supreme Court sends case involving Border Patrol agent who shot Mexican teenager across the border back to the lower court. “In oral arguments in February, some justices were concerned that making U.S. agents liable for their actions taken in a foreign nation could be extended to, say, a house full of noncombatants killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... ower-court Oh, no! Can’t have that.

Trump accused of posting fake Time magazine cover, featuring him, on the walls of some of his resorts. “At the same (Virginia) club, Trump’s staff put up a historical marker declaring that there had been a Civil War battle on the site — and that the adjacent Potomac River became a “River of Blood.” Historians say this battle never happened.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Sarah Palin sues NYT over story claiming Palin’s “gun sight” ad targeting Congresswoman Giffords inspired shooting. “In one section, it read: ‘In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ation.html

Chicago police officers charged for involvement in shooting cover-up. “Detective David March and patrol Officers Thomas Gaffney and Joseph Walsh, who was Van Dyke’s partner on the night of the shooting, were each charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice, according to the 12-page indictment.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/laqu ... story.html

Warren Buffet says the rich are being over-rewarded. “This has been a prosperity that’s been disproportionately rewarding to the people on top.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/27/warren-b ... e-him.html

Man spends 90 days in jail after Florida cops mistake drywall for cocaine. “An officer found white powder on his seat and floorboard, and when the substance was tested, the results came back positive for cocaine, authorities said.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3282506

Freedom of Information Act requests being illegally ignored by some government agencies. “FOIA’s intent was that agencies respond fully and promptly to requests for information. But they don’t always do so. It may take persistence — and effective legal help — to break through an agency attempt to stonewall a FOIA request.” http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinio ... story.html The Tokyo Embassy and U.S. State Department have been stonewalling me for more than two years.

Senate Trumpcare bill would result in 22 million MORE uninsured Americans. “Starting in 2020, the budget office said, premiums and deductibles would be so onerous that “few low-income people would (be able to) purchase any plan”.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/p ... lican.html

Turkish police block Istanbul’s gay pride parade. “Police with riot shields and helmets enforced the ban by sealing off entrances to the main Istiklal Street, forcing activists to gather in various side streets.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/2017- ... an-n776426

Madison County, Mississippi sheriff accused of violating black residents civil rights. “The (ACLU) lawsuit alleges the county has subjected its citizens to more than a decade of brazenly illegal and discriminatory policing—unconstitutional roadblocks that only appear in black neighborhoods, warrantless home invasions, and aggressive “jump out” squads that target young black men doing nothing more than walking down the street.” https://reason.com/archives/2017/06/23/ ... locks-aclu

Trump accused of taking war powers stolen from Congress and passing them on to the military. “There is no faster route to destruction of our republic than the path we are currently upon, where unelected Pentagon officials have been ceded a constitutional power reserved for the Congress.” http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/t ... war-making

FBI agent charged in connection with LaVoy Finicum shooting incident. “…a member of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team was indicted on suspicion of shooting twice at Finicum during the chaotic encounter and then lying about it to state and federal investigators.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-fbi ... story.html

No apparent link between illegal immigrants and crime. “The number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. tripled between the 1990s and 2013, while violent crime declined 48% and property crime fell 41% over that period.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-h ... es-n777856

About 30 pro-democracy protesters arrested in Hong Kong on eve of Xi visit. “Police said the demonstrators, including Wong who helped lead the 2014 Occupy street protests that blocked key streets for 79 days, were arrested for causing a public nuisance.” http://www.atimes.com/article/hk-protes ... -xi-visit/

Canada’s Supreme Court orders Google to censor website from search results world-wide in intellectual property lawsuit. “Other countries may soon follow this example, in ways that more obviously force Google to become the world’s censor.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/na ... e35485762/

Infant hospitalized after becoming “overheated” on delayed United Airlines flight. “France told the Post that she and other passengers begged to return to the gate, but ground and air crews seemed to be debating how to best handle the situation.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/col ... ht-n777291

Japanese budget airline accused of making disable man crawl up stairs to board plane. “Vanilla Air, a budget airline subsidiary of All Nippon Airways, has apologised for the incident and announced new measures to aid wheelchair users at the airport.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40435031

Utility company pulls the plug on “clean coal” generator after state regulators put limits on costs that can be passed on to customers. “A first-of-its-kind “clean coal” power plant that U.S. utility owner Southern Co. has spent years and billions of dollars building in Mississippi appears to be dead.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ower-plant

California adds glyphosate to list of carcinogens. “Glyphosate is the key ingredient in weed killers such as Roundup.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/28/healt ... index.html

Pro-Trump super PACs reportedly running ads against the president’s opponents. “The (Great America Alliance) launched a new ad this week featuring conservative media star Tomi Lahren attacking Robert Mueller, the special counsel now leading the Russia investigation.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-t ... SKBN19J2GI

Comic book features California secessionist movement. “Militarized police is not dystopian fiction.” http://www.salon.com/2017/06/28/calexit-comic-book/

Even “safe” levels of air pollution can be dangerous. “A study released Wednesday shows that levels of air pollution considered safe can still shorten lifespans.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/air-polluti ... ath-study/

Billionaire-funded libertarian group says Senate version of Trumpcare is not conservative enough. “Tim Phillips, who leads Americans For Prosperity, the Koch network’s political arm, called the Senate’s plans for Medicaid “a slight nip and tuck” of President Barack Obama’s health care law, a modest change he described as “immoral”.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... story.html

Barack Obama calls Trumpcare “massive transfer of wealth” from the poor and middle-class to the wealthy. “He said that if Republicans come up with a plan that is “demonstrably better than the improvements we made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I would gladly and publicly support it”.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 05431.html Like the single-payer national health insurance proposal that Democrats took off the table?

University of Delaware professor reportedly blacklisted for commenting on Facebook that Otto Warmbier “acted like a spoiled, naive, arrogant U.S. college student” and “got exactly what he deserved”. http://udreview.com/anthropology-profes ... -deserved/ North Korean officials reportedly say their regime is the “biggest victim” of the incident. “The smear campaign against (North Korea) staged in the U.S. compels us to make (the) firm determination that humanitarianism and benevolence for the enemy are taboo and we should further sharpen the blade of law.” http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/06/25 ... h-u-s.html Because putting a “bad hombre” like Warmbier into a coma is clearly not harsh enough.

CNN sends sketch artist to White House “no cameras” new conference. “Spicer and his deputy Sarah Huckabee Sanders have only held four on-camera briefings in June. Most of their Q&A sessions have been held off-camera.” http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/23/media/w ... index.html

College football game between Fresno State and University of Alabama will be played despite California’s travel ban due to “prior contractual obligations” clause. “The California legislation restricts travel to states with laws that authorize or require discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or same-sex couples.” http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index ... sno_s.html

Democratic party official in Nebraska ousted after allegedly expressing support for shooting of Republican congressional leader. “In the recording, Montag used a series of obscenities to describe Scalise and said he hated the congressman whose job was to “convince Republicans to (expletive) kick people off (expletive) health care.” http://wspa.com/2017/06/25/democratic-o ... -was-shot/

Trump has allegedly spent twice as much on White House decor so far as Obama did during the same period in his administration. “Federal documents show that Trump spent $133,053 on office furnishings during the period, compared to $51,204.25 by Obama.” https://nypost.com/2017/06/23/trump-has ... sis-shows/ But it’s ok, because Mexico is paying for it….

Suspects wanted for parole violations reportedly kill themselves. “A man and a woman wanted for parole violation barricaded themselves inside a Pennsylvania home after allegedly firing shots at police, and later died in an apparent murder-suicide on Saturday.” http://www.wbal.com/article/247966/110/ ... er-suicide It could happen!

Kellyanne Conway claims Senate Trumpcare bill does not include Medicaid cuts. “The Congressional Budget Office has yet to release its evaluation of the Senate bill, but its analysis of the House version said it would drain more than $800 billion from Medicaid, in addition to the $610 billion reduction ordered by Trump’s federal budget proposal.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3276268

Mother posts $231,115 hospital bill for her son’s heart surgery on social media. “A New Jersey mom says she posted her three-year-old son’s heart surgery bill online to show how potential changes in the health care law could drastically increase out-of-pocket costs for those with life-threatening conditions.” http://www.fox29.com/news/local-news/263723404-story

Trump Russia dossier may have been paid for by Democrats, unidentified Republican investigator alleges. “Steele contracted with Fusion GPS to investigate Trump’s ties to Russia starting in June 2016, whereupon he outlandishly claimed that Hillary campaign hackers were “paid by both Trump’s team and the Kremlin” and that the operation was run out of Putin’s office.” https://nypost.com/2017/06/24/inside-th ... p-dossier/

Overweight man who booked two seats on Spirit Airlines flight says he was kicked off plane when the airline took away one of his seats. “I had told them that I bought two seats, (they said) we’ll take it up after, talk to them when you get off the plane.” http://fox17online.com/2017/06/25/color ... verweight/

New York Times runs a list of all of Donald Trump’s lies, takes up almost entire page. ““Between 3 million and 5 million illegal votes caused me to lose the popular vote.” (There’s no evidence of illegal voting.)” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... .html?_r=0

Court ordered review of Dakota Access pipeline project will examine impact on Standing Rock tribe. “(U.S. District Judge James Boasberg) said (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) didn’t adequately consider how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community…” http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/25/da ... tribe.html

Chuck Schumer promises Democratic Party makeover. “I think what the Democrats have got to say is that we will be on the side of the working class of this country.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ess-voters No Chuck, “saying” is not enough. Trying “proving”.

Ralph Nader tells the history of the decline and fall of the Democratic Party. “…in 1979. Tony Coelho, who was a congressman from California… convinced the Democrats that they should bid for corporate money, corporate PACs, that they could raise a lot of money.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/25/ral ... n-history/

Surprising revelations in Oliver Stone’s interviews with Putin. “… right from the beginning there is a tension between Stone, with his often archetypal liberal-left views, and Putin, whose perspective – if it has any American equivalent – might be called paleoconservative.” http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2017 ... ive-times/

For more frequent updates, visit https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

36
Trump implies that Islamic extremists and “the creep of government bureaucracy” threaten the continued existence of Western civilization. “Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/worl ... peech.html

Missouri’s governor says he will cancel St. Louis minimum wage hike because the city’s $10 minimum wage ”will take money out of people’s pockets”. “A new bill in the Missouri Legislature (would allow Gov.) Greitens to prohibit any cities from creating their own minimum wage alongside the state minimum wage.” http://www.businessinsider.com/missouri ... age-2017-7

Twelve arrests so far outside U.S. Senator Jeff Flakes’s office in Phoenix during Trumpcare protests. “”Jeff Flake arrests grandmas,” Cindy Gains, 62, yelled from the back of a police car after her arrest.” http://www.azfamily.com/story/35827699/ ... nix-office

G20 clashes began after German police tried to enforce dress code on protesters. “Police told the Telegraph that violence ensued after protesters donning black face masks refused officers’ requests to remove them.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... tter-world

19 states sue Secretary of Education DeVos over student loans. “Since day one, Secretary DeVos has sided with for-profit school executives against students and families drowning in unaffordable student loans.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... etsy-devos

After unhinged NRA video, activists to hold Women’s March Against the NRA. “Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington—which took place the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration and inspired solidarity marches in hundreds of cities across the globe—are planning a protest against the National Rifle Association for July 14, in response to a video published to the NRA’s Facebook page last month.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... gainst-nra

Republicans allegedly slipped “dark money” protection clauses into spending bills. “The provisions prevent the IRS from examining or defining the nebulous rules that govern those groups, which are not required to disclose their donors.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ps-2562201

Woman says she was harassed by Oath Keepers at local mall. “For an organized group of people who claim to want to defend against infringement of their rights, they certainly had no qualms violating mine.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/they-ha ... ough-mall/

Rick Perry trolled after “supply and demand” remark. “You put the supply out there and the demand will follow.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/must-ha ... statement/

Documents from lawsuit against Trump alleging he used illegal immigrants resurface, may be released. “The transcript and court brief were part of a lawsuit filed in 1983 by a union worker alleging that Trump — long before he moved into the White House — exploited undocumented Polish workers who demolished the building where Trump Tower now stands.” http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/law ... -1.3301025

Map of Australia notes 150 places where aboriginal people were massacred. “The exact number of indigenous deaths since Australia’s settlement has long been debated, but the map is the first to detail evidence of more than 150 massacres involving almost every aboriginal clan between 1788 and 1872.” http://news.trust.org/item/20170706090917-jkpp8/ Using the power of the internet, I couldn’t find a map like this for the U.S. Anybody need a topic for their American history or geography thesis?

Twitter lawsuit against government gag orders allowed to proceed. “The U.S. government had failed to show the kind of “clear and present danger” that could possibly justify restraints (on) Twitter’s constitutional right to talk about surveillance requests, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, said in a written order.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twit ... SKBN19R30R

National City, California agrees to pay $1.5 million to man shot in elbow during traffic stop to settle accidental police shooting lawsuit. “After stopping, officers ordered Flores to place his arms outside of the driver’s side window. Flores did so.” https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/201 ... ice-shoot/

Bakersfield, California police officer cleared after fatally shooting unarmed, 73 year-old man with dementia five times. “A search of (Francisco) Serna afterward didn’t turn up a weapon, just a faux wood crucifix.” http://www.bakersfield.com/news/police- ... 3cb89.html

Video shows Mesa, Arizona police beating black jaywalker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkIgWrlYy8g

Bartow, Florida police accused of releasing police dog on wrong man. “Family says police had the wrong guy, that it was really Wright’s little brother who violated probation.” http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-new ... 6744-story Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skK0B9HNt2Q

Ogden, Utah man riding bike on wrong side of road suffers three broken ribs and punctured lung during arrest. “That will teach you not to run, won’t it?” http://fox13now.com/2017/06/29/man-sues ... ng-arrest/

Charleston, West Virginia police ask judge to drop excessive force lawsuit stemming from incident in which officers allegedly pointed their weapons at and pistol whipped wrong teenager. “In the lawsuit against the two officers, 15-year-old X’Zane Watts alleged that the two officers failed to identify themselves as police when they pointed guns at him and his toddler cousin and began screaming profanities at them.” http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-cops- ... t-officers

No charges to be filed against East Hartford police officers who reportedly stunned broken window suspect for 20 seconds before he died. “The medical examiner ruled Maldonado’s death a homicide, saying he died of “cardiac arrhythmia following precordial electric shock and blunt injury to the head”.” http://www.live5news.com/story/35772768 ... mans-death

Protesters arrested outside Baton Rouge police department. “On Wednesday afternoon, about two dozen protesters, some of them members of the New Black Panther Party, marched to the Triple S Food Mart where (Alton) Sterling was fatally shot and to the Baton Rouge Police Department.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3304737

Federal prosecutors ask for gag order for leaked police body cam video of Trump inauguration protest. “…veteran civil rights attorney Martin Stolar called the motion for the protective order “pure intimidation,” noting that if there was no previous gag in place (then) anybody was free to share the video.” https://indypendent.org/2017/06/j20-pro ... cam-video/

Justice Department demands records from news outlet that ran Barrett Brown columns while he was in prison. “His charges and arrest in 2012 stemmed from his reporting on hacked emails from private intelligence contracting firms.” http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/4113 ... rett-brown

Some clueless Americans thought NPR was tweeting for a revolution, did not recognize the Declaration of Independence. “At least a couple of replies called for NPR to lose its funding.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/05/us/np ... index.html

Turkish leader claims opposition marchers are siding with terrorists. “Some analysts have seen the 450-kilometer (280 miles) trek from Ankara to Istanbul led by Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as a significant challenge to Erdogan but the Turkish strongman has regarded it with disdain.” http://www.timesofisrael.com/erdogan-sl ... -istanbul/

The forgotten woman who illegally printed up copies of the Declaration of Independence. “Until (Mary Katharine) Goddard got the assignment from Congress to print and distribute copies of the Declaration, it was more like an anonymous Internet post than a document of record.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/th ... story.html

Rich investors don’t create jobs, their customers do. “…ultimately, whether a new company continues growing and creates self-sustaining jobs is a function of the company’s customers’ ability and willingness to pay for the company’s products, not the entrepreneur or the investor capital.” http://www.businessinsider.com/rich-peo ... bs-2013-11

United Airlines reportedly makes a woman buy a seat for her 2 year old, then makes her put the child on her lap so they can seat a stand-by customer. She complained, a little. “I started remembering all those incidents with United on the news. The violence. Teeth getting knocked out. I’m Asian. I’m scared and I felt uncomfortable. I didn’t want those things to happen to me.” http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/07/0 ... enger.html

Hobby Lobby fined for illegally importing antiquities. “The arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby has agreed to pay a $3 million fine for illegally smuggling thousands of ancient clay artifacts into the United States from Iraq, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... from-iraq/

Government supporters with weapons attack Venezuelan legislators and journalists in parliament, five reportedly injured. “Military police guarding the site stood by as intruders brandishing sticks and pipes broke through the gate, AFP said.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40509498

Amnesty International says EU’s strategy to keep out migrants is resulting in human rights violations. “After the (Libyan) coastguard intercepts boats bound for Europe, refugees are reportedly “returned to Libya where they are routinely detained and tortured and where no asylum law or system exist. Those trapped in Libya are vulnerable to human rights violations and abuses including killings, torture, rape, kidnappings, forced labor, and arbitrary and indefinite detention in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions.”” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... gee-crisis

Some Republicans accused of dodging constituents to avoid criticism of their support for Trumpcare plan. “Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), whose state has the fifth-highest Medicaid enrollment in the country, released a short video on YouTube wishing West Virginians a happy holiday, but didn’t meet with any of them publicly.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ned-voters

Senator holds “town hall” meeting, reportedly only lets in 8 pre-selected constituents. “Scores of people gathered outside the ABC27 studio in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Toomey was holding what had been billed as a town hall meeting. But in reality just eight audience members were allowed into the invite-only event…” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ll-protest

German police break up G20 protest in Hamburg. “German police deployed a water cannon and pepper spray to disperse around 500 protesters in Hamburg, ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit this weekend, where advocacy groups say global leaders will continue to support a flawed model for creating a more just world.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... protesters

Some world leaders using disasters as excuses to impose unpopular agendas. “Shock tactics follow a clear pattern: wait for a crisis (or even, in some instances, as in Chile or Russia, help foment one), declare a moment of what is sometimes called “extraordinary politics”, suspend some or all democratic norms – and then ram the corporate wishlist through as quickly as possible.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... m-disaster

Investigators reportedly examining whether Russian “fake news” stories about Hillary Clinton were directed and spread by Trump supporters. “(Senator Mark) Warner said there was evidence that this campaign appeared to be focused on key voters in swing states, raising the question over whether there was coordination with US political operatives in directing the flow of bogus stories.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ry-clinton

Amnesty International concerned about fate of dissident in Bahrain. “We are deeply concerned about Ebtisam (al-Saegh)’s wellbeing. When she was arrested in May 2017, she was beaten and sexually assaulted by members of the Bahraini National Security Agency. Bahraini authorities have failed to investigate those claims and we fear that she is at high risk of torture as long as she remains in custody.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... m-al-saegh

Chinese and Indian troops clash (without weapons) in Bhutan. “To avoid escalation, frontline troops in the area do not generally carry weapons, and the Chinese and Indian troops reportedly clashed by “jostling”: bumping chests, without punching or kicking, in order to force the other side backwards.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... -territory

U.S. House bill would change congressional elections to “ranked choice voting” system, helping minor party candidates. “RCV would make it so that there is no longer anything as a “wasted” vote — if your candidate ends up not being one of the top two candidates in the election, you can deliver your other votes to one of those instead.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/05/new ... dominance/

Thousands of U.S. citizens have reportedly been illegally detained and deported. ” A 2011 report by political science professor at Northwestern University and director of its Deportation Research Clinic, Jacqueline Stevens, said tens of thousands of American citizens had been detained or deported in just under a decade.” http://www.ibtimes.com/us-immigration-i ... ts-2561946

Trump supporter caught trying to frame liberals. “Responding officers found “Kill Trump,” “Left is the best,” “Bernie Sanders 2020” and “Death to Trump” written on a sign in the playground.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/false-f ... etractors/

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee asks supporters to pick which stickers they should print, choices include, “She persisted, we resisted” and “Make Congress Blue Again”. http://www.newsweek.com/democrats-sugge ... uys-632420

Saudi Arabia primary funder of Islamic extremism in the U.K. says report, British government keeping results of its own report under wraps. “Saudi Arabia has, since the 1960s, sponsored a multimillion-dollar effort to export Wahhabi Islam across the Islamic world, including to Muslim communities in the west.” https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... -extremism



Law enforcement agency reportedly intercepted more than 3 million phone calls with one search warrant for drug investigation. “The order was signed to help authorities track 26 individuals suspected of involvement with illegal drug and narcotic-related activities in Pennsylvania.” http://www.zdnet.com/article/one-federa ... one-calls/

Republicans upset about warrantless surveillance – of themselves. “Did you note the emotion in (Senator Lindsey Graham’s) voice as he thought of the possibility that his privacy was being invaded by his government?” https://www.districtsentinel.com/fisa-h ... -not-thee/

Number of House members who are co-sponsors of HR676, a bill proposing a national health insurance program, rises to 113, but no Senator, including Bernie Sanders, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate yet. http://www.pressconnects.com/story/opin ... 103329382/

Rallies held around the country calling for impeachment of President Trump. “Every day, Democrats, Republicans, the entire world is shocked by the latest example of America’s amateur president.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald- ... nt-n779131

California senate bill 21 would require disclosure of purchase and intended use of police surveillance gear. “Law enforcement will be required to explain to the public why they want surveillance equipment, how they plan to use it, and how they will protect the privacy and civil liberties of residents.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/nothing-radical-sb21/

Federal appeals court rules that Trump administration cannot abolish Obama era EPA orders without public hearings and normal administrative procedures. “In a 2-to-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that the EPA had the right to reconsider a 2016 rule limiting methane and smog-forming pollutants emitted by oil and gas wells but could not delay the effective date while it sought to rewrite the regulation.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

New Jersey governor Christie enjoyed beach closed to the public due to budget impasse, as many other states struggle. “A photograph of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sunbathing Sunday on a state beach he closed amid a budget standoff drew national attention to the state’s financial woes, but it was a mere snapshot of the budget battles being waged across the country.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07 ... -pain.html

Series of at least 30 demonstrations kicks off in Hamburg, Germany ahead of G20 summit. “As anti-globalization activists took to the streets in Hamburg ahead of this week’s G20 summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday leaders will have to focus on sustainable and inclusive economic growth rather than their own prosperity.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germ ... SKBN19N0FA

Journalist gets death threats after revealing that Trump tweet of president bodyslamming CNN was the work of a man who also posted a tweet of Jewish CNN reporters, each identified with a Star of David. “Here’s another meme from the guy Trump tweeted, this one showing CNN personalities with Jewish stars.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jar ... 2c7324d3d6

Number of states refusing to had over requested voter registration data to White House panel rises to 44. “The information the commission is seeking includes registrants’ full names, addresses, dates of birth, political parties, the last four digits of their social security numbers, a list of the elections they voted in since 2006, information on any felony convictions, information on whether they were registered to vote in other states, their military status, and whether they lived overseas.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/03/polit ... index.html

Supreme Court’s recent rulings have reportedly favored citizens over the government. “For several years, the court has pushed back against what it sees as egregious over-criminalization — ranging from a jilted wife’s attempted assault prosecution under a chemical weapons treaty to a Florida fisherman’s conviction for tossing undersized grouper under a law targeting white-collar destruction of evidence. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/201 ... 442851001/ But, as the story also points out, “The court ruled against illegal immigrants who challenged their detention and harsh treatment in New York in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks (and) a homeless couple shot and injured by Los Angeles police during a warrant-less search…”

Senators likely to feel the heat from constituents over July 4th recess. “On the one hand, they have been promising for years to repeal and replace Obamacare, and their base expects it. On the other hand, the plan they’re offering is very unpopular with the general public. And I’m sure they’re going to hear a lot from both of those camps when they go home for the July Fourth recess.” http://nhpr.org/post/senate-gop-leaders ... r-july-4th

Guantanamo detainee to be compensated by Canada. “Toronto-born Omar Khadr—who was captured by the U.S. military in 2002 when he was just a teenager and held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba—will receive an apology and reportedly $10.5 million ($8 million USD) from the Canadian government for failing to protect him from abuse while he was detained for more than a decade.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ion-canada

Environmental activists, scientists say Pruitt’s call for a debate on climate change is just a delaying tactic. “Contrary to Pruitt’s belief that there is widespread dissent about climate change, NASA finds that “multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ful-debate

Florida man reportedly kept dead wife’s body in freezer for eight years in order to continue receiving her Social Security checks. “Prosecutors say Margaret Dunn died at home in 2002 and Allan Dunn hid her body in the freezer. He then collected her Social Security benefits until he died in 2010.” http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/us/arti ... 265444.php

EU’s top court says France can investigate Uber as a criminal enterprise. “France has the right to bring criminal charges against Uber for running an illegal taxi service, the European Union’s (EU’s) top court said on Tuesday.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/04/uber-fra ... -says.html

Facebook wants to reveal details of secret government search warrants. “Facebook is challenging a gag order from a U.S. court that is preventing the company from talking about three government search warrants that it said pose a threat to freedom of speech, according to court documents.” https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/04/face ... -warrants/

Senators visit Afghanistan, are concerned about the future. “Each of us may describe that concern in our own way but none of us would say that we’re on course to a success here in Afghanistan.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... nators-say

One progressive’s list of things he loves about the U.S. “…one of America’s most beautiful attributes is that we have freedom and resources that our fellow malcontents in many other countries could only dream of. Pretending that we don’t have this wiggle room is — particularly for white activists — to show ourselves to be distastefully spoiled.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/04/how ... y-country/

Former Dept. of Justice official expresses concerns over Trump administration’s commitment to prosecution of business crimes, uses James Comey’s firing as an example. “If a company had come in to tell us that we have had an internal investigation, which involved the CEO, and the CEO first tried to tell the investigator to let it go, and then when the investigator didn’t, he fired the investigator — that would not be a very good narrative for the company’s compliance program in front of the Justice Department.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... -prosecute

BBC sends Facebook samples of child porn found on its websites, Facebook reports BBC for transmitting child porn. “To talk about the matter, Facebook’s director of policy Simon Milner agreed to be interviewed last week by the BBC, under one condition, that the media outlet provide examples of the material that it had reported that had not been removed by moderators.” http://www.ibtimes.com/bbc-tells-facebo ... ce-2503732

Israel accused of destroying solar power aid given to Palestinian village by the Netherlands. “The panels are claimed to be worth about €40,000, but the government forces also destroyed all the electronics that made the microgrid operable.” https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/03/is ... therlands/

Mexican families accuse police of executing suspects. “Relatives of 17 suspected gang members killed late last week by police in northwest Mexico fear a skewed death toll (17-0, with no arrests) points to what has become a grimly regular complaint in recent years – summary executions by security forces.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexic ... SKBN19P0A2

Venezuelan opposition plans to hold vote on changing country’s constitution instead of participating in Constitutional Assembly. “Polls show that barely 20 percent of Venezuelans favor rewriting the late Hugo Chavez’s 1999 Constitution — about the same level of support for Maduro.” http://www.arabnews.com/node/1124301/world
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

37
Donald Trump’s son reportedly told of Russian effort to help his father’s campaign. “Donald Trump, Jr., was informed ahead of a June 2016 meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer that material damaging to Hillary Clinton that he was offered was “part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy,” the New York Times reported Monday evening.” http://www.npr.org/2017/07/10/536498127 ... g-campaign

Trump nominee for FBI director is reportedly a multi-millionaire. “A newly released financial disclosure form from Christopher Wray, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the FBI, shows he received a partnership share from his Atlanta law firm of $9.2 million… and also lists dozens of investments by Wray in American companies and funds in amounts of up to $1 million each.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/10/polit ... index.html

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prohibits financial institutions from forcing customers into arbitration in banking and credit card disputes. “Across the country, judges, prosecutors and regulators have sharply criticized arbitration clauses for allowing corporations to circumvent the courts and for taking away tools to fight abusive business practices.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/busi ... banks.html

Another federal court rules that citizens have a right to record video of police. “The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia… overturned the lower court which had ruled the act of filming police is not “sufficiently expressive” to fall under the First Amendment.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/third ... ourt-film/

Left and right agree on the need for criminal justice reform says university president. “Local and state politicians can overcome the tough-on-crime rhetoric coming from Washington if they take advantage of the still-viable left-right consensus on justice system reforms, as well as the groundswell of public support for those reforms, says Jeremy Travis, the departing president of the John Jay College of Justice in New York.” https://thecrimereport.org/2017/07/10/l ... president/

Police departments with military equipment more likely to commit acts of violence against community finds study. “Even controlling for other possible factors in police violence (such as household income, overall and black population, violent-crime levels and drug use), more-militarized law enforcement agencies were associated with more civilians killed each year by police.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mon ... -research/

UK Conservative Party official suspended after reportedly using “n word” at Brexit event. “Now we get to the real nigger in the woodpile, which is in two years what happens if there is no deal.” http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40555639

Black American beaten to death by mob in Greece reportedly offended a group of bar patrons by setting his beer on their table. “That friend’s account to CBS lines up with Athens newspaper Kathimerini, which cites police reports (of) a “petty dispute over someone setting their drink down on a table occupied by a different group”.” https://nypost.com/2017/07/10/how-the-b ... in-greece/

Chinese labor rights activist says he didn’t know the factory he was investigating for underpaying employees was linked to Trump family. “During a month of exhausting interrogations, police repeatedly asked Hua for the date and time of his arrival in the city, and details of what he had done at the factory.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... nd-huajian

UNESCO grants World Heritage status to Japanese holy island that bars women. “The reason for the ban on women has never been publicly stated, but one theory – which extends to other aspects of Japanese culture – cites the Shinto belief that menstrual blood is impure.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... ge-listing

ACLU sues to make Kobach election panel proceedings public. “The commission held its first meeting without notice or making it open to the public,” said Theresa Lee, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “This process is cloaked in secrecy, raising serious concerns about its credibility and intent.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... commission

As price of F-35 fighter jumps to over $400 billion, few politicians are arguing that the country can’t afford it, in contrast to national health insurance. “The new cost increases may come as a hit to President Donald Trump, who has bragged about his ability to get weapons manufacturers to offer the Pentagon “better deals”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -more-f-35

Secretary of State Tillerson accepts “lifetime achievement award” from World Petroleum Congress. “This distinguished lifetime achievement award celebrates his exceptional leadership of the largest publicly traded oil and gas company in the world over the past 10 years.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... l-industry

Photos of Trump travel ban’s “banned grandmas” posted on social media. “”I don’t think anyone has ever heard of a 95-year-old or 82-year-old committing an act of terrorism,” says Holly Dagres, whose tweet led to the launch of Banned Grandmas of Instagram.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... travel-ban

Chris Christie calls talk show listener a communist after he complains about governor’s day on closed public beach. “You know, Mike, I love getting calls from communists in Montclair.” https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... sey-caller

Pence ignores NASA “do not touch” sign. “Mike Pence… was photographed putting his hand on equipment that featured a prominent sign that read, “Critical Space Flight Hardware: Do Not Touch.” http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show ... altogether

U.N. approves treaty to ban nuclear weapons, now goes to countries for ratification, western nuclear powers vow to ignore it. “…the US, Britain, and France released a joint statement after the treaty was adopted, stating “We do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it.”” https://www.sciencealert.com/the-un-pas ... -worldwide This received shockingly little press coverage in the U.S.

Ivanka Trump fills in for her father at G20. “Ms Trump, 35, sat around the table with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Angela Merkel and Theresa May.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... rs-meeting America – it’s a family business!

Putin denies interfering in U.S. election, demands proof. “… Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who joined the presidents along with Tillerson, told reporters that Trump accepted Putin’s denial — an act that would have the American president taking sides against his intelligence agencies, which have unanimously concluded that Russia, and Putin himself, were behind the election interference.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-fg-t ... story.html

Woman claims Minneapolis police officer shot her dogs. “Police responded to LeMay’s home after her daughters, ages 13 and 18, accidentally set off the home security alarm, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/disturbin ... g-two-dogs

Pastor claims “demonic activity was palpable” at Trump rally. “People were being ushered into a deeply religious experience, and it made me completely uncomfortable.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act ... stor-says/

University dean charged in hit and run of cyclist. “Authorities identified Neely as the driver of a black Volvo that struck cyclist Tyler Noe of Nolensville on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Williamson County.” http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/lo ... 462473001/

Federal prosecutors agree to plea bargain in Olympic gymnastics sex abuse case, team doctor will only face child pornography charges. “… according to the terms of the plea deal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan has agreed not to prosecute Nassar for the arguably more serious charge of sexually exploiting children, including children he allegedly molested at his home, in his swimming pool and, the agreement states, during “interstate/international travel”.” http://www.espn.com/olympics/gymnastics ... rn-charges

Priest accused of waving gun in road rage incident. “Adams allegedly pointed a Glock-22 handgun at two people in another vehicle on the turnpike in Martin County, Fla., near Palm City.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 89659.html

Digital home assistant helps apprehend New Mexico man accused of threatening his partner. “Barros allegedly pulled a gun on his girlfriend when they got into an argument and asked her: “Did you call the sheriffs?” Google Home apparently heard “call the sheriffs,” and proceeded to call the sheriffs.” https://gizmodo.com/google-home-breaks- ... 1796755905

Iraq declares costly victory in Mosul, despite remaining pockets of IS resistance. “The battle for Mosul – by far the largest city to fall under the militants’ control – has left large areas in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced nearly 1 million people.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-midea ... SKBN19U0CT

Treasury secretary says no plans for tax hikes on wealthy. “The Trump administration is not considering a plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to pay for tax breaks for the middle class, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Sunday.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-t ... SKBN19U0N8

Honolulu city councilman has a plan for dealing with homeless people in state parks – armed park rangers. “(City Councilman Trevor) Ozawa wants the city to ask voters to approve putting armed park rangers in city parks in a 2018 City Charter amendment.” http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/07/0 ... k-rangers/

CIA allegedly using local wifi connections to geolocate computer users. “The agency infects target devices with malware that can then check which public Wi-Fi networks a given computer can connect to at a given moment, as well as the signal strengths of those networks.” https://www.wired.com/story/wikileaks-c ... -tracking/

Former Secretary of Defense compares Putin/Trump cyber-security initiative to “the guy who robbed your house proposing a working group on burglary.” http://www.mediaite.com/online/ex-defen ... -burglary/

NYPD officials accused of misleading city council during testimony on proposed surveillance transparency rules. “During their recent testimonies at city council, Miller and Byrne made a number of statements that mischaracterized or omitted crucial details regarding the department’s record of transparency, its use of specific technologies like cell-site simulators, the surveillance of communities of color, and how such technologies are acquired by police.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/07/nyp ... nsparency/

Media press FBI for more details on Boston marathon bombing, hits “tight shroud of secrecy”. “Robert Ambrogi, executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, told Politico that the information lockdown “tells you that major parts of this case are being conducted out of the public view”.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/07/10/fbis- ... n-bombing/

Little U.S. coverage of British government report questioning rationale for western intervention in Libya. “One can only conclude that U.S. corporate media’s mission is not to tell all sides of an international story, or report news critical of U.S. foreign policy, but instead to push an agenda supporting U.S. interests abroad.” https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/07/h ... -invasion/

Saudi Arabia playing key role in Islamic radicalization claims report. “In the past 50 years, Riyadh has invested at least 76 billion euros ($86 billion) in Wahhabi extremism, the ideological basis of extremist and jihadist movements throughout the world.” http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-expor ... a-39618920

Turks rally against excesses of post-coup crackdown. “…Kilicdaroglu said the opposition had no alternative (to marching) because Turkey’s courts had been politicized, “the powers of parliament have been seized” and the media had been muzzled.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turke ... SKBN19U0O2

From https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

38
Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo dies of cancer in government custody, little public effort by western governments on his behalf. “Mr. Liu’s fate reflects how human rights issues have receded in Western diplomacy with China.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/worl ... ights.html White House spokesman says Trump “deeply saddened” by Liu’s death. “The White House statement does not offer any criticism of China or of Liu’s case.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as ... story.html

FBI director nominee denies any knowledge of Bush administration’s legal defense of “enhanced interrogation” program. “Wray told Leahy that waterboarding was torture and thus illegal, but purported to having no memory of having approved, or even read, any of John Yoo’s infamous torture memos.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/learn ... n-hearing/

Michigan mayor reportedly shared Facebook post calling for genocide against Muslims, use of nuclear weapons on majority Muslim cities. “Sieting said his comments are protected by the First Amendment and that those trying to oust him from office are only doing so because they oppose President Donald Trump.” http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-n ... 7842-story

Trump’s Russia investigation lawyer flips out, threatens man who urged him to resign. “I already know where you live, I’m on you… You will see me, I promise.” https://www.propublica.org/article/marc ... ils-maddow

Feds announce round-up of some of big pharma’s foot soldiers. “At the end of the press conference, Sessions and Price discussed their strategies to address the country’s drug-addiction epidemic, which is heavily fueled by increased levels of opioid prescriptions.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sessions-an ... s-history/

Justice Department releases section of Sessions’ security clearance questionnaire where he denied any contacts with any foreign government officials, in response to FOIA lawsuit. “Sessions’ aides confirmed in May that he had not listed two meetings with the Russians or hundreds of other meetings with foreign officials…” http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the ... ire-240501

Appeals court throws out New York political corruption conviction on procedural grounds. “A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned the conviction of former New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision narrowing what kind of conduct can support corruption prosecutions.” http://www.businessinsider.com/r-former ... ned-2017-7

Video appears to show Iraqi troops throwing IS prisoners off a ledge, shooting them. “In the video, the panicking man is taunted and beaten by several rifle-wielding troops before being slowly forced up to a precipice and hurled onto the motionless body of another man below.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -shot.html

Republican operative who was in contact with Russian hackers in an effort to obtain Hillary Clinton’s private server emails reportedly committed suicide. “(Peter) Smith told the (Wall Street) Journal he believed the missing emails might have had been obtained by Russian hackers (and that)…. he and his team found five groups of hackers — two of them Russian groups — who claimed to have Clinton’s missing emails.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... story.html

Texas oil pipeline spills more than 50,000 gallons, local residents evacuated. “In a statement, Magellan Midstream Partners, the owner of the Longhorn pipeline, said a contractor was conducting maintenance on the system when it ruptured.” http://www.khou.com/news/shelter-in-pla ... /456426481

Philip Morris accused of campaign to undermine anti-smoking efforts. “Reuters has found that Philip Morris International is running a secretive campaign to block or weaken treaty provisions that save millions of lives by curbing tobacco use.” https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... -who-fctc/

At least 200 people trying to protect the environment were killed world-wide in 2016, group says this is probably “the tip of the iceberg”. “Countries with pro-business governments are where murders of protestors were most common.” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017 ... ss-report/

75% of Americans say they feel powerless. “…a new (Associated Press) poll released Thursday shows that three-quarters of Americans feel voiceless and largely powerless in the nation that heralds itself as the world’s preeminent democracy.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... much-power

Details of secret testing of chemical and biological agents on U.S. troops to be kept secret. “Thompson was seeking answers about Projects 112 and SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense) a series of covert chemical and biological weapons tests the Pentagon conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, the Vietnam War era, involving some 6,000 military personnel.” http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politic ... 36708.html

Billions could be saved if Pentagon officials took their agency’s own expert advice. “The Defense Department’s failure to act or delayed response on the recommendations of its own internal watchdog may result in lost savings of at least $33.6 billion, the Pentagon’s Inspector General’s office said Thursday.” http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017 ... ns-ig.html

No federal charges for police officer who immediately shot Walmart customer John Crawford because he was holding a Walmart air rifle. “It’s almost like these guys are getting away with murder.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fede ... g-48576031

San Antonio family claims police used excessive force during arrest, pointed gun at head of 10 year-old boy. “Mendoza said that Lopez was left with a broken cheekbone, two broken arms and at risk of losing an eye. She said the police ransacked her home and that they shot and killed her dog, which was tied up in the backyard.” https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/arc ... ar-old-boy

San Diego police use K-9 to take down unarmed black suspect and maul him after he’s handcuffed. “For at least 30 seconds, the German shepherd clamps down on the shirtless man’s arm as he screams in pain.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pol ... c6f1e63dc6

ACLU and news organization sue for public records information on Salisbury, Maryland excessive force settlement. “The case at the heart of the litigation is Adams v. Aita, one of four lawsuits against former Salisbury police officer Justin Aita, who resigned in 2015.” http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/l ... 455862001/

Former Atlanta police officer who broke man’s leg with baton during beating at Walmart goes on trial, suspected him of stealing a tomato. “King’s attorneys plan to prove his actions were necessary to make an arrest.” http://www.cbs46.com/story/35862304/for ... sive-force Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7HM2WKaJXE

ACLU sues Columbus, Ohio police for clearing protesters using pepper spray. “Columbus has a practice of overreacting to peaceful demonstrators and using excessive force.” http://radio.wosu.org/post/ohio-aclu-su ... protestors

Brutal Santa Ana police arrest caught on video. “The Santa Ana Police Department confirmed that the arresting officers used force after an officer attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic violations.” http://abc7.com/news/santa-ana-police-i ... t/2203076/ Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaZpPDZvxD0

Racine, Wisconsin agrees to $400,000 settlement in police beating of 14 year-old high school student on school grounds. “The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court on Nov. 22, 2016, alleges that Officer Brinelle Nabors threw the student to the ground, punched him and slammed him against lockers, while another officer, Jerome King, failed to intervene.” http://journaltimes.com/news/local/city ... 02399.html

Orange County, California settles excessive force lawsuit for an unspecified amount. The arrest, for attempting to walk away during questioning, “…caused (Thomas) to sustain an open wound to his head, a black eye and the loss of several teeth.” http://www.ocregister.com/2017/07/11/sa ... ettlement/

Columbus, Ohio police break up health care protest at Sen. Rob Portman’s office, dump woman from wheelchair. “It appears those that have sworn to protect and serve us have seemed to fail to remember that their job is the safety and well-being of those they serve.” http://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/p ... sive-force Video here, woman dumped out of wheelchair (1st angle) at about 2:00 mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juJQRkeOUe8 “If we have to push you out of your wheelchair, then that’s what we’ll have to do.” (at about 2:20 mark) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4qZ2Ns8oWU



Woman stopped for “driving while black” turns out to be Florida state attorney, asks officers why she was stopped. “Oh, we run tags through all the time, whether it’s a traffic light and that sort of stuff, that’s how we figure out if cars are stolen and that sort of thing,” the officer said. “Also, the windows are really dark. I don’t have a tint measure, but that’s another reason for the stop.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/video-sho ... ain-why-he

Dept. of Education’s senior civil rights official reportedly suggests 90% of campus sexual assault complaints are bogus. “…the accusations — 90% of them — fall into the category of ‘We were both drunk,’ ‘We broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right’.” http://college.usatoday.com/2017/07/12/ ... d-hookups/

Suspect in Oklahoma recruiting office bombing is reportedly former Air Force and Air National Guard airman. “Four federal explosives charges have been filed against a disgruntled former member of the military accused of bombing an Air Force recruiting center in Bixby, Oklahoma.” http://heavy.com/news/2017/07/benjamin- ... explosion/

Countering Violent Extremism program heavily biased against Muslims say critics. “I am not aware of a single U.S. CVE program that goes out into white communities to help them identify potential violent individuals in their midst or that provides white communities with social and economic resources with the explicit purpose of preventing the next shooting at an African American church. ” https://www.justsecurity.org/42998/trum ... tinue-cve/

Massachusetts bill would outlaw human rights based boycotts. “The bill S.1689/H.1685, purports to be about discrimination, but its supporters have made it clear that their intent is to silence Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns for Palestinian rights, which use First Amendment protected nonviolent tactics to promote human rights.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/defen ... cott-bill/

Attorney General Sessions to attend closed-to-the-public meeting with anti-gay group. “ADF has been previously designated (as an extremist group) and Sessions’ appearance at this event, as the top law enforcement official in the country, brings in to question whether the attorney general intends to protect all Americans.” http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.co ... osed_doors

Trump tax plan heavily favors the wealthiest Americans says tax policy watchdog. “Trump’s tax cuts would give the poor $40 each and the ultra-rich $940,000.” https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... icy-center

Huge ice sheet breaks off Antarctica. “Its volume is twice that of Lake Erie…” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ene ... ntarctica/

1/4 of the world’s children are “stunted”. “What children consume during their first 1,000 days can affect whether “they’ll be able to learn in school, their capacity to perform at a job later in life, their earning potential, and then their health throughout life”.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chr ... 68323b1eb0

Republicans side with banking industry on arbitration clauses. “Driving dispute resolutions into class actions is probably harmful to consumers rather than helpful to consumers.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... protecting

Nominee to lead FBI says Russia investigation is not fake news. “I do not consider director Mueller to be on a witch-hunt.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ump-russia

RBS to pay $5.5 billion settlement for misleading investors. “Royal Bank of Scotland has been ordered to pay $5.5bn to US regulators for misselling toxic mortgage bonds in a “stark reminder” of its behaviour in the run-up to the financial crisis.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... nce-agency

CBP officers accused of turning away asylum seekers. “Legal and immigration advocacy groups today filed a class action lawsuit against CPB and the Department of Homeland Security alleging a pattern of misinformation, verbal and physical abuse, intimidation, and outright illegal turn-backs of people requesting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/12/emb ... them-away/

Fox runs “horror movie” clip about progressives featuring rioting and violence. “The video features the text, “progressive push across America”.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/fox-bus ... ss-the-us/

Christian reality TV star reportedly sentenced to 40 years for multiple counts of sex with a child. “Willis was the patriarch of TLC’s former reality show “The Willis Family”.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/conserv ... hild-rape/

Governments targeting activists with spyware. “As we’ve shown at Citizen Lab in our research, there’s really, I would call it, an epidemic of targeted digital espionage against civil society worldwide, against journalists, human rights advocates and so on.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/13/ ... sia_to_uae



Amnesty International calls for investigation into possible war crimes committed by IS and U.S./Iraqi coalition forces during battle for Mosul. “”Once they’d cleared an area from IS, they assisted in countless frontline rescues, digging bodies out of rubble … so it beggars belief that this didn’t go up the chain of command and somebody said ‘well hang on a second, we’re killing an awful lot of civilians’,” Mr Walsby said.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-12/a ... es/8699524

Baton Rouge police officer sues Black Lives Matter activists over attack by man who thought protests were “a waste of time”. “The Washington Post reports that “an exhaustive investigative report determined (Gavin) Long had not attended any of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Baton Rouge” following the controversial police killing of Alton Sterling.” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... rs/533076/

Rights groups submit FOIA request for information on use of force during Trump inauguration protests, infiltration of protest groups by informants or police officers. “The police assaults included attacks on children, journalists, legal observers, medics, passersby, and protesters.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/right ... -protests/

Officer who shot Philando Castile to receive $48,500 settlement to leave police force. “Since Officer Yanez was not convicted of a crime, as a public employee, he would have appeal and grievance rights if terminated.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... epartment/

Most conservatives say universities are detrimental to the country according to poll. “A Pew Research Center poll showed nearly 60% of Republican and conservative-leaning independents view colleges as having a negative influence on America.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 468869001/

Investigation reopened after witness video emerges of brutal police beating by DeKalb County, Georgia officer, who can be heard threatening to shoot the woman if she refuses to release his baton. “The 1-minute, 39-second video shows Officer P.J. Larscheid using his baton to gain control of 38-year-old Katie McCrary, who was suspected of solicitation at a Chevron gas station on Glenwood Road, according to a police report.” http://www.ajc.com/news/local/video-sho ... 6So0j1yLP/

Iranian cancer researcher and his family held at Boston airport, to be deported. “Boston Children’s Hospital had urged customs officials to release Dehnavi and his family and dispatched a lawyer to the airport.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/so ... story.html

House bill includes $1.6 billion for Mexico border wall. “House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) went so far as to tell Breitbart News that Trump would not sign a spending measure if a wall were not funded, though the White House has not commented on the matter.” http://thehill.com/homenews/house/34152 ... order-wall Guess who’s paying for the wall?

Former Anheuser-Busch CEO reportedly failed field sobriety test, not allowed to take off in his helicopter. “Taking the totality of circumstances into consideration, I believed (Busch) could be under the influence of a controlled substance. I advised (Busch) he was no longer allowed to get into his helicopter and fly away.” http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article160736184.html

Chinese aircraft carrier reportedly enters Taiwan’s “air defense zone” for fourth time. “Earlier this month Taiwan scrambled jets to shadow the carrier as it made its way to Hong Kong.” http://www.nasdaq.com/article/taiwan-sa ... 0711-01364

Earth may be on the verge of “mass extinction event” due to human destruction of natural habitats. “From the common barn swallow to the exotic giraffe, thousands of animal species are in precipitous decline, a sign that an irreversible era of mass extinction is underway, new research finds.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/clim ... ecies.html

Twitter says Trump’s violent body slam tweet targeting CNN does not violate its anti-harassment policy. “According to Twitter’s rules on harassment and abusive behaviour, users are prohibited from making “threats of violence or [promoting] violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism”. Twitter users are also not allowed to “incite or engage in the targeted abuse or harassment of others”.” http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trumps-cnn-wre ... ed-1628703

Day of Action planned to support “net neutrality”. “The existing net neutrality protections put Internet users in the driver’s seat and keep big cable and phone companies from controlling what you see and do online.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... is-cronies

Trump administration allegedly seeking proposals to use mercenaries instead of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. “Erik D. Prince, a founder of the private security firm Blackwater Worldwide, and Stephen A. Feinberg, a billionaire financier who owns the giant military contractor DynCorp International, have developed proposals to rely on contractors instead of American troops in Afghanistan at the behest of Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, his senior adviser and son-in-law, according to people briefed on the conversations.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/worl ... nberg.html

Autopsy shows fleeing black suspect in North Carolina was shot in the back. “The report by the state medical examiner’s office found that 31-year-old Willard Scott was hit once in the lower back and once in the buttock in the shooting, which happened in Durham in February.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... tt-autopsy

Source of Russia/Trump Jr. emails was reportedly publicist for Trump business partner in Russia. “…the elder Agalarov paid Trump handsomely to bring his Miss Universe contestants to Moscow, where they were required to swoon in a music video intended to launch Emin’s singing career.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/11/rus ... e-dossier/

Battle for the Democratic Party’s soul in California. “(California) Democrats are facing allegations from progressive leaders that after a decade of promising to create a single-payer health care system, the party is now succumbing to the kind of corporate fealty that national party leaders routinely ascribe to Republicans and President Trump.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ra-2562684

Californians already spend $370 billion on health care annually, but a single-payer system would only cost $330 billion, according to one projection, and would cover everyone. “What businesses are paying now for health care is quite substantial and what I show is that they will be paying less.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... -economist

Study says sex with a jerk is better than no sex when it comes to women’s longevity. “The study, published online in Psychoneuroendocrinology, found that women who reported having sex at least once a week often displayed longer telomeres, the protective tips to our DNA that shorten with age… (and) this increased telomere length was not associated with relationship satisfaction, daily support or conflict, or perceived stress in the relationship.” http://www.ibtimes.com/how-live-longer- ... ek-2564317

President Trump allegedly approved initial response to Trump Jr. email story. “The original statement, drafted aboard Air Force One by advisers and then approved by Mr. Trump, said only that the Russian lawyer had discussed adoption policy during the meeting, without mentioning that the meeting had been offered as a chance to provide information about Mrs. Clinton’s dealings with Russia.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/p ... .html?_r=0

One British and two American YPG volunteers die in battle for Raqqa. “The YPG’s press office said that 28-year-old Robert Grodt of (Santa Cruz,) California and 22-year-old Luke Rutter of Birkenhead, U.K. were killed during an ISIS ambush late Wednesday in the suburbs of Raqqa, while 29-year-old Nicholas Warden of (Buffalo,) New York later succumbed to fatal injuries sustained the same day…” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/two-ame ... -in-raqqa/

White House allegedly doing “opposition research” on journalists. “According to an anonymous member of the discrediting “team,” such efforts would include digging into the reporters’ past work “to exploit any mistakes or perceived biases” and “to demand corrections, trumpet errors on social media and feed them to conservative outlets, such as Fox News”.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/white-h ... em-report/

Leaked Australian defense documents reveal special forces excesses. “In 2013, sparked by an incident the previous year in which Australians killed two unarmed Afghan men, a series of directives and memos was issued by the Defence Force hierarchy stressing the need to be certain that Afghans were “directly participating in hostilities” before shooting them.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/k ... es/8466642

Bomb goes off at Bixby, Oklahoma Air Force recruiting office after hours, no one injured. “One person was in custody Tuesday after an explosion struck a US Air Force recruiting office in northeast Oklahoma — the second time a recruitment center in the area was attacked in recent days, the FBI said.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/11/us/ok ... index.html

Haiti to re-establish its army after 20 years without one. “For much of Haiti’s history, the army has been used to crack down on political dissent by a series of authoritarian presidents.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40576545

Only 100 companies responsible for 71% of the man-made “greenhouse gas” emissions according to climate activist report. “The Carbon Majors Report, published in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute, found that ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron are among the worst polluting investor-owned companies.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/11/ ... _emissions
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

39
Woman shot by Minneapolis police officer was unarmed. “She called to report a possible assault in the alley behind her house in one of the city’s safest neighborhoods and was unarmed when officer Mohamed Noor shot her.” http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 434975623/

Senate Trumpcare bill appears to be dead on arrival, again. “Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Jerry Moran said Monday night they will join two other senators to oppose the Obamacare repeal bill, dooming the GOP initiative in the Senate.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/1 ... ell-240646

Attorney General Sessions wants to increase seizures of citizens’ property. “…in many cases, neither a criminal conviction nor even a criminal charge is necessary — under forfeiture laws in most states and at the federal level, mere suspicion of wrongdoing is enough to allow police to seize items permanently.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... -citizens/ Didn’t the British government used to do this before the Revolutionary War?

Former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert released from prison after serving 13 months. “…during his sentencing hearing in April 2016, he admitted to the judge that he sexually abused children in the 1970s while he was a wrestling coach at Yorkville High School.” http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/dennis ... ords-show/

Trump administration OKs visas for 15,000 “low-wage, seasonal workers” from other countries. “The increase represents a 45 percent bump from the number of H-2B visas normally issued for the second half of the fiscal year, said senior Homeland Security officials in a call with reporters.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... e-workers/ Some people claim these are “jobs Americans won’t do”, but a more accurate description would be that these are “jobs Americans won’t do on a temporary basis for minimum wage”.

Turkish government extends post-coup attempt “state of emergency” for fourth time, has lasted almost a year so far. “According to the Turkish constitution, a state of emergency can be declared for a maximum period of six months.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/t ... 22046.html

Turkish court jails human rights officials ahead of their trial. “A court in Istanbul ordered six human rights activists — including Amnesty International’s Turkey director — formally arrested Tuesday pending a trial over accusations that they aided an armed terror group, adding to concerns over rights and freedoms in the country.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/eu ... story.html

Senate majority leader suggests repealing Obamacare and replacing it with an imaginary health care plan that will be cooked up in the future. “McConnell said that “in the coming days,” the Senate would vote on “a repeal of Obamacare with a two-year delay to provide for a stable transition period to a patient-centered health care system that gives Americans access to quality, affordable care.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mcconnel ... d=48690900

“Collateral damage” goes from an average of 80 civilian bombing victims a month under Obama to 360 a month under Trump. “According to an Airwars investigation conducted for The Daily Beast, at least 2,300 civilians were killed by coalition strikes from 2015 until the end of Obama’s term earlier this year. But as of July 13, roughly six months into Trump’s presidency, over 2,200 civilians have likely died from coalition strikes.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... six-months

U.S. ranks 23rd in income equality, even before Trumponomics. “The USA is the wealthiest country in the history of the world, but its level of inequality is also the highest among major industrial countries…” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... e-it-worse

New policy group is a fusion of Democratic and neo-con hawks. “…there is now little to no daylight between leading Democratic Party foreign policy gurus and the Bush-era neocons who had wallowed in disgrace following the debacle of Iraq and the broader abuses of the war on terror. ” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/17/wit ... a-neocons/

Saudi pro-democracy protesters reportedly facing execution. “In Saudi Arabia, 14 men accused of taking part in protests are reportedly facing imminent execution.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/17/ ... n_protests

Trump administration showcases products made in the U.S. “Asked at Sunday’s briefing whether “Made in America” week would include a commitment from the Trump Organization or Ivanka Trump’s company to make more of their products in the United States, Ferre told reporters, “We’ll get back to you on that.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... -overseas/

Liu Xiaobo’s ashes scattered at sea. “Speaking at a press briefing in the city of Shenyang, where Liu died, on Saturday afternoon a government spokesman claimed the activist’s relatives had – of their own volition – taken his ashes out to sea after he was cremated early that morning.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... f-his-wife

Minneapolis woman fatally shot by police after summoning them. “…neither responding officer had turned on their body cameras before the shooting. The squad car camera did not capture the incident either.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... e-officer/

Bernie Sanders calls latest Trumpcare bill “the most anti-working class legislation” in modern history. “President Trump, don’t tell the people of this country that you support the working class when you are defending legislation which will throw 22 million Americans off of the healthcare they currently have.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ation-ever

Allentown, Pennsylvania pays out $160,000 to settle excessive force claim of man who suffered broken jaw and lost teeth during arrest. “Medina-Pena’s suit also claimed (Officer) Iannetta was the subject of 14 investigations about abuse, in-custody injuries and use of force in the decade before the lawsuit was filed. None resulted in discipline, according to the suit.” http://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc-nws ... story.html

Worried neighbors complain after Vallejo, California police officer takes several shots at fleeing suspect. “A gun was never recovered, but the officer who opened fire thought Hurtado was armed, according to Tribble.” http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Po ... 50853.html

Family of unarmed Lakewood, Washington man killed by police sniper in 2013 awarded $15 million. “(Leonard) Thomas’ father, Fred Thomas, who the jury also found was wrongly arrested that May 23, 2013, as he tried to help his son, had said all along that his son’s death would be added to the roster of unarmed black Americans wrongly killed by police.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-was ... story.html

Few details released on Air Canada near miss at SFO. “Apparently only a last-minute warning from an alert pilot on the ground prevented an Air Canada plane mistakenly landing on a taxiway where four fully fueled planes were awaiting permission for take-off.” http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/07/15/ ... -than-faa/

Several nasty, hidden surprises in Senate Trumpcare bill, such as Trump’s HHS secretary having unilateral control of federal “slush funds”. “…there are no rules or standards guiding (Health and Human Services Secretary Tom) Price’s hand…. The money (to help states cope with drastic Medicaid cuts) doesn’t have to go to services for low-income people or to replace lost Medicaid funding.” http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik ... story.html

Pastors sue Coke over deaths of parishioners. “Coates said… that it has “become really clear to me that we’re losing more people to the sweets than to the streets”.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Women on Capitol Hill fight for their right to bare arms. “Female reporters (wearing sleeveless tops) have said they had been prevented from entering the lobby area, where the press meets to ask questions of US politicians. ” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40618356

Good government group sues Trump administration over voting data requests. “Filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Common Cause, the suit argues that “the unlawful collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of the sensitive and personal voting data of millions of Americans” by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Social Security Administration violates the Privacy Act and Administrative Procedure Act.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... its-tracks

House passes $696 billion military budget. “While war profiteers rejoice, voters wonder why the government cannot provide for education, job creation, healthcare, and needs in their community.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rs-rejoice

Russian lobbyist who met with Trump Jr. has background in “opposition research”. “In his own investigations over the years, Mr. Akhmetshin has acquired a reputation for obtaining email records, information from spyware and other data that appeared to be drawn from Russian hackers.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/worl ... skaya.html

Defense bill contains hidden gift for military contractors – more freedom to gouge taxpayers. “Buried in the NDAA, which is scheduled to pass the House Friday, is an increase in the (number) of products which can be sold to the military without providing cost information — data about the price of manufacturing and labor.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/14/con ... ntractors/

Trump wins again, with lowest approval rating for any U.S. president in the last 70 years. “President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a mere 36 percent in a span of six months after he assumed the office in January, according to the latest poll conducted jointly by ABC News and the Washington Post.” http://www.ibtimes.com/trumps-approval- ... rs-2566343

Ann Coulter, unhappy with how a major American company in a free-market, capitalist economy mistreats its customers, complains bitterly on Twitter after Delta makes her change seats. “But at least @Delta was nice @ it, summarily snatching my ticket from my hand & ordering me to move w/o explanation, compensation or apology.” http://www.ibtimes.com/ann-coulter-blas ... ts-2566272 Clearly this is the result of excessive government regulation of the airline industry!

U.N. urges Venezuelan government to stop its use of excessive force against the public. “About 100 people have died and more than 1,500 have been injured in the anti-government unrest, which started in April.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vene ... SKBN19Z0WQ

Florida corrections officer fired after beating caught on video. “Wagner is seen throwing a handcuffed inmate to the ground, breaking the man’s nose and two front teeth.” http://wfla.com/2017/07/14/manatee-coun ... on-inmate/

Japanese power company reportedly planning to release radioactive water from Fukushima reactors into the Pacific. “The decision has already been made.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07 ... dioactive/

White House releases personal information of citizens who complained about election probe. “In some cases, the emails contain not only names, but email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and places of employment of people worried about such information being made available to the public.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... formation/

Mass arrests of protesters in Russia received four times more U.S. media coverage than mass arrests of protesters in the U.S. “American readers were given the distinct impression, time and again, that those arrested in DC on Inauguration Day were Black Bloc anarchists hell-bent on violence and mayhem—visually linking the arrests to the post-roundup limo arson.” http://fair.org/home/mass-arrests-of-pr ... ing-in-us/

China blocking foreign news coverage of death of Liu Xiaobo. “CNN’s broadcast is blacked out in China every time Liu’s images or story appear.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/14/china ... index.html

Death penalty opponent Scharlette Holdman dies at 70. “What she saw is that killers are not just born,” said lawyer George Kendall, who represents death row inmates. “They have had unbelievably abused and neglectful lives…” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017 ... saw-humans

Health insurance trade groups warn Republicans that Cruz amendment will result in huge premium increases for many people. “As healthy people move to the less-regulated plans, those with significant medical needs will have no choice but to stay in the comprehensive plans, and premiums will skyrocket for people with preexisting conditions.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/34 ... ick-people

National security lobbyist appointed as chief of staff of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “(Thomas) Blank arrived to ICE after working for over a decade as a corporate lobbyist, helping corporate contractors secure business before the agency he now leads.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/13/tas ... ement-job/

Six days after Trump, Jr.’s meeting with Russian lawyer, hacked DNC documents given to journalists by Guccifer 2.0. “The extreme proximity of promised Hillary-related documents and the arrival of Hillary-related documents just days later suggests Guccifer 2.0 could have been part of the plan Goldstone alluded to over email.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/14/jus ... ifference/

House Republicans vote to abolish election integrity agency. “Despite President Donald Trump’s continued insistence that the 2016 Presidential election was rife with fraud, the House Administration Committee voted to eliminate the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an agency formed specifically to ensure the integrity of elections.” http://www.ibtimes.com/despite-trump-vo ... ge-2488146

Republicans block rule requiring companies to disclose political spending. “As annual legislation to fund the government’s financial regulators comes before Congress this week, GOP legislators have buried a provision in the bill that would bar the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from considering a rule that would require companies to tell shareholders whether and how they are spending company money on politics.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ls-2565514

Thousands more civil servants purged in Turkey. “In total, 7,563 people were dismissed on Friday, including 2,303 police officers and 302 university academics.” https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archiv ... cs/533754/

Human Rights watch says Iraqi troops carrying out summary executions in Mosul were armed and trained by U.S. ”These are the very troops that the US has been arming and training for years.” http://abcnews.go.com/International/wat ... d=48645312 Just a few bad apples, or an official “no prisoners” policy?

U.S. health care system ranks 11th out of 11 developed countries. “In addition to ranking last or close to last in access, administrative efficiency, equity and health care outcomes, the U.S. was found to spend the most money on health care.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/us-heal ... the-worst/

For more frequent updates visit https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

40
Police chief resigns after fatal shooting of unarmed woman reveals Minneapolis officers were not using their body cameras. “We have put too much time, money, and effort into (police body cameras) to have them fail us when we needed them most.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mor ... y-officer/

White House press secretary resigns. “Sean Spicer quit his job as White House press secretary Friday after President Trump decided to tap Anthony Scaramucci as the White House communications director, according to two White House officials.” http://www.wfaa.com/news/nation-world/r ... /458513176

Intelligence intercepts allegedly imply that Jeff Sessions discussed Trump administration policies with Russian ambassador. “A former official said that the intelligence indicates that Sessions and Kislyak had “substantive” discussions on matters including Trump’s positions on Russia-related issues and prospects for U.S.-Russia relations in a Trump administration.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/na ... story.html

Thousands of Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli security forces, hundreds reportedly injured. “The Red Crescent said 390 Palestinians were hurt, including close to 100 who were hospitalized for live fire or rubber bullet injuries. Israeli police said five officers were wounded.” http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/a ... 306950.php

Obamacare repeal bill in violation of Senate rules says Parliamentarian. “Republicans are trying to use the budget reconciliation process to pass their healthcare bill with only a simple majority.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/34 ... hcare-bill

Oklahoma teacher panhandles to raise money for school supplies for her students. “As a result of budget cuts over the past few years, Danks told FOX 23 that she now spends between $2,000 to $3,000 of her own money to purchase supplies for her students.” http://kfor.com/2017/07/20/anything-hel ... -supplies/

Bill Clinton was reportedly paid $500,000 by Russian investment bank for Moscow speech. “The former president indeed had received a personal call from then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressing his appreciation for the speech.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07 ... peech.html

More than 50% of women murdered in the U.S. were killed by current or former lovers according to government study. “In 2015 in the United States, 3,519 women and girls died by homicide, the authors of the report noted.” http://host.madison.com/lifestyles/heal ... d88d1.html

U.S. Navy likely responsible for collision with cargo ship near Tokyo Bay. “There was also no indication the ship sounded a collision alarm, which would have alerted sleeping crew members to the looming collision, sources said.” https://www.navytimes.com/articles/prel ... eport-says

Journalists waste no time, already making fun of Trump’s new White House communications director. “When asked during Friday’s press conference what he thinks of President Trump’s claim that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election, (Anthony) Scaramucci responded, “If the president said it, there’s probably some level of truth to it.”” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... munication

Activists targeting Democrats to drum up support for national health insurance plan. “Amid surging support for Medicare for All at the grassroots—which can be seen both in recent polls and at anti-Trumpcare protests, where demonstrators have brandished signs declaring “healthcare is a human right”—activists, physicians, and policy experts are imploring Democratic lawmakers to either get on board with the growing majority of their constituents, or go home.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... or-go-home

Trump administration set to launch deregulation offensive. “Worker advocates and environmental groups were quick to characterize the administration’s deregulatory agenda as a sop to America’s largest companies at the expense of those Trump has repeatedly promised to protect.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -wish-list

Prosecutors seeking to bar Reality Winner’s lawyers from citing Russia-gate press reports in court. “They are arguing that the defense would be barred from discussing any information that has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, or any other newspaper if the defense “knows or have reason to know” any of that information is also contained in classified discovery documents they will receive.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/21/jus ... y-defense/

Conservatives reportedly disappointed by “Dunkirk”. “It’s “Saving Private Ryan”, and some conservatives found it to be too grim, and too much like actual war to count as a celebration of it.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... pher-nolan

Major internet companies reportedly spent $13 million on lobbying Washington. “Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google spent more than $13 million combined earlier this year to lobby Trump and others in Washington D.C., federal records first spotted by Recode show.” http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-google-fac ... dc-2569155

Government officials have reportedly developed techniques for keeping Donald Trump’s attention during briefings. “McMaster, a U.S. Army lieutenant general, has learned he can keep the president’s attention by peppering his briefings with jokes and references to Trump’s name, colleagues say.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/white-h ... gs-report/

Alt-right reportedly being funded by wealthy donors. “The following year, using $380,000 from the Martel Society, Regnery established the think tank (the National Policy Institute) that would eventually bring a notorious white nationalist to prominence alongside the rise of Trump.” http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... d-spencer/

CIA director reportedly accuses Wikileaks of trying to “take down America any way they can”. “Hostility to WikiLeaks has been a mainstay in the US government, as every administration faces the prospect of their covert misdeeds becoming a matter of public record, to their general embarrassment albeit rarely to the end of any meaningful reform.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/07/21/cia- ... -they-can/

Most of the TSA’s “behavioral detection” methods lack scientific proof of their effectiveness. “… the (Government Accountability Office) found in their analysis of the TSA’s 36 types of behavioral indicators to identify potential terrorists and other threats to airline passenger safety, only eight could be supported by scientific evidence.” http://thehill.com/policy/transportatio ... terrorists

German automobile companies suspected of colluding on emissions cheating. “Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen and the two VW subsidiaries, Porsche and Audi, have been meeting in secret to agree on the technology they will ­offer their customers, according to allegations published in Spiegel magazine.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... emissions/

Mainstream media accused of avoiding stories on civilian death toll during Mosul campaign. “Neither Amnesty’s charges, nor the broader issue of civilian deaths in Mosul, garnered any coverage in television news, with no mention on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN or MSNBC.” http://fair.org/home/corporate-media-la ... l-in-iraq/

New York City teen, unable to afford bail, has been held in jail for a year awaiting trial. “(Pedro) Hernandez has turned down a plea deal that would see him released on five years’ probation.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/21/ ... _at_rikers

Trump administration reportedly looking for ways to derail special prosecutor’s Russia election meddling investigation. “They are actively compiling a list of Mueller’s alleged potential conflicts of interest, which they say could serve as a way to stymie his work, according to several of Trump’s legal advisers.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... 9240582ba5

155 arrested at Washington D.C. health care protests for demonstrating outside “free speech zones”. “…the arrests were made after requests to stop demonstrating were ignored. Under the District of Columbia’s laws, it is illegal to demonstrate in the buildings of the Capitol complex.” http://wtnh.com/2017/07/19/around-155-a ... _id=493575

Amnesty International calls court ruling to block cleared refugees under Trump travel ban “cruel and discriminatory”. “The decision from the Supreme Court, said Naureen Shah, Amnesty International USA senior director of campaigns, “jeopardizes the safety of thousands of people across the world including vulnerable families fleeing war and violence.”” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... muslim-ban

Nominee for FBI director post refuses to commit on improving agency’s “use of force” data from police departments. “The fact that Mr. Wray offered no guarantee that he would prioritize data collection, and failed to respond to the question on officer-involved shooting data, raises serious concerns.” http://www.openthegovernment.org/node/5559

Senate bill would punish Americans who organize boycotts of Israel. “Violators of the law “would be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison” according to the ACLU’s letter.” http://amp.gothamist.com/amp/articles/c ... 0001ff2d5e

Rural newspaper fires cartoonist for criticizing profits made by agriculture corporations. “…hopefully my children and my grandchildren will see that this last cartoon published by Farm News out of Fort Dodge, Iowa, will shine light on how fragile our rights to free speech and free press really are in the county.” http://www.orrazz.com/2016/05/long-time ... d.html?m=1

Former chair of the Democratic National Committee calls Russians “The Communists” in tweet about demands by Putin government that U.S. return their diplomatic compounds. “Even if she had somehow managed to go all the way from the fall of the Soviet Union until last year without learning that Russia is not a communist country, there is simply no way she still believes that after having made Russia her bread and butter since July of last year.” https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/donn ... 7455b48278

Obama more popular than ever, Clinton and Trump not so much. “More than a fifth of Clinton voters (20%) say they have an unfavorable view of her. By comparison, just 8 percent of likely Clinton voters felt that way in the final Bloomberg poll before the election, and just 6 percent of Trump’s voters now say they view him unfavorably.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... n0?ocid=sf

Rights group urges voters to contact Congress over warrantless surveillance program. “We have a chance to rein in mass surveillance, by demanding Congress support serious reforms of Section 702, like requiring a warrant to access our communications or preventing such communications from being swept up and stored in a database in the first place. If these reforms aren’t made, then Congress must let it (expire).” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/take- ... ments-act/

Minneapolis police chief says officer who shot unarmed woman in her pajamas completed his required training without any problems. “Chief Janee Harteau says a review of Officer Mohamed Noor’s training in the wake of Saturday’s fatal shooting revealed no problems.” http://www.bnd.com/news/business/article162626848.html

Trump resorts reportedly file paperwork to import low-wage foreign workers. “Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and his golf course in Jupiter, Florida, have filed documents to bring in additional foreign workers under the H-2B visa program, which allows foreigners to fill temporary non-agriculture jobs in the United States that supposedly cannot be filled by US workers.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/20/polit ... index.html

Egyptian government reportedly rounding up Uighur students at request of Chinese government. “Human Rights Watch urged Egypt on Wednesday not to send Uighur detainees back to China, saying they faced “persecution and torture” there.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/f ... 22204.html

Exxon appeals U.S. government fine for signing oil deal with sanctioned Russian. “Publicly available guidance on the Treasury’s website at the time of Exxon’s dealings with Sechin said Americans should ensure they do not enter into contracts signed by sanctioned individuals, OFAC said.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxo ... SKBN1A51UH

Dutch police ran “dark net” drug website, administrator of a similar site died in jail after his arrest in Thailand. “They began running the Hansa site on June 20, impersonating its administrators, collecting usernames and passwords, logging data on thousands of drug sales and informing local police in nations where shipments would be arriving.” http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... -drug-mar/ Did Alexandre Cazes commit suicide or did he refuse to hand over his password?

Many workers at Indiana Carrier plant whose jobs were “saved” by Trump during election campaign are getting laid off. “The terminations are the first wave of about 630 planned before the end of the year as the company shifts work to Mexico.” http://www.jsonline.com/story/money/bus ... 493925001/ Sad!

Man released after 11 years in prison was mistakenly convicted based on testimony of a criminal profiler. “Without (his testimony), there was no evidence from which the jury might infer the motive.” http://www.latimes.com/local/california ... story.html

Trump 2020 campaign has allegedly paid out $600,000 to Trump-owned businesses. “Nearly $400,000 of that campaign money went to rent at Trump Tower, with $90,000 going to the The Trump Corporation for “legal consulting,” nearly $60,000 to the Trump International Golf Club, $15,000 to the Trump International Hotel in DC, and about $1,700 to Trump-brand bottled water, among various payments.” https://www.wired.com/story/trump-2020-campaign-money

Grand jury issues indictments in death of prisoner in Oklahoma jail. “A federal lawsuit alleges (Anthony Huff) was in the restraint chair for more than 48 hours without the proper amount of food, water or breaks.” http://newsok.com/article/5556878

Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act of 2017 introduced in U.S. Senate. “Too many people in this country must spend weeks, months, or even years in jail waiting for trial only because they can’t afford bail.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... being-poor

Troops in Cameroon allegedly tortured and killed prisoners at U.S. base. “Nearly 60 victims held at Salak described to Amnesty International how they were subjected to water torture, beaten with electric cables and boards, or tied and suspended with ropes, among other abuses.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/20/cam ... veillance/

Obama administration accused of replacing prison time with corporate settlements for white collar criminals. “The result, says Eisinger, is a criminal justice system that no longer seriously deters corporate crime, but instead makes it just a mundane cost of doing business.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... me-2567419

Democratic party reportedly planning to “let it ride” on centrist candidates for 2018 elections. “The DCCC’s appeal to the center coincides with significant funding for the group from finance executives and other wealthy donors, many of whom bristle at the progressive wing of the party…” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... -money-win

Federal prosecutors trying to force Glassdoor to identify some of its commenters in connection with contracting practices investigation. “The company has insisted that it has “no desire to interfere” with the investigation but does not want to forcibly unmask its users for fear that it could “have a chilling effect on both Glassdoor’s reviewers’ and readers’ willingness to use” the website.” http://www.ibtimes.com/government-unmas ... or-2568668

Trump accused of babbling nonsense during New York Times interview. “So preexisting conditions are a tough deal, because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/it-does ... e-english/

Deutsche Bank reportedly finally agrees to release Trump financial records. “Deutsche Bank loaned Trump hundreds of millions of dollars when no one else would. Now banking regulators are questioning why the banking giant would take on that kind of risk and taking a closer look at the relationship between Trump and Deutsche Bank — which, like the president, has significant ties to the Russian oligarchy.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/deutsch ... robe-info/

Trump and Kobach still claiming Clinton’s popular vote win may have been the result of voter fraud. “This effort would need to have been hugely sophisticated — enough to create millions of illegal votes while Republicans were unable to create any — but also dumb enough to put them in the wrong states for the electoral college.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... -disagree/

CIA wants to destroy some of its files. “Along with leak-tied files, the record types include medical records, behavioral conduct files, security clearance information, personality files with counterintelligence interests, workers-compensation reports for employees posted overseas, and declassification and referral files.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/cia-plans- ... leak-files

Video appears to show Baltimore police officer planting drugs. “Curran speculates that Pinheiro was waiting to turn his device on for his “discovery,” but miscounted and captured his alleged planting at the very beginning of his clip.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3338858

Huge number of Americans are renting their homes. “A decade after the housing bust upended the lives of millions of Americans, more U.S. households (36.6%) are headed by renters than at any point since at least 1965, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau housing data.” http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 ... -50-years/

Court rules that FBI “gag orders” do not violate 1st amendment free speech rights. “The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld federal rules prohibiting companies from promptly disclosing to customers that the FBI is demanding a user’s private data with a National Security Letter (NSL).” https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/201 ... in-secret/

China suggests way U.S. can improve its trade deficit. “Vice-Premier Wang Yang urged the United States on Tuesday to loosen its “outdated” restrictions on high-tech exports to China so it can tap the vast Chinese market and reduce the bilateral trade imbalance.” http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017 ... 179882.htm

Trump reportedly to end support for anti-Assad rebels in Syria. “The death of the program, which began in 2013, is seen both as an acknowledgement that Assad is unlikely to be removed from power and an indication of Trump’s willingness to work with Russia in Syria.” http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/20 ... syria.html

Indian poultry farmers allegedly using dangerous levels of antibiotics. “Of tested birds destined for meat consumption, 87 percent had the super germs, a study published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showed.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... tudy-finds

Civil asset forfeiture program reinstated by AG Sessions gives law enforcement agencies a way to avoid state and local restrictions. “(Under the “adoption” program), even minimal federal participation makes the investigation federal, which means the forfeiture policy will now be governed by federal law.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... he-doesnt/

Trump says his finances are off limits in Russia probe. “Asked if Mr. Mueller’s investigation would cross a red line if it expanded to look at his family’s finances beyond any relationship to Russia, Mr. Trump said, “I would say yes.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... r-finances

Good government group accuses Trump of running “giant bait and switch” scheme. “”While Candidate Trump promised to fix a rigged economic and political system, President Trump swiftly turned control of government over to the very corporate elites he denounced during the campaign,” said Public Citizen President Robert Weissman.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... presidency

Legislators warned about the dangers of militarized “killer robots”. “Starting a military AI arms race is a bad idea, and should be prevented by a ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ler-robots

Al Gore comes out in favor of national health care plan. “The private sector has not shown any ability to provide good, affordable healthcare for all.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... its-chance

House speaker kills amendment to repeal post-9/11 military powers. “Just over two weeks after Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) succeeded in adding an amendment to the 2018 Defense Appropriations Bill that would have repealed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reportedly killed the amendment late Tuesday night with no debate or discussion.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... dead-night

Israel’s prime minister accidentally tells EU leaders in room with hot mic that China doesn’t care about human rights of Palestinians, so Europe shouldn’t either. “We have a special relationship with China, and they don’t care.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/19/net ... hts-crazy/

More than 40,000 civilians estimated killed in battle for Mosul. “Residents of the besieged city were killed by Iraqi ground forces attempting to force out militants, as well as by air strikes and Isis fighters, according to Kurdish intelligence services.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 48781.html

Governments using social media to influence public opinion. “Governments around the world are enlisting “cyber troops” who manipulate Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets to steer public opinion, spread misinformation and undermine critics, according to a new report from the University of Oxford.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... study-says

Pentagon is reportedly leasing space in Trump Tower. “The military agreed Tuesday to pay $180,000 for the last 20 days of April and the new rent ($130,000) every month thereafter, according to the contract, which was released by the General Services Administration (GSA).” http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017 ... month.html

State Department to close Office of Global Criminal Justice. “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to shut down the U.S.’s office dedicated to advising his department on issues related to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, according to a new report by Foreign Policy.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ks-concern Could this have anything to do with executions of IS fighters in Mosul?

Iraqi officers admit to executing IS prisoners. “Speaking to The Associated Press, four Iraqi officers from three different branches of the military and security forces openly admitted that their troops killed unarmed and captured ISIS suspects, and they defended the practice.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-reveng ... xecutions/

59% of Americans prefer diplomacy to war in Korea. “…U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has said North Korea is “quickly closing off the possibility of a diplomatic solution”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -diplomacy

Trump spent almost an hour talking to Putin at G20 dinner, with no U.S. translator or State Department staff. “Asked if there was any depth to the conversation, (Senator) Coons said there was no way to know.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/18/polit ... index.html

NASA official tells Congress no evidence of previous civilizations on Mars. “I would say that is extremely unlikely.” http://www.mediaite.com/online/gop-cong ... years-ago/

Australian government demands answers in police shooting death of woman in Minneapolis. “The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, called the fatal shooting of Damond on the weekend “shocking” and “inexplicable” and said his diplomats were seeking answers from US authorities.” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... onds-death Interesting how Australia stands up for its citizens. When a U.S. man went into a coma and died after being arrested by Japanese police in 2015, there was no mainstream news media coverage in English AT ALL, and the man’s name was not even released to the public! I’ve been waiting more than two years for a State Department response to my FOIA request.

Decline in U.S. home ownership due in part to student loan debt says Federal Reserve report. “Looking at nine student cohorts, they concluded that the increase in public tuition and resulting student debt can account for anywhere between 11 and 35 percent of the decline in home ownership for 28- to 30-year-olds in the years between 2007 and 2015.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/18/its ... ownership/

Thai court finds prominent people among those guilty in Rohingya hostage camp case. “…the 103 arrested suspects of 153 for whom warrants were issued included bureaucrats, local administrators, businessmen and police officers.” http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crim ... eath-camp/

Harley-Davidson laying off production workers, planning to open factory in Thailand. “Retail sales by its dealers in the US fell 9.3% in Q2, compared to a year ago, to 49,668 motorcycles.” https://seekingalpha.com/article/408859 ... y-thailand

Riverside, California deputies take down woman selling flowers without a permit. “The video shows the deputy approaching the woman and trying to take her flowers away.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/watch-c ... -pavement/

Eighth person at meeting between Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer was reportedly businessman who set up corporations and opened bank accounts in the U.S. for Russians. “Prior to joining the Crocus Group, Kaveladze was part of a nine-month congressional inquiry into foreigners hiding their identities behind shell companies and laundering money.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/who-is- ... r-meeting/
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

41
Jared Kushner, testifying behind closed doors, denies any knowledge of Russian collusion with Trump campaign. “I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/washing ... story.html OK, wait, wait, wait a minute. You were in a meeting with a Russian lawyer who offered dirt on Hillary, which was “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Not only was this email forwarded to you, but you were in the meeting! And it’s been in the news! https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/p ... inton.html

EPA blocks safety rules for chemical plants, director Scott Pruitt gets sued by 11 states. “The delay of the rules, notes Genna Reed at the Union of Concerned Scientists, “came after several petitions from the American Chemistry Council and a handful of other chemical manufacturing corporations, oil and gas companies, and trade organizations asked the agency to reconsider the rule”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -are-suing

Minneapolis-St. Paul pranksters post warning signs after shootings of Damond and Castile. “WARNING: TWIN CITIES POLICE EASILY STARTLED.” http://www.startribune.com/fake-street- ... 436208463/

Employees to have company microchips implanted in their hands. “We’ve survived thousands of years as a species without being microchipped, is there any particular need to do it now?” http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/tech-c ... d=48818529 Voluntary, for now….

Homeless allegedly cleared from New York City subway stations for mayor’s photo op, Republican opponent accuses de Blasio of not caring about the homeless. “These are fellow New Yorkers who are sleeping in the street, sleeping in the subway. The mayor just doesn’t care.” https://nypost.com/2017/07/23/homeless- ... lean-ride/

Terrorism trial begins for Turkish journalists. “”Journalism is not a crime,” chanted several hundred people gathered outside the central Istanbul court to protest against the prosecution of 17 writers, executives and lawyers of the secularist Cumhuriyet newspaper.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turk ... A90XY?il=0

Healthcare a very profitable business for company CEOs. “The median household income in 2015 was $56,515, which the average healthcare CEO made in less than a day.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... llion-2010

After massive protests, Polish president vetoes plan to let politicians pick Supreme Court judges. “Under the current system, Supreme Court candidates are selected by an independent body consisting mainly of judges but also some politicians.” https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-07-24/ ... rt-reforms

Construction worker at Tokyo Olympic site worked 200 hours of overtime in the month before his suicide claims his family. “His parents applied for compensation last week and asked the government to recognise his suicide as a case of “karoshi” or death from overwork.” http://indianexpress.com/article/sports ... y-4762188/

Ad boosting Detroit fails to include any black residents. “Dan Gilbert is apologizing for his real estate company’s display in a downtown Detroit window that showed a large gathering of mostly white people with the words, “See Detroit like we do.” http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20 ... ow-display “Mostly white people” means there is one middle-eastern guy in the background.

Republican congressman blames female senators for Trumpcare fail. “(Blake) Farenthold complained about some female lawmakers and said, “If it was a guy from south Texas, I might ask him to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congres ... ll-n786071 Guess they can’t blame the black guy in the White House anymore.

British girl fined $195 for unlicensed lemonade stand. “According to Spicer, his daughter “burst into tears” when four law enforcement officials walked up to her stand and “began reading from a big script explaining that she did not have a trading license”.” http://www.ibtimes.com/5-year-old-girl- ... de-2569983

Trump reportedly tells Boy Scouts that their government is hopelessly corrupt. “I go to Washington and I see all these politicians, and I see the swamp. In fact it’s not a good place — we should change it from the swamp to the cesspool or perhaps use the word sewer.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/washing ... story.html

Trump administration talking point related by communications director Scaramucci allegedly came from Vladimir Putin. “(Trump) emerged (from his meeting with Putin at the G20 summit) to tell his aides that the Russian president had offered a compelling rejoinder: Moscow’s cyberoperators are so good at covert computer-network operations that if they had dipped into the Democratic National Committee’s systems, they would not have been caught.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/trumps- ... g-meeting/



52% of those polled say the Democratic Party stands for nothing. “The poll asked a random sample of 1001 Americans: “Do you think the Democratic Party currently stands for something, or just stands against Trump?”” https://www.mixedtimes.com/news/poll-ov ... sing-trump

Democrats wanting to rebrand their party float new “Better Deal” agenda. “On “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked Schumer why the party didn’t implement its new economic ambitions in the past eight years, when it had a President and more control in Congress.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3349473

Trump points out that he has “complete power to pardon” anyone. “Trump did not specify who, if anyone, he might consider pardoning.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1A70FG

GM may discontinue Chevy Volt hybrid. “The news comes as sales of cars continue to plummet in the U.S. and as consumers increasingly turn to SUVs and pickups.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ca ... 501798001/

Man allegedly ticketed by Jacksonville, Florida cop for walking around without ID. “”In the state of Florida, you have to have an ID card on you identifying who you are or I can detain you for seven hours until I figure out who you are,” (Officer) Bolen can be heard saying in the 3-minute recording.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3281017

White House communications director deletes his politically incorrect past tweets. “A day after accepting a top White House job, President Trump’s new communications director (Anthony Scaramucci) announced Saturday that he’s deleting old tweets that were critical of his new boss, saying his own views have evolved and that what he said in the past shouldn’t be a distraction.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-white-h ... nsparency/

General Tony Thomas claims coalition forces have killed “60,000 to 70,000″ IS supporters. “(The mission) was ‘defeat ISIS’. It’s now ‘annihilate ISIS’.” http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/21/is ... neral.html

Trump thinks Russian election hacking story is fake news. ““If the Russians actually hacked this situation and spilled out those emails, you would have never seen it, you would have never had any evidence of them,” Scaramucci quoted the president as saying, during an interview with CNN’s State of the Union.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ial-pardon

Jared Kushner will not be testifying under oath. “Senior aide and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner will not be asked to take the oath while testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/jared-k ... estifying/

Turkish police break up demonstration in support of fired teachers, 61 arrested. “Police used pepper spray and water cannons on the protesters as they gathered in Kizilay square in central Ankara.” https://www.odt.co.nz/news/world/turkis ... ers-ankara

Russians protest against internet censorship. “Russia in recent years has moved to impose restrictions on internet use, blacklisting web pages for extremist content and prosecuted a growing number of individuals for posting online.” https://www.yahoo.com/tech/russians-mar ... 01319.html

As temperatures approach 100, St. Louis protesters demand air conditioning in city jail. “Police used pepper spray to disperse about 150 demonstrators outside the city’s Medium Security Institution (MSI) protesting the sweltering conditions in which inmates were being held, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other news outlets.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/protest ... ring-jail/

Trump’s communications director apparently contradicts Trump’s lawyer on whether or not pardons have been discussed in Russia investigation. “I’m in the Oval Office with the president last week and we were talking about that…” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/scaramu ... last-week/

Anti-CNN protest draws massive crowd of 30. “We’re here to tell CNN no more fake news.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/watch-o ... de-cnn-hq/

Lawsuit accuses Beaver, Pennsylvania officer of using police dog during traffic stop. The officer allegedly, “deployed his police dog to pull Cicco from the car. After being handcuffed, Cicco kicked the police dog… The dog again was deployed to subdue Cicco…” http://www.timesonline.com/timestoday/i ... 2d3ed.html

Michigan City, Indiana police officer opens fire on motorist. “About 3:30 a.m., a Michigan City, Indiana police officer fired shots at a maroon Chevrolet suburban that was speeding and driving “all over the road” in the 400 block of Pleasant Avenue, according to Indiana State Police.” http://abc7chicago.com/news/indiana-sta ... g/2244631/

Iowa blocking release of police records in fatal shooting of Burlington woman. “The family and the Burlington Hawk Eye newspaper continue to fight to see the full video and other records in the case, which Iowa says they can keep forever secret and won’t release.” http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/ ... 495744001/

Saginaw Township, Michigan police fatally shot handcuffed drunken driving suspect. “Moments before he was shot and killed by a police officer, Farhad Jabbari was able to move his cuffed arms from behind his back to the front of his body as he was sitting in the back of a Saginaw Township police cruiser, said township Police Chief Donald Pussehl. http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index ... f_man.html

Fake police department received $1.2 million in military gear. “The GAO created a fictitious law enforcement agency — complete with a fake website and a bogus address that traced back to an empty lot — and applied for military-grade equipment from the Department of Defense. And in less than a week, they got it.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017 ... al-weapons

Record number of homicides reported in Mexico. “Authorities in Mexico have recorded 2,234 murders in June, making it the country’s deadliest month in at least 20 years, according to government data.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/m ... 04326.html

Venezuelan police break up impeachment march. “… on Saturday, police on motorcycles fired tear gas to break up an opposition march on the Supreme Court to press demands that elected socialist Maduro leave office.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuelan-p ... 22972.html

Turkish police arresting people for wearing “Hero” t-shirts. “The authorities say the slogan is a veiled message of support for Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Islamic preacher blamed by the Turkish authorities for the July 15 failed coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.” http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/22 ... -in-Turkey

Video shows mass execution of capture IS fighters. “A group of 20 suspected fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group have been executed by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar in Libya, according to a video posted online.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/i ... 22413.html

Execution site discovered in western Mosul. “The discovery adds to mounting evidence that Iraqi forces in Mosul have unlawfully detained, tortured, and murdered ISIS militants after declaring victory in the region on July 10.” https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archiv ... ul/534396/

More than a thousand poor and uninsured Virginians line up for charity health care event. “It is the place of last resort for people who can’t afford insurance even under Obamacare or who don’t qualify for Medicaid in a state where the legislature has resisted expansion.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vi ... 26c28e481f
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

42
Federal government reverses course, green lights discrimination against LGBT employees. “The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it does not consider workplace discrimination against LGBT individuals to be prohibited under federal civil rights law.” http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... ights-law/

Two out of three federal 10th Circuit Court judges rule that 4th amendment does not protect citizens from unreasonable searches in case of mistaken SWAT raid on innocent family. “…by a 2-to-1 margin, the court found that while SWAT tactics themselves may have been an unreasonable use of force, in order to get past the qualified immunity afforded to police officers, the Hartes would have to show that not only were the tactics unreasonable, but also that there was clearly established law at the time stating that the officers’ tactics were unreasonable.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/ ... -leaf-tea/

16,000 signatures demanding that charges against Reality Winner be dropped submitted to Justice Department on Whistleblower Appreciation Day. “Whistleblowers are essential to our democracy. Not only do we rely on them to alert us to fraud, abuse, waste, and worse, inside our government and corporations, but whistleblowers are often the canaries in the coalmine alerting us to attacks on the right to dissent that weaken democracy.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/16000 ... d-reality/

Baltimore city councilman says jailing people is not a solution to gun crime. “I wish this hearing was about [lead] paint abatement or public health access or mental health access or expanding rec centers. These are immediate solutions. These are things we can do right now. Instead, we’re talking about throwing people in jail as if prisons are a place that people come out better.” http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19644:R ... e-Strategy

FBI reportedly opened espionage investigation on peace group. “According to documents obtained by Shadowproof under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the FBI began investigating (the Stockholm International Peace Institute) after the group sent a generic questionnaire to an arms manufacturer.” https://shadowproof.com/2017/07/26/fbi- ... stigation/

Ride at Ohio State fair reportedly passed multiple safety inspections before accident. “The investigation is in its early stages, but several officials left open the possibility that the collapse was an accident with no clear blame.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/27/us/oh ... index.html How convenient!

White House communications director leans on reporter to reveal sources after story on Trump White House dinner with Anthony Scaramucci, Sean Hannity and Bill Shine. “You’re an American citizen, this is a major catastrophe for the American country. So I’m asking you as an American patriot to give me a sense of who leaked it.” http://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizz ... eve-bannon

Senate Appropriations Committee passes amendment to protect state medical marijuana laws. “The amendment, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), adds a clause to the 2018 Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill that prevents any federal funds to be used against “state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana”.” http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/20 ... -sessions/

Kansas Governor Brownback blames huge budget deficit on economic downturn. “Legislators earlier this year repealed the exemption for farmers and business owners and increased income tax rates to raise $1.2 billion over the next two years, enacting the tax hike over Brownback’s veto.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html If cutting taxes on the rich doesn’t help improve the economy during recessions, maybe next time we can try it when the economy is booming?

California state prosecutor arrested on child pornography charges after ISPs report uploading of images, some in messaging programs. “After… those tips were forwarded to the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children task force, investigators tracked the activity to Liddy’s home in Coronado.” http://www.cbs8.com/story/35982148/cali ... ornography

Southhaven, Mississippi police accused of going to wrong home, shooting innocent man three times through his closed front door. “The attorneys said the private investigators with the firm they hired, Memphis-based Inquisitor Inc., went into the home, took photos, tracked bullet paths and made measurements to reach their conclusion the door was closed.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 515592001/ I imagine the bullet holes in the door were the big tip-off.

Anthony Scaramucci cites Joe Paterno in leak investigation, Twitter users respond. “White House believes good employees keep secrets the same way Joe Paterno protected sexual abusers of kids. Got it.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3362154

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke accused of threatening legislators with loss of federal projects during Trumpcare vote. “The ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee is demanding an investigation into the Interior Department’s alleged threats against energy projects in Alaska—apparently made in retribution for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) vote against the Republican healthcare plan.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... pcare-vote

Republican Senator introduces single payer health insurance amendment to Obamacare repeal bill. “(Steve) Daines’ single-payer amendment is a carbon copy of one offered in the House by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.” http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/repub ... le/2629775

GOP drops plan to tax foreign imports from tax bill. “…the proposed border tax unleashed a major backlash from numerous companies that said it would drive up the costs of their products.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... tment-tax/

Mexican marijuana smugglers reportedly hiding weed in imported cars. “For the second time in a month, leaders at Ford Motor Co. are scratching their heads over the discovery of hundreds of pounds of marijuana stashed in a shipment of Ford and Lincoln vehicles from the automaker’s assembly plant in Mexico.” https://patch.com/michigan/detroit/mari ... nts-mexico

Study finds that moderate drinking may cut risk of diabetes. “In terms of volume, 14 alcoholic beverages each week for men and nine beverages each week for women yielded the best results: a 43% and 58% lower risk, respectively, compared to non-drinkers, the researchers found.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/27/healt ... index.html

Declining number of steady jobs may be responsible for low Japanese birthrate, 40% of workers are now temporary, part-time or gig employees. “About 30 percent of irregular workers in their early 30s are married, compared to 56 percent of full-time corporate employees, according to Kingston.” https://www.theatlantic.com/business/ar ... te/534291/

ALEC coalition said to be pushing for constitutional convention to roll back federal regulations. “They have not been successful in getting Congress to pull back the social safety net and Medicare, to repeal the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, they haven’t got rid of the EPA. I believe that the Article V constitutional convention is a way to get those done in really sneaky ways.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... on-2571452

Long Island, New York police officer charged with sexually assaulting suspect at police station. “McCoy allegedly assaulted her in an isolated room on two separate occasions following her arrest, grabbing her by the jaw and saying, “Let’s go, don’t make this hard,” according to a criminal complaint made public on Thursday.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/long-is ... ted-woman/

Army Chief of Staff reportedly tells journalist he learned of Trump’s ban on transgendered soldiers via news media. http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/army-ch ... -the-news/

Disability activists arrested during anti-Trumpcare protests. “At the heart of all of the repeal proposals has been gashing Medicaid. And Medicaid is what pays for the freedom of people with disabilities, why it hurts me to hear Republicans talk about liberty and freedom all of the time, when they want to steal the liberty and freedom of disabled people by cutting the one payer that pays for us to live in the community, that pays for us to live the American dream that every other American lives.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/27/ ... disability

Wisconsin Foxconn deal labeled “corporate welfare” by critics. “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said at the White House his state will award $3 billion in incentives and sign a memorandum of understanding on the investment on Thursday.” http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 484ba.html

California woman detained in New Mexico at immigration checkpoint after refusing to answer citizenship questions. “Parmely told the station she was detained for about 90 minutes. During that time, her son had to use the bathroom. One agent, a woman, told her he couldn’t use it until she answered the citizenship question.” http://ktla.com/2017/07/26/video-san-di ... s-citizen/ Video of their encounter is posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tplHv6h ... freload=10

Trump tweets ban on transgendered soldiers in the military. “In 2016, the independent Rand Corporation estimated that about 4,000 US active-duty and reserve service members are transgender, although some campaigners put the figure higher than 10,000.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40736232

Straight repeal of Obamacare fails in Senate. “The vote, which is one of many expected during the ongoing health care debate, only garnered the support of 45 Republicans, short of the 50-votes necessary.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congres ... re-n786691

Rights groups deliver petitions to politicians demanding government surveillance reform. “Section 702 has been interpreted by the government to allow warrantless surveillance of international communications entering or leaving the United States, including Americans’ international phone calls, text messages, emails, social media content, and more.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/bipar ... ce-reform/

No, Donald, the U.S. does not have the “highest taxes in the world”. “In 2015, the US tax take came in at 26.4% of GDP, well below countries such as Italy at 43.3%, France at 45.5% and Denmark at 46.6%.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40728560

Most Americans have dangerous chemicals in their drinking water. “In the case of trihalomethanes, the carcinogen in the water of more than 250 million Americans, the legal limit is 100 times higher than safety guidelines. Some contaminants in our nation’s water supply violate both legal and health guidelines.” https://patch.com/us/across-america/mor ... pollutants

Afghanistan’s mineral wealth may be tempting Trump to colonize the country. “In 2010, American officials estimated that Afghanistan had untapped mineral deposits worth nearly $1 trillion,” Risen and Landler note. This large figure reportedly “caught the attention of” the president, who has in the past argued that the biggest failure of the U.S. in Iraq was not “taking” the country’s oil.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... t-minerals

Capitol police allegedly ordered journalists to delete photos of protesters. “As nearly 100 demonstrators were arrested for protesting the vote to move to a debate on Trumpcare, which would cut health care coverage for up to 32 million Americans, police told reporters not to document the scene.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... est-photos

Utility companies were warned in 1968 about global warming. “Carbon dioxide is not toxic, but it is the chief heat-absorbing component of the atmosphere. Such a change in the carbon dioxide level might, therefore, produce major consequences on the climate—possibly even triggering catastrophic effects such as have occurred from time to time in the past.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ed-climate

Bundy supporter will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, fined $1.5 million, for role in 2014 armed standoff over government cattle seizure. “The sentence she imposed of 68 years and three months was markedly lower than the 87 years prosecutors had requested.” https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bund ... in-prison/

Iraqi soldiers admit to mass killings in Mosul. “Daesh, men, women and children. We killed everyone.” http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mosul ... 1721780413

Government documents show massive abuse of warrantless spying program. “The NSA claims it has rules to protect our privacy, but it turns out those rules are weak, full of loopholes, and violated again and again.” http://thehill.com/policy/national-secu ... ma-era-nsa

Federal investigators reportedly hacking into Trump inauguration protesters’ phones. “Officials seized Trump protesters’ cell phones, cracked their passwords, and are now attempting to use the contents to convict them of conspiracy to riot at the presidential inauguration.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/feds-crack ... ny-rioting

Philippine president threatens to bomb schools in rebel held zone, human rights groups point out that this is illegal. “U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said international humanitarian law “prohibits attacks on schools and other civilian structures unless they are being used for military purposes,” adding that deliberate attacks on civilians, including students and teachers, “is also a war crime.” http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir ... s-48850124



Trump tweet accuses Clinton campaign of receiving help from Ukraine. “Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign — “quietly working to boost Clinton.” So where is the investigation A.G.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opin ... olumn.html

Obamacare repeal and replace fails for third time, Republicans only getting 43 of 60 votes needed. “The fact that the comprehensive replacement plan came up well short of even 50 votes was an ominous sign for Republican leaders still seeking a formula to pass final health care legislation this week.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/us/p ... -care.html

Wasserman Schultz IT employee arrested trying to leave the country. “Law enforcement authorities for months have been looking into how Awan may have double-billed the House for equipment like computers, iPads, monitors, keyboards and routers.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07 ... untry.html

Minneapolis police reportedly searched police shooting victim’s home after killing her. “Investigators searched the house for ‘bodily fluids, controlled substances, and writings’, court documents revealed.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... polis.html

House votes to reverse ruling that allowed class action lawsuits against financial institutions with “mandatory arbitration” language in their contracts. “…89% of consumers said they wanted the right to participate in class-action suits against their banks, when the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts surveyed about 1,000 consumers in 2016.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-cf ... 2017-07-10 Sorry folks, you’re “not in the club”, as George Carlin used to say.

Irregular work, inability to save preventing low-income households from owning homes. “This inability to save stems in part from the increasing number of jobs that don’t provide a reliable stream of income, leaving many working families vulnerable to jarring ups-and-downs in their take-home pay.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/one-de ... 2017-07-25

Sperm counts down almost 60% in developed countries, stress, chemicals or pesticides among possible causes. “Studies show that men with lower sperm counts are more vulnerable to certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes and early death.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/201 ... 508734001/

Trump tells Boy Scout gathering that his administration hopes to start “killing this horrible thing called Obamacare”, scouts respond with chants of “USA!, USA!, USA!”. https://twitter.com/igorvolsky/status/8 ... 1724755968

House passes additional sanctions on Russia for election meddling, ahead of results of congressional and Mueller investigations. “The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to slap new sanctions on Russia and force President Donald Trump to obtain lawmakers’ permission before easing any sanctions on Moscow, in a rare rebuke of the Republican president.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1AA28W So what do they know that the public doesn’t know?

Chaffey College police officer opens fire on woman in parking lot. “Although she was not struck during the shooting, she was taken to a hospital as a precaution, police said. What prompted the shooting was unknown.” http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local ... 49423.html

Duchesne, Utah family sues county over take-down and arrest of autistic 13 year-old who was allegedly peeking in library windows while taking his gerbil for a walk. “Aside from excessive force that Vallejo says distressed and bruised the boy, the suit alleges racial profiling and unreasonable search and seizure — and that the officer should have known the boy had a disability.” https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45166693&nid=148 Video is here, but you apparently have to sign into Facebook to visit the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office website. I was unable to watch the entire video. https://www.facebook.com/16512039364080 ... 702317032/

Chinese government allegedly requiring Muslim citizens to install spyware on their cell phones. “Police have begun stopping people on the streets to see if they have installed the app… Citizens who fail to install the app or who later delete it may be detained for up to 10 days by police, local news outlets report.” http://www.ibtimes.com/china-forces-mus ... es-2570495

Videos suggest Russia is getting some Afghanistan payback by arming Taliban. “These (free pistols) are made in Russia, and are very good stuff.” http://www.ibtimes.com/russia-could-be- ... rt-2570295

Taliban also being armed, indirectly, by the U.S. “Weaponry provided to the Afghan military over the last 16 years has slowly trickled down to the Taliban through corruption and battlefield losses.” https://www.armytimes.com/flashpoints/2 ... fghan-war/

Pittsfield, Massachusetts officer accused of helping a friend beat a man and then framing him. “The victim in the assault was arrested by McHugh that night on counts of operating under the influence, disturbing the peace, and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle.” http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/blotter?bid=3465

Man in “Russia-gate” meeting with Donald Trump Jr. alleged to have helped Russian oligarchs launder money. “(The GAO) report accounted for over $1.4B moving through accounts set up by IBC and Euro-American under shell-company names between 1991 and 2000.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/07/24/irakl ... r-meeting/

Secretary of State Tillerson is on vacation – maybe. “State Department spokesman Heather Nauert on Tuesday declined to provide the whereabouts of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying simply that the head of the U.S. Department of State is “entitled to take a few days for himself”.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/hes-jus ... ereabouts/

National Archives releases more John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassination documents. “Most of the documents were previously released with parts redacted, and 441 have never been released before.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cia-fbi- ... d=48817457

Vietnamese dissident receives 9 year sentence for “propagandizing against the state”. “The verdict ruled that (Tran Thi) Nga produced and posted online videos that accused “the communist state of violating human rights and called for pluralism and the elimination of Article 4 of the Constitution,” which enshrines a one-party state, news reports said.” https://cpj.org/2017/07/vietnamese-blog ... n-pris.php

Two arrested at pipeline protest in Richmond, California. “…two protesters were arrested as a dozen people blockaded the gates of the Kinder Morgan oil terminal in Richmond Monday morning to protest the company’s plans to expand the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline in Canada.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/25/ ... ichmond_ca

For more frequent updates, visit Progressive News Service at https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

43
Trump edited and pushed Fox News story on Seth Rich murder, claims Fox News contributor’s lawsuit. “The lawsuit alleges that the motivation behind the Fox News article was to “establish that Seth Rich provided WikiLeaks with the DNC emails to shift the blame from Russia and help put to bed speculation that President Trump colluded with Russia in an attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential election.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-ho ... d=48966413

Boy Scouts dispute Trump claim that its leader phoned Trump to tell him his speech was “the greatest ever”. “…the organization told TIME they are unaware of any call from national leadership placed to the White House.” http://time.com/4883422/donald-trump-bo ... ranscript/

Obama’s Director of National Intelligence reportedly loosened rules on unmasking U.S. persons during collection of communications to bring rules in line with actual practice. “Intelligence officials familiar with the process say there was no political motive behind the new standard and that the changes authorized by Clapper largely codified practices that had been adapting in the intelligence community over several years.” http://thehill.com/policy/national-secu ... -to-unmask

Senate confirms appointment of Christopher Wray as new FBI director, despite evasive answers during confirmation process. “Will you commit to instructing the FBI that the agency should not surveil a house of worship unless there is probable cause of criminal activity?” To which Mr. Wray again responded, “I cannot speculate on a hypothetical question…” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/groups-oppose-wray/

Senate Health Committee chairman invites Democrats to participate in Obamacare hearings. ““Any solution that Congress passes for a 2018 stabilization package would need to be small, bipartisan and balanced,” Alexander said.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/34 ... -obamacare

Draft of new State Department mission statement drops commitment to justice and democracy. “It’s a worldview similar to that of Putin, who also thinks that great powers should focus exclusively on self protection and enrichment, rather than promoting democracy.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -democracy

71% of Republicans trust Trump more than the news media, 45% say government should be allowed to censor “biased” news stories. “This poll seems to show one way how Donald Trump’s norm breaking is trickling down and shaping the opinions of rank-and-file Republican.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... censorship Snowflakes!

Appeals court rules against Trump administration attempt to block methane emissions rules. “As part of Trump and Pruitt’s attempts to roll back climate regulations—which have caused multiple federal scientists to resign from the EPA and condemn the administration’s environmentally destructive policies—in June, Pruitt attempted to halt the rule while the agency considers a formal repeal.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... thane-rule

56 retired military leaders urge Trump to reverse transgender ban. “This proposed ban, if implemented, would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent and compromise the integrity of transgender troops who would be forced to live a lie, as well as non-transgender peers who would be forced to choose between reporting their comrades or disobeying policy.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... s-military

Can the world find a cure for capitalism? “… people are realizing – either consciously or at some gut level – that there’s something fundamentally flawed about a system that has as its single goal turning natural and human resources into capital… regardless of the costs to human well-being and to the environment.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... in-history

Election computer bought on eBay came with personal information of 654,517 Memphis area voters. “Josh Palmer, the security researcher who discovered the trove of voter records on the card, was able to access the file with a card reader and a laptop.” http://www.ibtimes.com/voter-data-expos ... ne-2573153

“Private browsing” can be easily overcome by tech companies and advertisers say researchers. “The two said that 95 percent of the personal click data they obtained came from 10 popular browser extensions, which companies commonly and easily use to tie people’s surfing habits to their real-life identities.” http://www.ibtimes.com/private-browsing ... ke-2573095

Trump allegedly told golfing partners the reason he spends so much time at his resorts. “That White House is a real dump.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/that-wh ... lf-course/

Kris Koback informs court he will seek to avoid giving a sworn deposition in election law case. “Kobach, who is also vice chairman of Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, filed a notice late Monday saying he is appealing to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals an order to submit to a deposition by the American Civil Liberties Union in a voting rights case.” http://cjonline.com/news/state-governme ... under-oath

U.S. official says Afghan government is getting too much money with too little accountability, fueling corruption. “Sopko and others previously said in reports they believe the sheer quantity of money being pumped into Afghanistan is driving the corruption in the nation, which is one of the most corrupt societies in human history at this point.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/07/31/us-w ... -in-money/

TSA’s Behavior Detection Officers good at spotting illegal aliens and drug smugglers, but so far no terrorists. “TSA could not provide a single example of its elite corps thwarting a threat to civil aviation.” http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/c ... acts-is-my

British court blocks “crime of aggression” lawsuit against Tony Blair over invasion of Iraq. “No such crime exists in England and Wales and the court ruled there was “no prospect” of the case succeeding.” http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40775725

1,098 more people rounded up in Turkey. “In a statement, the ministry said 831 of those were detained for suspected ties to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating an attempted coup in July.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turk ... SKBN1AG0RO

Venezuelan opposition leaders arrested in night raids. “The wife of Leopoldo posted a video on Twitter showing flak-jacketed agents bundling her husband into a vehicle marked “Sebin” — the name of Venezuela’s intelligence agency — and then speeding off.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... ight-raids

Anthony Scaramucci steps down as White House communications director “to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... washington

Five years after Supreme Court struck down life without parole for juveniles, hundreds of “super-predators” still in prison. “It’s taking far too long to get … judges and prosecutors to understand that the mandates of the Supreme Court are not optional.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3370922

Jeff Sessions says he hasn’t read federal civil rights reports on Chicago and Ferguson police departments. “We’ve had summaries of them, and some of it was pretty anecdotal, and not so scientifically based.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jef ... 480e0b1ce6

Reporter roughed up and arrested while covering Ferguson protests finds that citizen complaints are often ineffective. “McCann had denied slamming my head against the door, and Belmar’s internal affairs team claimed that the McDonald’s security footage did not definitively show what had happened. So Belmar — “based on the absence of conclusive facts” — had ordered the investigation closed. …a few weeks after I was charged, the St. Louis County Police Department promoted Michael McCann to sergeant.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/int ... a4ce5f87ce

Joe Arpaio found guilty, former sheriff “flagrantly disregarded” federal court order to stop rounding up illegal immigrants. “Not only did defendant abdicate responsibility, he announced to the world and to his subordinates that he was going to continue business as usual no matter who said otherwise.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/31/us/ar ... index.html

Commission calls for national opioid abuse “state of emergency”. “Between 1999 and 2015, more than 560,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses, a death toll larger than the population of Atlanta.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-opi ... story.html

Venezuela’s president claims huge voter turnout to approve “super parliament” of handpicked candidates, despite opposition boycott; 10 to 15 dead in election violence. “Many polling stations in the capital were reportedly empty, even ones that had been teeming in previous elections.” http://www.dw.com/en/several-dead-as-ve ... a-39893399

Florida hotel manager upset that former police officer was not arrested for knocking out his valet. “Blair said that he has worked at hotels for 30 years and has seen officers arrest guests immediately for much less violent confrontations.” https://nypost.com/2017/07/31/hotel-man ... ing-valet/

Construction halted on two new nuclear power plants in South Carolina. “…the project’s cost has ballooned 75 percent by Santee Cooper’s estimate, implying a total price tag of more than $25 billion.” http://www.postandcourier.com/business/ ... f82e7.html The project’s investors are reportedly walking away after investing $9 billion. I guess capitalism is not as super efficient at rationally allocating resources as we’ve been led to believe.

Gas company resumes operations at site of massive Porter Ranch methane leak. “The Aliso Canyon facility has been largely out of operation since the massive leak of late 2015 and early 2016 that forced thousands of residents from their homes and prompted calls by some residents to shutter the facility altogether.” http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local ... 40403.html

Labor board accuses Nissan of interfering in union election. “The National Labor Relations Board has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Nissan ahead of a closely watched vote to organize a union that’s scheduled at its Canton, Mississippi, assembly plant, later this week.” http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/31/news/co ... index.html

President Trump accused of concocting “Russian adoptions” story which concealed that agenda of Trump Jr. meeting with Russian lawyer was actually damaging info on Clinton. “Flying home from Germany on July 8 aboard Air Force One, Trump personally dictated a statement in which Trump Jr. said that he and the Russian lawyer had “primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children” when they met in June 2016, according to multiple people with knowledge of the deliberations.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... 6f1662bd47

Foreign workers reportedly building U.S. auto factories. “BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Tesla, Volkswagen and Eisenmann declined CBS News’ request for an interview.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbsn-on-ass ... nts-in-us/

Eric Trump gets the “fashy” haircut favored by alt-right activists. “Eric Trump sported a new hairstyle with the side(s) of his head shaved in an interview with Fox News.” http://freebeacon.com/politics/twitter- ... i-haircut/

Wisconsin bill would exempt Foxconn plant from state environmental rules. “Under the bill that (Gov.) Walker has put forward, companies within the new “economics and information technology manufacturing zone” will be allowed to discharge material into non-federal wetlands if it relates to the construction or operation of a manufacturing facility.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ws-2572739

Big money being spent to lobby politicians on “tax reform”. “Many corporate members of Business Roundtable, whose letter advocated for more “competitive” rates, have collectively spent millions on lobbying involving “tax reform” in the second quarter of 2017 alone, federal lobbying files show.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... cy-2572683

Scaramucci reportedly escorted off White House grounds after his “resignation”. “We are told he was escorted off the property earlier this afternoon.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/white-h ... al-report/

Jake Tapper compares Trump White House firings to Game of Thrones “red wedding” massacre. “Could anyone have predicted so much staff turnover from a man who’s catchphrase is ‘you’re fired’?” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/now-res ... use-chaos/

U.S. diplomats evicted from Moscow area “dacha”. “The property, in a picturesque spot on a bend in the Moskva river north-west of the Russian capital, is leased by the U.S. embassy for its staff to use for recreation.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/us-emba ... -property/

Europeans mark 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele. “Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, it produced 700,000 casualties among allied and German troops – but resulted in a gain of just five miles of allied land.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 68946.html

Oshkosh, Wisconsin man fatally shot while fleeing officers. “An officer fired at (Isaiah) Tucker “several times” as Tucker drove a car toward the officer while trying to flee the scene, the chief said.” http://www.thenorthwestern.com/story/ne ... 524594001/

Police chiefs say rough treatment of suspects should not be encouraged. “The last thing we need is a green light from the president of the United States for officers to use unnecessary force.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... a75fddafd6

Candidates in Venezuelan constituent assembly election not representative of society. “The proposed Constituent Assembly would be made up of 545 members, all nominated by Maduro’s administration, giving him sweeping powers.” http://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/07/30/ve ... -assembly/

Man wins $110,000 settlement after claiming he was illegally detained and tasered by police. “Aurora (Colorado) city attorney Mike Hyman said on Thursday the $110,000 settlement was reached to avoid the cost of prolonged litigation.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... wv_rm=als1

Obamacare opponent Tomi Lahren admits she is lucky because she is 24 and still allowed to remain on her parents’ health insurance, thanks to… Obamacare. “The popular conservative commentator thinks the healthcare law should be repealed, and she’s clearly angry that GOP Sen. John McCain cast one of the deciding votes against the effort.” https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/tomi-la ... insurance/ Thanks, Obama!

Philippine city’s mayor and 14 others killed in police raid. “Parojinog is the third mayor from Duterte’s list to be killed by police…” http://www.npr.org/2017/07/30/540408626 ... ug-suspect

Russia expels 755 U.S. diplomats and support staff. “… Putin said that the number of American diplomatic and technical personnel will be capped at 455 — equivalent to the number of their Russian counterparts working in the United States.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pu ... story.html

Bernie Sanders says he is still working on a Senate version of the “Medicare for All” bill, introduced in the House as HR 676 with 116 co-sponsors. “…we’re tweaking the final points of the bill and we’re figuring out how we can mount a national campaign to bring people together.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ngle-payer

Trump budget cuts $630 million from Amtrak. “Losing 15 long-distance routes would end Amtrak’s rail services for 4.6 million passengers — 15 percent of its total ridership and 22 percent of its ticket revenue.” http://www.wiscnews.com/portagedailyreg ... 29963.html

British aviation agency blocks release of UFO sightings by pilots. “Government files of this kind are normally available under the Freedom of Information Act, which allows any member of the public to request files from the government.” https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3937426/s ... ts-inside/

Progressive candidates getting up to speed for 2018 elections. “Up to 300 candidates from 40 states who have pledged to advance progressive policies are expected to attend the four-day training in downtown Washington, D.C. ” https://mic.com/articles/182990/a-look- ... l-hopefuls

Putin signs Russian law banning virtual private networks. “The law, already approved by the Duma, the lower house of parliament, will ban the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other technologies, known as anonymizers, that allow people to surf the web anonymously.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/putin-b ... -websites/

Trump reportedly fixated on Obamacare. “Congressional leaders have suggested they are ready to move on to other issues, but Trump over the weekend seemed unwilling to let the matter go.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/trump-d ... hing-else/

Hackers break into U.S. voting machines in 90 minutes. “Hackers at at a competition in Las Vegas were able to successfully breach the software of U.S. voting machines in just 90 minutes on Friday, illuminating glaring security deficiencies in America’s election infrastructure.” http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity ... ompetition

Apple pulls “virtual private network” apps from its app store in China. “VPNs allow users to bypass China’s so-called “Great Firewall” aimed at restricting access to overseas sites.” http://www.businessinsider.com/r-update ... ore-2017-7

Republican politicians reportedly beginning to see President Trump as a liability. “Anyone in a position of responsibility in GOP politics is quickly losing patience with President Trump,” Alex Conant, a former adviser to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), told the New York Times. “The dysfunction is beyond strange, it’s dangerous.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/the-dys ... hell-week/

Trump again mentions “rough cookie” Chicago cop he met at a Trump rally, who claimed he could shut down crime in the city in “a couple of days” if put in charge. “Chicago police spokesman Frank Giancamilli said CPD brass had also been “unable to identify any Department member who had a conversation with then-candidate Trump”.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chic ... story.html

Washington, D.C. police officers are allegedly wearing t-shirt with white supremacists symbols – while on duty. “… defense attorneys have seen additional officers wear the t-shirts, including in court. Stop Police Terror Project D.C. organizer Eugene Puryear also told The Post that officers have been spotted wearing the shirt over their uniforms while waiting to testify.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/d-c-cop ... t-on-duty/

Trump threatens to cut off Obamacare subsidies for low income Americans unless he gets “repeal and replace” passed, in a tweet. “If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... re-to-poor

U.S. YPG volunteer and former Marine, David Taylor, reportedly killed fighting IS near Raqqa Syria, third U.S. volunteer to die in July. “I joined the YPG to fight ISIS and do whatever I can to help the revolution here.” http://www.newsweek.com/us-national-dav ... ria-641566

Lawsuit accuses Cheatham County, Tennessee Sheriff’s deputies of torturing prisoner with taser. “(Jordan Elias Norris) suffered more than 40 pairs of Taser burns, many of which are unaccounted for by authorities, the lawsuit states.” http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/lo ... 517969001/ Video shows deputies repeatedly tasering Norris while he is restrained in a chair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsup2UnyV8E

Donald Trump tells audience of police officers it’s ok to rough up suspects, police officers applaud. “…the encouragement for police officers to do what they know is wrong — to disregard the laws they uphold — was a dark moment all its own.” https://www.newsday.com/opinion/columni ... 1.13864824 Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBEzxKw81qo

Venezuelan president calls anti-government protesters “terrorists”. “The fast-escalating political showdown in the South American OPEC nation comes after more than 100 people have died and thousands more been injured in anti-government unrest since demonstrations began in April.” http://www.france24.com/en/20170723-ven ... -violinist

Limited repeal of Obamacare fails to pass in tight Senate vote. “A last-ditch effort to keep the Obamacare repeal push alive went down by a vote of 51 to 49 in the wee hours of Friday morning, with three GOP members breaking ranks: John McCain, Susan Collins and Murkowski.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pow ... fdaef0fd5/

White House chief of staff resigns. “President Trump ousted his beleaguered chief of staff, Reince Priebus, naming Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to replace him Friday in the latest White House shakeup as the administration struggles to emerge from bitter staff infighting and a stalled legislative agenda.” http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-p ... story.html

Wells Fargo to refund auto loan customers their payments for duplicate auto insurance. “…many customers appear not to have notified Wells Fargo of the redundant insurance.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/busi ... iness&_r=0

Judge orders FAA to re-examine safety of smaller airline seats with less leg room. “All three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed the FAA must conduct a new review of the request for regulations setting a minimum airline seat size…” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1AD28Y

Anthony Scaramucci’s wife reportedly leaving him over Trump appointment. “Citing “multiple sources,” The Post’s Page Six reported that Scaramucci’s wife, Deidre Ball, filed for divorce after three years of marriage because of Scaramucci’s efforts to get close to President Donald Trump.” http://www.businessinsider.com/anthony- ... rce-2017-7

Attorneys for CIA torture psychologists reportedly arguing their clients are like the technicians who helped develop the Zyklon B gas used in Nazi death camps. “Since the contractors were unable to make the decision to torture – instead designing torture regimens for the CIA and implementing them – their lawyers contend they are modern-day Drohsins, supplying modern-day Zyklon and advising on its use.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/cias-mad-t ... -the-nazis

Customs and Border Patrol agents reportedly egged on 16 year-old traveler to drink suspected liquid, which turned out to be concentrated methamphetamine. “The young man, Cruz Velazquez, died within two hours of drinking the substance, but the two officers involved, Valerie Baird and Adrian Perallon, remain on the job today, with no disciplinary action taken against them.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video-sh ... d=48903893 If you can’t watch the video on the ABC website, it’s also posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn5I_lu ... freload=10

New York City couple reportedly jump to their deaths over cost of medical care. “We both have medical issues, we just can’t afford the health care.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/our-kid ... are-costs/

Sen. Rand Paul says defense bill should be debated, blocks fast-track. “In particular, Sen. Paul is seeking two amendments, one which ends NDAA authorization for indefinite detention of suspects,and another related to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), something that was added to the House version but later quietly removed by the Speaker.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/07/28/rand ... september/

Little mainstream press scrutiny of Amazon. “A review of 190 articles from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Bezos-owned Washington Post over the past year paints a picture of almost uniformly uncritical–ofttimes boosterish–coverage.” http://fair.org/home/worlds-richest-per ... ts-rivals/

Catholic Worker activists claim they repeatedly sabotaged Dakota Access pipeline. “The two… taught themselves how to destroy empty pipeline valves, and moved up and down the pipeline’s length, destroying the valves and delaying construction for weeks.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/28/ ... orkers_who

Cleveland judge finds police officer not guilty in shooting death of unarmed suspect. “(Alan) Buford showed little emotion in the packed courtroom as the the judge read the verdict after explaining the hours worth of testimony in the case and all the evidence basically points to Buford doing what he was trained to do when he fired the shot that killed (Brandon) Jones.” http://www.cleveland19.com/story/359960 ... armed-teen

Southhaven, Mississippi man shot by police was hit in the back of the head says lawyer. “The prosecutor has said the officers were looking for a domestic violence suspect and may very well have been at the wrong house — there were no warrants for Lopez’s arrest.” http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/n ... 521082001/

Progressive News Service - "Real news, if you can handle it" https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

44
Kern County, California district attorney drops “charges” against small, 19 year-old girl attacked with a police dog after being mistaken by Bakersfield officers for an adult man with a goatee and a machete. http://kvpr.org/post/kern-da-drops-char ... le-suspect Video is here (I was unable to watch the last 42 seconds due to Facebook technical issues): https://www.facebook.com/78624781809048 ... 295980229/ The officers involved will not be facing any charges either, says DA.

South Korean intelligence agency tampered with country’s 2012 election to help conservative candidate win. “The in-house investigators at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said the agency had hired internet experts to try to sway public opinion through social media postings.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40824793

Rights groups call for more transparency for private prisons. “The Private Prison Information Act of 2017 (S.1728) would strengthen accountability and oversight by requiring for-profit prisons under contract with federal agencies to comply with the same Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements as their government-operated counterparts.” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/priva ... e-secrecy/

Hundreds of fired police officers have gotten their jobs back. “To investigate how often fired officers were returned to their jobs, The (Washington) Post filed open records requests with the nation’s 55 largest municipal and county police forces. Thirty-seven departments complied with the request…” https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... d-rehired/

Long-time backer of warrantless surveillance programs worried about unmasking of politicians. ““We have found evidence that current and former government officials had easy access to U.S. person information and that it is possible that they used this information to achieve partisan political purposes, including the selective, anonymous leaking of such information,” Nunes wrote in the letter to Coats.” https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170 ... arty.shtml

Trump administration officials say limits may be imposed on press when reporting leaked information. “Journalists were alarmed Friday after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice was revisiting guidelines for handling media subpoenas in leak investigations and said there needed to be limits on press freedom.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ses ... 356ebfc875

U.S. officially informs U.N. that it intends to withdraw from Paris Climate Accord. “Trump announced in June that the U.S. will leave the agreement.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/0 ... eal-241331 Meanwhile… “The high in Portland, Oregon, topped 103 F on Wednesday, a new daily record. Temperatures in Seattle hit into the 90s, more than 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.” http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2017/08/ ... eat-bakes/

Federal appeals court strikes down sentences of mercenaries implicated in “Bagdad’s Bloody Sunday”. “A federal appeals court on Friday threw out lengthy prison sentences of three former operatives for private mercenary firm Blackwater Worldwide—and ordered a retrial for a fourth operative who had received a life sentence—for their roles in the notorious 2007 Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad, which left 14 unarmed Iraqis dead and another 17 wounded.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... d-massacre

Debbie Wasserman Schultz allegedly fought to withhold IT staffer’s computer from Capitol Hill police. “She told (the Sun-Sentinel) she has now allowed police to examine the laptop; on July 19th Fox News reported that she had been blocking the review for months due to “speech and debate clause” issues but was now open to “negotiating” over access.” http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/04/wasse ... -not-hers/

Washington Post and New York Times reporters showed little interest in meeting between Bill Clinton and then-attorney general Lynch during Hillary Clinton investigation. “Mark Lander, a reporter for the Times, is seen in one June 30 email reaching out to a DOJ official to say he’s “been pressed into service to write about the questions being raised” by the meeting.” http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/email ... le/2630650

Kushner Companies accused of improperly offering U.S. visas in return for investments. “Kushner’s sister, Nicole Meyer, discussed her connection to Trump at a marketing event in Beijing in May, where potential investors were informed they could receive visas and potentially green cards for themselves and their families if they invested $500,000 in one of Kushner Companies’ projects.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... sa-program

Tar sand pipeline companies responsible for hundreds of hazardous leaks says Greenpeace. “Since 2010… the three companies “have seen 373 hazardous liquid spills from their U.S. pipeline networks,” releasing a total of “63,221 barrels of hazardous liquids”—including thousands of barrels of diluted bitumen, which is is more difficult to remove from water than conventional crude oil because it sinks.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ine-routes

Eight year-old suffocates four months after drinking boiling water on a dare. “According to doctors, the boiling water burned her throat and mouth. Kiari underwent a tracheotomy, which left her deaf and with chronic respiratory problems.” http://wsvn.com/news/local/authorities- ... ing-water/ Most of the stories in the news seem to be suggesting this is the result of parental neglect rather than medical malpractice. This is the only story I found that names the hospital.

Martin Shkreli, who became famous after hiking drug prices, reportedly found guilty of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. “This was a witch hunt of epic proportions, and maybe they found one or two broomsticks, but at the end of the day, we’ve been acquitted of the most important charges.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1AK27F

Banks making billions on overdraft fees, mostly from the poorest Americans. “The (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) found that a huge share of fees (80%) come from a very small portion of people with little money who frequently overdraft, and that those borrowers are essentially using overdraft as a very expensive short-term loan to regularly cover a temporary lack of cash.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewzeitlin ... draft-fees It’s like a reverse-Robin Hood scheme – taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

Did an NRA spokesperson just threaten the New York Times with sexual assault? “In conjunction with the hashtag #ClenchedFistofTruth, confusion spread through Twitter like wildfire, as many had misheard Loesch as having said “We’re going to fist The New York Times,” which was thought to be a reference to a sexual act.” http://www.businessinsider.com/fisk-dic ... deo-2017-8

Stock market bubble poised to pop says analyst. “It won’t be your average correction. It’s going to be something a little more meaningful.” https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/04/a-meani ... egist.html

Trump has taken almost twice as many vacations days as Obama, but falls far short of George W. Bush. “As President Trump departed for Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Friday for a 17-day working vacation, it will mark his fifth visit to that golf club and his 13th vacation-like trip since he took office.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-do-trum ... decessors/ “Now watch this drive.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3p9y_OEAdc

Democratic Socialists of American claims it now has 25,000 dues-paying members. “…shortly before the November election, the organization had between 7,000 to 8,000 members. On November 9, they started seeing supporters of Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential run and others flooding into DSA.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/04/dsa ... p-chicago/

Green Party’s presidential candidate Jill Stein denies any contacts with Trump campaign. “I had no secret meetings, rendezvous… it’s just like so preposterous…. I find it really interesting that there is such an effort, a consistent effort, to try to demonize me and the Green Party.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/4/g ... _stein_our

Steve Bannon still reportedly participating in National Security Council meetings, despite being removed. ““Bannon and Gorka have recently become a more regular and outspoken presence at meetings led by McMaster and his team on Afghanistan, the Middle East and the administration’s national security strategy,” The (Washington) Post reported.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/bannon- ... s-removed/

U.S. boots on the ground in Yemen. “A day after the US was reported to have participated in an anti al-Qaeda offensive in southern Shabwa Province of Yemen, the Pentagon is confirming that a “small number” of US ground troops have been deployed into Yemen for an ongoing operation against the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) force.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/08/04/us-t ... offensive/

Mainstream media accused of running “perseverance porn” stories. “One particularly vulgar example was CBS News (12/16/16) referring to an “inspiring” African-American kid who had to work at his fast food job with an arm sling and a neck brace after a car accident.” http://fair.org/home/medias-grim-addict ... ance-porn/ Do you have what it takes to succeed, snowflake?

U.S. unnecessarily militarizing Mexican border claims journalist. “They’ve portrayed these (illegal) immigrants as criminals, as terrorists, as gang members, when the U.S. Border Patrol statistics actually prove that over 99 percent of all undocumented immigrants have no criminal record.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/4/u ... itarism_as



NSA employees reportedly resigned after they discovered agency had removed safeguards built into their program. “By the end of October 2001, the original THINTHREAD development team had left NSA, motivated to leave upon learning that key THINTHREAD technologies—minus the Constitutional safeguards built into it—was being misused to conduct warrantless mass surveillance against the American people.” http://www.theamericanconservative.com/ ... leblowers/

Federal court rules that drug enforcement officers can view patients’ prescription drug history without a search warrant. “Physicians and patients have no reasonable expectation of privacy in the highly regulated prescription drug industry.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017 ... tion-drugs

Undercover law enforcement officers may be posing as Uber drivers. “The suspect was cuffed before being placed in the back of a car bearing the ride-sharing company’s insignia, according to a colleague of mine who witnessed the arrest and provided the photo.” https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kn9 ... rivers-now

For second year in a row, less than 1/2 of the students admitted to Harvard identify themselves as “white”. “Harvard spokeswoman Melodie Jackson said in a statement that the college’s admissions process “considers each applicant as a whole person” and is “consistent with the legal standards established by the US Supreme Court”.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/03/us/ha ... index.html

Trump leaves Washington for 17 day vacation at one of his resorts. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that, as of March 2016, 27 percent of American workers have zero paid days off.” https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/trump-v ... n-workers/ Worn out from all the winning?

Google algorithm to fight fake news is also allegedly hiding opposition websites. “In the three months since Internet monopoly Google announced plans to keep users from accessing “fake news,” the global traffic rankings of a broad range of left-wing, progressive, anti-war and democratic rights organizations have fallen significantly.” https://mronline.org/2017/07/28/new-goo ... web-sites/

Thai student on trial for sharing BBC article about the country’s king on Facebook. “The BBC article included mentions of the king’s personal life when he was crown prince, including details of three marriages that ended in divorce and other material Thai news media can publish only at their own risk.” http://host.madison.com/news/world/thai ... 65391.html

EPA official resigns, publishes open letter criticizing proposed roll-back of environmental protection standards. “The former official also said agency staffers are rejecting industry demands, because there’s no new scientific evidence or data to support the rollbacks, but she also warned about the Trump and Pruitt’s continued willingness to push for polluters’ proposals.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rs-demands

Thousands of asylum seekers crossing border from U.S. to Canada, don’t believe their requests will be handled fairly in U.S. “About 70 percent of asylum seekers who have recently arrived in Quebec are Haitian, according to the province’s Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -resources

Israel’s PM Netanyahu attends groundbreaking ceremony for new West Bank settlement. “This new settlement will rehouse residents of Amona, an illegal settlement shut down by the Supreme Court.” http://www.euronews.com/2017/08/03/neta ... -bank-home

French host charges Muslim woman for damages after she goes swimming in a burkini. “The owner of a private residence near Marseille, France, asked a woman to pay 490 euros because he said the communal pool had to be disinfected after she swam in a burkini, according to an organisation established to combat Islamaphobia.” http://www.euronews.com/2017/08/03/woma ... in-burkini

Trump calls New Hampshire a “drug-infested den” during chat with Mexican president. “New Hampshire does have a serious problem with drugs, (state officials) said, but with opioid addiction of the kind that is affecting a number of states rather than over narcotics smuggled in from abroad.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... d-epidemic

FBI’s biometric database, which includes data on millions of innocent Americans, to be exempt from Privacy Act rules. “This means the agency does not have to notify persons that the agency holds biometric information (on) them.” http://www.ibtimes.com/new-rule-exempts ... ns-2574272

Five traits that may make people Trump supporters. “Those with (authoritarian personality syndrome) often display aggression toward outgroup members, submissiveness to authority, resistance to new experiences, and a rigid, hierarchical view of society.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/a-psych ... bout-them/

Secret Service leaves Trump Tower over terms of lease, sets up camp on sidewalk. “Two people familiar with the discussions said the sticking points included the price and other conditions of the lease.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

10 federal agencies reportedly involved in pre-publication review of book on Guantanamo interrogations. “A former chief investigator at the Guantanamo Bay detention center is accusing the Pentagon of blocking publication of his book on the use of brutal interrogation techniques and top U.S. officials’ advocacy of what he calls “torture”.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/pentago ... estigator/

Audio recording purporting to be voice of Seymour Hersh claims FBI found evidence Seth Rich was in contact with Wikileaks and wanted money for DNC emails. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYzB96_EK7s

Federal appeals court overturns lower court’s award of damages to man detained for more than three years by ICE, under the suspicion he was not a U.S. citizen. “This week, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the payout, ruling a statute of limitations had expired while Watson was in ICE custody without access to a lawyer.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/3/h ... er_3_years



A record six Senators voted against appointment of Christopher Wray as FBI director. “James Comey, who was confirmed in 2013, received the only other opposing vote in history — Sen. Rand Paul voted no after raising questions about how the agency was using surveillance drones on American soil.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/01/polit ... index.html

Federal appeals court refuses to suppress evidence gathered by FBI using faulty warrant to infect computers of suspects around the country with FBI malware. “The Tenth Circuit Appeals Court overturned the suppression of evidence granted by the lower court, ruling that the FBI’s NIT warrant was invalid but that the agent’s “good faith” reliance on the warrant prevented exclusion of the evidence.” https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170 ... rant.shtml

Female state trooper sues Nebraska over female-only pre-employment genital examinations. “Trooper Brienne Splittgerber claims that as part of her pre-employment testing in 2014, she and other female troopers had to submit to embarrassing genital examinations.” https://www.courthousenews.com/female-n ... tal-exams/

Philadelphia woman sues city over alleged sexual assault in officer’s patrol car. “J.H. says O’Neill (drove) her to the back of a school, where he sexually assaulted her by, among other things, rubbing his gun against her pelvis and inner thigh, forcing her to touch the gun so “if she fought him, he would be able to shoot her and claim that she had grabbed his gun,” penetrating her with his fingers, forcibly giving her oral sex, and ejaculating on her “backside”.” https://www.courthousenews.com/woman-sa ... -recorded/

White House press secretary admits no phone calls from Boy Scout leader or Mexican president. “Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, confirmed at her daily briefing what the Boy Scouts and the Mexican government had already asserted publicly, which is that neither phone call that Mr. Trump referred to had occurred.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/us/p ... appen.html

Trump endorses Republican bill to cut legal immigration, favor highly skilled workers. “Many pro-business Republicans have long supported legal immigration, and the new legislation is likely to stoke the divides between this wing of the party and more populist Republicans.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... n-10-years

Air Canada plane was only 59 feet off the ground during San Francisco taxiway near miss. “Investigators could not hear what the Air Canada captain and co-pilot said to each other during the aborted landing because their conversation was recorded over when the plane made other flights, starting with a San Francisco-to-Montreal trip the next morning.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... o-crashing

Company that provided machines for Venezuelan election claims vote total was inflated. ““Based on the robustness of our system, we know, without any doubt, that the turnout of the recent election for a national constituent assembly was manipulated,” Smartmatic said in a statement.” https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/v ... -1.3174655

Second video of Baltimore cops planting drugs on suspects allegedly discovered. “The new video involves different officers, the public defender’s office said. The officers were not named.” http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryla ... story.html

Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 22,000 for the first time, Trump takes credit. “Trump’s recent stock market exhortations are… a sharp reversal from his views during the 2016 campaign, when he repeatedly dismissed the increase in stock prices as phony. “It’s all a big bubble,” he said on Fox News almost exactly a year ago.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/0 ... egy-241248

Journalism groups in U.S. create web site to track attacks on the press. “So far in 2017, the site has tracked 19 arrests of journalists; 12 equipment searches and seizures; 11 physical attacks; and four cases of journalists who were detained, questioned, or denied entry at borders.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ournalists

Passengers kept on two Air Transat aircraft in Ottawa, Canada for hours called 911 for assistance. “The flight landed at the Ottawa airport just after 5 p.m. ET, after more than eight hours of flying time. It then sat on the tarmac for six hours and passengers weren’t allowed to get off.” http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ai ... -1.4230048

Watchdog group accuses Treasury Secretary of perjury. “On three separate occasions, both in written testimony and in live hearings, Mnuchin has denied that OneWest engaged in robosigning of foreclosure documents, when copious evidence exists to the contrary.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/02/tre ... vestigate/

NFL team owners not signing Kaepernick because they are scared of losing white fans says writer. “The NFL’s fan loyalists don’t want him…. they are blue collar, and conservative middle class, white football junkies who year in and year out, pack stadiums, and plop down tens of millions for tickets, and assorted NFL paraphernalia.” https://www.eurweb.com/2017/08/heres-re ... t-job-nfl/

Trump says Russia sanctions bill “included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions”, signs it anyway. “Before Trump signed the bill, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed that neither he nor Trump approved of the sanctions, arguing they would hinder the administration’s attempts to restore relations with Russia.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/presiden ... bill/story

Homeland Security allegedly took steps to block congressional oversight during initial rollout of Trump travel ban. “The FOIA request reveals what many, like Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and other congresspeople, already suspected when they were stonewalled at international airports when seeking information about people being detained there.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/reveale ... n-rollout/

U.S. fires test ICBM, lands near Marshall Islands, no calls for sanctions by other countries or by U.N. “Minuteman missiles have been regularly tested at the Vandenberg base, and today’s test was the fourth this year.” http://abcnews.go.com/International/us- ... d=48973337

China restricts use of Uighur language in schools. “Under Articles 10 and 37 of the Chinese constitution, ethnic minorities have a right to preserve their own languages and traditions and students are supposed to be able “where possible [to] use textbooks in their own languages and use these languages as a media of instruction”.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 73446.html

Department of Homeland Security claims construction of Mexican border wall will be exempt from normal environmental restrictions. “Lawyers with the Center for Biological Diversity say the move to exempt the Department of Homeland Security from following environmental laws is unconstitutional.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/2/h ... order_wall

"Real news - if you can handle it." https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

45
Senator reasserts Congress’s constitutional power to declare war. “If one of the military options that the administration is looking at is a preemptive war on the Korean peninsula launched by the United States, that would require the authorization of Congress.” http://thehill.com/homenews/345835-gop- ... orth-korea

FBI conducts 5 a.m. raid on home of former Trump campaign manager. “In order to get a search warrant, FBI agents had to swear to their belief that fruits of a crime would be found in Manafort’s home.” http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-paul ... obe-2017-8

Russia flies surveillance plane over Washington, D.C. for “treaty verification”. “The United States carries out similar surveillance flights through the treaty while using an OC-135B, an Air Force observation jet.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/che ... on-sights/

Trump reportedly asked a foreign policy advisor why the U.S. doesn’t use nuclear weapons more often. “Donald Trump asked a foreign policy expert advising him why the U.S. can’t use nuclear weapons, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said on the air Wednesday, citing an unnamed source who claimed he had spoken with the GOP presidential nominee.” https://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/03/trump-a ... ports.html

Canada to set up border camp for asylum seekers fleeing the U.S. “Heated tents will accommodate up to 500 people as Canadian border officials process mainly Haitians walking into Canada from the United States.” https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immi ... NL1N1KV1J2

Protesters demanding the release of Trump’s tax returns inflate 30 foot Trump rooster balloon across from White House. “The Trump Chicken, which was parked on the Ellipse facing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been used before by organizers of the Tax Day March to pressure President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, CBS News reported.” http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/white-house-fi ... en-1634351

Indiana may be model for Trump’s plan to rebuild national infrastructure using private money. “It is clear to anyone who has driven on the (Indiana) toll road that conditions have worsened, and continued state or local ownership could have avoided this situation.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ay-2568586

Trump spiritual advisor Robert Jeffress reportedly says God supports regime change in North Korea. “God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong-un.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... uclear-war

Proposal to “privatize” war in Afghanistan being pitched by security contractor with links to Chinese government. “(Erik) Prince became the chairman of FSG in 2014, and he’s currently its largest shareholder, according to the company’s 2016 annual report. Another substantial shareholder is CITIC Group, a state-owned Chinese conglomerate.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... na-2576492

Supreme Court case to decide if police can obtain cell phone location data from service providers without a warrant. “The government holds such actions are lawful as cell-site data is considered a business record not a personal record.” http://www.ibtimes.com/can-police-track ... es-2576562

Number of deaths from opioids and heroin under-reported since drug causing overdose is frequently unspecified on death certificates. “The study found opioid deaths nationwide were 24 percent higher than reported rates, while heroin fatalities were 22 percent greater.” http://www.ibtimes.com/study-number-opi ... ed-2576630

Little change in police tactics or legal accountability three years after death of Michael Brown. “…since Michael Brown’s death, police killings have continued at an alarming rate, with 1,134 in 2015 and 1,093 in 2016.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -no-change

After Trump threatens attack on North Korea, North Korea threatens attack on staging area for possible U.S. strike. “The Department of Defense would deploy B-1B bombers in a pre-emptive attack on North Korea if the commander-in-chief ordered such a strike, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing two current and two former senior military officials.” https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/09/pentago ... -guam.html

Monsanto accused of editing scholarly article that downplayed risks of using Roundup. “Monsanto’s internal emails… (show) the company’s chief of regulatory science, William Heydens, and other Monsanto scientists were heavily involved in organizing, reviewing, and editing drafts submitted by the outside experts.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ty-reviews

Some doctors received kick-backs for prescribing powerful pain medication to their patients. “Researchers at Boston Medical Center found that from 2013 to 2015, 68,177 doctors received more than $46 million in payments from drug companies pushing powerful painkillers.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... g-opioids/

U.S. policy lobbying group allegedly funded by huge foreign donations. “The United Arab Emirates is on pace to contribute $20 million over the course of 2016 and 2017 to the Middle East Institute, one of Washington’s leading think tanks, according to a document obtained by The Intercept.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/09/gul ... hink-tank/

Fox News host reportedly sues journalist for $50 million over “dick pic” story. “Bolling was accused of sending pictures of male genitalia to multiple female colleagues at Fox Business and Fox News. The reporting cited 14 sources in and out of the two Fox cable networks.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/suspend ... reporting/

Walmart store accused of touting rifles as “back-to-school” items. “Own the school year like a hero.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/walmart ... ke-a-hero/

Security contractor reportedly billed U.S. for luxury cars, “executive assistants” in connection with Afghanistan contracts. “Under Imperitas, NCC billed the government for Porsches, Alfa Romeos, a Bentley, an Aston Martin and a Land Rover and paid the significant others of senior staff an average of $420,000 as “executive assistants” that worked from home, auditors found.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/us-cont ... stan-deal/

Man who detained theft suspect called Yuba City, California police, got punched in the face by officer. “In video taken at the scene… an officer can be seen punching Ybarra twice in the face as Ybarra stands with his hands behind his back against a patrol car.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/watch-c ... -the-face/

Trump threatens North Korea with nuclear annihilation then hits the golf course. “Working hard while Hawaii finalizes its nuclear attack evacuation plan.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/make-am ... rth-korea/

U.N. war crimes investigator resigns, cites lack of will to prosecute violators. “Justice must do its work because without justice there is no real peace.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/9/h ... or_justice

Assad regime reportedly executed cyber activist. “(Bassel) Khartabil was an open-source software programmer who fought for an open internet and helped Syrians evade regime censorship and surveillance.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/9/h ... sad_regime

Red Cross denounces Yemen air strikes. “The International Red Cross has issued a rare statement saying it is “extremely alarmed” by the recent wave of airstrikes in Yemen, which have killed dozens of civilians and hit homes and public spaces such as markets.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/9/h ... s_in_yemen

Country’s enemy will “face fire and fury like the world has never seen,” says Kim Jong Un. Oh, sorry, that should be “…says Donald Trump”. “… North Korea is a real threat, but the President’s unhinged reaction suggests he might consider using American nuclear weapons in response to a nasty comment from a North Korean despot.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/08/polit ... index.html

Leaked draft of government report says climate change is real and human activity is to blame. “Contradicting Trump’s claims that climate change is a “hoax,” the draft report representing the consensus of 13 federal agencies concludes that the evidence global warming is being driven by human activities is “unambiguous”.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... s-j64r89z0

Secretary of Health and Human Services says no need for opioid “state of emergency” recommended by commission. “We believe that at this point, the resources that we need or the focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crises can be addressed without the declaration of an emergency.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/08/healt ... index.html Might involve restrictions on pharmaceutical companies?

Shorter lives, fewer families for post-industrial American men. “As middle-income workers are pushed down the economic ladder — going from relatively higher-wage factory jobs to, say, minimum-wage retail jobs — it’s making it harder for lower-income workers to pull themselves up.” http://www.businessinsider.com/trade-im ... ign-2017-8

Biggest student loan company failed to direct struggling borrowers into income based repayment plans. “Navient employees… should have steered borrowers to White House-promoted plans that could’ve allowed zero-dollar payments based on earnings and eventually led to debt forgiveness, officials said.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sta ... 5ebde47a02

Trump, Republicans and Democrats all favor business interests over “average Americans” say Republican voters. “Nine in 10 said (Trump) sides with corporations over regular people. Everyone in this focus group said congressional Republicans side with corporations, as well, while eight of the 10 said Democrats side with corporations.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/07/polit ... index.html

New York City medical examiner withholds name of newly identified 9/11 victim. “The victim’s name was withheld at his family’s request, the ME’s office said.” https://nypost.com/2017/08/07/remains-o ... ars-later/ How can this not be a public record? People can be killed anonymously in the United States now? What about governments that make their troublesome citizens “disappear”?

Obama attorney generals Holder and Lynch used alias email accounts to discuss official business. “Loretta Lynch used the alias “Elizabeth Carlisle” for official emails as attorney general, including those related to her infamous tarmac meeting last summer with former President Clinton.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08 ... eting.html

Campbell, California police officer allegedly held passenger in car of speeding suspect at gunpoint for 9 minutes. “…(the) man sitting in the vehicle’s passenger seat — the target of the officer’s gun — maintained throughout the incident that he had simply been reaching for some papers on the floor to try to find the vehicle’s license and registration, as requested.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... 3baf4bf2a4

Google employee who complained about diversity programs likely protected under employment laws. “It is unlawful for an employer to discipline an employee for challenging conduct that the employee reasonably believed to be discriminatory, even when a court later determines the conduct was not actually prohibited by the discrimination laws.” https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/07/it-may- ... ntary.html

Health insurer pulls out of Obamacare market, cites uncertainty about continuation of government subsidies. “(Insurers) have grown increasingly jittery over participating in Obamacare amid the uncertainty emanating from Washington D.C., particularly as President Trump’s threatens to stop paying a key set of subsidies.” http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/07/news/ec ... index.html

44% of Americans make less than $15 an hour. “Meanwhile, the richest Americans continue to accumulate exorbitant wealth.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... way-equity

Fines on Wall Street firms drop by almost 2/3rds under Trump administration. “According to a Wall Street Journal analysis published Sunday, it appears that the nation’s largest financial institutions are benefiting greatly from having their friends in government.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... nistration But Trump was unable to drop below Obama administration’s record of zero top Wall Street executives charged with criminal offenses.

Bernie Sanders accuses Big Pharma of making Americans pay twice for the world’s most expensive prescription drugs. “… Americans pay twice. First we pay to create these lifesaving drugs (by giving pharmaceutical companies federal tax dollars for research), then we pay high prices to buy those drugs.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ce-2575552

U.S. military exploring the use of small, “usable” nuclear weapons. “(Air Force Gen. Paul) Selva said the U.S. needs to be able launch a nuclear attack on an adversary without ending the world or causing massive “indiscriminate” casualties.” http://www.defenseone.com/technology/20 ... ce/139997/

Turkey claims Germany is sheltering thousands of “terrorists”. “We gave (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel 4,500 dossiers, but have not received an answer on a single one of them.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germ ... SKBN1AN1RV

Japanese Prime Minister calls for a world without nuclear weapons on 72nd anniversary of Hiroshima bombing, as his government fails to support U.N. nuclear weapons ban treaty. “The anniversary came after Japan sided last month with nuclear powers Britain, France and the United States to dismiss a United Nations treaty banning atomic weapons, which was rejected by critics for ignoring the reality of security threats such as North Korea.” http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/h ... lear-views

Belgian government knew about eggs contaminated with pesticide, did not inform public. “The country’s food safety agency said in a statement that the information was not shared because of a fraud investigation.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 79131.html

Venezuelan government puts down armed forces mutiny. “The government said that those arrested included a first lieutenant who had deserted. It said the others were civilians wearing uniforms.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40846311

Lawsuit claims Santa Clara, California police shot unarmed man who they knew was mentally ill. “The police were aware that (Jesus Geney) had a psychiatric issue. He was unarmed and essentially naked, there’s just no justification for that.” http://abc7news.com/lawsuit-filed-again ... -/2276812/

Hawaiian protester reportedly suffers concussion during arrest. “At least 18 minutes passed between the time that (David “Kai”) Prais was dragged off and the time the ambulance came.” https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-new ... -incident/

Black guy taken down at gas station after police accuse him of turn signal violation and burned out tail light. “Reached by the Tribune late Monday, (Corey) Williams said he thinks the officers overreacted, treating him as if he were a murder suspect and not someone they had supposedly pulled over for a minor traffic violation.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... story.html I wasn’t able to watch the video on the Chicago Tribune web site, but it’s also posted on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/226221089

Chinese tourists arrested after doing Hitler salutes in front of German Reichstag (parliament building). “…while Germans are familiar with the legacy of World War II and the laws forbidding Nazi gestures, it is less certain that foreign tourists are aware of the rules.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... -in-berlin

Lonely people have a 50% increased risk of early death, compared to 30% for obesity, claims study. “Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need—crucial to both well-being and survival.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017 ... -suggests/

Some Republicans questioning whether Trump should represent their party in 2020 election. ““For some, it is for ideological reasons, and for others it is for stylistic reasons,” Mr. Dent said, complaining of the “exhausting” amount of “instability, chaos and dysfunction” surrounding Mr. Trump.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/us/p ... pence.html

Republicans may try to suppress young voters by requiring ID with a current address, closing polling sites near college campuses or requiring registration far in advance of elections. “Many college-age millennials move from their home state with only about one month to register to vote or update their registration.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/08/07/gop-p ... vote-will/

Mayor of Dallas in 1963 was a CIA asset according to newly released government documents. “Earle Cabell, who had been elected mayor of Dallas in May 1961, oversaw arrangements for Kennedy’s trip and motorcade, which took him through Dealey Plaza, a route that violated almost all standard rules for presidential safety — and where normal safeguards, such as sealing windows and placing sharpshooters, were ignored.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/08/02/dalla ... cia-asset/

Woman harassed by Fox News anchor says it was representative of the company’s culture. “[Fox] was the Wild West of sexual harassment.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/fox-new ... wd-photos/

Trump administration seeking to reverse rule banning mandatory arbitration when residents have disputes with nursing homes. “The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) announced plans in June to do away with an Obama-era rule that prohibited nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid funds from including language in their resident contracts requiring that disputes be settled by a third party rather than a court.” http://thehill.com/regulation/healthcar ... s-heats-up

43 Syrian civilians reportedly dead after U.S. planes hit Raqqa. “Though the Syrian government had broadly been fine with the Kurdish YPG invading ISIS territory, they have complained to the UN Security Council about the US airstrikes, saying they are excessively targeting civilians and basic infrastructure.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/08/06/us-a ... -in-raqqa/

Syrian deputy foreign minister says his government will eventually regain control of Kurdish held parts of the country. “When asked if the Syrian government was willing to take back control of areas now controlled by Kurdish groups he said: “It is not a matter of ‘willing’ it is a matter of ‘must’.”” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mide ... SKBN1AM0LM



Venezuela’s chief prosecutor fired amid corruption probe. “In a statement released by the public prosecutor’s office, she said Mr Maduro’s government was leading a “coup against the constitution”.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40840850

Bomb explodes in Bloomington, Minnesota mosque. “An attack on a mosque is an attack on a synagogue, an attack on a church, it’s an attack on all faith communities, so we stand with you, a million protestants in Minnesota.” http://www.fox9.com/news/272146616-story

White House undergoing renovations during Trump’s vacation, presumably to make it less of a dump. “Now that President Trump has left the White House and kicked off his 17-day getaway to his golf course in New Jersey, renovations at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are going full-steam ahead.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-st ... d=49049242

With 90% voter turnout for presidential election in Rwanda, incumbent president wins another 7 year term with almost 99% of the vote. “Three potential candidates were disqualified for allegedly failing to fulfill requirements including collecting enough signatures.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rwanda-pres ... t-of-vote/

Nissan workers at Mississippi plant vote against union representation. “…a significant number of workers at the plant, which has a total work force of nearly 6,500, are contract workers who earn lower wages than employees – they were not eligible to vote in the union election.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/busi ... sippi.html

Major health insurance companies reportedly made $6 billion dollars in three months. “That’s up more about 29 percent from the same quarter a year ago — far outpacing the overall S&P 500 health care sector’s growth of 8.5 percent for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.” https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/05/top-hea ... llars.html

Wells Fargo reportedly agrees to pay $108 million to settle claims that it defrauded veterans and the government. “The lenders allegedly overcharged veterans and concealed their conduct from the government to obtain guarantees for the loans, according to filings.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... o-veterans

232 illegal migrants have died trying to cross Mexican border this year, a 17% increase from 2016 despite a 52% drop in arrests. “There is also a concern that more women and children could be attempting more dangerous border crossings, instead of seeking asylum, because of a reported uptick in cases in which immigration officials have illegally turned back asylum seekers at the southern border since Trump was elected in November 2016.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... hs-figures

At least five dead as temperatures hit the mid-hundreds in Europe. “Unusually high temperatures, in some cases unprecedented, are being recorded across an area spanning much of the Iberian peninsula, southern France, Italy, the Balkans and Hungary.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08 ... -soar-40c/

Progressive News Service https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

46
Trump says he may pardon Arizona sheriff convicted of criminal contempt of court after ignoring federal judge’s order to stop immigration dragnets. “(Arpaio’s) a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08 ... rpaio.html

Mainstream media calls fatal attack on anti-fascist protesters a “clash”, does not identify who is responsible. “The BBC’s breaking news tweet, “One dead amid clashes between US white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville,” is an extremely odd way to describe a person driving a car into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters—as was AOL’s “1 Dead, 34 Injured in Clashes at Virginia Rally.” http://fair.org/home/for-media-driving- ... s-a-clash/

Man who wanted to start a revolution to restore the public’s constitutional rights arrested in FBI bomb plot sting. “”We were controlling this situation from beginning to end,” (FBI agent Raul Bujanda) said.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/14/polit ... index.html Suspect reportedly had a history of mental illness. “Varnell, who lives with his family in Sayre, never completed high school and has a history of mental illness, according to court records.” http://newsok.com/article/5560070

Protesters in Durham, North Carolina pull down confederate soldier statue. “The statue, which depicts a uniformed and armed Confederate soldier, stood atop an engraved pedestal that read, “In memory of ‘the boys who wore the gray.’ ” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... -violence/

Trump returns to New York, is greeted by protesters. “Thousands of protesters rallied outside the iconic Trump Tower skyscraper where the President is staying, while another group nearby staged a mock “die-in” and funeral for American values before marching to the main event.” http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ant ... -1.3411491

Trump finally denounces white extremists. “Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” https://in.reuters.com/article/virginia ... NKCN1AU0VT

Support for charter schools falls sharply. “About 39 percent of respondents favor opening more charters — schools that are funded by public money, but usually operated independently of school districts — according to the survey by Education Next, a journal published by Harvard’s Kennedy School and Stanford University. That’s down from 51 percent last year.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStor ... r-49221778

Seattle police block anti-fascist protesters. “The anti-fascist protestors had planned to march to Westlake to face off against the right-wing demonstrators, but police stopped the march several blocks before Westlake Park to prevent a confrontation.” http://nwpr.org/post/right-wing-and-ant ... es-seattle

Elizabeth Warren tells Netroots conference that the Democratic Party must move to the left to remain relevant. “The Democratic Party isn’t going back to the days of welfare reform and the crime bill,” Warren said. “It is not going to happen.” http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3464 ... wilderness

Chicago homeowner claims the three people he shot dead were burglars. “Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner said those killed in the shooting about 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the city’s East Side neighborhood include a 17-year-old boy, a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman.” http://fox2now.com/2017/08/14/police-in ... t-chicago/

Trophy hunter trampled to death by angry elephant. “Jose Monzalvez, 46, was hunting in a group Saturday afternoon when he was trampled by an elephant in a private wildlife area 70 kilometers — or approximately 43 miles — from the town of Kalkfeld.” http://www.ibtimes.com/argentinian-hunt ... ia-2578405

Trump campaign advisor pushed for meetings with Russians. “The adviser, George Papadopoulos, offered to set up “a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss US-Russia ties under President Trump,” telling them his Russian contacts welcomed the opportunity, according to internal campaign emails read to The Washington Post.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Holocaust memorial in Boston vandalized for second time this summer. “It’s shocking and it’s particularly shocking for us in the Jewish community, coming as it does in a week in which so many of us spent our weekend watching Nazis marching in Virginia.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/ ... story.html

World Health Organization points finger and U.S. and Britain as cholera toll in Yemen hits 500,000. “In backing this war with billions of dollars of arms sales and military support, the U.S. and the U.K. are complicit in the suffering of millions of people in Yemen.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... complicity

Federal agencies say white supremacist groups are top domestic threat. “While President Donald Trump spent much of his campaign and the first six months of his presidency warning Americans about the dangers posed by immigrants from Central America, refugees from majority-Muslim countries, and the street gang MS-13, the joint intelligence bulletin compiled by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notes that members of white supremacist groups were “responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016, more than any other domestic extremist movement”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... threat-may

Alameda County Sheriffs Department in California allegedly retweets white nationalist Richard Spencer. “The retweet is a video of a press conference Spencer held earlier in the day, in which he panned assertions that President Donald Trump was disavowing a white supremacist rally that turned deadly on Saturday.” http://www.businessinsider.com/alameda- ... cer-2017-8

Justice Department reportedly demanding IP addresses, emails, photos and contact info of everyone who visited a Trump inauguration protest website. “According to DreamHost, the Justice Department has filed a motion to compel the company to release 1.3 million visitors’ IP addresses from disruptj20.org, a website belonging to a group of activists “building the framework needed for mass protests to shut down the inauguration of Donald Trump”.” http://www.businessinsider.com/dreamhos ... ion-2017-8

Third CEO resigns from Trump advisory council. “Intel CEO Brian Krzanich joined the leaders of Merck and Under Armour in resigning from the Trump administration’s American Manufacturing Council.” https://venturebeat.com/2017/08/14/inte ... l-climate/

Amnesty International presses South African government to prosecute police officers who opened fire on striking Marikana platinum miners. “On Aug. 16, 2012, riot police killed 34 people and more than 70 others were injured.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nesty-says

Proposed state laws, backed by law enforcement unions, would shield drivers who hit protesters. “The right to peacefully demonstrate is a cornerstone of American democracy; however, with this bill North Carolina Republicans are threatening that right by giving certain drivers a free pass to run over protesters without any fear of civil liability.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/14/bac ... rotesters/

You can thank politicians and federal bureaucrats for high prescription drug prices. “(Rep. Billy Tauzin’s) contributions to the Medicare expansion included ensuring the government couldn’t use its expanded drug buying power to negotiate for cheaper drug prices on behalf of American seniors.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... er-2577597

Video allegedly showing Harris County, Texas deputies performing roadside search of woman’s vagina, after stopping her for running a red light, is released. “When (Charneshia) Corley protested, “the deputies forcibly threw Ms. Corley to the ground, while she was still handcuffed, pinned her down with her legs spread apart, threatened to break her legs, and without consent penetrated her vagina in a purported search for marijuana,” according to the suit.” http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 817477.php

Trump reportedly has a long history of calling out people for racism on Twitter – but most of them have been black, although a few were white liberals. “Three of the seven tweets Trump has posted accusing white people of being racists were directed at well-known liberals — Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and David Letterman.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/trump-w ... -liberals/

Residents of Guam, at risk of nuclear attack, don’t get to vote in presidential elections. “…what is our situation in terms of our American citizens who can’t vote for a president who takes us to war?” https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-korea- ... 59139.html

Trump tells Guam’s governor to expect huge surge in tourism after threats of nuclear attack by North Korea. “I have to tell you, you have become extremely famous all over the world.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/worl ... -call.html

Thousand march in support of anti-fascist protesters. “On Sunday, thousands poured into the streets of Seattle, Denver, Baltimore, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Miami and in Charlottesville, Virginia, to protest white supremacist violence and mourn the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who was killed in the attack.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/14/ ... esville_va

Charlottesville ramming victim Heather Heyer was reportedly a member of the IWW. “On Saturday night, (San Diego area) members of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union and other left-wing and socialist groups gathered in El Cajon to honor Heyer, who was a member of the IWW.” http://www.cbs8.com/story/36125344/loca ... e-protests

Trump condemns political violence and hate “on many sides” after fatal attack by white nationalist on protesters. “Trump made the remarks shortly after it was confirmed that one person had been killed and more than a dozen others injured after a car plowed into a crowd of people protesting against white nationalist and Nazi groups marching Saturday in Charlottesville.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... many-sides

Florida junior high drops its offer to let kids go to the front of the lunch line if their family donates $100 to PTSA. “With middle school already being a very contentious age, with hormones and everything else, the last thing you really want to do is add a food hierarchy on top of that.” http://people.com/human-interest/parent ... line-pass/ Sort of like the TSA’s $85 PreCheck program?

Man who spits on alt-right gathering organizer at news conference is arrested and charged with “misdemeanor assault and battery”. http://www.newsplex.com/content/news/VS ... 05813.html Men who beat black counter-protester unconscious with poles near police station, leaving him with a concussion and multiple injuries, were not stopped or arrested. http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2017/aug/ ... sts-poles/

Berkeley fast food restaurant fires employee for participating in torchlight protest rally, but claim they support rights to “individual freedom and voluntary association”. “Effective Saturday 12th August, Cole White no longer works at Top Dog. The actions of those in Charlottesville are not supported by Top Dog.” http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/08/13/ ... st-photos/ Things like this used to happen to people who attended Vietnam War era peace rallies….

About 1/2 of American workers polled said they have to take work home to meet the demands of their employer, 55% say they must endure “unpleasant and potentially hazardous” working conditions. “(Study’s author, Nicole) Maestas wonders whether toxic working conditions are keeping Americans out of the labor force.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-not-so- ... workplace/

Elon Musk tweets that artificial intelligence is “vastly more” dangerous than North Korea. “…Michael Vassar, chief science officer of MetaMed Research, stated: “If greater-than-human artificial general intelligence is invented without due caution, it is all but certain that the human species will be extinct in very short order.” https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reminds- ... ulated-ai/

Mayor of Charlottesville blames Trump for rise of white nationalist movement. “Look at the campaign he ran. I mean, look at the intentional courting, both on the one hand of all these white supremacists, white nationalists, a group like that, anti-Semitic groups, and then look on the other hand the repeated failure to step up, condemn, denounce, silence, you know, put to bed all those different efforts, just like we saw yesterday.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/1 ... ump-241587

President of Washington State University College Republicans admits addressing Charlottesville extremist rally. “(James Allsup) said the rally organizer unexpectedly asked him to make a few remarks.” http://www.krem.com/news/local/whitman- ... /464115260

Investigators claim DNC emails were leaked, not hacked. “On the evening of July 5, 2016, 1,976 megabytes of data were downloaded from the DNC’s server. The operation took 87 seconds. This yields a transfer rate of 22.7 megabytes per second…. No Internet service provider, such as a hacker would have had to use in mid-2016, was capable of downloading data at this speed.” https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new ... -dnc-hack/

1 dead, 34 injured after suspected white nationalist drives car into crowd of Charlottesville counter-protesters. “(James Fields Jr.) was photographed earlier in the day holding a shield aligned with Vanguard America, a hate group that uses the nationalist slogan “blood and soil” and believes the U.S. is for the “White American peoples”. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3405906

Drunken American punched after doing Nazi salute in Dresden. “German police say a drunken American male tourist was punched by a passer-by as he gave the stiff-armed Nazi salute multiple times in downtown Dresden.” http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/drunk-american ... ch-1634824

Clothing made in North Korea allegedly being sold around the world labelled “Made in China”. “We will ask the Chinese suppliers who work with us if they plan on being open with their client — sometimes the final buyer won’t realize their clothes are being made in North Korea.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nort ... SKBN1AT00Q

2016 was the hottest year on record. “The 298-page report, prepared by a team of scientists led by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, affirms that 2016 was the hottest year in 137 years of recordkeeping.” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017 ... nment-spd/

Charlottesville police accused of allowing violent clashes. “We walked the streets beginning in the early morning hours and repeatedly witnessed instances in which authorities took a largely laissez faire approach, allowing white supremacists and counter-protesters to physically battle.” https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/po ... ottesville

Euclid, Ohio police officer caught on video repeatedly punching black suspect after traffic stop. “Richard Hubbard III, 25, was driving a 2011 Hyundai when he was pulled over on East 228th Street before 10:30 a.m, according to a news release.” http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... iolen.html Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvP8zm6WYnw

Rural California county to install mass surveillance system. “Project Skynet (!) would install 160 (automated license plate readers) and 124 surveillance cameras at 66 locations throughout Solano County.” https://www.cehrp.org/solano-county-she ... ct-skynet/ “Skynet” was the rogue artificial intelligence that attempted to destroy humanity, which it perceived as a “security threat”, in the “Terminator” movie series.

About 160 Applebee’s and IHOP restaurants to close due to poor sales. “DineEquity noted that the numbers are revised expectations – the number of Applebee’s restaurants set to close is more than double what was previously expected.” http://wgntv.com/2017/08/11/more-than-1 ... -to-close/ If the working class burns, retail burns with us.

ACLU sues Washington, D.C. public transport agency over ban on “advertisements that are intended to influence public policy”, while accepting ads “for alcoholic drinks… Squirt.org, an online service for gay and bisexual men looking for casual sex… casinos (and) military aircraft.” https://www.courthousenews.com/d-c-metr ... eft-right/

Hackers may have compromised some North Carolina voting systems in 2016 election. “Voters were going in and being told that they had already voted — and they hadn’t.” http://www.npr.org/2017/08/10/542634370 ... isruptions

Walmart spokesperson claims “back to school” gun promotion was a prank, but does not provide details. “Crowson wouldn’t say what proof the company had…. He acknowledged only that the photo wasn’t taken at a store in Evansville, Indiana, as had been originally suggested.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Winner in Kenyan presidential election used same election strategy advisor as Trump. “No doubt trying to influence the vote was the incumbent government’s strategy advisor, the “big data” firm Cambridge Analytica (CA) owned by American billionaire Robert Mercer.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/kenyatta-w ... he-results

Top Republicans reportedly accepted huge donations from Ukrainian-American oligarch with ties to Russian government. “Donald Trump and the political action committees for Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich and John McCain accepted $7.35 million in contributions from a Ukrainian-born oligarch who is the business partner of two of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs and a Russian government bank.” https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm ... -campaigns

Residents of Guam urged not to look directly at atomic blast or fireball. “…for those who survive the initial blast and avoid the heaviest radiation, the government suggests not going outside for at least 24 hours to avoid any possible radioactive material, unless otherwise told by authorities.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 558553001/

Trump threatens military action in Venezuela, without any suggestion of hidden weapons of mass destruction. “We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -venezuela If this is about democracy, are Saudi Arabia and China next?

China further tightens internet censorship. “China’s Cyberspace Administration accused internet users of “spreading violence, terror, false rumors, pornography and other hazards to national security, public safety, social order”… http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40896235 Like stories about pro-democracy activists?

Hundreds of white nationalists reportedly march in torchlight parade in Charlottesville, Virginia. “Video showed protesters also chanting “Jews will not replace us” and “white lives matter”. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tor ... ia-n792021

Judge approves search warrants for police department cell phones of Minneapolis officers involved in Justine Damond shooting. “The application says the information “may more clearly define” the officers’ actions before and after 40-year-old Justine Damond was killed on July 15.” http://www.ksfy.com/content/news/Judge- ... 01853.html

Pace of deportations during Obama administration far exceeded those by Trump. “In (Obama’s) final year in office, about 240,000 people were removed. ICE statistics show removals in the first six months of this year… at about 103,000 removals.” https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigra ... rter-chief

68% of Republicans believe there is widespread voter fraud and 52% say they would be ok with Trump postponing the 2020 election if necessary to prevent non-citizens from voting. “Postponing the 2020 presidential election is not something that Trump or anyone in his administration has even hinted at, but for many in his constituency floating such an idea may not be a step too far.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -elections Don’t give them any ideas!

16 civilians reported killed in U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan. ” It was the second time since July 24 that an airstrike in that district killed civilians, according to Afghan officials.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/worl ... rikes.html

Lockheed Martin to be paid $8 billion to supply special forces troops. “The U.S. military often relies on outside contractors to perform support services including logistics at warehouses and depots as well as maintenance, modifications and repairs on equipment like airplanes and vehicles.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lock ... AR2E3?il=0

CIA allegedly spent $20 million on project to surgically wire a cat as a listening device. “It thought that a cat wired to record sound would be able to come and go unnoticed, and with the use of audio cues, could be controlled to go where it would record interesting sounds–like talks between Soviet leaders.” http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new ... 180964313/ Unfortunately, the first “Acoustic Kitty” was hit and killed by a taxi during its first “mission”.

Magazine article attacks “conspiracy theories”, forgets to mention those embraced by the mainstream media. “Goldberg and Co.’s theory that Saddam was working with Al Qaeda—which was floated by Goldberg everywhere from Slate (3/2/02, 10/3/02) to NPR (2/4/03) to the New Yorker (3/25/02) in the build-up to the Iraq War—was a textbook example of a conspiracy theory, complete with cherry-picked evidence, dubious inferences, rejection of contradictory evidence and ideological blinders.” http://fair.org/home/conspiracies-pushe ... -theories/

Trump advisor suggests Minnesota mosque bombing may have been staged by leftists. “We’ve had a series of crimes committed, alleged hate crimes, by right-wing individuals in the last six months, that turned out to actually have been propagated by the left.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/11/ ... false_flag

Greenland is on fire. “…a massive and unprecedented wildfire continues to burn nearly two weeks after dried peat first caught fire on the island’s southwest.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/11/ ... _wildfires

Russian journalist jailed for “extremism”. “In a report last month (the) Human Rights Watch organization called the legislation “vague and overly broad” and used to prosecute critics.” http://www.news24.com/World/News/russia ... m-20170810
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

47
Trump fires his evil brain, Steve Bannon. “It was Mr Bannon, with fellow hardliner Stephen Miller, who wrote Mr Trump’s inauguration speech – a dark and foreboding depiction of the “American carnage” that Mr Trump believed he had been elected to stop.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08 ... st-mutual/

Bannon expressed his concerns about China in the interview that likely got him fired. “If we continue to lose (the economic war with China), we’re five years away, I think, ten years at the most, of hitting an inflection point from which we’ll never be able to recover.” http://prospect.org/article/steve-bannon-unrepentant Sorry Steve, for the working class it’s already over – our jobs are in China now and we’re just selling at Walmarts and Targets what U.S. companies have made in China, working part-time at $9 or $10 an hour.

Charlottesville’s mayor wants to remove Robert E. Lee statue but Virginia law prevents local governments from removing “war monuments”. “A law passed in 1998 forbids local governments from removing or damaging war monuments, but there remains legal ambiguity about whether that applies to statues erected before the law was passed.” http://www.firstpost.com/world/charlott ... 48195.html

Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly officially assumes country’s legislative powers. “Venezuela’s new Constituent Assembly granted itself wide powers to write and pass legislation on Friday, a move that essentially nullifies the opposition-led legislature and puts President Nicolás Maduro’s party firmly in control of the country.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/worl ... aduro.html

Entire Arts & Humanities council resigns. “”We cannot sit idly by, the way that your West Wing advisors have, without speaking out against your words and actions,” wrote the group of 17 visual artists, writers, musicians, and other influential figures in the arts.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... s-en-masse

Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch to speak at Trump International Hotel. “Justice Gorsuch should have known better than to sign up as the headliner for an event that will line Donald Trump’s pockets in a way that is at best ethically sketchy, and at worst downright unconstitutional.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... rump-hotel

Number arrested for toppling North Carolina confederate statue rises to eight, 200 show up at police station to turn themselves in. “The people will continue to keep making the right choices until every Confederate statue is gone, until white supremacy is gone.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... themselves

Arnold Schwarzenegger tells white nationalists to learn lessons of Second World War. “…growing up, I was surrounded by broken men, men who came home from a war filled with shrapnels and guilt, men who were misled into a losing ideology. And I can tell you that these ghosts you idolize spent the rest of their lives living in shame and right now, they’re resting in hell.” http://people.com/politics/arnold-schwa ... g-in-hell/

ACLU says it may not represent groups who insist on simultaneously exercising their 1st and 2nd amendment constitutional rights. “[W]e don’t feel we have to represent any group – including white supremacists – seeking to demonstrate with firearms.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... n-for-aclu

Maryland removes statue of Supreme Court justice who wrote pro-slavery Dred Scott decision in 1857. “It denied citizenship to black slaves and descendants of slaves, (and said) that slavery couldn’t be banned in new territories of the United States, and that “the enslaved African race were not intended to be included” in the words “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence.” http://wtop.com/anne-arundel-county/201 ... annapolis/

Lawsuit claims Nestle’s Poland Spring bottled water does not come from real springs. “The lawsuit, filed this week in a Connecticut district court by 11 consumers who are also seeking class-action status, says that while Nestlé markets Poland Spring as “100% natural spring water,” using images of pristine mountain or forest springs that help it charge a premium, the product doesn’t meet the federal definition of spring water.” http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/201 ... r-wsj.html

Personal information from voting records of almost 2 million Chicago residents reportedly leaked by voting machine vendor. “Data on 1.8 million Chicago voters, including addresses, phone numbers and partial Social Security numbers, were left exposed on a downloadable cloud-storage site operated by an Omaha election-services company until a cybersecurity researcher discovered it, the company said Thursday.” http://www.latimes.com/business/technol ... story.html

Turkish leader tells Turks in Germany how to vote. “Germany’s Christian Democrats and Social Democratic Party — the two ruling parties — as well as the Greens “are all enemies of Turkey,” Erdogan said Friday in televised remarks directed at about 1 million German voters of Turkish origin.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... key-s-foes

United Auto Workers officials allegedly received payoffs from Fiat Chrysler. “High-ranking leaders of FCA and the UAW with six-figure salaries, often cast as adversaries in bitter labor battles, conspired to dip into a multimillion (dollar) fund created for training blue-collar workers, prosecutors alleged.” http://www.detroitnews.com/story/busine ... 104721558/

Fired Google employee says conservatives working at Google are “in the closet”. “Fired Google software engineer, James Damore, says being conservative and working at the tech behemoth is “like being gay in the 1950s”.” https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/18/james-d ... 1950s.html Or like being a leftist for most of American history. “At one point, the FBI designated (Mario) Savio as a key activist, putting him on a list of people whom the FBI would attempt to neutralize through intensive surveillance and harassment…. An FBI agent contacted Savio’s employer, and sometime later Savio lost his job.” http://www.npr.org/2012/08/21/159373688 ... rty-tricks

NFL player sits during national anthem over Charlottesville march. “(Michael) Bennett said some players were scared off by the experience of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the movement last season and is now without a job in football.” http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2036 ... m-protests

Florida doctors and politicians reportedly squabbled over payments while sick kids suffered. “Despite hours of phone calls, she says, she couldn’t find surgeons on (her son’s) new (Medicaid) insurance plan willing to do the highly specialized procedures he needed.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/18/healt ... index.html

Right-wing extremist kills 13, injures more than 100 after driving van through crowd. “It was clearly a terror attack, intended to kill as many people as possible.” http://host.madison.com/news/national/b ... a89aa.html Are you sure it wasn’t a “clash” between right-wing extremists and local pedestrians?

Jared and Ivanka are friends with a Russian oligarch and his wife. “There’s no oligarch among those still accepted in the West who’s closer and more trusted by Putin than (Roman) Abramovich.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... anka-trump

Electronic Frontier Foundation says banning neo-Nazis from the internet sets a dangerous precedent. “Protecting free speech is not something we do because we agree with all of the speech that gets protected. We do it because we believe that no one—not the government and not private commercial enterprises—should decide who gets to speak and who doesn’t.” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/08/f ... expression

Julian Assange claims he has proof that Russia did not hack DNC emails. “U.S. intelligence has insisted it has solid proof — which it has not made public — that Russia was behind last year’s election hacks that embarrassed Democrats, including unflattering revelations about nominee Hillary Clinton and her campaign chairman, John Podesta, whose personal email account was also hacked.” http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity ... t-leak-him

CEOs ranked on how soon they abandoned Trump’s business councils. “The only representatives of labor on the two panels (Richard Trumka and Thea Lee of the AFL-CIO) dithered inexcusably before resigning Tuesday.” http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik ... story.html

40% of Americans would like to see Trump impeached. “Almost three-quarters of the Democrats (72 percent) and 38 percent of independents backed the idea. However, only seven percent of Republicans polled in favor of his removal.” http://www.ibtimes.com/will-trump-be-im ... ds-2579955

United Airlines accused of ignoring sexual assault. “When the teen notified a flight attendant about the incident, she was moved to another row…. the teen’s assaulter walked free after deboarding the flight.” http://www.ibtimes.com/girl-sexually-as ... fe-2579854

Sacramento, California releases video of alleged assault on pregnant woman by police officers who mistook her boyfriend for a car thief, faces of all the uniformed officers involved are electronically obscured. “In the video, she is seen being moved out of the front door area by the officer, but the footage does not show her falling to the ground.” http://www.ibtimes.com/sacramento-polic ... er-2580059 Apparently, video of the assault from only one officer’s camera was released.



Trump dissolves White House business advisory councils after CEOs and labor leader quit. “Eight chief executives and other industry leaders on the president’s manufacturing and jobs initiative group had stepped down before his announcement disbanding the council, and a call of the remaining members had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.” https://www.ft.com/content/42884102-829 ... b2513cb3ff

Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters sentenced to prison. “This is a watershed moment for Hong Kong: it now has political prisoners.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ho ... story.html

“Free speech” group cancels Google protests due to threats. “The rallies were announced by a conspiracy-theory promoter after a Google employee was fired for penning a highly controversial internal memo about gender differences, sparking uproar in the tech industry.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/organizers ... errorists/

Steve Bannon turns on white nationalists, calls them “losers” and “clowns”. “Ethno-nationalism – it’s losers…. These guys are a collection of clowns.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40958329

Cloudflare CEO torn after booting white nationalist Daily Stormer website. “The internet that I’ve built a company around, and spent the last 20-plus years enjoying, was one where any idea could exist. I worry that that’s a little less true today.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40958499

Police in North Carolina have arrested four people for pulling down a Confederate statue, but still no arrests in gang beating of black counter-protester. “… (Charlottesville) police have yet to arrest anyone for viciously beating Deandre Harris, a 20-year-old black man, even though photo and video footage of five white men assaulting Harris has been virally circulated on social media and televised news for several days.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... al-beating

Trump compares Washington and Jefferson to Lee and Jackson. “So this week it’s Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?” https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertai ... story.html

Mayor of New Orleans explains why he decided to take down the city’s Confederate statues. “These statues are not just stone and metal. They are not just innocent remembrances of a benign history. These monuments celebrate a fictional, sanitized Confederacy, ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, ignoring the terror that it actually stood for.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6oPol68RCk

Funeral held for slain counter-protester. “Family members of the young woman mowed down while protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville used her funeral as a rallying cry, telling mourners the best way to honor Heather Heyer is to continue her fight against injustice.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/char ... e-49267459

Journalist points out double standard in North Korea missile dispute. “Just as during the Cuban missile crisis, we start from the position that we must have the power to kill others, but it is illegitimate for them to have the power to kill us.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/17/the ... worldview/

Company making police body cameras (formerly known as Taser International) reportedly using collected data to train artificial intelligence programs. “Imagine having one person in your agency who would watch every single one of your videos — and remember everything they saw — and then be able to process that and give you the insight into what crimes you could solve, what problems you could deal with.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ns-2579107

Investigators claim free virtual private network (VPN) service is misleading its users. “The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) filed its 14-page complaint Monday, in which the organization accuses Hotspot Shield and parent company AnchorFree of performing a number of undisclosed practices that may violate a user’s privacy including data sharing and traffic redirection.” http://www.ibtimes.com/hotspot-shield-v ... pn-2575462

Recently released Kennedy assassination documents reveal that CIA used diplomatic pouch to smuggle weapons into the Dominican Republic to assassinate country’s leader. “The Chief of Station returned to Washington for consultations in early April. He was able to convince his superiors that the pouch was the only feasible and secure means of getting the weapons into the Dominican Republic for delivery to the dissidents. The Deputy Director for Plans approved on April 10, and the pouch was sent on April 14 but with the restriction that the weapons not be passed without further approval.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/08/15/cia-h ... committee/

Trump defends “beautiful” Confederate statues it tweet. “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/white-s ... e-statues/

Book on torture program being kept from publication by government review. “Unjustifiable Means… recounts the leadership, ethical and moral challenges that (Fallon) and others faced in telling truth to power and illuminates how torture contributed to the proliferation of the global violent extremism that jeopardizes our national security.” http://www.newsweek.com/torture-cia-mar ... ced-651120

Amnesty International official calls for international intervention in Philippine “drug war”. “These shocking deaths are a reminder that President Duterte’s lawless ‘war on drugs’ continues unabated and actually appears to be plumbing new depths of barbarity, with police routinely gunning down suspects, violating the key right to life and completely flouting due process.” https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releas ... barbarity/

Two Charlottesville car attack victims sue driver and rally organizers for about $3.5 million. “The pair were among 19 injured in the attack.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/17/ ... organizers

Trump says not everyone at Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally was a racist. ““You had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest and very legally protest,” the President said of the sea of people who chanted Nazi slogans, carried swastikas and wore combat gear.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3414369

Fifth member of Trump’s manufacturing council resigns. “We cannot sit on a council for a president who tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism.” https://www.usnews.com/news/business/ar ... ness-panel

Trump executive order waives tougher flood risk standards. “Trump’s order “revoked an Obama-era executive order that required strict building standards for government-funded projects to reduce exposure to increased flooding from sea level rise and other consequences of climate change”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -standards

Trump administration cut funding for “Life After Hate” non-profit targeting U.S. extremists. “Trump aides, including Katharine Gorka, were already working toward eliminating Life After Hate’s grant and to direct all funding toward fighting what the president has described as “radical Islamic terrorism”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -supremacy

Trump consortium was disqualified from Sydney casino bidding in mid-80’s due to alleged mafia connections. ““Atlantic City would be a dubious model for Sydney and in our judgment, the Trump mafia connections should exclude the Kern/Trump consortium,” a summary of the police board’s report said.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... onnections

Durham County deputies searching for activists who pulled down statue of confederate soldier, one arrested so far. “One of the speakers, Takiya Thompson, a student at the university and a member of the Workers World Party who said she had climbed the statue on Monday and put on one of the straps used to pull it down, was arrested by two uniformed sheriff’s deputies as she left the communications building.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/p ... urham.html

More than 900 organized hate groups active in the U.S. “While many white supremacists are associated with known hate groups, a majority of them [like Dylann Roof] are not formally affiliated with a particular organization.” https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/ha ... e-ideology

Fox Nation and Daily Caller websites reportedly posted compilation video of incidents where drivers hit protesters. “The 90-second clip highlights an increasingly violent series of collisions with protesters, many of whom appeared to be members of the Black Lives Matter movement.” https://gizmodo.com/fox-news-and-the-da ... 1797877837

Thai student sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for sharing BBC profile of country’s king on Facebook. “(Jatupat Boonpattararaksa), who had initially contested the charges, agreed on Tuesday to plead guilty. He was facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40938914

Pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong arrested for making up “fake story” about being abducted and abused by pro-PRC agents. “(Howard) Lam said on Thursday, unknown Mandarin-speaking men abducted him from a busy street in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong and rendered him unconscious. He said they beat him (, shot staples into his legs) and warned him not to follow through with his plan (to send a gift to Liu Xiaobo’s widow).” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... -hong-kong

Troy, New York police shoot man twice during traffic stop, few details released. “Dahmeek McDonald of Troy was shot twice in the torso at 6:40 p.m. at 408 Eighth St. and he is expected to fully recover, Tedesco said at a 10:45 p.m. news conference at the police station.” http://www.timesunion.com/7dayarchive/a ... 821752.php

Salt Lake City man fatally shot by police, few details released. “Brown would not say why (Patrick) Harmon was initially stopped, where he was wounded, how many shots were fired or what kind of weapon he pulled when three officers attempted to take him into custody Sunday night.” http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... -City.html

Brought to you by Progressive News Service https://progressivenewsservice.wordpress.com
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

48
Federal agencies resist doing favors for influential Trump supporters. “At one meeting with the president, Trump turned to (Energy Secretary) Perry in front of (coal baron Robert) Murray “and said three times ‘I want this done,'” the coal company owner wrote.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/2 ... nds-241919

Pipeline company sues Greenpeace and other environmental groups over Dakota Access pipeline delays. “In the racketeering lawsuit it filed in federal court Tuesday, Energy Transfer Partners alleges these groups inflicted “billions of dollars in damage” with their “criminal activity and campaigns of misinformation” against the pipeline.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... l-activity

Phoenix police reportedly disperse anti-Trump protesters with tear gas and flash bang grenades. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/protesters ... x-arizona/

Crew exhaustion may be factor in Navy collisions. “With the accident coming soon after the freedom of navigation operation, it raised questions ‘whether there is crew fatigue setting in, whether or not the tempo of operations by the US Navy in this region is getting too fast’.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -ship.html

Jury finds Bundy supporters not guilty at second trial. “The decades-long legal dispute between Cliven Bundy and the government escalated in 2014 when federal agents came to round up his cattle after he refused to renew permits that would have allowed his cattle graze on public lands near his ranch.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow ... story.html

Lottery programmer sentenced to 25 years for rigging lotteries in four states. “Tipton admitted in June to installing code that prompted the computers to produce predictable numbers only on certain days.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/iowa ... m-49360920

Police report claims member of Kennedy family screamed incoherently, threw himself against a wall and smashed a cabinet of his own glassware when police showed up due to a noise complaint. “The actions of both Matthew Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy had incited this crowd (of party guests) into an angry mob.” http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/ ... sin_1.html Fiction writing tip – the actions of your characters can be flamboyant and eccentric, but they have to be believable.

Dance the macarena in Saudi Arabia, go to jail. “Saudi police arrested a 14-year-old boy who was filmed dancing to the “Macarena” at an intersection in the Red Sea city of Jiddah, according to local media reports on Wednesday.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mi ... story.html

Iconic New York alternative tabloid TheVillage Voice to end newsprint edition. “The newspaper business has moved online, Mr. Barbey noted, and so has The Voice’s audience, “which expects us to do what we do not just once a week, but every day, across a range of media,” he wrote.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/nyre ... ation.html

Seattle cops sue city council member Kshama Sawant for calling police shooting a “brutal murder”. “Seattle First Amendment attorney Bruce E.H. Johnson said he has not seen another lawsuit like it in more than 40 years of practice.” http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new ... he-taylor/

Protesters demand fraud charges be dropped against Russian director. “(Kirill Serebrennikov), who has used his work to poke fun at the authorities, lashing out at what he sees as the pernicious role of the church and state in Russian society, denies any wrongdoing.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russ ... B3167?il=0

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says it’s time to face reality in Afghanistan. “The war in Afghanistan has failed.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... has-failed

Climate activist Bill McKibben says only a dramatic shift to renewable energy can save the planet. “What Medicare for All is to the healthcare debate, or Fight for $15 is to the battle against inequality, 100 percent renewable is to the struggle for the planet’s future.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... y-possible

Washington Post claims President Trump has lied to the public 1,057 times since taking office. “As the Post notes, he has repeatedly taken credit for cutting the cost of the F-35 fighter jet, an increase in defense spending by NATO member countries, and Ford’s decision to build a plant in Michigan instead of Mexico—though the president had nothing to do with any of these developments.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... falsehoods

More than 1/5th of U.S. parents say they can’t afford to pay cash for their children’s back-to-school supplies. “Karimzad said parents should try to spread things out instead of buying everything at the beginning of the year.” http://www.ibtimes.com/back-school-shop ... bt-2581421

Republican CNN commentator accuses Trump of “narcissism in midst of tragedy” after his comments on Charlottesville during his speech in Phoenix. “Many mental health professionals have evaluated Trump’s health, and like Navarro, have concluded him to be narcissist.” http://www.ibtimes.com/cnns-ana-navarro ... st-2581649

Flag manufacturer reports surge in demand for Confederate flags. “Her company has sold an average of 600 to 800 Confederate flags (a year) since 2015, but Kennedy has gotten more than 100 orders in one day since the violent clash two weeks ago.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/america ... ttesville/

San Antonio police department cleared officer caught on video repeatedly punching teenage girl in the face. “Romana Lopez, a police spokeswoman, said on Monday that the department had no further comment about why the officer’s actions were justified.” http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/ ... o-12952193

Judge denies Guantanamo defense attorneys access to info redacted from 9/11 report. “Attorneys representing the accused 9/11 conspirators argued that evidence of other guilty parties, to include the possible complicity of the government of Saudi Arabia, could be useful to their defense during the guilt or innocence phase of the upcoming trial and, if necessary, during sentencing as well.” https://28pages.org/2017/08/22/gitmo-ju ... -28-pages/

Former special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan says no quick fix is likely to end war in Afghanistan. “Military victory is not plausible in any foreseeable time frame.” https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/1/1604 ... s-military

Trump says he won’t disclose how many U.S. troops will be deployed in Afghanistan. “We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tru ... 1ecb06b421

U.S. government has spent $714 billion during its 16 years of war in Afghanistan. “…America’s longest war has become a symbol for wartime graft and corruption in one of the world’s least governable countries rocked by conflict for decades.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... story.html

Treasury secretary’s wife posts photo of “day trip” to Kentucky on government jet, gets testy when taxpayer complains. “Glad we could pay for your little getaway.” http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politic ... -s-n794786

Are white nationalist trolling Antifa activists? “Antifa is our greatest ally. Their insanity is pushing the normies to the far right.” http://www.salon.com/2017/04/27/trollin ... te-people/

42 civilians reportedly killed in Raqqa airstrikes. “The figures took to 167 the number of civilians killed in coalition strikes since 14 August…” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41011868

Chilean court clears law granting women limited access to abortions. “By a narrow margin, lawmakers rendered abortion legal when the pregnancy results from rape, when the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life and when the fetus is unviable.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... rtion-bans

First white NFL player joins black teammates kneeling during national anthem. “Along with (Seth) DeValve, the Browns players who took a knee were: wide receivers Kenny Britt and Ricardo Louis, running backs Duke Johnson Jr., Isaiah Crowell, Brandon Wilds, and Terrence Magee, safeties Jabrill Peppers and Calvin Pryor, linebackers Christian Kirksey and Jamie Collins, and cornerback Jamar Taylor.” http://www.businessinsider.com/browns-s ... hem-2017-8

Opponents of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are mobilizing. “The campaign has built a new website, StopTrumpTaxCuts.org, where visitors can see how the tax cuts proposed by Trump and his congressional allies would reward the wealthy and corporations while their budget cuts would gut programs and services for working families.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... nd-wealthy

OMG, the left and right agree on something! “… conservative commentator Ann Coulter continued the theme in a tweet: “It doesn’t matter who you vote for. The military-industrial complex wins.”” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... p-increase

Military planning to spend almost $500 million on Guantanamo upgrades. “Behind the scenes, the U.S. military is planning for nearly a half-billion dollars in new construction during the Trump administration, including a Navy request to build a $250 million, five-bed hospital here that has been singled out for study by a Senate committee.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 73127.html Yes, that’s $50 million per bed.

Three Confederate statues come down at University of Texas. “Those statues depict John H. Reagan (Confederate Postmaster General), Albert S. Johnston (a Confederate general), and Robert E. Lee ( commander of the Confederate army).” http://kxan.com/2017/08/20/overnight-re ... nt-fenves/

U.S. and South Korea decide to go ahead with war games despite warnings from North Korea. “North Korea warned Sunday that the upcoming US-South Korea military exercises are “reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war”.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/20/asia/ ... index.html

Some top Trump aides say they don’t dare to resign. “You have no idea how much crazy stuff we kill.” https://www.axios.com/why-top-white-hou ... 45237.html

Trump administration to abolish climate change committee. “The panel — the Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment — is a 15-member panel made up of academics, corporate employees and local officials charged with simplifying findings from the National Climate Assessment for those inside and outside of the federal government.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... nge-report

Trump’s secret plan for peace in Middle East – telling each party what they want to hear? “Abbas noted that in meetings with envoys representing U.S. President Donald Trump in recent weeks, he heard that they support a two-state solution to the conflict and a settlement construction freeze. However, the Palestinian president said they are refusing to say so publicly and to present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with such a position as an American demand.” http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news ... s/1.807962

Philippine Catholic leaders call for end to government drug war killings. “Most people in the Philippines support the anti-drug campaign and Duterte remains a popular leader but questions have begun to be asked about the slaughter, with more than 90 people killed in a new surge of shootings in recent days.” https://www.voanews.com/a/anger-simmers ... 93857.html

An estimated 22,000 turn out in Hong Kong to protest arrests of pro-democracy activists. “Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow were initially given non-custodial sentences for their involvement in mass protests in 2014.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40993550

Robotics and artificial intelligence companies urge U.N. to ban “lethal autonomous weapons”. “An open letter by 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies from 26 countries was launched at the world’s biggest artificial intelligence conference, the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), as the U.N. delays meeting until later this year to discuss the robot arms race.” http://www.businessinsider.com/top-arti ... ots-2017-8

Off-duty officer reported singing man to police in excessive force case. “As he dined with his wife outdoors at Shula’s Steakhouse, officer Taldan Cashatt saw Ochse’s serenade as a disturbance, court papers say, and called his colleague, officer Robert Busch, who Cashatt knew was on-duty and assigned to patrol the area.” http://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc-nws ... story.html

Judge questions accuracy of police officer’s version of events in shooting death of unarmed teenager Deven Guilford. “Maloney detailed those “factual disputes” in his 38-page opinion and was pointed in his criticism, addressing what he described as inconsistencies between (Officer) Frost’s account and the evidence.” http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/stor ... 576102001/

Washoe County, Nevada agrees to pay settlement in lawsuit claiming deputies released attack dog after suspect had surrendered. “As Corona knelt on the ground (with his hands on his head), deputy Jason Wood unleashed his police dog on him, telling the dog to “get that bad guy”.” https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states ... sive-force

Minneapolis woman claims police used excessive force to remove her from vehicle after they mistook her boyfriend for wanted felon. “We need more accountability so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.” http://www.kare11.com/news/woman-claims ... /464644805

Lawsuit accuses White Plains, New York police of excessive force during arrest. “Video inside police headquarters showed Pateman’s wrists covered in blood. He says he also suffered several rotator cuff tears and neck and back injuries, in addition to psychological trauma.” http://abc7ny.com/man-sues-white-plains ... e/2311429/

Man sues Niskayuna police after arrest left his arm broken in three places. “He claims in the suit that police pulled him through his car window, then twisted his disabled arm behind him.” https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/0 ... o-released

Family of Orange County prisoner sues over his death after neck fracture during cell extraction. “The suit claims the nursing staff had a “deliberate indifference” to his serious medical needs.” http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/bre ... story.html

Trump can still count on the support of his wealthy, conservative donors, some of whom recently joined him at the White House for dinner, who are poised to benefit “hugely” from proposed tax cuts. “They included the New York investor Robert Mercer, the Kentucky coal executive Joseph W. Craft, and the Wisconsin roofing magnate Diane Hendricks, according to people familiar with the dinner.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... ing-donors

Some Americans are working full-time, six days a week, and are still homeless. “We are the foot soldiers for these billion-dollar companies.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -economics

CIA torture victims win settlement from psychologists. “Because the settlement mandates confidentiality, lawyers for the ACLU declined to discuss the terms with The Intercept.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/17/cia ... ll-jessen/

Anti-fraud banking program to be scrapped by Trump administration. “Operation Choke Point heightened scrutiny on banks who failed to raise concerns about questionable transactions on their networks.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/18/mor ... mer-fraud/

Author claims little will to prosecute corporate crime. “…not that long ago, the US prosecuted the likes of Mike Milken, the executives of Enron and Adelphia and WorldCom. Today, executives at Wells Fargo or Goldman Sachs or so many that clearly were responsible for the potential criminal acts that caused the 2008/2009 crash have escaped the long arm of the law.” https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/08/18/big-p ... ions-pass/

Phoenix Craigslist ads seek minorities to hold Trump signs at rally, children as “crisis actors”. “While Trump has paid actors to attend events before, it’s equally likely that the ads are an internet prank or someone’s attempt to create a disinformation campaign.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/is-the- ... nix-rally/

National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster defends idea of “preventative war” with North Korea. “The president’s been very clear about it. He said he’s not going to tolerate North Korea being able to threaten the United States.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/worl ... trump.html

German police raid home of man who posted YPG flag image on Facebook. “A special police commando raided a shared apartment in the Schwabing district of the Bavarian capital at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, having tracked down one of its inhabitants who had, according to their search warrant, posted an image of the triangular yellow YPG flag in March.” http://www.dw.com/en/german-police-raid ... a-40160377

New York Times accused of publishing “alternative facts” when claiming U.S. opposed military coup in Honduras. “…the US continued most aid to Honduras, carefully avoiding the magic words “military coup” that would have necessitated withdrawing support from the coup regime.” http://fair.org/home/action-alert-nyt-c ... supported/

Steve Bannon returns to Breitbart News. “His departure came after a series of meetings last week with billionaire funder Robert Mercer, who funds Breitbart and funded Trump’s campaign. Bannon met with Mercer Wednesday, and Trump met with Mercer on Thursday.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/21/ ... _breitbart

Who are the Mercers, the family that has funded the Trump campaign, Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica, and what do they want? “They’re undoing the sort of the government as we know it, which has, you know, the protections for people, for workers, for the environment, for the poor, for the disabled.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/3/29/ ... yer_on_the

Counter-protesters in Boston massively outnumber white nationalists, by about 4,000 to 1. “City officials said that at least 40,000 people participated in the counter protest, 20,000 of whom participated in a march across town.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... r-protest/

Trump denounces anti-fascist protesters in Boston as “anti-police agitators”. “The time span between the first “anti-police agitators” tweet and the applause for the anti-hate protesters? One hour and 19 minutes.” http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/ ... _heal.html

U.S. trade deficit with China for first seven months of 2017 an estimated $142.75 billion. “China had a $25.2 billion trade surplus with the United States in July, down slightly from $25.4 billion in June, which was the highest since October 2015, customs data showed on Tuesday.” https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/08 ... e-usa.html

Comedian/civil rights activist Dick Gregory dies at 84. “Last time I was down South, I walked into this restaurant. This white waitress came up and said, ‘We don’t serve colored people here.’ I said, ‘That’s all right. I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.’” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3426317

Long history of employer abuse of H-1B visa program. “While the law required that foreign workers be paid the prevailing wage—what an American would make for the same job—Stahl reported it was often completely ignored and never enforced.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-h-1b-v ... beginning/

Democratic Party divided over whether or not to remove Confederate statues from U.S. Capitol building. “Among those represented include Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, whose statue was given by Mississippi and stands in National Statuary Hall, next to the Capitol rotunda. A statue of Lee, given by Virginia, stands in a room underneath the rotunda called the crypt.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/us/p ... pitol.html

Complaints claim Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed or froze customer bank accounts. “The complaints had consistent themes of confusion about why accounts were frozen or closed, and reflected desperation over being unable to access money, as well as frustration over not getting help from Wells Fargo’s customer service.” http://www.businessinsider.com/r-update ... nes-2017-8

Female, Asian-American doctor says some Oregon patients request a white intern or leave the hospital to avoid being treated by a non-white, female doctor. “I’ve found in my experience that you cannot talk people out of their ideology.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/19/us/as ... index.html

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"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

49
Overwhelmed by flooding, Houston authorities appeal to public for assistance rescuing hurricane victims. “In the thick of disaster, help doesn’t always come from a helicopter or a rescuer in a uniform.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/28/us/ha ... index.html Especially when you can’t get through to 911 for hours!

Mexican government offers assistance to Texas hurricane victims. “Mexico offered to help Texas deal with the disaster, “as good neighbors should always do in trying times”. ” https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather ... aked-texas

Trump reopens military-to-law enforcement weapons pipeline. “The new plan takes effect immediately and fully rolls back an Obama administration executive order that blocked armored vehicles, large-caliber weapons, ammunition and other heavy equipment from being re-purposed from foreign battlefields to America’s streets.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 606065001/ Because you never know when you’ll need a fully automatic military rifle for a traffic stop! “Nearly 5,000 M16 rifles have been distributed (in Ohio alone), including 999 to the Ohio Highway Patrol.” http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/in ... _ohio.html

Sanders issues another threat to introduce single-payer national health insurance legislation in Senate. “Sanders has long argued in favor of a government-run universal healthcare system, commonly referred to as single-payer. It was included in his platform during his 2016 run for the Democratic presidential nomination.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/34 ... next-month Will he actually do it this time? Will he submit the same bill that has 117 co-sponsors in the House? https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-con ... e-bill/676 Or is this the bus that Democrats don’t really want to catch?

Joe Arpaio’s lawyers ask federal judge to throw out contempt of court ruling in racial profiling case. “Trump may be taking Arpaio off the hook for jail time, but he can’t change history or erase the measure of justice that the court’s findings represent.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pard ... n-49477008

Trump Organization official allegedly approached Putin administration for assistance getting approval for Trump Tower project in Moscow. “The request came in a mid-January 2016 email from Michael Cohen, one of Trump’s closest business advisers, who asked longtime Putin lieutenant Dmitry Peskov for assistance in reviving a deal that Cohen suggested was languishing.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Houston megachurch reportedly closed to hurricane victims. “Osteen posted a notice on his website that the church would be shut over the weekend — and it remained closed Monday.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3450244

Texas Republicans want disaster aid after refusing it to others. “When Hurricane Sandy slammed New York, New Jersey, and a number of other states in 2012, Ted Cruz and more than 20 of his fellow Texas Republicans voted against an emergency aid package devoted to the areas devastated by the storm.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... -sandy-aid

Man who claimed he was stabbed by a black male for having a “fashy” haircut admits he made up the story. “When officers brought Witt in for another interview last week, he admitted that he had lied, police said.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... oshua-witt

California congressman allegedly tells Young Republicans why the party is still backing Trump. “He’s an asshole, but he’s our asshole.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... can-hunter

Movie “Detroit” accused of lacking background on city’s riot. “…targeted abuse by an overwhelmingly white police force coupled with concentrated poverty among black residents and systemic public housing discrimination at the time, the city was already sitting on a racial powder keg waiting to explode.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... od-history

Houston police union reportedly makes an appeal for donations – for its own members. “Hundreds of officers lost everything in this flood and have yet to go home. If you can help please make a donation.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/liv ... st-updates

Press accused of downplaying climate change angle during Hurricane Harvey coverage. “…every time we act as if an unprecedented weather event is hitting us out of the blue, as some sort of Act of God that no one foresaw, reporters are making a highly political decision.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/28/har ... te-change/

Big Pharma accused of setting up shell company to hide its links to astroturf group opposing drug price restrictions. “To oppose Issue 2, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the biggest trade organization in the U.S. representing major drug companies, created a political action committee on May 1 called Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... gh-2582891

Chicago police officer found guilty of civil rights violations for shooting fleeing car thieves. “Although Officer Proano said he feared for his life and the lives of the passengers in the vehicle, the dashboard camera video does not show any threats to Officer Proano or the passengers.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/chicago ... teenagers/ Shooting occurs at about 2:05 in video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okeahPsYk9I

Trump allegedly fired long-time rally organizer after Phoenix speech venue failed to fill up fast enough. “Although the crowd looked thin when Trump arrived at about 6:30 p.m., rallygoers filled in the space while Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Alveda King, Franklin Graham and Pence delivered introductory speeches.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nix-speech

Houston’s lack of zoning regulations likely contributed to flooding. “In less-free cities, the jackbooted thugs in the zoning department impose limits on the amount of impervious cover in a development.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/houston ... gulations/

Trump business partner reportedly bragged about getting Russian government support for Trump campaign. “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Mr. Sater wrote in an email. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/p ... sater.html

Air Force accepting bids for $2.5 billion in nuclear arsenal upgrades. “Andrew C. Weber, who was an assistant defense secretary and the director of the Nuclear Weapons Council, an interagency body that oversees the nation’s arsenal, argued that (the stealthy, nuclear cruise missile program) was unneeded, unaffordable and provocative.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/27/us/p ... rhaul.html

Israel’s prime minister vows that Jewish settlers will never leave occupied West Bank. “We are here to stay, forever.” http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444

Illegal immigrants fear seeking flood assistance on eve of new state law allowing police to verify immigration status. “Hurricane Harvey has threatened the safety of immigrants in Texas who are afraid to evacuate to shelters or approach authorities to seek help, in part because of a new law set to go into effect Friday that allows police in Texas to ask people they detain for their immigration status.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/28/ ... d_in_texas

European cooperation agency urges Trump to stop vilifying the press. “The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is urging U.S. President Donald Trump to stop his attacks on the press, saying they “degrade” the essential role of the media in a democracy.” https://www.voanews.com/a/european-secu ... 03967.html



Oklahoma police chief accused of running extremist websites claims he is a victim of identity theft. “With a banner that reads “The Voice of Blood and Honour,” an international coalition of racist skinhead gangs, ISD Records features artists like The Klansmen and album titles including ‘Hitler was Right’.” http://www.kxii.com/content/news/New-Co ... 04593.html

One arrested, another sought in beating of anti-racist protester at Charlottesville, Virginia alt-right event. “Daniel Borden, 18, is one of several people believed to have beaten DeAndre Harris in a parking garage, a spokesman for the Charlottesville Police Department told NBC29 in Charlottesville.” https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/nati ... 20073.html

Antifa activists attack anti-Marxist protesters, journalists at Berkeley alt-right event. “By the time the confrontations wound down in mid-afternoon, police had arrested 13 people, including one for assault with a deadly weapon.” http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/M ... 041287.php

Officers, stationed about 50 feet away, claim they did not hear or see gunshot during Charlottesville protest. “Richard Wilson Preston, 52, was arrested following the release of a video, filmed by the ACLU of Virginia…” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/27/us/ma ... index.html

France’s centrist President Macron’s approval rating falls to 40%. “Social media commentators and political opponents criticized the president after it emerged he spent 26,000 euros ($31,000) on makeup during his first 100 days in office and his office also backed down on plans to give his wife a formal, paid role after a public backlash.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fran ... B60RG?il=0

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating falls to 34% and 37% in different polls, lowest ever for a president during first year in office. “Most presidents begin with a honeymoon period and then go down from that, and Trump had no honeymoon.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html “No honeymoon” implies that his approval rate was low right from the beginning. If that is the case, it seems more than a little odd that such an unpopular person could have been fairly elected.

White House official responsible for promoting positive stories about the Trump administration looking for a new job. “Andy Hemming, the White House director of rapid response, reportedly worked 17-hour days finding positive news about the administration and sending it to reporters, television personalities, and other influencers.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 12896.html

Too big to bail? Houston’s mayor did not order evacuation. “When you combine Houston and Harris county, you literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/houston-mayor- ... d=49453471

About 1/3 of Venezuelans only eating one or two meals a day. “The pangs of hunger are felt through the corridors of its major businesses, behind the microphone on radio shows, in hospitals where malnutrition is climbing sharply and already claiming lives, and at schools where children faint and teachers skip classes to queue for food.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... ela-hunger

Some free apps upload all of your contact information. “As soon as you log into the application, it transmits all of your email and phone contacts…” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/27/hit ... ress-book/

EPA drops out of Climate Leadership program. “The announcement comes as climate change skeptics in President Donald Trump’s administration dismantle solutions imposed by President Barack Obama’s administration to decrease humans’ carbon footprint.” http://www.ibtimes.com/epa-says-it-will ... ds-2583097

Atlanta-area elementary school students take a field trip to a gun range, get to handle weapons. “(The private school’s owner) claims that the goal of the visit to Hi-Caliber Firearms was to enrich learning about such historical figures as Annie Oakley and Davy Crockett, which is part of Georgia’s required curriculum.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/atlanta ... d-weapons/

An estimated 1,000 protest in Moscow against government restrictions on internet. “The demonstration – between Pushkinskaya subway station and Sakharov Prospekt – was staged on Sunday against online censorship and demanded the “exoneration of Russians prosecuted for posting content online”.” http://www.dw.com/en/russians-protest-s ... a-39807536

Black teens struck by truck in Louisiana, get cited for not wearing reflective clothing, truck driver walks. “According to the police report, the three young men were along the roadside in Evangeline Parish earlier in the week when they struck by the truck on side of the road in an area that has no sidewalks.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/black-l ... t-charged/

Federal judge rules that police need a warrant to use fake cell phone towers to locate suspects, unless it’s an emergency. “Though Ellis was not known to be the shooter, he was believed to be a suspect in possession of firearms,” Judge Hamilton continued. “The need to prevent escape by a suspect presented exigent circumstances here.” https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/201 ... a-warrant/

Zapatistas reportedly shift strategies, enter electoral politics. “Political radicalism today has to be pacifist because the public, social and economic life in Mexico has been stained with blood for far too long.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/26/worl ... arcos.html

Trump supporter and long-time Republican activist Roger Stone claims impeaching Trump would lead to civil war. “Try to impeach him. Just try it. You will have a spasm of violence—an insurrection—in this country like you have never seen.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/25/ ... surrection

Trump sends out multiple tweets on Hurricane Harvey, fails to mention deaths or explain why Houston not evacuated. “HISTORIC rainfall in Houston, and all over Texas. Floods are unprecedented, and more rain coming. Spirit of the people is incredible. Thanks!” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3446781

Houston 911 operators received 56,000 emergency calls in 24 hours. “Just after 1 a.m., a woman in the Ellington neighborhood said on Twitter that she had two children with her, and “The water is swallowing us up. Please send help. 911 is not responding!!!!!!” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hou ... story.html

Dade County, Georgia deputy takes down mother of arrested woman. “The two argued, and Geddie grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a ditch.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/loca ... ss/445012/

Lawsuit alleges Palm Beach county, Florida jail staff used excessive force when four deputies and a nurse subdued a prisoner. “The nurse noticed (Timothy) Dillon turned “blue,” according to the suit. Dillon had a seizure, went into a coma and was eventually resuscitated.” http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/cri ... MTQUt5QCK/ Lawsuit claims the prisoner suffered severe brain injury and neurological damage.

Judge dismisses fraud lawsuit against Democratic Party which claimed the DNC helped Clinton win the nomination. “Bruce Spiva, the defense attorney for the DNC, argued successfully that this fraud lawsuit should be dismissed on the grounds that the Committee is under no legal obligation to provide real party primaries…” https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the- ... 13e4de0b43

Green Party gears up to fight for ballot access in 28 states. “North Carolina is going to be especially difficult because it has one of the HIGHEST signature requirements to get Green candidates on the ballot – 94,000 verified, legitimate signatures have to be turned in.” http://www.gp.org/funding_needed_for_cr ... ion_drives Guess how many signatures the Democratic and Republican parties need to collect to appear on the ballot?

Trump pardons Arpaio. “President Donald Trump spared former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio the prospect of serving jail time in granting the first pardon of his turbulent tenure, wiping away the lawman’s recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols that focused on Latinos.” http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/polit ... 86273.html

German government shuts down popular left-wing website. “The site was closed for “sowing hate against different opinions and representatives of the country,” said Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, adding that the operation of the site was now “a criminal offense”.” http://www.dw.com/en/interior-ministry- ... a-40232965 The site appears to be back up, hosted in another country now? https://linksunten.indymedia.org/ Wikipedia article on the “Streisand effect”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

Sebastian Gorka, accused by some of bias against Muslims, leaves Trump administration. “Gorka… has repeatedly downplayed the threat of right-wing extremism in the US, including the threat from white supremacist hate groups like those whose rally led to deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia two weeks ago.” http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/20 ... house.html

Illegal immigrants may not evacuate hurricane zone due to Border Patrol roadblocks. “Border Patrol checkpoints up to 100 miles north of the border are a fact of life for thousands of undocumented immigrants and their families in the Rio Grande Valley.” http://www.npr.org/2017/08/25/546109886 ... ane-harvey U.S. citizens are also required to stop and submit to questioning at these roadblocks.

Former left-of-center Thai prime minister flees country to avoid political trial. “Overthrown (by the military) in 2014, Yingluck had faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty (of fraud in rice subsidy scheme for farmers).” https://in.reuters.com/article/thailand ... NKCN1B6042

VW engineer sentenced to 40 months in prison for role in emissions cheating scandal. “(Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark) Chutkow acknowledged that Liang was not the mastermind of the scheme and that there are “other, high level officials” in Germany whom American authorities have not been able so far to bring to justice.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ca ... 602584001/

Bernie Sanders is still America’s most popular politician. “More than any other option available to them, a majority of the people in the United States of America prefer the socialist—the one who calls for Medicare for All, tuition-free college, higher taxes on the wealthy, a speedy transition to renewable energy to fight climate change, and an end to the corporate takeover of democracy—most of all.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... st-popular But to be honest, Sanders is not really a socialist; he’s a social democrat. There is nothing in his platform about nationalizing America’s corporations or turning them into worker coops, etc.

78% of American workers say they would be in trouble if they missed a paycheck, 71% are in debt. “Thirty-eight percent of employees said they sometimes live paycheck-to-paycheck, 17 percent said they usually do and 23 percent said they always do.” http://press.careerbuilder.com/2017-08- ... der-Survey

South Carolina’s governor cuts off Medicaid payments to health care providers that also offer abortions. “The exact language of McMaster’s executive order bans government money from “any physician or professional medical practice affiliated with an abortion clinic and operating concurrently with and in the same physical, geographic location or footprint as an abortion clinic”.” http://www.postandcourier.com/features/ ... 7f6fb.html

Right-wing rally in San Francisco cancelled after their opponents lay “minefield” at the planned site. “… Tuffy Tuffington, who launched the Facebook event “Leave your dog poop on Crissy Field,” told the Guardian: “It seemed like a little bit of civil disobedience where we didn’t have to engage with them face to face.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... s-dog-poop

Deputy Chief of Staff at Department of Homeland Security was reportedly involved in botched Hurricane Katrina response. “Despite the clear warnings before landfall that Katrina would be catastrophic, the President and the White House staff were not sufficiently engaged and failed to initiate a sufficiently strong and proactive response.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/25/kir ... elsen-dhs/

United Airlines customer claims he was sexually harassed by reservation agent. “The worker allegedly told Dicks during the call that his last name was “controversial” but that “he liked it”. He also asked him if he “was alone” and “what he would do to the agent if they were alone together”. http://www.ibtimes.com/united-airlines- ... lk-2582996

U.S. and Somali forces accused of executing Somalian civilians. “The farmers were killed “one by one” after soldiers stormed into Barire village early Friday, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, Ali Nur Mohamed, told reporters in the capital, Mogadishu, as victims’ bloodied bodies were on display…. Three children aged 8 to 10 and a woman were among the dead, the deputy governor said.” https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/0 ... illed.html

U.S. rejects U.N. call for pause in Raqqa bombing to allow civilians to escape. “… (U.S.) Special Envoy Brett McGurk (insisted) that the war against ISIS is going very well, and that the “number one thing that we have to do to” to help civilians in Raqqa is continue the war and defeat ISIS outright.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/08/25/us-d ... -in-raqqa/

Saudi bombing attacks continue to kill civilians in Yemen. “For the second time this week, Saudi warplanes have conducted airstrikes against the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, hitting residential buildings and killing a substantial number of civilians.” http://news.antiwar.com/2017/08/25/saud ... -in-sanaa/

Detroit men file excessive force lawsuit against officers. “According to the lawsuit, police arrested Jackson and, after treatment at a hospital, jailed him for three days, threatening a charge of felony resisting arrest. But the charge was never filed and he was released.” http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index ... _in_2.html

64 year-old Oklahoma man with cane sues after being tasered by police officer, who he had summoned. “Estep suffered cuts to his elbows and injuries to his stomach where the taser hit. His attorney also said Estep had to have surgery on his left hip and shoulder.” http://kfor.com/2017/08/23/federal-laws ... epartment/

Man drives into group of protesters in St. Louis, injures three. “Police said the three people suffered minor injuries Wednesday night during a candlelight vigil and protest in honor of Kenny “Kiwi” Herring, who was fatally shot by officers Tuesday after allegedly stabbing one of them.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... story.html

Man wanted for parole violation was unarmed when shot by Troy, New York police. “(Dahmeek) McDonald, who was wanted for an alleged parole violation, was shot twice in the shoulder and face by Troy police officer Jarrod Iler, a five-year veteran of the force, during a traffic stop on Eighth Street at Rensselaer Street around 6:40 p.m. (on) Aug. 15.” http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/ ... 955735.php



Why it’s a bad idea to ban Nazis from the internet. “All of the major technology companies publish transparency reports documenting the many efforts made by governments around the world to require the companies to take down their customer’s speech.” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/08/1 ... censorship

Colorful history of the guy with the “Blacks for Trump” sign. “(Michael Symonette) told WLS on Wednesday that the Cherokee (tribe) formed the KKK, citing the pointed hats affiliated with Klansmen are “teepees and they were hiding under it”.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3436081

12% of Bernie Sanders supporters ended up voting for Trump. “(Brian) Schaffner’s numbers show that after a bitter Democratic primary, more than 1 in 10 of those who voted in the primaries for the very progressive Sanders ended up voting for the Republican in the general election, rather than for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.” http://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/545812242 ... rvey-finds

Tech companies will soon be monitoring you with the other kind of cookies. “Imagine if your supermarket watched you as closely as Facebook or Google does.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... s-facebook

Brazil opens huge area of the Amazon to mining. “The area, covering 46,000 sq km (17,800 sq miles), straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para, and is thought to be rich in gold, and other minerals.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41033228

Florida firsts: White prisoner executed for killing a black victim was killed using a homemade “drug cocktail” recipe. “Mark Asay was put to death Thursday evening for two murders in 1987, the first time in the state’s history a white man was executed for killing a black man.” http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.s ... ecute.html

Refugees violently evicted from square in Rome. “The humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, which has had a medical team in the square since Aug. 19, said 13 refugees were treated for injuries, and five of them were sent to the hospital by ambulance, after the police action (on) Aug. 24.” https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/ro ... l-refugees

Movies “Whose Streets?” and “Crown Heights” examine the relationship between law enforcement and the black community. “Whose Streets?” is a documentary about the Ferguson, Missouri anti-police brutality protests and Crown Heights tells “the story of Collin Warner — a young man who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing a man he’d never met…” https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/18/1 ... wn-heights

Judge orders website hosting company to turn over data on visitors to anti-Trump website, company’s lawyer protests. “Providing the information outright to the government for the government to review and identify who the individuals are and what they said in relation to political expression, speech and exercising their right of association is entirely problematic.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/2 ... urt-241973

Every county in the U.S. will have at least one Obamacare health insurance provider. “…smaller insurers like Centene and CareSource saw a business opportunity when larger companies like Anthem and Humana fled the exchanges.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/34 ... are-county

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin (and his stylish wife) reportedly viewed solar eclipse during their government jet “day trip”. “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin did watch Monday’s total solar eclipse from the top of Fort Knox, a near-optimal place to see the astronomical event, but his viewing was planned around “official government travel,” according to a report late Thursday evening.” http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/steve ... le/2632542

Second Trump campaign official allegedly involved in effort to set up meeting between Trump campaign and Putin. “The aide, Rick Dearborn, who is now President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, sent a brief email to campaign officials last year relaying information about an individual who was seeking to connect top Trump officials with Putin, the sources said.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/23/polit ... index.html

India Supreme Court ruling that privacy is a fundamental constitutional right may disrupt country’s biometric national ID card project. “The government will now have to convince the court that forcing citizens to give their fingerprints and a scan of their iris is not a violation of privacy.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as ... story.html

Study supports allegations that Exxon Mobil withheld information about climate change. “The study confirmed findings from 2015 reports by InsideClimate News and The Los Angeles Times, which claimed the company had long known about the risks of climate change but publicly denied them…” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... at-decades

Philippine teen suspected of drug activity allegedly shot from behind while kneeling. “Several police commanders relieved of… duty over the student’s killing told a Senate inquiry on Thursday that delos Santos was not the target of their operation, and (that) his links to (drugs) were known to them only the day after his death.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-phil ... SKCN1B50FI

Iowa to award $208 million in corporate welfare to Apple for data center. “Critics questioned the wisdom and fairness of giving such tax breaks to one of the world’s richest companies.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ata-center

None of the states with the highest levels of income inequality between black and white families are located in the South. “These are the five states with the highest level of inequality between white and black residents: 1. Wisconsin,
2. Minnesota, 3. South Dakota, 4. Illinois, 5. Iowa” https://patch.com/us/across-america/her ... -7-wall-st

Kansas election officials accused of discarding extremely disproportional number of ballots, confirming online registrations which were never processed. “Kansas’s 13,717 rejected ballots even topped the 13,461 from Florida, which has about seven times as many residents.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -out-votes

Top priority in NAFTA negotiations should be workers, not corporate profits. “This time around, workers in all three countries need truly enforceable provisions that protect their right to organize, work in safe environments and earn livable wages.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... rcy-kaptur

Journalist accuses military of evading his FOIA request after they tell him they are unable to find the documents he requested, but later admit they did finally find them – but they burned them. “It seems to me that the SOCOM (anti-Kony) leaflets are not just ‘interesting’ documents,” (an expert) explained, “but that they would likely also qualify as permanent federal records of enduring historical value.” https://theintercept.com/2017/08/24/i-a ... rned-them/

Republican senator calls environmental groups “special interests”. “Ballot initiatives that would ban hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) — we have to make it very clear that that is not in the interest of Colorado. When it comes to policies that are trying to be enacted by interests — well-funded interests — from New York or Los Angeles in local municipalities, that we make it clear that this is what’s happening.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capita ... ed-special

CIA allegedly “installed” fake software on the computers of other federal agencies and extracted data from their systems. “ExpressLane records all data collected by the CIA partner and saves it to a thumb drive, which the CIA technicians can then use to compare to the shared database to see if the organization is holding back any information.” http://www.ibtimes.com/wikileaks-vault- ... ne-2582487

Mainstream media stories on Trump’s Afghanistan plan fail to mention Afghan war casualties. “In dozens of write-ups, recaps and reports on Trump’s “major” Afghan War speech, almost no outlets took time out to note the plight or condition of the people the US is nominally there to save.” http://fair.org/home/reporting-on-trump ... civilians/

Senate Intelligence Committee labels Wikileaks a “non-state hostile intelligence service”. “The language in the bill suggesting that the U.S. government has some unstated course of action against ‘non-state hostile intelligence services’ is… troubling.” http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/ ... nouncement

Amnesty International expresses concern for Raqqa civilians. “Survivors and witnesses told Amnesty International that they were trapped between ISIS militants on one side and the U.S.-led coalition force’s constant barrage of artillery strikes and airstrikes on the other side.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/24/ ... us_bombing

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"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Some recent news stories that got my attention

50
SilasSoule wrote:Sarah Palin sues NYT over story claiming Palin’s “gun sight” ad targeting Congresswoman Giffords inspired shooting. “In one section, it read: ‘In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ation.html
For clarity, the suit was in reference to an article published _after_ the shooting that occurred during the D.C. baseball practice.
The editorial was published by the newspaper on June 14 in the wake of a shooting at a Republican baseball practice which was carried out by Democrat James T. Hodgkinson.
The judge dismissed the suit, per Jacob Sullum, who appears to dislike everyone involved:
Decision Dismissing Sarah Palin's Libel Suit Is an Embarrassment to the Times
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